GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey -- Michigan vs. Michigan State -- Preview -- Part II

Posted at 6:00am — 2/9/2012

GBMWolverine: Michigan Hockey — Michigan vs. Michigan State — Preview — Part II

#4 Michigan Squares Off Against #17 Spartans With Playoff Implications
#4 Michigan (17-9-4, 11-7-4-1 3rd CCHA) vs. #17 MSU (15-12-2, 10-9-3-2 t7th CCHA)
7:35 p.m. Friday 2/10 Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing & Sat. 2/11 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
TV: Friday-BTN (DirecTV Channel 610); Saturday-FSD (DirecTV Channel 663).

Charting The Wolverines:
The Brown absence on Friday will shuffle the lines and the candidate for joining Guptill and Wohlberg appears to be Luke Moffatt. Brown leaves home his 4-4-8 against MSU in his career, with 2-2-4 this season. Overall, Brown (11-16-27, +14) and Guptill (14-13-27, +17) join Wohlberg (11-15-26, +16) as the top offensive unit. Wohlberg leads the Wolverines in points against the Spartans, adding 9-8-17 in his 18 games. Moffatt earned a goal and an assist last weekend to boost his season totals to 5-7-12. His tally was his first since the GLI. AJ Treais (11-8-19, +14) Phil Di Giuseppe (8-9-17, +11) and Luke Glendening (7-4-11, +9) comprise a very strong second line- which may also see Red shake it up with Moffatt’s move from the third line. Treais added three points last weekend and has demonstrated the type of scoring potential he was expected to bring this season.

On defense, Lee Moffie has really had a solid season, adding 5-18-23 (4th on the team in scoring) and a team high +20. He also added three points last weekend and has a 1-4-5 line against MSU in his career. Greg Pateryn has been the most physical and steadiest defenseman, with 2-12-14, +9 to go with his team leading 59 PIM’s. Mac Bennett has also provided an offensive push, working a 3-13-16, +7 line. Merrill without question is the defensive leader hasn’t scored a goal yet but is a solid +5 this season to go with six assists. Kevin Clare, Mike Chiasson and Brennan Serville have stepped up their game as the third pairing on defense.

The backbone of the squad is goaltender Shawn Hunwick ((17-8-3, 2.05 GAA and.932 save %.) his numbers in the past seven games are unbelievable- 6-1 with a save percentage hovering near .975%. The fifth year senior has taken the team and carried it at times and has been the difference navigating so far through the back end of the schedule. The team will go as he does, providing teams are no longer allowed to bowl him over on a weekly basis.

Expectation:

I mentioned last week in correcting predicting a sweep that Michigan would win the most important battle- special teams- and they did. This week is more of a matter of maintaining that same intensity on special teams, yet getting more scoring balance from the lineup. Brown’s absence may cause a bit of confusion on the line setups and MSU will be poised to pounce on any break they can get. I like how our team is rolling in and playing patient, sound defensive hockey. This will typically keep the team in games even if their offense is not clicking. Look for an unsung hero in this weekend’s games with guys like Derek DeBlois for instance or Travis Lynch. I expect two tight games as the Spartans feel they are just as much in the race as any team with six games left. Take three or more points this weekend and it will be successful in my book.

Friday: 2-1 Michigan State. 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 November, 2012.

-Shawn Hunwick (CCHA Goaltender of the week) and Lee Moffie (CCHA Defenseman of the week) were honored by the conference for their work in last weekend’s sweep of Miami.

-Hunwick was also named Hockey Commissioners Association National Player of the month for January. Hunwick was 4-1 with one shutout, a 1.08 GAA and a .971 save percentage PRIOR to the Miami series.

-Coach Red Berenson won his 745th game on Saturday and moved into sole possession of 5th place in all time NCAA coaching wins. He is now 38 wins shy of passing former Spartan/Wildcat coach Rick Comley.

-Michigan enters play 3rd in the Pairwise rankings (meaning they would be a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney). They are also 12-8-4 against Teams Under Consideration (TUC) this season- an element in how the PWR is composed. Six CCHA teams are still in position for the NCAA tourney with several others on the bubble, including second place WMU.

-The University of Michigan Regents approved a plan to lease Michigan Stadium to the NHL for $3MM to host the NHL Winter Classic on January 1st, 2013. The game will feature the Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Coinciding with the week long festivities will be the announcement of the GLI being played at Comerica Park- four games over two days. There will also be the NHL alumni game (TBD where) and a set of AHL and OHL games that will take place at Comerica Park also.

-Michigan returns home next weekend to take on the Wildcats from NMU for Michigan’s final home games of the regular season. Senior Night on Saturday will also be part of “Hockey Day in Michigan” and will have a special 5:00 PM starting time.

I want to close with a special note dedicated to a loyal reader and friend of mine that I met at Yost arena several years back. Rick Loszewski was a longtime University of Michigan season ticket holder and dedicated fan of the Maize and Blue. Rick was known as “Ricklos” on the Michigan internet web boards that he frequented and often added enthusiastic posts and insights about his beloved teams.

More than that, Rick was a loving father, husband, US Navy Veteran and National Guard Veteran. He was also a retired employee of GM. Rick was ironically born and raised in the Lansing area, but managed to see the light and placed his loyalties with the Maize and Blue.

We lost Rick to Cancer this week after a long battle- one that he took on with grace, dignity and courage. I know that Rick died in peace and is enjoying discussions with many of our hallowed Michigan athletes, coaches and fans that preceded him. I’ll miss him and I know that his faith super ceded his fear in this life and in facing death. Rest easy friend, your time here was too short.

Video Highlights:
Michigan Mock Rock 2012 – Hockey

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — YostMeister

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