Michigan
Gophers men's hockey loses to Michigan, comes up short of Big Ten title game
For the third consecutive year, the Gophers will not be the Big Ten hockey tournament champions. And for the third year in a row, Michigan made sure that was the case.
Behind goals by Kienan Draper and Gavin Brindley, 23 saves from goalie Jake Barczewski and a suffocating defensive effort, the Wolverines defeated the Gophers 2-1 on Saturday night in a Big Ten tournament semifinal at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Michigan adds its latest triumph over Minnesota to a pair of 4-3 victories in the 2022 and 2023 Big Ten title games at Mariucci.
The Wolverines (21-13-3) will face regular-season champion Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday in East Lansing. The Spartans beat No. 7 seed Ohio State 2-1 in the other semifinal.
The Gophers (22-10-5) must wait until March 24 to find out where they’ll be playing in the NCAA tournament. They entered Saturday at No. 6 in the PairWise Ratings, and they’re a lock to make the 16-team NCAA field as an at-large entrant. The four regionals are in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Maryland Heights, Mo.; Springfield, Mass.; and Providence, R.I. The Frozen Four is April 11-13 at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.
Gophers goalie Justen Close kept his team in the game, making 29 saves. Jimmy Snuggerud scored Minnesota’s only goal, with 1:29 left in the third and Close pulled for an extra attacker. The Gophers pushed for the equalizer but came up short.
Throughout the game, Minnesota had trouble generating offense as Michigan pushed the Gophers to the perimeter and had sticks in passing lanes. Minnesota’s play was by no means crisp, with several errant passes and puck battles lost.
Michigan won 36 faceoffs in the game to the Gophers’ 20.
The Gophers came out fast, getting three shots on goal in the opening 1:11. Michigan, however, got on the scoreboard first on its second shot of the game when Draper slammed a rebound of a Chase Pletzke shot past Close for a 1-0 lead at 3:12.
Michigan appeared to stretch the lead to 2-0 at 6:32 of the first when Phillipe Lapointe fed Fantilli with a backhand pass in front of the net that Fantilli fired past Close. Gophers coach Bob Motzko challenged the play for offsides, and after a video review, officials waved off the goal.
Close kept it a one-goal deficit at 14:58 of the first with a poke check against Garrett Schifsky just in front of the net. The Gophers had a push at the 16:50 mark when Luke Mittelstadt and Mike Koster forced Barczewski to make a pair of saves two seconds apart.
Outshot 10-7 in the first period, Michigan turned up the pressure early in the second, putting the Gophers on their heels and forcing Close to make four saves by the 3:37 mark.
Michigan’s pressure paid off with the game’s first power play when Pitlick was called for hooking at 4:26. The Wolverines, whose power play operates at a nation’s-best 35.6%, spent the full two minutes in the Minnesota zone. Close made four saves, and defensemen Carl Fish and Sam Rinzel each had a key blocked
Michigan boosted the lead to 2-0 at 18:36 of the second when Brindley, on a rush, beat Close with a shot from the right circle.
The Gophers got their first power play of the game at 3:15 of the third when Ethan Edwards was called for interference. Minnesota got two shots on goal during the man advantage, with Barczewski robbing Aaron Huglen with a glove save
Michigan
With gas prices rising in Michigan and U.S., what other items could rise amid war with Iran?
Drivers across Metro Detroit continue to see higher prices at the pump. And the escalating war in Iran is worrying some that higher prices across the board will soon follow.
“It’s very frustrating because I don’t like these gas prices, and I want them to go down. I hate the war, and I want the war to end,” said Aywon Williams from Detroit.
It now costs an average of over $3.60 for Michigan’s motorists for a gallon of gas, which is around 20% higher than it was just 12 days ago when the war in Iran began.
But experts like Kevin Ketels, an associate professor in Global Supply Chain Management at Wayne State, say that the costs of food, housing, clothing, and more should soon be, if not already, on the rise as well.
“So there is a very large ripple effect, you simply can’t avoid it when 20 percent of the World’s crude oil comes out of this part of the world,” said Ketels.
Ketels says if crude oil’s price continues to climb because of the Strait of Hormuz being under attack, so will the prices of most widely used products, because of the need for crude oil, which keeps equipment, delivery trucks, airplanes, and more running.
“And that cost is almost immediately being felt by us, by everyone globally and it will be reflected in higher prices in anything that requires transportation,” Ketels said.
Theo Pinson from Southfield told CBS Detroit he’s seen increasing costs all over the place.
“Food and everything, I just came over here from Meijer, and everything is sky high,” Pinson said.
It’s uncertain when the war against Iran will end, but experts say it will take time to smooth out supply chain disruptions, even when it does, so price increases could persist for weeks or even months.
“What’s had to happen in the Middle East is that they’ve had to shut down production because there’s nowhere to put all the oil, so when you shut down production, it takes time to get everything restarted,” said Ketels.
President Trump has said that rising gas prices are a very small price to pay for the U.S., the world and peace.
Michigan
Michigan-based Stryker hit with cyberattack
Michigan
Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame time, channel in Big Ten Tournament
Detroit Red Wings celebrate their Olympians, Michigan hockey Olympians
Detroit Red Wings celebrate their Olympians, Michigan hockey Olympians on March 4, 2026 in Detroit.
Michigan hockey may be the No. 1 team in the nation in the USCHO and NPI rankings, but they fell short of a regular-season title and don’t have the clearest path to a Big Ten Tournament win.
But three wins can help the Wolverines solidify their status as the best in the nation, even if they’re No. 2 in the Big Ten as of now.
The Wolverines (26-7-1) face Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Big Ten Hockey Tournament on Wednesday, March 11, at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. ET and will not be televised on a traditional channel, but streamed exclusively on BIG+.
Michigan finished with the most overall wins (26) and most conference wins (17) in the Big Ten, but finished second to Michigan State in points, relegating them to the No. 2 seed. As a result, the two-time defending-champion Spartans got a bye and head right into the semifinals, while the Wolverines play last-place Notre Dame to kick off the tournament.
Since the tournament reseeds winners for the semifinal round, it is not clear who Michigan will play if it wins. However, with the Spartans holding the No. 1 seed, a rematch between the top two teams in the conference can only happen in the final game, which will take place on Saturday, March 21.
Here’s what you need to know as Michigan hockey begins its quest for a Big Ten tournament title.
Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame, Big Ten tournament time
- Date: Wednesday, March 11.
- Time: 7 p.m. ET.
- Location: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor.
Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame, Big Ten tournament channel
- Time: 7 p.m. ET.
- Channel: N/A.
- Streaming: BIG+.
Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame will not be on a traditional television channel, but can be streamed on the BIG+ app.
Big Ten hockey conference tournament bracket
The Big Ten hockey conference tournament uses a three-round, single-elimination bracket that involves all seven conference teams, with the top seed earning a first-round bye. The remaining six teams then play a knockout round with the winners advancing to the semifinals.
Big Ten hockey 2026 standings
- Michigan State (51 points).
- Michigan (49 points).
- Penn State (41 points).
- Wisconsin (39 points).
- Ohio State (29 points).
- Minnesota (27 points).
- Notre Dame (16 points).
Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 quarterfinals schedule: March 11
- No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Michigan, 7 p.m. ET (BIG+).
- No. 6 Minnesota at No. 3 Penn State, 7 p.m. ET (BIG+).
- No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET (BIG+).
Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 semifinals schedule: March 14
- Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Michigan State, time TBD (Big Ten Network).
- Second-lowest remaining seed at second-highest remaining seed, time TBD (Big Ten Network).
Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 semifinals schedule: March 21
- Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed, time TBD (Big Ten Network).
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
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