Perfection is nearly impossible, even for a team who had yet to lose at home. Saturday, Michigan’s Achilles heel was exposed after No. 10 Wisconsin established a wide deficit early on in the game. The No. 2 Michigan hockey team’ inability to dig themselves out of the hole hindered their chances at emerging ahead of the Badgers.
The Wolverines (10-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) suffered their first conference loss, 6-1, against Wisconsin. After a disappointing early showing from Michigan’s penalty kill, its weakest points were exposed, allowing the Badgers to capitalize offensively, highlighting a collapse in the Wolverines first home loss.
The first period was not the showing Michigan was hoping to have. Avoidable penalties combined with a lack of breakthroughs into the attacking third equated to much of Wisconsin’s pressure falling onto the back of freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic and the defense. The Wolverines’ typically-successful penalty kill fell short of expectations, conceding goals during both the Badgers’ first two power plays.
Trailing 2-0, Michigan was in dire need of a reboot if it were to work its way back against a Wisconsin team eager for a marquee win. As the second period commenced, though, the differential only increased.
A turnover in the neutral zone offered the Badgers another opportunity as Wisconsin forward Blake Montgomery marched up center ice, weaving through the Wolverines’ defense to slot in the Badgers’ third goal, adding to the lead, 3-0.
Michigan needed an opportunity to find that desired spark.
“In a game like that, you got to just try and find ways to get energy back in the building and energy back with the team,” Fantilli said. “… We kept getting penalties, and we just weren’t bouncing back the way that we wanted.”
Despite attempting to resurge their offense, the Badgers found little trouble responding to the Wolverines’ advances, sneaking another past Ivankovic’s glove to extend to a comfortable 4-1 lead. Michigan’s offense required a complete shift if a win was in its sights.
But instead of channeling urgency into scoring goals, the Wolverines were placed into their fists; scrums and petty punches became a common occurrence. Their continued collapse on defense only amplified these shortcomings, as the second period concluded with a score of 5-1.
The trend became more apparent throughout the third. A sixth goal added to Wisconsin’s tally left Michigan with nothing left to lose. The Wolverines served 86 penalty minutes, making that their defining trait leaving the ice.
“There’s things that we’ll remember from this game for motivation, and then there’s a lot of stuff where it’s just not us,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “It was what it was and we’ll forget about it. And whether we won or lost 6-1 or 2-1, we keep getting better anyways.”
Much to the Wolverines’ credit, Fantilli’s goal ended the feeble penalty kill that put them into a hole. From that point on, Michigan successfully fended off the many minutes it faced being down a man. However the focus toward filling that hole starved its other areas of play, ultimately contributing to its collapse. The Badgers peppered Ivankovic, and the Wolverines totaled 17 blocked shots — a testament to its constant uphill climb.
Hockey is an imperfect game, and Michigan showed how a successful showing the night before can be altered in the blink of an eye. Saturday, Wisconsin badgered Michigan to hand it its first loss of the season.
