Michigan to play Boston College in Frozen Four Semi April 11th
By: Kristy McNeil
» Dylan Duke notched two goals and an assist to reach the Century Club with 100 career points.
» Ethan Edwards scored the first goal for U-M and added a pair of assists for a three-point game.
» The victory marked the 1,800th in program history and 59th all-time NCAA tournament win.
ST LOUIS, Mo. — It was sweet revenge at the NCAA Midwest Regional as the No. 10-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team defeated top-seeded and No. 4-ranked Michigan State 5-2 on Sunday (March 31) to clinch the team’s third straight trip to the Frozen Four. The victory marked the 1,800th in program history and 59th all-time NCAA tournament win.
Dylan Duke was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Game after scoring twice and adding one assist.
Knotted at 2-2 midway through the third period, Michigan scored twice within a span of 12 seconds to take a 4-2 lead at 7:06.
After Hughes won a defensive-zone faceoff, Duke skated in on the right wing and, protecting the puck as he eased his way in on the net, stretched around the goaltender’s pad to deposit a go-ahead goal and light a fire on the Michigan bench. T.J. Hughes earned the primary assist, his second helper of the evening, while Garrett Schifsky collected the second assist at 12:42.
Off the next face off, Frank Nazar III dashed into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush along the left side of the ice. As he approached the hash marks, the sophomore centerman put the puck between his legs to feed a highlight-reel pass across the slot to Gavin Brindley, who smashed home a fourth goal to give Michigan a two-goal lead at 12:54. Ethan Edwards picked up the secondary assist on the SportsCenter-quality scoring play.
Coming out of a media timeout with 3:58 remaining, Michigan State pulled its netminder to gain a 6×5 advantage. As the clock ticked under three minutes, Tyler Duke laid out on the ice to block a slap shot to send the puck skittering into the crowd and earn a whistle.
Late in the game, Michigan State (25-10-3) took a penalty for slashing with 2:28 left in regulation while looking to exit the zone and generate a deficit-halving goal. Nine seconds later, Michigan’s top-ranked power-play unit finally broke through when Dylan Duke redirected a shot into the back of the net to make it a 5-2 game. Brindley and Edwards picked up the assists on the power-play tally, and the goal marked Duke’s 100th career point.
Jake Barczewski, playing in front of his hometown crowd, turned aside 38 of 40 shots that he faced to record his 20th win in a single season, this first time he’s done so in his career.
For the second game in a row, star forward Brindley was penalized early in the game to give the opposition the first power play at 4:45. Over halfway through the advantage, Barczewski made an impressive glove save on an opportunity from close range. MSU scored on the next shift at 6:20, but Michigan quickly challenged the play for high-sticking. After an official review, the call on the ice stood and the Spartans took a 1-0 lead with the deflection goal.
Michigan (23-14-3) evened the score in transition at 5:41 in the second period with a blast from the slot off the stick of Edwards, who was the third man into the zone. Forwards Garrett Schifsky and Dylan Duke picked up the assists on the blueliner’s third goal of the season.
The Wolverines surged ahead for the first time at 6:29 when Marshall Warren quietly collapsed toward the net on the weak side and sent a low one-timer into the back of the net from below the right dot to make it 2-1. Captain Jacob Truscott picked up the primary assist for putting the puck in Warren’s wheelhouse. Schifsky, the freshman forward, continued his strong postseason performance by notching the secondary helper on Warren’s fourth marker of the season.
MSU’s power play was activated at 9:25 when Philippe Lapointe was whistled for boarding. After killing off one minute of the advantage, a long-range shot found the back of the net at 10:26 to knot it up at 2-2.
Just over two minutes later Michigan took control, scoring three straight goals to earn its third straight Frozen Four trip for the first time since 2001-03. The Wolverines have now advanced to the Frozen Four for an NCAA record 28th time.
Joining Duke on the All-Tournament team are Barczewski, Warren, Brindley and Nazar as Michigan claimed five of the six spots.
In two weeks, Michigan will head to St. Paul, Minnesota for the 2024 Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, April 11. The Wolverines will face off against No. 1 ranked Boston College at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with a spot in the National Championship on the line.
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