Following a series against Wisconsin (7-10-1) this past weekend, Michigan ice hockey (11-6-1) doesn’t have any game action until Jan. 3. The Wolverines dropped the first game against the Badgers 4-0, but came back the next day for a 3-2 overtime win. Michigan sits at fifth in the Big Ten with a 5-3-0 record in conference play.
Summary of the first half of the season for Michigan Ice Hockey
The Wolverines lost the season opener to Minnesota State 5-2. They went on to win ten of their next 12 games and were ranked as high as No. 5. During the stretch Michigan swept No. 5 Boston University and No. 20 Notre Dame. The maize and blue hit a rough patch beginning with a series against No. 7 Western Michigan on Nov. 29. Michigan split the series with the Broncos and lost three in a row to follow.
Michigan is among the top 30 teams in the nation in faceoff win percentage (.506), penalty killing percentage (.831) and power play percentage (.210).
Freshmen leading the way
Michigan has gotten major contributions from two freshmen: forward Michael Hage and goaltender Cameron Korpi. Hage is tied for second in the nation in goals per game (.67) and ranked 14th in points per game (1.2). He has 18 points (10g, 8a) in 15 games this season. Hage also has four game-winning goals, and only three players in the country have more. No other freshman has more than two.
Korpi has started eight games (5-2-1) for the Wolverines in which he allowed 20 goals (2.59 average). Corpi has 188 saves this season and holds a .914 save percentage, which is good enough for 40th in the country.
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