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In the first period, freshman forward Michael Hage received the pass from the right side looking to land a wrist shot and the No. 10 Michigan hockey team’s first goal of the night. Instead of putting the Wolverines on the scoreboard, No. 13 St. Cloud State’s goaltender Isak Posch blocked Hage’s opportunity.
Even as Michigan’s leading point scorer, Hage couldn’t crack through. With the Wolverines’ growing reliance on Hage, his struggle encapsulated the lack of offensive results in Saturday’s loss to the Huskies.
While Hage left the night without a goal or point for the first time this season, Michigan’s misses piled up throughout the lineup.
“We played pretty well,” junior forward T.J. Hughes said. “We just couldn’t score and bury our chances. We had so many and we played well, but so many (pucks were) just bouncing across.”
Michigan left the first period looking to make up a one-goal deficit. After defending the ice through seven minutes of penalty kills, the Wolverines’ own mistakes inhibited any offensive progress. With the game still well within its reach, Michigan entered the second period looking cleaner and searching for a goal.
Shot after shot came off the Wolverines sticks as a multitude of players attempted to crack through Posch’s defenses. Hage and sophomore forward Evan Werner connected passes through the period, but wide shots and blocked pucks continued to stand in Michigan’s way. Even as the Wolverines’ lines continued to solidify to create chances, the cohesive performance wasn’t enough.
While Michigan failed to find the success it craved, an opportunity arose in its penalty kill unit. Though the Wolverines played shorthanded far more than usual, they took the chance to capitalize on the moment.
Michigan, who leads the nation in short-handed goals, had the opportunity to add one more as junior forward Jackson Hallum sped with the breakaway through the neutral zone. Racing down the ice, Hallum closed into the crease but missed the puck at the last minute.
“I had those two breakaways and the puck just kind of bounced off my stick,” Hallum said. “Hockey happens and bounces like that happen, but I can’t really let it get to me. The puck luck wasn’t just there for me.”
Whether it was puck luck or struggling through St. Cloud State’s defense, the Wolverines never found their goal.
While Michigan stayed aggressive in the second period, Posch’s shutout performance only worsened its situation. On Friday, the Wolverines’ offensive success came from net-front goals. However, Posch seemed to have learned from his mistakes, notching 24 saves Saturday and shutting down the open space near the crease.
“We played better than we did yesterday,” Michigan coach Brandon Naruato said. “The goalie played really well and we had a lot of good chances.”
Lacking goal production as each of those chances slipped away, the Wolverines entered the third period looking for a lifeline. But once again, their shots fell short.
The Huskies suffocated Hage through the offensive zone as he struggled to find space and momentum for his shots. Through that pressure and missed connections, Michigan’s time dwindled down leaving any momentum it had built in the second period behind.
Though St. Cloud State’s defense performance stepped up, the Wolverines couldn’t convert on the chances in front of them. Hage couldn’t revive the offense, but overall Michigan’s inability to finish chances plagued its night.
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