Michigan
Did Michigan Fall in the Latest College Hockey Power Rankings, and if so How Far?
Michigan State continues its winning ways, taking four of six points against Michigan over the weekend and moving back into the sole lead of the Big Ten men’s hockey standings. Granted, it’s only by one point, 39 to 38, but in addition to momentum the Spartans have a favorable schedule over the final weeks of the regular season.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines are no longer the team to beat, at least for now, and a pivotal series against Penn State looms. Coming off an off week, the Nittany Lions are still in the conference hunt with 32 points, and two extra games to play on the league schedule. But they’re going to need a lot of things to go right to have a shot at the league crown.
The conference tournament could be a whole different story, never mind the NCAA Tournament, where Penn State hopes to return to the Frozen Four.
Minnesota Duluth stopped its four-game skid, taking an overtime victory from North Dakota, while both Western Michigan and Denver failed to take full advantage of North Dakota’s loss. The NCHC is still up for grabs, however, the contenders are running out of time.
Out East, Providence continues to win, making it nine straight, and would likely be the hottest team in college hockey if it weren’t for Michigan State. Quinnipiac continues to boast one of the most prolific offenses in college hockey, scoring 17 goals over two games, however the ECAC is still a three-team race with Dartmouth and Cornell.
Which is listed first in this week’s power rankings?
1. Michigan State
The Spartans took rival Michigan to overtime in Ann Arbor on Friday night, followed by the impressive 5-2 victory in Detroit to win the 10th annual Duel in the D that felt like a statement had been made. The Spartans moved ahead of the Wolverines by one point in the Big Ten standings and over the final three weekends of the regular season will face the bottom three teams in the standings. Michigan State is in the driver’s seat with a great opportunity to secure the Big Ten regular-season title, and more.
2. North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks traveled to Duluth, splitting the series with an overtime loss 3-2 in game one, followed by a 4-1 victory Saturday night. North Dakota remains the team to beat in the NCHC, but its lead over Denver is just two points. All eyes will be UND durign its series with Western Michigan at the end of the month.
SEE ALSO: Top Teams Toppled
3. Michigan
The Wolverines split with the Spartans, winning game one in overtime 4-3 before losing 5-2 on neutral ice. That’s the difference between No. 1 and 2 in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index as Michigan subequently fell out of the top spot. The Wolverines are trailing in the Big Ten standings and have a significantly tougher schedule than Michigan State, with Penn State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to go.
4. Providence
The Friars continue to be one of the hottest teams in college hockey, increasing their win streak to nine in a row. The Friars defeated New Hampshire on Friday in a 6-1 contest, before beating Vermont by the same score on Saturday, both on the road. Providence leads Hockey East with 39 points and has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the conference.
5. Penn State
The Nittany Lions were idle last weekend, but travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan in a key two-game series. If Penn State can catch the Wolverines licking their wounds, things could suddenly get very interesting at the top of the Big Ten. If they split, the teams could be on a collision course in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
6. Western Michigan
The Broncos earned another split this weekend, losing 3-2 in overtime before winning 3-1 the following night against Miami of Ohio. They have Arizona State and Colorado College next, and if they don’t take care of business in the next two series the season finale against North Dakota won’t mean much.
7. Denver
The Pioneers played a home-and-home against Colorado College. In game one, they tied 2-2, with Denver winning in shootouts. The following evening, the Pioneers rolled, winning 4-1 at home. Denver only has two series left this season, including at Omaha this weekend, and will need some help in order to catch North Dakota.
8. Quinnipiac
The Bobcats continue to have one of the most impressive offenses in college hockey. They outscored their opponents 17-1, defeating Brown 9-1 on Friday night before blanking Yale 8-0 in game two. The Bobcats have both Dartmouth and Cornell still on the schedule; both teams only trail by two points in ECAC standings.
9. Minnesota Duluth
The Bulldogs snapped their four-game losing streak with an overtime win against North Dakota, 3-2 in game one. The Fighting Hawks took game two 4-1, but UMD was able to get some momentum back, taking two points in the series. UMD finishes the year with a series against Colorado College and Miami of Ohio. It’s all about the postseason now as the NCHC conference title is out of reach.
10. Dartmouth
The Big Green won 3-1 on the road at Harvard in a one-game series Friday night that felt like an elimination game for the ECAC title. Dartmouth is tied for second with Cornell at 36 points, with Quinnipiac leading the conference at 38 points. Dartmouth has a favorable schedule leading up to its rematch with Quinnipiac on Feb. 27 that could be a winner-takes-all game.
Two employees who refused to serve a man and his wife because he was wearing a hoodie with President Trump’s name on it were fired after a video of the heated encounter went viral.
Erika Lindemyer and her husband, Jake, were forced out of a Smoothie King franchise location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, following a fiery clash with two young female workers on Sunday.
The employees claimed they didn’t “feel comfortable” serving the couple because of Jake’s pro-Trump hoodie, as captured by Erika in a viral video.
Jake and Erika fired back at the pair and insisted that they were being “discriminated” against based on their “political views.”
“We were just wanting a smoothie and you literally looked at us and I asked you if everything was OK and you said ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination,” Erika spat.
“Okay, well, have a great day,” the first employee said.
“That is illegal,” Erika tried to insist again.
“I said Trump discriminates [against] us,” another employee chimed in.
“Okay, well that has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie!” Erika guffawed.
“OK, well that’s who you support though, that’s who you love,” the first employee chided.
“What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens and I wanted to get a smoothie,” Erika huffed.
The second employee noted that they “have a right to refuse service” and directed the couple to the exit.
“You asked a question and [the other employee] gave you an answer. Have a great day. Have a great day. The door’s right there,” the second worker said.
Trump merchandise. Leftism/X
Erika threatened to call the police while storming out, but it’s unclear if she did.
In a separate video shared Monday, one of the workers joked that she might’ve “accidentally started a race war” and called on the public to help remove Erika’s video.
“I am a minor and she recorded me without my permission. The people in the comments are all white and they’re all being hella racist, guys, please help me get this video taken down,” she implored.
Smoothie King confirmed that the girls involved in the viral confrontation “are no longer with the business” as of Monday.
“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” the company wrote on X.
The owner of the Ann Arbor franchise location will also enforce “mandatory retraining for all employees that outlines our guest experience standards.”
In early December, a woman who worked at a Target in California was berated by a customer for wearing a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” T-shirt.
When the employee insisted she was allowed to wear the red shirt, the irate customer accused her of supporting “a racist.”
The medical center where the agitated customer worked was bombarded with upwards of 6,000 “profanity-laced” phone calls after online sleuths doxxed her personal information.
Ann Arbor — The Wolverines won the outright Big Ten regular-season title with two games to go, but it came at a great cost.
L.J. Cason, Michigan’s backup point guard and a key piece of the rotation, tore his right ACL in the championship-clinching win at Illinois. Just like that, Cason’s season was over and Michigan was hit with a brutal blow.
But when adversity strikes, opportunity knocks. While the team won’t be the same without Cason, coach Dusty May believes Michigan has backcourt pieces who can step up and make up for the loss.
“This is a great opportunity for Roddy (Gayle Jr.), Trey (McKenney) and Nimari (Burnett) to play more, and those guys are really good players,” May said Monday. “Our rotation has been nine and nine, I think, is too deep. It’s playing too many guys, if you want to optimize everyone. But we felt like we had nine guys that deserved to play, that gave us a different element.
“We look at this as another challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role. We do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, so we’re prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”
May said he doesn’t know exactly when Cason tore his ACL, and neither does Cason. The sophomore guard fell to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions against Illinois.
The first instance came in the final minute of the first half, when Cason tipped a long rebound ahead and chased it down to start a fast break. After he grabbed the ball in the air and bounced it backward between his legs to a trailing teammate, Cason went down. He got up hobbling, was subbed out and went back to the locker room.
Cason briefly checked back in during the second half and scored a driving layup a minute into his shift. But on Michigan’s next possession, he fell down after trying to score through contact and got up limping again. Shortly after that, Cason motioned to the Michigan bench to be taken out of the game and he exited for good.
“At halftime, the training staff came and said basically he’s passed all of his jump test. He just did the bike. He says he’s 100% ready to go. I was surprised, because I was expecting him to be out,” May said. “I said, ‘What about the test?’ They said both of his knees are loose, so it’s hard. We don’t feel that anything is torn.
“He comes back in. He lands funny again. … It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing so well. When an ACL pops on a noncontact injury, you’re like, ‘Man, what could we have done different?’ When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that aren’t preventable.”
May added it hasn’t been determined yet when Cason will undergo surgery. Given the typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months, May said Cason redshirting next season is a possibility that’s “on the table.”
“That’s certainly been discussed as well, and then that impacts the recruiting decision-making,” May said. “But right now, we’re still trying to figure out when he’s going to have it. What’s the timeline? Does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? … We haven’t made any definitive decisions, because all the information is so inconclusive.”
Moving forward, the plan isn’t to have just one guy replace Cason, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shot 40.2% from 3-point range and served as a facilitator when starting point guard Elliot Cadeau wasn’t on the court. It’ll be a by-committee approach.
That said, Cason’s absence is certainly going to put much more on Cadeau’s shoulders. The Wolverines can ill afford to have Cadeau commit unnecessary fouls and miss long stretches at a time. Without Cason, Cadeau is the one guard who can break down opposing defenses off the dribble and create for others.
“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy anymore named L.J. behind him, because L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group. That’s not there anymore.”
While Burnett, Gayle and McKenney haven’t had to be facilitators in their roles this season, May expressed confidence all three can take on minutes with the ball in their hands and initiate the offense.
Even beyond the guards, May noted the team has “other capable weapons” who can serve as triggers on offense depending on the matchup, like forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and big man Aday Mara.
Add it all together, May feels the Wolverines can find a way to absorb the blow, fill the void and forge ahead with Cason sidelined.
“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” May said. “I don’t know if he’s the best backup point guard in the country, but I can’t think of one that’s better. We’re losing a lot, but once again, we’re not going to sit here and look at it from that angle.
“This is an opportunity for all these other guys to do a little bit more, and they’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations. Without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
The Michigan State Police is looking for the driver of a Jeep that the agency said hit one of its patrol cars on Lodge Freeway in Detroit Sunday night.
According to officials, the incident happened at 7:50 p.m. on the northbound side of the freeway near Shaefer Highway. The agency said a trooper was investigating a crash and had the patrol car parked on the right shoulder of the freeway with its emergency lights on when it was rear-ended by the Jeep.
“The impact forced the patrol car to strike the concrete wall on the right shoulder,” according to the agency.
The Jeep then went across three lanes of the freeway and hit a median wall, officials said. The driver, identified by law enforcement as a 29-year-old Detroit woman, left the vehicle and fled the scene.
Michigan State Police First Lieutenant Mike Shaw said that while the trooper was evaluated and cleared at the scene by medical personnel, he was still taken to the hospital as a precaution.
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