The Michigan has seen its fair share of ups and downs this season, but it’s been nothing but clear skies for the Wolverines since getting into the CCHA tournament. The Wolverines swept Lake Superior State 5-2, 6-0 at home, then took over Munn Ice Arena for a weekend in a 5-1, 5-3 sweep against Michigan State. The four straight wins earned Michigan a trip to Joe Louis Arena to take on the Miami (OH) Redhawks, the #2 team in the nation. Miami had no problem with Michigan, or the rest of the CCHA for that matter, during the regular season. The Redhawks went on the road to sweep Michigan 3-1, 5-1 in their two-game series way back in November, and won the CCHA regular season title by a comfortable 20-point margin.
Tonight, Michigan flipped the tables on Miami, sending the Redhawks back to Oxford, OH with their tails between their legs after a 5-2 ass-kicking. The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a first period goal from D Tristin Llewellyn, then another early in the 2nd period by freshman Lee Moffie. A Miami goal by Tommy Wingels cut the lead in half going into the 2nd intermission, but Michigan pulled away with three straight goals in a 4:32 stretch in the third period. Kevin Lynch led the charge, scoring two of those goals and assisted Brian Lebler on the third. A late Miami goal by Trent Vogelhuber provided the final tally. Backup Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick outplayed his counterpart Cody Reichard, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, though Michigan’s solid defense gave Hunwick a lot of help.
Michigan’s 23-17-1 record won’t be strong enough to get into the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid, so they will need to beat Northern Michigan tomorrow in the Mason Cup final to earn the CCHA’s automatic bid. Northern Michigan beat Ferris State 5-4 in an overtime thriller before Michigan and Miami took the ice. Michigan is finally starting to look like the team that the coaches voted as the pre-season #1 team in the CCHA and began the season in the top 5 nationally. If they are able to keep up their recent play, even without captain Chris Summers and starting goaltender Bryan Hogan, the Wolverines could make a deep run into the NCAA tournament. If tonight’s game is any indicator, Michigan is fully capable of beating any team in the country.
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