Let’s get the topic of the refereeing of this weekend’s games out of the way because it’s useless to scream about the poor refereeing of B1G ice hockey games, which was on shameful display this weekend. There hasn’t been any definitive reporting on the refereeing’s (lack of) quality, however, if you go to NCAA’s Men’s Ice Hockey stats, filter by Team Statistics criteria of Team Penalty Minutes Per Game, the top seven are B1G teams. So… out of 63 NCAA Division I programs, five of the top seven penalized teams are from the conference acknowledged to have the best teams in the country? OK.
Stephen Peck will be fine
The Michigan goalie was actually pretty good. In the first game of the sweep against Ohio State, Peck made 30 saves on 34 shots on net, and in the second, he saved 30 shots again on 32 shots. For the weekend, he had a .911 save percentage. For his season so far, he is undefeated in his five games, and his 9.11 overall save percentage and 2.56 goals against average are the definition of good.
The thing about Peck is that he looks wobbly, even ungainly. In comparison to the composed, economic movements of Jack Ivankovic, whom Peck replaced as Michigan's No. 1 goaltender, Peck can be called a “swimmer.” In hockey, this refers to a goaltender who overreacts to a play, making frantic, exaggerated, or uncontrolled movements that resemble swimming, often resulting in being out of position. Interestingly, the stereotypes are flipped because smaller goalies like the 5’ 11” Ivankovic are supposed to rely on athleticism and reflexes, while larger ones like the 6' 2" Peck are supposed to be about structure and lack of movement. It would calm Michigan hockey fans if he moved less and just let the pucks hit him.
Skaters played poorly
Before the puck dropped in the first game, it was learned that Josh Eernisse was a scratch, and an Internet search yielded “lower body injury” with no prognosis. His size and aggressiveness were definitely missed. Even though four even-strength goals were scored, Michigan wasn’t particularly strong at offensive zone puck battles. Michigan hockey dominated faceoffs, 40-22, and was credited with 19 even-strength shots on goal, but it felt underwhelming. The defense was sluggish from the bye week against OSU’s surprisingly effective forecheck. Michigan defensemen were a step slow, and their defensive zone exits weren’t crisp.
The second game’s two goals were meager. Overall, it was a “blah” game. Fans kept waiting for “The H Gang” of sophomores Michael Hage and Will Horcoff and senior TJ Hughes to do something. Luckily, junior Nick Moldenhauer is continuing his clutch ways, scoring two goals, the second one being the game-winner in OT. While “The H Gang” were waiting to hear their song of desire, freshman Adam Valentini did Adam Valentini things. At the start of the third period. OSU freshman goalie Sam Hildebrand thought he had frozen a loose puck on the side of the crease, but Valentini found it behind the goal and skated around the net and scored his 8th goal. At 17 and not yet eligible to be drafted, it’s amazing that Valentini has worked his way into Michigan’s top six forwards.
And just like that…
The regular season ice hockey championship is now a two-team race between Michigan and Michigan State. The February Gauntlet starts this weekend for all the contenders, but after sweeping Notre Dame, Minnesota, and OSU in January, Michigan hockey has taken care of its business. MSU has matched them, also winning nine out of their last 10. The standings have Michigan at 36 points and MSU at 35; the difference is MSU’s Nov. 7 loss to Penn St. in overtime. Penn St. is in third with 32 points, and formerly formidable Wisconsin has 22 points after losing all its games in January.
This weekend, Feb. 6th & 7th, Michigan hosts MSU at Yost then are the visitors at Little Caesar’s Arena, which could decide the B1G regular season crown.