Steve Racine stops 40 of 41 to lead Wolverines to win over MTU in GLI opener
By Nick Barnowski –
DETROIT – After getting swept by No. 5 Michigan Tech earlier in the season, the Michigan Wolverines exacted revenge Sunday in the first game of the Great Lakes Invitational.
Zach Hyman scored the game-winning goal with 3:44 into the third period, while Steve Racine made 40 saves in his first start since Nov. 1 to help Michigan beat Tech, 2-1.
“We weren’t the better team,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said, “but our team held up and our goalie held up and we found a way to win.”
Berenson said Michigan got “embarrassed” back on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 when the Wolverines traveled to Houghton and lost 4-1 and 6-2, respectively. He said the team needed to do some soul searching, and advancing to the GLI championship game despite missing four players to the World Juniors helped the process.
The Wolverines (9-7-0) were outshot 41-21, but Racine, a junior from Williamsville, N.Y., stood on his head in his fifth game of the season. Racine said Berenson told him Saturday he’d be starting between the pipes after Zach Nagelvoort started the previous eight games.
It was Michigan’s first game in 15 days; a break Racine said was needed following the team’s shaky start to the season.
“Break gave us a chance to kind of regroup,” said Racine, who finished two saves shy of his career high. “We knew coming back that we had to step it up.”
For most of the game, it was Michigan trying to withstand Michigan Tech’s (13-4-0) offensive attack. The Huskies, led by David Johnstone (six shots), Tanner Kero (five) and Malcolm Gould (three) controlled the tempo of the game and piled on the pressure against Michigan.
“Disappointing loss,” Tech head coach Mel Pearson said. “I thought our guys did a lot of good things, a lot of right things, to put us in a position to win the game tonight. Unfortunately, you’ve got to score goals.”
The Wolverines got on the board first after East Lansing native Cutler Martin fired a shot from the left point that beat Huskie goalie Jamie Phillips over the blocker.
Then, after most of MTU’s shots had come from above the slot area, the Huskies finally we able to take advantage of a scoring chance near the crease. Alex Petan fed Gould a pass across the slot and Gould put the puck through Racine’s five-hole to tie the game.
Racine weathered the storm after the first two periods saw Michigan Tech put 29 shots on goal.
“I was seeing the puck pretty well today,” Racine said. “Our guys did a really good job letting me see shots and clearing out second opportunities.”
Fewer than three minutes into the third, Hyman recorded the game-winner on a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Phillips on the blocker side. The power-play goal was his eighth of the season, which ranks second on the Wolverines.
Michigan Tech battled to the end, forcing Racine to make multiple stops in the final minute of play to secure the victory. C.J. Eick had a chance in front of the crease but couldn’t jam the puck in, while Gould just missed on a one-timer attempt with five seconds left that would have tied the game.
“(Racine) made saves look easy and you knew he was on his game,” Berenson said. “I liked the way our team dug in and blocked shots and did everything they could.”