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Brandon Naurato likes his players to be predictable.
The coach of the No. 10 Michigan hockey team wants to be confident that his defensemen will account for every opposing attacker, that his players will finish their routes on the rush and that everyone will be waiting in the right spots in the offensive zone.
Through the first four games of this season, sophomore forward Garrett Schifsky has done exactly that.
“He’s so predictable on what he does,” Naurato said Friday. “He’s always (playing) hard. He’s always in his spots. And he’s a guy that you love to play with, because you know exactly what he’s going to do.”
On a Wolverines team with an abundance of new faces and a need for reliable goal-scorers, Schifsky has stepped up early. He ranks second on the team with five points, four of which came from a stellar series last weekend against Arizona State. On Friday, he scored a hat trick that earned him that “predictable” label, and on Saturday he added an assist.
“He just does the same thing as he did last year, he’s just a little bit better at everything,” Naurato said Tuesday. “He does everything the right way. He’s in his spots. He’s hard on pucks and goes to the net. Just a hockey player.”
Schifsky had an impressive freshman year, netting 16 goals and assisting on another 18. He finished the season with 13 more points than the next-highest freshman. Although his production varied a bit from game to game last season, he’s been extremely consistent so far this year.
Much of Schifsky’s production comes from being in the right spots at the right times — where both his teammates and Naurato predict he’ll be. In fact, that tendency has directly led to three of his four goals this season. Schifsky gets to the right spots in front of the net and, once an opportunity comes his way, is as good as any Michigan forward at putting pucks away.
“I think he did really well last year, and he’s just taking that in stride into this year,” junior forward T.J. Hughes said Tuesday. “He’s really, really good around the net, being able to knock pucks home, and plays really hard.”
On Friday, Schifsky put those skills to use en route to his standout performance. On his first goal, with the Sun Devils’ goaltender out of position, Schifsky simply posted up in front of the net. When he received the puck from junior forward Josh Eernisse, he quickly found the back of the net after an initial deflection. The Wolverines were able to capitalize because Eernisse was able to find Schifsky so quickly — because Eernisse knew he would be there.
For his second goal, Schifsky and junior forward Jackson Hallum started an odd-man rush in awkward positioning on a penalty kill. The two were skating right beside each other as Hallum carried the puck across the blue line, but Schifsky saw an opportunity and took it.
He weaved behind and around Hallum to the left, putting the Arizona State defenseman in conflict. Moments later, Hallum found Schifsky, who scored with a sliding one-timer. It was Schifsky’s ability to find the right lane that created space for the scoring opportunity.
“He’s a coach’s dream,” Naurato said Tuesday. “… And he’s a linemate’s dream because he does everything the right way. When he doesn’t make a play, he still does it the right way. He doesn’t cheat the game at all.”
Schifsky’s constant high effort and point production, as just a sophomore, serves as a great example of reliability for a Michigan team with seven freshmen. His ability to read the ice and be exactly where his teammates expect him to be is also valuable on a team with so much turnover. As the season continues, Michigan hopes his consistent goal-scoring, too, remains just as predictable.
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