The Wolverine

January 2023

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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JANUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 57 2022-23 MICHIGAN HOCKEY SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time/Result Oct. 1 Windsor (Exhib.) W, 8-2 Oct. 7 Lindenwood W, 7-4 Oct. 8 Lindenwood W, 3-1 Oct. 14 Boston University W, 9-2 Oct. 16 Boston University L, 3-2 Oct. 21 at Lake Superior St. W, 5-2 Oct. 22 at Lake Superior St. W, 5-1 Oct. 28 Western Michigan W, 5-4 Oct. 29 at W. Michigan W, 6-5 (OT) Nov. 4 at Penn State L, 3-0 Nov. 5 at Penn State W, 4-3 (OT) Nov. 11 at Notre Dame W, 5-1 Nov. 12 at Notre Dame L, 3-2 (OT) Nov. 17 Minnesota L, 5-2 Nov. 18 Minnesota L, 6-3 Nov. 25 Harvard T, 4-4 (OT) Nov. 26 Harvard W, 4-1 Dec. 2 at Wisconsin L, 6-3 Dec. 3 at Wisconsin W, 4-2 Dec. 9 at Michigan State L, 2-1 Dec. 10 Michigan State W, 2-1 Jan. 6 U.S. NTDP U-18 7 p.m. Jan. 13 Ohio State 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14 Ohio State 4:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at Minnesota 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at Minnesota 7 p.m. Jan. 27 Penn State 7 p.m. Jan. 28 Penn State 7 p.m. Feb. 3 Wisconsin 7 p.m. Feb. 4 Wisconsin 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Feb. 11 Michigan State 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at Ohio State TBA Feb. 18 Ohio State 4 p.m. Feb. 24 Notre Dame 7 p.m. Feb. 25 Notre Dame 8 p.m. Mar. 3-18 Big Ten Tournament TBA Mar. 23-26 NCAA Regional TBA April 6-8 NCAA Frozen Four^ TBA ^ at Tampa, Fla. F irst-year Michigan interim head coach Brandon Naurato had to navi- gate a scary situation during one of his first months at the helm of the program. Six U-M players fell ill to a respira- tory virus, missing practice time and at least one game, the series opener with Minnesota Nov. 17. Junior defenseman Steven Holtz, who hasn't played since Nov. 5, was hospitalized in the intensive care unit, per a Facebook post from his mother. Naurato revealed on the "Inside Michigan Hockey" radio show Nov. 22 that Holtz had been released and has seen his health improve. "Holtzy stopped by the rink today," Naurato said. "It was awesome to see him and see that he's doing better. He's still got a little bit of a road to recovery, but he's smiling and talking and super positive for him to be around the boys." The others who missed time were freshman defenseman Brendan Miles, freshman forward T.J. Hughes, junior defenseman Jacob Truscott, graduate forward Nolan Moyles and freshman forward Adam Fantilli. A shorthanded Michigan club was swept in its two-game series against then-No. 2 Minnesota Nov. 17-18, falling 5-2 and 6-3. "I'm extremely proud of how our guys responded," Naurato said after the opener. "It's difficult. We're not mak- ing excuses with the numbers. They wanted to play, and they came out here and worked their butts off." Naurato said there was discussion of postponing the games, but that it wasn't his decision and the medical team and administration "did an unbelievable job to take care of these kids." The players stayed strong, too. "It puts things in perspective," Nau- rato added. "The biggest thing that [hockey] gives you is the relationships and the love you have for your teammates and your brothers who you're fighting with every night. "To have multiple players out that we miss in the locker room and you want to fight for — I thought the guys stepped up well, but it's been an extremely emo- tional week. We've not spent a lot of time on hockey." MICHIGAN HAS GROUND TO MAKE UP IN BIG TEN RACE, BUT PLENTY OF TIME After a 10-2 start to the season, Michi- gan has failed to win consistently, start- ing with the series against Minnesota in which the Wolverines were missing key players. They tied Harvard 4-4 in over- time Nov. 25, before beating the Crimson 4-1 the next night, then split series with Wisconsin (Dec. 2-3) and Michigan State (Dec. 9-10). The setback to the Badgers was especially disappointing, considering they're 7-11 overall and 1-9 in league play as of Dec. 16. Michigan is 4-6-0 in Big Ten play and won't take the ice for regular-season game action until Jan. 13 versus Ohio State (the Wolverines will play an exhibition against the U.S. National Team Develop- ment Program U-18 Team Jan. 6). Their 12 points place them sixth of seven teams in the Big Ten standings, despite checking in No. 7 in the nation by USCHO.com and No. 10 in the PairWise rankings. The Maize and Blue are just 10 points away from being No. 2 in the standings, however, and can get back in the race. Fourteen games remain before the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan ranks sixth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 3.8 goals per game, and has been led by two standout forwards — freshman Adam Fantilli and sophomore Mackie Samoskevich. The former is sixth in the nation with 0.69 goals per game, while the latter is tied for 14th with 0.60. The U-M defense has been more up and down, allowing 5 or more goals in each of the team's last three losses. Junior net- minder Erik Portillo is third in the Big Ten with 27.7 saves per game but sixth with a .909 save percentage. — Clayton Sayfie Through 20 games, sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich led the team in goals (12) and ranked second in points (21). PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS   MICHIGAN HOCKEY Sickness Spreads Through Team, One Wolverine Hospitalized

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