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Michigan Hockey: Wolverines play 3rd-straight top 10 series this weekend

Will the Michigan hockey team make a jump in the most important part of their season against No. 6 Penn State?

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© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

After a split series against No. 2 Minnesota, the Michigan Hockey schedule gets more challenging from here. This weekend, 6th-ranked Penn State will travel to Ann Arbor for a Friday and Saturday series against the Michigan Wolverines.

Most of Michigan’s matchups are within the top 10, and most of their opponents are ranked. No game is a walk in the park when you play in the Big Ten. 

In the last series against Penn State, which was in State College, the Wolverines split the series with the Nittany Lions. The first game was a 0-3 loss for the Wolverines, and the second game was an overtime winner, with a final score of 4-3.

While Michigan is ranked in the top 10, they are sixth in the Big Ten race with 18 points. Meanwhile, Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the conference with 27 points.

This Michigan Hockey team needs to make a considerable jump in their game if they want to make a run for the national title.

Get to Know Penn State

Ranked No. 6 in the country, this Penn State is not one to mess with. The Nittany Lions hold an 18-7-1 overall record. They beat No. 1 ranked Michigan earlier in the season, and No. 1 ranked Minnesota. They also have top 20 ranked wins over Notre Dame, Michigan State, Ohio State, and RIT.

Keys to Victory for Michigan Hockey

With the possible loss of top scorer Mackie Samoskevich (13 G, 12 A), other players will have to step up if he does not play this weekend.

A massive problem last weekend in the series against Minnesota was the penalties. The Michigan Hockey Team took 11 penalties that weekend, combining for a total of 23 penalty minutes. Two penalties were significant, and game misconduct on a highly questionable call. That call took Mark Estapa out of the game in the first period.

Limiting penalties against a fast and talented team like Penn State will be vital to winning this game.

Michigan’s defense last weekend was outstanding, considering the extreme talent from Minnesota. However, the offense was lacking. If Michigan wants to sweep this Penn State team, they must play a complete hockey game in every aspect. 

The offense must take advantage of goal-scoring opportunities and consistently take shots on goal. The defense will avoid costly turnovers and block shots whenever possible, significantly helping the goaltender. Erik Portillo must play his best game and not fold under pressure.

This game could be a massive momentum shift for the Wolverines going into the rest of the regular season. If this Michigan Hockey team wants to make it to the Frozen Four and win the Big Ten Championship for the second year in a row, they need to win big games like this. 

Catch the game on Friday at 7:00pm est on Big+ and the game on Saturday at 7:00pm on Big Ten Network.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebookand Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com or DM him on Twitter, @CJsWrld_.

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Michigan hockey: time to take the interim tag off Brandon Naurato

Coach Brandon Naurato has more than proven himself worthy.

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Michigan hockey Brandon Naurato
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Seven months ago, head coach Mel Pearson was fired from the Michigan hockey team. The University of Michigan athletic department and athletic director Warde Manuel made this decision after a lengthy investigation of the hockey program. The investigation discovered an incredibly toxic culture throughout the team; that toxicity involved Coach Pearson. Also, there was an investigation on Mel Pearson regarding the potential harassment of female staff members. Since then, Michigan has hired a new head coach: Brandon Naurato.

Michigan hockey made the correct decision on firing head coach Mel Pearson, but the real question was, who would fill that spot? Mel Pearson took an incredibly talented team to be Big Ten Champions and a Frozen Four playoff run.

Michigan had to not only find someone who could take this team on another playoff run and have a good relationship with the players and recruits. This brought them to the decision of naming assistant Coach Brandon Naurato as “interim head coach.”

Brandon Naurato as Interim Head Coach

In the off-season after the 2021-2022 season, the Michigan hockey team lost 14 out of 29 players due to graduation or the NHL. Team 100 was one of the most talented college hockey teams ever. With former Wolverine stars like Matty Beniers, Owen Power, Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg off to the NHL, Naurato had to take a nearly brand-new team and attempt to exceed expectations.

With 12 players in the incoming freshman class, this made over half of the team underclassmen. To be exact, 17 of the 27 players on the roster are freshmen and sophomores. Michigan has the youngest yet one of the most talented teams in college hockey.

The Michigan hockey team this season has had its ups and downs; however, that was expected with an inexperienced roster. Still, in his first year as head coach, the team went 24-11-3 and won the Big Ten Tournament against No. 1 ranked Minnesota

He led this Michigan hockey team to another NCAA tournament berth and to make another run at the Frozen Four. Brandon Naurato not only made the team successful on the ice but off the ice as well. The healthy culture has been restored, and this team is all in on each other and their goals.

Why Remove the “Interim” Tag

Brandon Naurato has exceeded any and all expectations as interim head coach. He helped this team achieve what many thought was impossible.

The team loves him, and he loves the team; what better culture can you ask for? He is a fantastic coach, a great recruiter and a players’ coach. The Michigan hockey program is in its best position for the future.

He knows this team and knows the players as he was an assistant prior. Brandon Naurato is undoubtedly the best fit to coach this team. Now it is all in the athletic department’s hands. The best choice to run this team is Coach Naurato. Now, they will need to sign him for the years to come.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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Michigan hockey named No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament

Could this be the year?

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Michigan forward Rutger McGroarty (2) skates with the puck during the Michigan-Notre Dame NCAA hockey game on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana. Michigan Vs Notre Dame

Michigan Hockey is Big Ten Champions yet again, and they are onto the NCAA Tournament. For the second year in a row, the Michigan Wolverines beat the top-seeded Minnesota Gophers in a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci. The final score was 4-3, which was the same score as last year’s championship game.

With two goals in nearly 30 seconds from Freshman Rutger McGroarty, the momentum boosted within the Michigan hockey squad. From there on out, Michigan never let off the gas. 

This Michigan team wanted it more. That desire and want to win the Big Ten trophy again paid off. And now the Michigan Wolverines are back-to-back Big Ten Champions.

Still, the season is far from over, and the Wolverines still have one more goal to achieve. In the post-game press conference, Freshman Rutger McGroarty commented about the team’s future goals. McGroarty said, “The Big Ten is awesome, but we still got another tournament to win.

NCAA Tournament Berth

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament was a good one for the Wolverines. Michigan hockey was named the tournament’s No. 1 seed in the Allentown region.

The other No. 1 seeds are Minnesota, with the No. 1 overall seed, Quinnipiac, and the reigning national champions, Denver. As the third No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Wolverines may have one of the best chances to make it to the Frozen Four.

The Road to the Frozen Four

The NCAA Tournament is almost here, and the first games begin this weekend. In the Allentown region with Michigan, there are teams from two other conferences, along with another Big Ten representative. 

Michigan’s first matchup will be against the Colgate Raiders from the ECAC. Colgate is 19-15-5 overall. Colgate has pulled off multiple upsets this season against No. 2 ranked Quinnipiac and the No. 6 ranked Harvard in the ECAC tournament.

Meanwhile, the other two teams are the Penn State Nittany Lions from the Big Ten and the Michigan Tech Huskies from the CCHA. Penn State is 21-15-1 overall, and the Huskies are 24-10-4.

While Michigan must beat Colgate first, all three teams are beatable. If Michigan hockey plays as they did during the Big Ten Tournament, they should have no problem making it to the Frozen Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Revenge Tour

After a soul-crushing overtime loss against Denver last season in the Frozen Four, this team will do everything possible to ensure that does not happen again. It will not be easy to get there; however, this team has a lot of fight left in them. If anyone can win the national championship, it is this Michigan hockey team.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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Michigan baseball takes weekend series over Bradley

The Wolverines improved to 9-10 on the season, winning two of their three games against Bradley over the weekend.

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Michigan baseball Connor O'Halloran
@Adiel_Photography (Instagram)

ANN ARBOR, MI — Despite the cold weather and a few late schedule changes, the Wolverines hosted the Bradley Braves in a three game series this past weekend. Spurred by a series of incredible performances by Connor O’Halloran and other Wolverine standouts, the Michigan baseball team won two of the three games and improved to 9-10 on the season. Following a six-game losing skid, Michigan baseball has now won five of their last seven games.

Here are three of our takeaways from the Wolverines’ weekend series against Bradley.

Michigan baseball gets dominant start from Connor O’Halloran

While Michigan pitching hasn’t been amazing this year, starting pitcher Connor O’Halloran is certainly doing his job. Boasting an earned run average of 1.62, the junior southpaw has dominated the mound in all five of his starts this season. In his last 21 innings, O’Halloran has struckout 34 batters.

On Friday, O’Halloran pitched six innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out 12 batters in the process. The choice to remove Connor O’Halloran in the seventh had little to do with his performance, but rather his pitch count which reached 114 before he was removed.

Each of O’Halloran’s five starts have been “quality starts,” meaning he has pitched six or more innings with three or less earned runs in each. Having a reliable arm that consistently pitches into later innings is crucial for a Michigan team with limited talent in the bullpen.

Jefferis shines on offense

Graduate transfer Cody Jefferis started the series out right with a first pitch base hit up the middle. The early count aggression didn’t let up, and Jefferis stayed hot throughout the weekend, skyrocketing his on base percentage more than 50 points. Jefferis went from a .281 OBP entering the weekend to a .337 OBP by the end.

Jefferis reached base on 61.5 percent of his plate appearances against Bradley. These came from five hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch.

Once on base, Jefferis continued to contribute. Jefferis flashed his speed going two for two on stolen bases over the weekend. On top of batting in two runners, Jefferis himself scored four times in the series. When asked about his first pitch aggression, Michigan baseball star Cody Jefferis said “If you see something in the zone, you’re going to be swinging at it. It doesn’t matter if you’re the leadoff guy or whatnot. You’re up there to hit, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Jefferis has been starting at shortstop and batting in the leadoff spot all season, and will look to maintain his hot streak on offense as conference play approaches.

Kim settling in to starting role

Freshman outfielder Jonathan Kim began the season on the bench but has seen more playtime in the past 10 days, starting five of the past seven Michigan baseball games. While the sample size may be limited, Kim has been tearing it up at the plate. On Friday, Kim went 4-4 with a double, RBI, and Run to his name.

While he was relatively quiet on offense for the rest of the series, Kim still finished the weekend with a .500 batting average, bringing his season BA up to .435 from 23 at bats. Kim has looked comfortable in the outfield and will likely be a starter or keep a platoon role for the foreseeable future.

Head coach Tracy Smith talked about Kim’s development following a “natural progression” for freshmen, noting how not every freshman is ready to start on day one. “When guys can sit back and watch the games, I think it slows it down for them.” He added, “I’m happy for him because we probably put him in a few games ago because somebody else wasn’t doing what they were supposed to… it’s nice to see him take advantage of it and say, ‘you know what? I’m gonna go take this job.’”

Michigan baseball will return to action this Tuesday at home against the Akron Zips at 4 PM ET.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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