But Michigan hockey’s chance to play for another national league ended where the Wolverines last won one, 24 years ago.
Carter Savoie put back a rebound on his own shot that was initially blocked by UM goalkeeper Erik Portillo with 5:07 remaining in extra time to give Denver a 3-2 win Thursday night at the Frozen Four at TD Garden.
“I just told them that a game would not determine who the hockey players or people were,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “There were a lot of expectations from this team, and they exceeded those expectations and then they handled all that pressure so well.”
The No. 1 Wolverines (31-10-1) have been trying to extend their record with a 10th NCAA title – they have not won a title since winning it all in Boston in 1998. Instead, they will be watching Saturday night as the Pioneers (30-9-1) face the winner of the other semifinal on Thursday night between Minnesota State and Minnesota for the title. Faceoff is at 8 p.m. at the TD Center (ESPN).
It was a difficult ending for a Michigan team that reached No. 1 in the USCHO polls early in the season and spent most of the season in the top 5. The Wolverines’s roster had seven drafts in the first round of the NHL, none of which he scored a goal on Thursday.
“This is my 40th year in Class I hockey. I could not be more proud of the young men I was able to coach this year,” Pearson said. “It’s the most fun I’ve had, and I owe it all to them … Just because you get a draft, you’re a good draft, no one throws magic dust at you and you become this great player. They have to win it. These guys kept working and were led. Just a fantastic group of young men to be around. “
HISTORY LESSON: Michigan is motivated by lessons from Wolverines travel in the late 1990s to Frozen Four
THE FROZEN FOE: Michigan returns to the Frozen Four with a known enemy waiting: Denver
DISTRICT FINAL: Michigan went to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2018 with a 7-4 victory over Quinnipiac
UM spent much of the game on defense as Denver controlled the pace in three seasons. But the Wolverines came out early in extra time creating some high scoring chances. Pioneers goalkeeper Magnus Chrona continued to block, including kicking a split chance into his right half near the middle of the 20-minute extra time and a 2. -on. -1 saved Michigan Luke Hughes with just over six minutes left.
Shortly before the final goal, the Wolverines seemed to have a split. However, the Michigan players skated excessively in the Denver area. finally found his way to Savoy in the crush for unlimited rebounds from his initial effort.
Denver coach David Carle said the Wolverines’ accident – “Definitely creates space”, he added – helped the Pioneers set up the winner of the match after a pass from the corner of Hobey Baker Award finalist Bobby Brink, the first country scorer (1.44 points per game) that UM had no score up to that point.
“It was a very good hockey game,” Carle said. “I thought both teams did very well. … I thought (the Wolverines) adapted well throughout the game, made it harder for us. “But I give our players a lot of credit for sticking to it and winning another hockey game with one goal.”
Portillo finished with 30 saves, while Chrona stopped 19 for Denver.
Despite the accumulation of two of the country’s top teams meeting in the national semi-final, the Pioneers and Wolverines avoided the attack for three tough, defensive old-fashioned hockey seasons. Denver came out aggressive in the first period, playing physically and skillfully from the beginning. The Pioneers created some quality scoring opportunities near and between the circles in the first 10 minutes that either Portillo stopped, or his defenders managed to pinch and prevent a tip-in opportunity or the Denver players missed out.
That changed 11:22 in the period when the Pioneers opened the scoring. An elf flew from a wave on the ice to Denver defender Justin Lee for a low, jerk slap through a glade from the left. Portillo kicked the shot with his pads and center-back Cole Guttman zoomed in on the rebound, but whistled as UM’s Matty Beniers closed in on him. The elf continued to glide through the fold untouched into a second Pioneer charge and Brett Stapley buried his 17th goal of the season as Portillo and Beniers clashed as they tried to return to their right.
Denver had a 6-0 lead after Staple’s goal, with the Wolverines having the best chance of scoring up to that point when striker Maki Samoskevich skated through the net. But Lee interrupted and removed the elf. The Pioneers provided strong controls throughout the period and UM found it difficult to find any offensive flow while also going offside to stop some of the singles’ advantage.
“I think in every hockey game, we have ups and downs in the streams,” said Garrett Van WyheWhye, a senior left winger. “Just staying straight was probably the biggest thing for us. On the subject, I think we started late. Mel kept telling us all week, ‘It’s all about the beginning, it’s all about the beginning.’ everything for a start. ‘ “Therefore, I think we have to be accountable.”
The Wolverines had just four shots until the end of the first and entered the locker room with one goal, but emerged in the second period boosting their intensity and turning it into better scoring opportunities. This included two shots from the blue line that Chrona stopped and another that he caught as Johnny Beecher of Michigan sent a backhand right into the center of the Denver goalkeeper.
This aggressive mentality gave 4:03 in the second, as the Wolverines tied the game, 1-1. Right wing Nolan Moyle skated on the left side, but lost the elf in front of Chrona. But Moyle continued to work behind the net along the board and chased it in front of Jimmy Lambert, who climbed to the top of the Year for his sixth goal of the season. His team’s fourth shot early in the second doubled UM’s shooting performance from the first period.
But Denver recovered and both teams exchanged possessions for the rest of the season, making tough controls along the way. Portillo kept the Pioneers’ nine shots in the period out of the net, while Denver’s defense bent and allowed just one more shot by UM the rest of the way – and none at 8:45 – to advance to the third period. 1-1.
“He’s an incredible goalkeeper and an incredible guy you can have on the team,” captain and defender Nick Blankenburg told Portillo. “He is a great competitor. He will do everything to win.”
Michigan entered the Frozen Four with the third best attack in the country with 4.02 goals per game, while Denver took the first place among 60 teams in Division I with 4.28. The Wolverines ranked ninth in the defense scorer with 2.22 goals, with the Pioneers 13th at 2.31.
“Our fishing, our pressure was very good,” Carle said. “And when people were hit, there was another layer there to help many times. And our sticks were great. And when that person was hit, Magnus was there to repel. So it’s not easy to hold back (Michigan ). “
The Pioneers continued to attack early in the third, with Portillo hitting with a loose fist in the body-surrounded fold after making the initial save. But Denver took a 2-1 lead shortly after that when right-back Cameron Wright sneaked into the corner and blocked a wrist shot from defender Mike Benning over Portillo’s right shoulder. Wright’s advice somehow avoided Carter Mazur’s teammate, local Jackson, who managed to get out of the middle while seeing Portillo’s vision 5:36 at the time.
But Michigan was not over. Left wing Mark Estapa fell forward and blocked a shot by Denver, upper right wing Michael Pastujov chased the scraper and put a zipper on the right wing. Pastujov spotted Thomas Bordelo cutting the left side and slipped a pass into the second center, who shuffled his skates and stick in motion and shot in the top right corner to make it 2-2 with 10:51 remaining in third. .
The Pioneers managed a few more quality chances towards the end of the regulation, but Portillo stopped them all to send the game into extra time. Denver almost doubled the Wolverines in shots in three seasons, 26-14, and spent most of the game in the UM defensive zone. But the Wolverines managed to create enough luck on both ends to keep their chance of qualifying – even if it ended up on a return trip to work out another missed opportunity in another national title.
“It’s hard to put into words I’m thinking about not wearing this shirt again,” Blankenburg said. “But thank you very much for my time here and I will remember him forever.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
