by Anna Miller – The Michigan Daily February 2, 2025
When junior forward Kienan Draper received a direct contact to the head penalty with three minutes left in the first period, the No. 13 Michigan hockey team went into its second penalty kill of the night. From the draw, Penn State sent a shot into the crease, where a Nittany Lion forward lifted his leg as he tried to gain control of the puck, kneeing freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi in the face.
Immediately after, a scrum broke out in the Wolverines’ zone, the Michigan skaters standing up for their netminder. With play stopped and the referees breaking up the scrum, Korpi shook it off and got ready to face more pucks. And once play resumed, the Wolverines’ penalty-kill unit followed suit, shaking off the tension and focusing on the game to ensure pucks strayed away from the net.
This calm and staunch presence between the pipes translated to the penalty kill and aided Michigan in its dominant victory over Penn State. As both Korpi and the penalty-kill unit protected the net front and didn’t shy away from blocking shots, the Wolverines earned the weekend split and gained confidence in a penalty kill that has wavered over the past few weeks.
“I thought (Korpi) was good,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “We did a good job in front of him on trying to get under hands. They chuck a lot of pucks on net and create a bunch of chaos, but he didn’t give up too many rebounds and made the saves. Especially early, they made a push in the first 10 minutes and he was really good.”
All season, Korpi and graduate goaltender Logan Stein have split time between the pipes. In Friday’s game, Stein started in net and let four pucks go past him in the first two periods. Going into the third period down two goals, Stein got subbed out for Korpi, who saved seven shots and allowed only one goal.
So on Saturday, Korpi’s start didn’t come as a shock. However, a big part of what made Korpi successful in net was the success of the Wolverines penalty kill. The Wolverines’ first penalty kill was 12 minutes into the first period and set the tone for the unit for the rest of the night, going 4-for-4. Used to the routine of playing down a man, they looked ready to protect Korpi and their goal from any pucks.
While sticking to its traditional diamond formation on the penalty kill, Michigan blocked the net front with Korpi to ensure coverage across the crease. The unit blocked shots and took pucks to uncomfortable places, and as a result, Korpi didn’t have to save a single shot.
The same happened on the second, third and fourth penalty kills, with the exception of Korpi getting contact to his face from a Nittany Lion’s knee. After Korpi got hit, the unit worked even harder for their netminder, blocking pucks and utilizing short-handed opportunities to eat time off of the clock. Blocking 27 shots on the night compared to Penn State’s 10, it’s evident the Wolverines’ penalty kill was working overtime to aid Korpi and keep him composed in net.
“Our D helped a lot when I gave up rebounds, but I was able to control the majority of it,” Korpi said. “ … I don’t think I had a shot for the first four power plays.”
Up one goal going into the third period, the pressure was on for Korpi to ensure Michigan maintained or extended its lead. The Wolverines avoided drawing a penalty for the entire third period, which took some of the pressure off of Korpi — especially as Michigan went on a 4-1 goal run.
When the final buzzer went off, every single Wolverine sped to hug Korpi. While there wasn’t a specific moment where he showed off his goaltending skills, what made Korpi strong in net behind Michigan was his consistency throughout and his ability to shake off each save and prepare for the next one.
