In the championship battle of the U of M's, we all knew one must ultimately fall. Saturday night at the Joe it was the boys in blue who gave in as No. 3 Michigan was done in by No. 1 Minnesota, 4-2.
Overall it was a successful season for Michigan. The Maize and Blue had an unreal offense, quick and high-scoring. The charge was led by Zach Hyman, Andrew Copp and Dylan Larkin. Hyman had 58 points on the season and was named to the All-Tournament team after leading all players in scoring over the weekend with five points.
Hyman and company were the storyline for Michigan this season. They absolutely dominated, leading the conference with 143 goals during the season.
But the Gophers rallied behind their own dominating offense. Minnesota managed to pepper Wolverine goaltender State Racine with 20 shots in the first period along -- a season-high shots allowed for Michigan.
It's a tough way to go out, but Red Berenson knows how to reload. I wouldn't be surprised to see Michigan in the championship game in 2016 -- maybe this time they take home the hardware.
RIP
Michigan fell in the opening round of the B1G Tournament last year to Penn State in 2OT, not in the championship as you imply by saying "Saturday night at the Joe it was the boys in blue who gave in as No. 3 Michigan was done in by No. 1 Minnesota, 4-2. It's the second straight year the Wolverines fell in the Big Ten championship."
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/032014aaa.html
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/CompleteBracket.pdf
Great catch -- no clue what we were thinking. Thanks Steven!
Delete