No. 1 Michigan dominates
by Vihaan Easwar November 28, 2025
The No. 1 Michigan hockey team wasn’t looking to take any risks against Harvard.
To avoid any loose puck situations that might turn the outcome of the game against them, the Wolverines (13-3 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) clamped down on the slot on both ends to box the Crimson (5-1-1, 3-1) out of scoring and defensive spots, riding this strategy to a 5-1 victory over Harvard.
“Good teams find a way to win,” freshman forward Malcolm Spence said. “… It’s big for us to have these opportunities to win some games on the road here.”
Michigan’s approach was clear early on, when sophomore forward Michael Hage used his speed to beat Crimson defenseman Mason Langenbrunner in a footrace and dive right into the slot for a shot that goaltender Ben Charette parried aside. The Wolverines opted for directness from the jump, positioning a skater in the slot on every line rush in the event that a puck bounced their way.
Michigan broke through in the first period, as senior forward Josh Eernisse rifled into the top corner of the net from the top of the faceoff circle. It may not have come from the slot. But the Wolverines’ movement in the area still helped create the goal. Senior forward Kienan Draper’s positioning across from the goalmouth was the much more likely source of danger for Harvard, and so three Crimson defensemen lay in waiting — which gave Eernisse all the space and time he needed.
Michigan’s second goal came right from the slot itself, as sophomore forward Will Horcoff perfectly timed a drive in and slotted home off a pass from junior forward Nick Moldenhauer. Horcoff went on to score again from a similar position in the third period, driving into the slot and bouncing a puck off a Harvard skate.
“We practice hard during the week,” Spence said. “Our coaches set us up well to be able to adjust to any situation that’s going to come during game time. So everything we see in the game, we’ve seen it many times over in practice. So for us, it just becomes muscle memory, and guys know where each other are, and we know when to score ‘em, and we know when to attack, and it’s fun out there.”
On the defensive side, the Wolverines opted not to fix what wasn’t broken, sticking to the same approach. When Michigan was on the penalty kill, it crammed its available skaters around the slot, preventing the Crimson from driving pucks in. In five-on-five defense, they had a defenseman rotate into the slot to deflect pucks and break up attacks. Freshman defenseman Drew Schock assumed this role during much of the second period, coming in with several crucial breakups. Even when Harvard found a consolation goal in the third period, it came from a shot that wrapped around the goal, as Michigan maintained its command over the slot in both phases of the game.
“Just really trying to help our goaltender and limit high dangerous shots,” Schock said. “We know, anything from the outside, he’s gonna stop. He’s a great goaltender, just trying to limit the high danger opportunities and keep shots to the outside.”
The Wolverines played off the well-established hockey fundamentals that have made them so difficult to beat this season. Michigan established a firm foothold over the area of the ice where Harvard was most likely to either turn pucks away or turn them into the back of the net, and in doing so, secured a commanding victory.
