Wolverines take down No. 9 Wisconsin at Yost
By Greg Garno –
ANN ARBOR — Before the crowd at Yost Ice Arena jumped to its feet and roared after a two-goal lead, and before the same crowded started an echoing ‘Go Blue’ chant, there was some doubt, a rather trivial doubt, in Michigan coach Red Berenson’s mind.
The 12th-ranked Wolverines (5-2 Big Ten, 13-6-2 overall) started their game a half hour before the traditional 7 p.m. start time to accommodate the TV schedule, and Berenson worried his fans would show up late.
“I thought our crowd was going to miss the game tonight,” Berenson said. “But when they arrived, they arrived. And we gave them something to cheer about.”
Michigan defeated No. 9 Wisconsin, 3-1 on Friday night, in front of a sellout crowd to tie the Badgers (5-4, 14-8-1) for second in the Big Ten standings. It was the Wolverines first win against Wisconsin since 2009 after being swept in Madison earlier this month.
Tyler Motte, Zach Hyman and Alex Guptill each had goals to lead Michigan while freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort made 26 saves.
It had been 51 days since the Wolverines last played in Ann Arbor — a stretch in which they went 2-4 without the home-ice advantage. But in front of the raucous crowd, Michigan scored three goals against the No. 6 goaltender in the nation and limited the nation’s No. 5 offense to just one goal.
“Overall, they’re a real good team and we had to play rock-solid defense just to keep the score down,” Berenson said.
Sophomore forward Boo Nieves started the scoring when he collected the puck near the boards and fired a pass across the puck to Motte. The freshman forward picked himself up just in time to knock in the first goal and his first goal in the past nine games.
Nearly 80 seconds later, Guptill took a pass from freshman forward JT Compher before he broke free for a breakaway attempt on Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel. The goal was Guptill’s seventh of the season and first since Michigan last played at home on Dec. 11.
“It was good to see guys like that put the puck in the net,” Berenson said. “I think it’s going to help our confidence. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to work hard and play better in our own zone, but when we get the puck we should have the confidence we know what to do with it.”
Meanwhile, the Badgers had no answer with Nagelvoort in net, whose two saves led to Guptill’s second goal of the game. The start was Nagelvoort’s fifth straight since the Wolverines first series against Wisconsin.
“Everything was going pretty well,” Nagelvoort said. “Honestly, my ‘D’ was making sure I could see everything. I got a couple of lucky bounces, and obviously the one unlucky bounce there. I just felt like I had my positive game back.”
Added Guptill: “We feel like we have the best goalie in the league.”
From those two goals, Michigan controlled the tempo and puck for the majority of the second and third period, creating numerous opportunities from all lines.
Hyman ultimately added the third tally in the second period when he found himself in the right place at the right time. A rebound off Rumpel’s leg pad bounced right to Hyman for the easy tally.
A Wisconsin tally that trickled between the legs of Nagelvoort just over a minute later was too little too late for the Wolverines and their raucous crowd, who have dropped only one game at home this year.
Michigan killed off two late penalties in the third period to secure the win, as Berenson moved to fourth all time in wins among college coaches with Rick Comley.
“That means I’ve been around for a long time and I’ve had good teams and I’m at the right place,” Berenson said.