Michigan Hockey Recap: Wolverines lose opener, tie in finale against Minnesota

The Michigan men’s ice hockey team was in action once again this weekend, with a pair of games with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a battle of top ranked teams at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines were looking to bounce back after a rough two games on the road last week, and ended up losing and tying on Friday night and Saturday night, respectively.

Michigan got off to a fast start in Friday night’s game, as Frank Nazar would find the back of the net just under two minutes into the game. Minnesota’s Bryce Brodzinski would respond, though, just two minutes later to knot it up, where it would hold for the remainder of the first period.

In the second period, the Wolverines were put on the power play after a Minnesota slashing penalty, and Dylan Duke took advantage with a goal to give Michigan a 2-1 lead. The Wolverines went on the power play again just a few minutes later, and Rutger McGroarty scored to give Michigan a 3-1 lead. Those power plays would be the end of the fun for Michigan, though.

With just 1.5 seconds to play in the second period, Minnesota’s Jimmy Clark found the back of the net, and did so again at the nine-minute mark of the third period. The Golden Gophers secured the victory by a score of 4-3 thanks to a final goal with just under four minutes to play.

Michigan once again opened up the scoring on Saturday night, with Frank Nazar finding the back of the net for his second goal of the weekend with six minutes to play in the first period. That goal would be the only one scored in the period, giving Michigan a 1-0 lead at the break.

In the second period, Minnesota went on the power play with just over three minutes to go, allowing Brody Lamb to score and tie the game at 1-1. Michigan didn’t wait too long to strike back, as the Wolverines went on the power play themselves, helping set up another Frank Nazar goal in the period’s final seconds.

Also, the Michigan football team stopped by following its big win over Penn State.

The third period would start with Michigan on top 2-1, but Minnesota knotted the game up thanks to a goal from Jimmy Snuggerud with four and a half minutes to go in regulation. Regulation ended in a tie, but Michigan would go on to win the shootout to secure an extra point.

Following the series, Michigan now stands at 5-5-1-0 overall and 1-3-1-1-1 in Big Ten play. Next weekend, the Wolverines will take on Penn State for two games in Ann Arbor.