ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The No. 2 University of Michigan men’s ice hockey team (24-11-3) took to the ice against No. 19 Colgate University (19-15-5) on Friday, March 24 at 8:30 p.m. for the semifinal round of the NCAA Ice Hockey Regionals in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Michigan was able to record a 11-1 win over the Raiders. The winner of the Allentown Regional will move on to the Frozen Four tournament that will begin on April 4 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Michigan is the first seed of the Allentown Regionals, and their ranking came as no surprise due to the fact that they won the Big Ten Championship. The Wolverines have gained notoriety in recent years as their program has become incredibly impactful for athletes who wish to take the next step into the National Hockey League (NHL). Ten of the players they dressed for tonight’s game have already been drafted into the NHL, with defenseman Luke Hughes being the most notable name on the roster as his siblings, Quinn and Jack, are big names in the NHL.
Colgate saw themselves receive the NCAA tournament bid after defeating Harvard 3-2 in the ECAC tournament. This was their first ECAC tournament win in over 30 years, and it was an impressive upset as they came into the tournament ranked at the No. 5 seed.
“It’s been a long time coming for us to win a championship. Last weekend was an emotional time for all of us. Something I’ll never forget is just the pure joy and excitement of our guys after winning that game against a really good team. So, we’re thrilled to be here. We felt like we played three really good teams to get here, well four including Dartmouth but certainly the St. Lawrence series up there,” Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan said.
The only goal scored in the first period was by Michigan’s Nick Granowicz at the 9:40 mark. He was assisted by Luke Hughes and Nolan Moyle.
The second period saw a total of seven goals by Michigan’s NHL-bound athletes: Eric Ciccolini, Adam Fantilli, Frank Nazar III, Mark Estapa, Rutger McGroarty, Gavin Brindley, and Luke Hughes. The period ends in favor of Michigan, 8-0.
The final stanza of the game saw the sole Colgate goal from Nic Belpedio after Andrew Takacs was pulled from the goal for the extra attacker. Just about halfway through the period, Alex Young was issued a major penalty and game misconduct for butt ending. This penalty was the final nail in the coffin for the Raiders as Michigan took this opportunity and ran with it, scoring three more goals. The clock runs down with a final score of 11-1 in favor of Michigan.
Overall, this game was lopsided from the start. The only statistic that fell the closest to being in some kind of favor of Colgate was the even split on faceoff wins, with each team winning 30 of the 60 faceoffs. Every other statistic fell drastically in favor of Michigan.
This loss for Colgate doesn’t fall solely on the back of goaltenders Carter Gylander and Takacs, however. In total, Michigan sent a complete 52 pucks their way, which automatically denotes that there was some degree of defensive breakdown that occurred outside of the crease. Defensively, the Raiders looked strong in the first period, but by the time the team took to the ice for the second, it’s as though everything collapsed as Michigan proceeded to notch seven goals in this period alone.
This loss was clearly heartbreaking for Colgate as coach Vaughan and Captain Arnaud Vachon arrived at the press conference in tears. “I liked our first period; I think we did a lot of what we wanted to and thought we were defending well. I’m proud of our team and think that one game will not define us. We’re champions and won the ECAC against some very good teams. It didn’t end how we wanted, but we’re still very happy with this group and what they accomplished,” Vaughan said.
POINTS DOWN THE ROSTER:
Sixteen of the 21 men on Michigan’s roster were able to earn points. Luke Hughes led the way with two goals and three assists for a total of five points.
RECORD BROKEN:
Michigan broke the record for most goals in a Regional tournament game. They also had the most goals in an NCAA Tournament game since 1961.
THREE STARS:
1. Luke Hughes
2. Seamus Casey
3. T.J. Hughes
UP NEXT:
The Wolverines will face a well-known Big Ten opponent, Penn State, on March 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the PPL Center to determine the Regional tournament champion. The game will be available to watch on ESPN2.
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