Michigan hockey wins in NCAA tournament; Michigan State next for spot in Frozen Four
Michigan hockey used a third-period rally to knock off second-seeded North Dakota, clinching a spot in the Final eight of college hockey.
If the Michigan hockey team was going to advance past North Dakota in the regional semifinals of the NCAA hockey tournament, the Wolverines were going to have to do something to their opponent that hadn't been done all season -- come from behind in the third period.
Highlights from Michigan's 4-3 win over North Dakota in the NCAA Regional semifinal #GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/E8N7fthk5F
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) March 30, 2024
North Dakota was 20-0 this season when taking a lead into the third period. On Friday night, in Missouri, Michigan hockey found itself trailing 2-1 with 20 minutes to go. It was a do or die situation and the Wolverines delivered one of their best periods of the season to win the game 4-3 and advance to the regional final against Michigan State on Sunday (6:30 PM EST).
With the season at stake, the Wolverines dominated the third period and it started in the first minute as Dylan Duke scored 50 seconds into the stanza to even the score at 2-2. Two minutes later, T.J. Hughes found the back of the net and suddenly, Michigan hockey led 3-2.
Duke wasn't done though. He scored the second goal of the third period, on a gorgeous pass from Hughes. That put the Wolverines in front 4-2. North Dakota scored with 5:30 minutes to play but Michigan hockey held on, thanks to some clutch work between the pipes by Jake Barczewski, who finished with 27 saves.
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Michigan State, which beat Michigan hockey in the Big Ten title game last weekend, in overtime, beat Western Michigan in overtime to advance to the regional final. MSU is ranked fourth in the country. North Dakota was fifth but the Wolverines are surging and Sunday's game will be epic.