Nagelvoort earns his first shutout as Michigan thrashes Niagara

By Jeremy Summitt – 

ANN ARBOR – The No. 5 Michigan hockey team came out of the gates and made a firm statement about any sort of problems its offense has had this season.

It took just 34 seconds for freshman forward Tyler Motte to score the first goal in Friday’s 6-0 win over Niagara (3-8-1), and forwards Andrew Copp and Alex Guptill chipped in with two tallies apiece to give the Wolverines their most lopsided victory of the season.

It was a special night for the freshman class, as forward Alex Kile netted his first-career goal at 10:30 into the second period. Goaltender Zach Nagelvoort also recorded his first shutout, making 36 saves in his fifth win of the season.

“It feels unbelievable,” Nagelvoort said. “There’s no better feeling, honestly. To have the opportunity to do something like that against a team like Niagara feels really good.”

The Wolverines (8-2-1) netted one of the stranger goals it’s seen all year with 3:50 left in the first period when Copp tallied the second goal of the game just as Motte flew into the net, knocking it off its moorings.

In what first looked like tough break for Copp, the officials decided to overturn the initial call and deem it a goal after deciding his shot was imminently going in before the net was dislodged — a rule instituted just two years ago. Motte and junior forward Phil Di Giuseppe picked up the assists on the tally, giving the Wolverines a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

“In the heat of the moment, I thought that their guy pushed the net off, but once I saw the replay our guy did trip him into the net,” said Niagara coach Dave Burkholder.

Midway through the third period, Guptill scored his two goals in less than three minutes to slam the door on any comeback chances for the Purple Eagles. His first came when the puck found him standing alone in the slot, where he slipped it in the lower corner. On the ensuing power play with 7:10 remaining in the game, Guptill received a pass from DeBlois — his second assist of the game — and hit twine with a shot from a tough angle.

The Wolverines enjoyed great success on special teams all evening, going unblemished on the penalty kill and finishing 1-for-3 on the power play. Guptill’s goal marked the ninth time that Michigan scored at least one time with the man-advantage in 11 games this season.

With 4:31 left in the third period, Copp placed the exclamation mark on a defining win with his team-leading seventh goal of the season off a dish from Di Giuseppe.

Berenson emphasized offensive production at even strength all week in practice, and it paid off. Even though the Wolverines’ potent power play has carried the offense thus far, five goals without the man-advantage were just what he was looking for.

“I think that’s good for our team,” Berenson said. “We’ve had some success as a team, but a lot of its been our special teams. It was good to see a little more offense 5-on-5 because we haven’t been that good on 5-on-5.”

Added Copp: “Five even-strength goals is really important for our team going forward, and I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into Big Ten play next week.”

The Wolverines hadn’t scored more than four goals in a game since Oct. 12 at Rochester Institute of Technology, but this was the right time to do so. This kind of victory was exactly what Michigan’s offense needed to garner a load of momentum heading into conference play.