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Michael Hage has been everywhere.
When the freshman forward wasn’t scoring or assisting on goals for the No. 10 Michigan hockey team against Minnesota State over the weekend, he was directing play with the patience of a veteran. Weaving through opposing players with ease, Hage found passing lanes that no one else could.
For the first two games of his collegiate career, Hage looked surprisingly at home — and for good reason. For someone who spent the last two years playing professional hockey, including this past summer at the Montreal Canadiens’ development camp, college hockey hasn’t been a massive jump.
“I think guys are a lot older, stronger, so just harder in corners and stuff, but I don’t think it’s been too bad, honestly,” Hage said Tuesday. “I mean, it’s obviously different, but it’s still the same game, and I just try to be creative and play my game.”
In his passing, Hage put that creativity on display. In his first of two assists on Saturday, Hage entered the offensive zone with no clear man advantage and could’ve easily slowed things down to set up an attack. That’s what Mavericks forward Josh Groll expected him to do, at least.
Having just caught up to streaking Wolverines sophomore forward Garrett Schifsky, Groll picked up his stick and relaxed for a moment. But Hage, stopping on a dime, saw a sliver of space that Groll didn’t. Before Groll or the Minnesota State goaltender knew it, the puck was on Schifsky’s stick — and then in the back of the net.
Even when it isn’t directly leading to goals, Hage’s passing consistently opens up shot opportunities for teammates.
On a power play Friday, Hage’s vision shone through again. Approaching two Mavericks at high speed on the right side of the neutral zone, he flicked the puck off the boards, distracting both players while he darted in between them to retrieve the puck himself. The resulting scoring chance fizzled out, but the play showed the creativity that Hage brings to Michigan.
At just 18 years old, his vision for passing lanes is evident of a hockey IQ well beyond his years.
“He’s phenomenal, it’s been crazy,” graduate defenseman Tim Lovell said Tuesday. “I was at Boston College my freshman year, played with some high-end players there … But this kid, just an effortless skater, so much different than those players, but in the same realm or category.”
It only seemed right that Hage’s first career goal on Saturday was highlight reel-worthy, too. Carrying the puck up the left side of the ice with a one-on-one opportunity, Hage suddenly switched the puck from his backhand to forehand side at the last second. He caught the Minnesota State goaltender off guard again, and fired the puck from the left point into the top right corner of the net for his second point of the game’s first 12 minutes.
There’s no doubting Hage’s raw talent and ability, but in practice, he’s proved to be coachable, too.
“That’s where Michael Hage is good,” Naurato said. “You tell him something and, Mike, he gets it, and it’s in his game. And then other guys, it might take two, three, four times.”
In the Wolverines’ first two games, Hage has been all over the stat sheet. He recorded points on all of Michigan’s first four goals, and won more faceoffs than anyone besides alternate captain and junior forward T.J. Hughes.
It’s early, but on a roster full of new faces and uncertainty, Michael Hage has been exactly the standout performer that the Wolverines needed.
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