Michigan Hockey is the #1 Team in the Country

College hockey has a new #1, and guess who, it is your Michigan Wolverines, jumping 3 spots past St. Cloud State, Minnesota, and Denver, Michigan went from #4 to #1 in one week, which isn’t common.

This Michigan hockey team is young but boy are they talented. With a 7-1 record and 12 NHL draft picks (and more to come in 2023), this team is exceeding all expectations, especially with new head coach Brandon Naurato. They have some impressive wins and impressive players, let’s talk a little about them.

What are some of the key wins that got Michigan Hockey to #1

Boston University: Michigan almost swept #9 BU, with the final game being a one-goal game. But what about the game prior? Michigan absolutely annihilated the Terriers with a final score of 9-2.

Seven different players scored a goal that night, all of them being underclassmen. Mackie Samoskevich and Seamus Casey both had a two-goal night. It was an absolutely flawless game in every aspect, and the Wolverines really proved themselves as an elite hockey team that night.

Western Michigan: The most recent opponent for the Wolverines is one of the hated in-state rivals. Everyone was very excited about the home-and-home series against the Western Michigan Broncos, both players and fans.

Michigan hockey came out on fire and swept the Broncos, which shocked many. Western Michigan loves to talk and claim that the Wolverines are scared of the Broncos, especially because of the Great Lakes Invitational situation from last season. But last weekend proved the opposite.

Sweeping a team like Western Michigan is huge. One of the games being in their own barn, which is one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college hockey. While both games were incredibly close (5-4 win and 6-5 OT win), Michigan overcame adversity and looked absolutely outstanding.

While Michigan has only played 8 games, there have been some key standouts on the team, most of them being underclassmen, and even freshmen. Who are they?

Adam Fantilli: The previous #19’s at Michigan have been good ones, notable names being Dylan Larkin and Brendan Brisson. Early on, 8 games in early, Fantilli is doing that number justice. Predicted to go top 3 in the NHL entry draft next season, he is leading the team in points at 18 years old. With 18 points in 8 games (8 G, 10 A), he could very well be a Hobey Baker finalist by the end of the season, and don’t be surprised if he wins it! He recorded a hat trick against Lake Superior State, which is incredibly rare in hockey, especially at the collegiate level.

Fantilli has only scratched the surface with this program, he is going to be one of the Wolverine greats.

Mackie Samoskevich: Sophomore, Mackie Samoskevich is really showing out this year. We saw major improvement throughout the course of last season, but this year he is consistently on the top line for the Michigan Hockey team. Samoskevich, a 2021 first-round pick to the Florida Panthers is really proving himself as to why he went in the first round. He has 6 goals and 6 assists, totaling 12 points so far and he is sure going to increase that throughout the season.

Rutger McGroarty: In 8 games played, 2022 first-round pick to the Winnipeg Jets, Rutger McGroarty has 10 points (4 G, 6 A). 3 of those goals were a hat trick in last weekend’s game against Western Michigan. His hatty just happened to be the second hat trick of the season, both of them recorded by freshmen. Rutger is 3rd on the team in overall points, he is not only a goal-scorer, but he is incredibly physical and almost always trying to find a way to force a turnover. He is showing a lot of promise so early on, he is going to do amazing things this season.

TJ Hughes: This one surprised many Michigan hockey fans. Everyone expected one Hughes to be a standout on the team, but not many expected T.J Hughes to make the splash he did. There has only been one game so far where T.J did not record a point. He has had multiple multi-point games, one of them being a two-goal game against Lake Superior State.

Usually, fans always focus on first-round picks or NHL prospects. They expect them to be our leading scorers. However, many times, a player will take them by surprise. That just happens to be T.J Hughes on this Wolverines squad. He is going to do great things for this team, and I cannot wait.

While every player is making their own impact and every game contributes to the success, there are clear standouts.

This team is young, but this team is special and they have surprised college hockey fans throughout the country. They are going to go far places and will only improve with time.