GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey -- LSSU at Michigan -- Preview -- Part II

Posted at 4:00pm — 1/6/2012

GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey — LSSU at Michigan — Preview — Part II

Charting The Wolverines:
Michigan looked refreshed and revived during the GLI tournament. They did fall back into some season long bad habits during the second period of the BC game, but rebounded nicely after regaining the lead. The MSU effort was steady but not overwhelming as goal-tending stymied them. It was a real break to steal that championship game- but they made those breaks and dominated the overtime session. Luke Moffatt (4-6-10) and Kevin Clare were outstanding and Luke Glendening showed why he is captain.

Now the rubber meets the road as there is no margin for error in the second half of the season. Michigan must win series now against good opponents. The offense seems to still produce (3.55 GPG 5th in the country) in the clutch, which is a good sign. A better sign is that the whole lineup is contributing again. The defensive play is much more sound (2.59 GPG, 20th) and will be the key to sustainability. But, for as good as the offense is, the special teams have been horrid. Michigan managed to score a huge (5×3) PPG against BC, but that was it during the GLI. It has sunk to 45th in the nation at 15.1%. The PK is nominally better, also yielding a goal at the GLI. It checks in at 80% (38th.) Michigan will not be successful unless these two units improve dramatically. Michigan stayed out of the box for the most part at the GLI, improving their overall penalty minutes average to 12.95 per game.

Looking up and down the lineup, it appears that Michigan has balanced scoring (eleven players have ten or more points) although the bulk of the scoring is limited to the top two lines. Chris Brown leads the team (6-12-18) with defense-man Lee Moffie (2-15-17, +14) right behind him. Alex Guptill leads the team with nine goals (9-7-16) and line-mate David Wohlberg has scored in five of his past seven games (8-8-16). Phil DiGiuseppe (8-7-15) AJ Treais (7-7-14, +15) and Lindsay Sparks (5-8-13) round out the top scorers. Sparks has been noticeably absent from the lineup since the Alaska trip- and must work his way back in. Mac Bennett (3-10-13), Greg Pateryn (2-10-12), Travis Lynch (5-7-12) and Moffatt round out the eleven players in double figures. Kevin Lynch (4-4-8) has begun to emerge also as he potted a huge goal against MSU. He had three goals last season in the sweep over LSSU.

Shawn Hunwick had a solid showing at the GLI, with a good game against BC. He wasn’t sharp against the Spartans, but out dueled Palmisano in overtime to recover from what seemed to be two soft goals. He is 11-7-3 with a 2.41 GAA and a .917 save %.

Expectation:

Michigan is brimming with confidence and may use the atmosphere at Yost to their advantage. The danger, though, is being overaggressive which may create unforced mistakes. The first goal in each game will be huge. If the Maize and Blue strike first, they could be on their way. If they get into a dogfight with LSSU, they will have to stay patient and utilize their depth. The ramifications of these games cannot be emphasized enough. Michigan needs six points since they will be on the road for the rest of the month.

I also think the Lakers are coming back to earth after playing above their capabilities- they have dropped three of their past five games. Still, they are a dangerous team that Michigan cannot afford to take periods off against. Michigan has to avoid looking ahead to a show down with Ohio State next weekend, including the Frozen Diamond Classic outdoor game in Cleveland. I do expect Luke Moffatt to continue to anchor that fourth line which has bolstered the offense and has pumped confidence into Kevin Lynch.

Friday: 3-1 Michigan. Saturday: 3-2 Michigan.

Yost Bits:

-Yost fans NOTE: Anyone that uses Crisler arena parking is advised to take Main Street to Stadium Blvd. to access parking lots due to construction. Stadium Blvd. will be closed east of Crisler Arena until next November.

-Jon Merrill and Team USA finished 7th at the WJT in Calgary and Edmonton. It is a disappointing finish for the squad who lost games to Finland, The Czech Republic and Canada. Merrill returns to the Wolverines but will not be reinstated for this weekend. Coach Berenson has firmly indicated that Merrill’s status is still “indefinite” and may not change for some time.

-Michigan sophomore defenseman Kevin Clare was named CCHA defense-man of the week and sophomore Luke Moffatt was named CCHA offensive player of the week for their roles in Michigan’s GLI championship.

-Michigan has outscored opponents 78-57 this season and made a sizable improvement in their goals allowed. Consider this: the Wolverines gave up 32 goals in their five consecutive losses (while scoring 13) but have only yielded 10 goals (while scoring 15) in their 4-0-1 streak since then. Better defensive coverage, lower penalty numbers and slightly better penalty killing has brought forward dividends.

-The Wolverines embark to Columbus next Friday (January 13th) to take on the Buckeyes before skating in the Frozen Diamond Classic at Progressive Field in Cleveland Sunday January 15th. This will be the fourth outdoor game that Michigan has played in (3-3 tie @ MSU, 3-2 loss @ Wisconsin, 5-0 win versus MSU.) Ohio State also played Wisconsin in a previous outdoor game, losing to the Badgers.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — YostMeister

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