The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1422614
NOVEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 61 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he Wolverines kicked off the 2021- 22 campaign with a trio of weekend slates, facing Lake Superior State Oct. 8-9, taking part in the Ice Breaker Tour- nament in Minnesota Oct. 15-16 and then playing a home-and-home series with No. 17 Western Michigan Oct. 22- 23. Michigan was able to emerge from the first three weeks of the season with a 5-1 record, the lone setback coming to WMU in a 5-2 loss in Ann Arbor Oct. 22. U-M scored 26 goals in the first stretch of games for an average of 4.3 goals per contest that ranks third na- tionally as of Oct. 24. A pair of Wolverines picked up weekly honors from the Big Ten in the first month of the season — sophomore forward Brendan Brisson and sopho- more defenseman Owen Power. Bris- son was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week Oct. 12 after the series sweep of Lake Superior State, which saw him score three goals — all on the power play — and add two assists. He would repeat as the First Star of the Week Oct. 19 af- ter scoring both game-winning goals in the wins over No. 5 Minnesota Du- luth and No. 1 Minnesota State in the Ice Breaker Tournament. The goal he scored against Duluth was the No. 4 play on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Oct. 15. Power was named Big Ten Second Star of the Week following the LSSU series after recording a four-point night in a 6-1 season-opening victory. He assisted on the first three goals of the game, scored his first goal of the season later in the contest and would add his fifth assist of the weekend in the 7-4 win Oct. 9. The sweep of Duluth and Minnesota State in the Ice Breaker weekend show- case helped Michigan rise to the No. 1 ranking in college hockey before split- ting the series with Western Michigan Oct. 22-23. The Oct. 23 game got the Wolverines back into the win column, an overtime goal from senior captain Nick Blankenburg pushing U-M to a 3-2 victory. Brisson led Michigan with 10 points (six goals, four assists) after the first six games of the season, while sophomore forward Thomas Bordeleau chipped in with eight points (two goals, six assists) of his own. Freshman defenseman Luke Hughes and sophomore forward Kent Johnson were tied for third on the team in points with seven each (two goals, five assists) through Oct. 27. NO. 1 PICK OWEN POWER ELABORATES ON DECISION TO RETURN FOR 2021-22 Sophomore defenseman Owen Power was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and could have turned pro immediately. Instead, he returned to Ann Arbor with unfinished business, headlined by his desire to improve as an individual while also helping Michigan compete for a na- tional championship. "I think just another year of develop- ment," Power told NCAA.com on why he returned this fall. "Just continue to get better and develop with another year. Last year we didn't get a true ex- perience of playing hockey at Michigan, so I think that had a little bit to do with it, just with the COVID last year and everything that went on with that. "I think coming back one more year [is about] trying to win a national MICHIGAN HOCKEY Michigan Enjoys Hot Six-Game Start To 2021-22 Season Sophomore forward Brendan Brisson led U-M in scoring through the first six games of the season, netting six goals and dishing out four assists to lead his team to a 5-1 record. PHOTO BY DAVE HARWIG