GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey -- Michigan State Recap -- Michigan vs. Ferris State -- Preview

Posted at 6:00am — 1/14/2011

GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey — Michigan State Recap — Michigan vs. Ferris State — Preview

#7 MICHIGAN (13-6-4, 10-4-1-0) 2nd CCHA vs #20 Ferris State (11-8-4, 8-6-3-2) 3rd CCHA
1/14/11 7:35 p.m. Yost Arena
1/15/11 7:05 p.m. Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, Mi.
TV: Friday: CBS College Sports; Saturday: Comcast

Rewinding Michigan’s Last Game Action:
The Wolverines continued their Friday night follies by dropping a 4-3 OT affair to the Spartans. They rebounded the following evening in Ann Arbor, blanking their arch-rivals, 4-0. In the first game, Michigan and MSU traded first period scoring chances but did not dent the scoreboard. The second period saw the Wolverines fall behind on the first of three goals from Sophomore defenseman and Spartan Captain, Torey Krug. Carl Hagelin’s 10th goal of the season tied the game at 1-1four and a half minutes later. The Spartans capitalized on a penalty filled third period, notching two 5×3 PPG’s to extend the lead to 3-1. Luke Moffatt scored a PPG at 17:02, tipping a Brandon Burlon shot to move Michigan within a goal. David Wohlberg sent the game into overtime by banking a shot off of MSU goaltender Will Yanakeff with: 13 left on the clock. But, Michigan couldn’t capitalize on their last second momentum- as Moffatt was denied in the first minute of OT. MSU carried the play back into the Michigan end forcing two icing calls. The Wolverines failed to clear the zone as the Spartans forced the play along the boards and it paid off in their winning tally. MSU’s Matt Grassi drilled a point shot that Dalton Leveille tipped over Shawn Hunwick to end the game. Hunwick made 26 saves while Yanakeff stopped 37 of 40 Michigan shots. MSU finished 2/7 on the PP while Michigan was 2/5.

Michigan responded with a more disciplined effort Saturday night at Yost. MSU had the better of the opportunities in the first stanza, but Shawn Hunwick stood tall, knocking away at least four good scoring chances. The period ended at 0-0. Michigan picked up the pace in the second period as Carl Hagelin tallied his fourth GWG of the season on the PP. Hagelin took a bad angle shot from the right circle that eluded MSU net-minder Drew Palmisano to stake Michigan to a 1-0 lead that held up after two periods. In the third period Hagelin struck for his 12th goal of the season by having a Chad Langlais shot deflect off of him and flutter high over Palmisano’s right shoulder. Later in the period, MSU took two bad penalties, both involving interfering with Hunwick. AJ Treais capitalized on a nice 5×3 opportunity, slamming home a tic-tac-toe passing play at 15:20 to ice the game. Defense-man Mac Bennett closed out the scoring at 17:49 by accepting a pass entering the MSU zone and ripping a shot from his off wing past Palmisano for his first career Michigan goal.

Hunwick earned his second shutout of the season- both over the Spartans- and third of his career. He turned away 28 shots- many good scoring chances when the game was still in doubt, including a shorthanded 2×1 rush directly before Treais’ goal. Palmisano was unlucky in stopping 36 of 40 Michigan shots. MSU was 0/2 on the PP, and Michigan was 2/5.

Yostmeister’s Three Stars For The Weekend:
1. Carl Hagelin, Michigan- 3G 1A
2. Torey Krug, MSU- first career hat trick on Friday
3. Jon Merrill, Michigan- 2A, +1 for the weekend with strong defensive play

Bulldogs Invade Yost:
Ferris State comes into Ann Arbor next to begin a home and home weekend series. Bob Daniel’s team has quietly crept into third place in the CCHA and has done it on the back of their goalkeeping and team defense. The Dogs will not out flash you with offense- instead prefer to lull you to sleep with a constant forecheck and trapping style that bottles up the neutral zone. They are fresh off of a weekend road sweep against Bowling Green after returning from a holiday tournament at Minnesota that saw them drop a game against Bemidji State and tie the Gophers.

Michigan leads the series with Ferris State, going 63-24-4, including a perfect 4-0 record at Yost over the past three plus seasons. The tables turn dramatically at Ewigleben arena (AKA “The Dog Pound”) as Michigan has struggled on the road against Ferris. Michigan is 1-2-1 in their last four meetings in Big Rapids. (If anyone has ever ventured to their arena, it feels as if you are sitting in a tuna can. The noise, though, can be deafening.)

The Wolverines take a 7-2-1 home record into the meeting, while struggling at 4-4-3 on the road and 2-0 on neutral ice (JLA). Ferris is 6-3-3 at home and sports a 5-4-1 road/ 0-1 neutral ice record. The two teams met in October with Michigan salvaging a tie before dropping a shootout up in Big Rapids. The return match saw Michigan earn a tough 3-2 victory.

Ferris is led by all-CCHA conference candidate Senior defenseman Zach Redmond (6-10-16, +8). Senior forwards Mike Embach (5-6-11, +6) and Nate Hennig (6-4-10, +5) are the go to guys on offense. They are complimented by a pair of Sophomore forwards, Matt Kirzinger (4-6-10) and Kyle Bonis (6-3-9). Redmond leads a strong blue line corps along with fellow Senior Scott Wietecha. Juniors Chad Billins (4-6-10, +9) and Brett Wysopal provide a terrific second pairing.

The real story is in net, where Bloomfield, Michigan’s own Pat Nagle patrols. Nagle, a Senior, is 11-6-4 this season with a phenomenal 1.76 GAA (2nd nationally) to go with a .930 save % (8th nationally). He is probably the reason that Ferris is in the position they are in to take points every game. When he does get a breather, Junior Taylor Nelson steps in. In three games this season, Nelson is 0-2 with a 3.04 GAA and a.863 save %.

Tale Of The Tape:
Michigan is in for a tight series again.

The Maize and Blue currently are 11th in the country in scoring with a 3.48 goals per game average, compared to a 3.29 average last season. The Bulldogs’ Achilles’ heel is their offense, only averaging 2.39 goals per game, 46th in the nation. Michigan has played solid defense for most of the season, giving up an average of 2.43 gpg (15th) versus their stingy 2.27 gpg (5th) last season.

Ferris State’s strength, though, is their defense, featuring an NCAA leading 1.96 goals allowed per game.
Complimenting those strong statistics are the FSU penalty killing units that are 3rd nationally at 88% efficiency. The Wolverines on the other hand are lingering at 41st nationally, killing an average of 80.0% of the opportunities against them- which makes sense considering they allowed two goals in nine chances last weekend. Michigan does have a stronger power play, clicking at 20.2% now which is 20th nationally. Ferris is at an abysmal 14% or 49th in the country. This is deceiving considering they have one of the best trigger men in the conference running the point. One of the biggest areas of improvement for both teams has been their propensity for taking penalties. Ferris has traditionally been known as an undisciplined team, frequently leading not only the conference, but the NCAA in PIM’s. Not this season, though- they rank 26th at 13.9 minutes per game, where Michigan has improved to 22nd at 14.5 minutes per game.

The key to beating the Bulldogs is to dent Nagle early and be patient with their neutral zone trap. Coach Berenson enjoys tight games where his team is challenged to hold onto a low scoring, tight checking game where they have the lead. He’ll get his wish- but hopefully will not have to see his team battle from behind against this team. I don’t think it fares well for Michigan in that case.

Prediction: Michigan needs to start sweeping weekend sets, regardless of the Friday hex and their erratic road play. Ferris is a legitimate squad that maximizes their patient system and capitalizes on opponent mistakes. I can’t see Michigan sweeping, though- especially if Nagle is on.

Friday: Michigan 3-1.
Saturday: Ferris State 2-0.

Yost Bits:
-As previously reported earlier this week, Freshman Jacob Fallon and Senior Tristin Llewellyn were removed from the team for off ice disciplinary reasons. Llewellyn finishes his career at Michigan this season with a 0-2-2 total in 18 games and a +7 rating to go with his team leading 14 penalties. Berenson said that he will get his full support in order to graduate if he chooses, but will not be allowed to play again. Fallon, on the other hand, played in 13 games this season tallying 1-2-3, with a +1 rating and 14 penalty minutes. He has the opportunity to return next season if his conduct is acceptable to Berenson and the team. More to come on how this affects Michigan’s roster plans for next season.

-Carl Hagelin leads the Wolverines in offense with a 12-15-27 line and a +10 rating. Other leaders: Caporusso, 7-12-19 (+14), Merrill, 5-10-15 (+7), Burlon, 4-11-15 (+6), Rust, 3-12-15 (+2), Wohlberg, 9-5-14, (+3).

-Shawn Hunwick has improved his record to 6-4-4 with a 2.58 GAA and a .912 save %.

-Bryan Hogan finally took to the ice this week and begun light skating. Coach Berenson suggested that he is still “week to week” before he can begin practicing and will need a solid week of practice before he is game ready. It is anticipated that Hogan will return to action by mid-February.

-Rumble, Rumble: Speculation has already begun as to when Uber-defenseman Jon Merrill will bolt Michigan and sign an entry level contract with the New Jersey Devils. It is pretty safe to say that Merrill, who is destined for the NHL, is going to finish out the remainder of this season at Michigan before weighing his options. His stock just rose with his steady play at Michigan followed by an outstanding WJT where he was named one of Team USA’s top three stars for the entire tournament. More on Merrill as his decision to leave or stay unfolds.

-Michigan unexpectedly jumped a spot in the polls this week to #7 nationally. Last weekend’s split did not hurt their current NCAA tournament projection, which is based loosely on the Pairwise Rankings. They currently sit seventh in the PWR, or a second seed at one of the regionals. A strong weekend could bolster their position. Keep in mind that this is real preliminary and the system is so dynamic that a poor weekend could actually move Michigan from being in the tourney to sitting out. It is that uncertain.

-Yost sightings: Hail to former NHL player Tie Domi (former Peterborough Petes/OHL and Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer extraordinaire) for attending last weekend’s game at Yost with his 15 year old son, Max. The younger Domi is, believe it or not, a highly skilled and offensively gifted center for the Don Mills Flyers in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. He is rated as the top prospect in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft (minor midget draft) and is weighing his options between attending university or going directly into the OHL.

Basically, Tie Domi is concerned that his reputation will follow his son and that will make him a target for fisticuffs in the OHL- completely the opposite as to the skills he brings- which is why he is looking at US college hockey. Word is, his shortlist includes: Michigan, BC, BU, Yale and Harvard. It also didn’t hurt that Domi trained this past summer with the same trainer that looks after current Montreal Canadien star and former Michigan Wolverine, Mike Cammalleri- who had the opportunity to discuss college with young Max. (It also doesn’t hurt that Cammo is from the Toronto area and that Max’s father grew up in nearby Belle River, Ontario.)

One other interesting note: young Max has type I diabetes and requires monitoring of his blood sugar levels constantly. Former Flyer Bobby Clarke (Tie Domi’s “idol”) had the same condition and was able to compete in the NHL. From what I gathered, this kid has got a ton of heart. It would be great to see him in the Maize and Blue! If anything, it was a terrific game at Yost and an outstanding atmosphere for the Domi’s.

Have a great week everyone and remember to keep your head up out there!

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — YostMeister

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