by Graham Barker February 16, 2025
It seemed only fitting that, in one of the No. 12 Michigan hockey team’s biggest games of the season, its two leading scorers were the ones who found the back of the net.
Forwards junior T.J. Hughes and freshman Michael Hage may be at different points along the trajectory of their individual seasons, but with a goal apiece and a shootout winner, they both came together to help the Wolverines secure a tie against No. 4 Minnesota on senior night.
“Great win for the boys, we did it for the seniors tonight,” Hughes said. “We knew it would be a great feeling to win both games, obviously for the pairwise and the Big Ten standings, but more for the seniors.”
Now at a nation-leading 15 consecutive games with a point, it was almost inevitable that Hughes would work his way onto the scoresheet against the Golden Gophers. On Saturday, he did it just 13 seconds into the second period.
After a stretch pass from junior forward Josh Eernisse deflected off of a Minnesota player’s skate, the puck found its way to the stick of a streaking Hughes. He crossed into the offensive zone with no one between him and Gophers goaltender Liam Souliere, waited for the right moment and fired the puck into the top right corner of the goal.
It was a goal Michigan needed after being dominated in the first period. Hughes’ goal provided a boost of momentum that the Wolverines parlayed into a more competitive second period.
“(Eernisse) made a nice pass to me, I just tried to get a little deflection on it and it ended up hitting the Minnesota (defenseman)” Hughes said. “ … Kind of a lucky bounce, and then it was bobbling so I just tried to whack at it and found the net.”
While Hughes has made an imprint on Michigan’s last 15 games, Hage hasn’t had the same consistency. His scoring has decreased after a hot start to the year, netting only one goal in his last 12 games entering Saturday.
With the game tied at one midway through the third period, he showed why — despite the slump — he’s still the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer this season.
Taking the puck from his own goal line to the back of the opposite net, Hage weaved through four Gophers to set up his shot from the slot. On the edge of the right face-off circle, he crossed the puck from his right to his left skate and ripped a forehand shot past Souliere.
“You need that,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said of the duo’s contributions. “Especially (Hage), there’s nothing really going on, he toe-drags a guy and buries it. Now you’re back in it and feeling good.”
Both Hughes’ and Hage’s respective game-tying goals kept the Wolverines steady, eventually pushing the game to overtime tied at two. And after a fruitless overtime gave way to a shootout, Michigan’s two goal-scorers got another opportunity to make a difference.
Hage failed to convert on his attempt, but with Minnesota similarly scoreless in the shootout to that point, Hughes took the ice. Crossing over to his backhand side at the last moment, Hughes flipped the puck above Souliere for the eventual shootout-winning goal.
Hughes and Hage have had different trajectories to their seasons, but Saturday, showing up in a big game and scoring every goal for the Wolverines, they each showed why they still top the Wolverines’ season stat sheet.
Scores
