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Despite a slow start — 40 minutes, to be exact — all it took was one Michigan goal to give the Wolverines the momentum they needed.
In what was expected to be an explosive, entertaining matchup between the No. 10 Michigan hockey team (3-1-1 overall) and No. 13 St. Cloud State (3-1-0), the two teams saved all of the excitement for the third period. Despite being scoreless across the first two periods, a goal by sophomore forward Garrett Schifsky gave the Wolverines the footing to defeat the Huskies, 3-0.
In a scoreless first period, it seemed both Michigan and St. Cloud state were adjusting to the pace of the game, unable to finish plays and find chemistry in the offensive zone. Players on both ends of the ice where whiffing shots. On offensive drives, the Wolverines couldn’t connect, sending pucks cross-crease with no Michigan skater to claim them.
The second period was nearly identical to the first, defined by shots that couldn’t go in. While the Wolverines were plagued with an inability to capitalize on shots, so were the Huskies. 40 minutes and 36 combined shots on goal, and yet not a single one found its way into the back of the net.
Michigan’s penalty kill was stellar in the second period, where the unit was put to the test twice. On both penalty kills, the Wolverines cleared nearly every puck that entered the slot, preventing St. Cloud from creating any dangerous plays.
With the first two periods flying by scoreless, an explosive final period was brewing. A game where the action typically spans across the entire three periods would be decided in just 20.
And Michigan made sure to make those 20 minutes as exciting as possible.
Early in the third period, sophomore forward William Whitelaw received a tripping penalty, forcing Michigan to kill another penalty. And despite the disadvantage, the area of the game that had been stellar all season took its success to a whole new level.
After the Wolverines cleared the puck, St. Cloud State passed the puck from its defensive zone into the neutral zone. But sophomore defenseman Tyler Duke was there to mitigate the pass, clearing the puck past the Husky defenseman and leaving it vulnerable in Michigan’s offensive zone.
Schifsky, unmarked, sped up to the puck and created a battle between himself and St. Cloud State goaltender Isak Posch. Skating the puck to the left, Schifsky backhanded it in the space between Posch and the goal, breathing life into an airless game up to that point.
Halfway through the third, freshman forward Michael Hage — who has a point in every game thus far — didn’t want that streak to end against the Huskies. After a flurry of penalties creating 4-on-4 play, Hage picked the puck up off the wall, skated to the blue line, turned himself around and skated up to the crease. With Schifsky boxing out two St. Cloud defensemen, Hage skated cross-crease to net the puck and give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.
Graduate forward Philippe Lapointe sealed the game with an empty-net goal. In what started as 40 minutes of scoreless play, Michigan made the third period count, skating to a 3-0 victory.
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