The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 55 M ichigan had six players partici- pate in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Champi- onship in Moncton, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. Freshman forward Gavin Bridley, fresh- man defenseman Seamus Casey, sopho- more forward Dylan Duke, sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes and fresh- man forward Rutger McGroarty played for Team USA, while freshman forward Adam Fantilli helped Team Canada to the gold medal. The two teams faced off in a semifinal game, with Fantilli's squad winning 6-2 on Jan. 4. Fantilli scored the game-win- ning goal at 5:46 of the second period and had the primary assist on a third-period goal. He finished plus-2 for the contest. "I was giving it [to them] a little bit," a chuckling Fantilli told The Michigan Daily of beating his five U-M teammates. "But obviously there's a line because they're representing their country, I'm repre- senting my country and we kind of leave that stuff at the door when we're team- mates here, brothers here." Fantilli played right wing for Team Canada, a change from his typical center spot. Competing alongside and against other top talent on the international stage gave Fantilli some insight on what it'll be like at the next level, where he's an elite NHL Draft prospect for 2023. "One of the biggest lessons I learned was how important it was for each guy to play their role and know how they fit into that team structure," Fantilli said. "We had a lot of guys that are first-rounders, a lot of guys are captains and the best play- ers on our teams in junior. So just knowing how to check your ego at the door and play the right role is probably the biggest takeaway I had." Fantilli registered 2 goals and 3 assists during the championships. The USA, meanwhile, took home the bronze medal, and U-M's six medals are the most ever by the Wolverines at a sin- gle World Juniors and the second most by a single school, trailing Boston Univer- sity's seven in 2017. Hughes was named one of Team USA's top three players of the tournament. He had 4 goals and 1 assist and went plus-3 from his defenseman spot. U-M SPLITS SERIES WITH TOP-10 OHIO STATE Michigan went over a month without playing a regular-season game, before it hosted No. 8 Ohio State for a two-game set at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines came out with one of their worst perfor- mances of the season Jan. 13, losing 7-2 and getting outshot 52-21. "It's unacceptable. It's embarrassing, honestly," junior defenseman and assis- tant captain Jacob Truscott said post- game. "We're gonna have to look our- selves in the mirror and make sure that doesn't happen again." The Wolverines did bounce back, earn- ing a split with the Buckeyes with a 4-2 win Jan. 14. Junior goaltender Erik Portillo made 37 saves on 39 shots, and Truscott notched 1 goal and 2 assists. U-M led 3-1 after two periods and hung on to win. "It was a lot of video, and there was a lot of looking in the mirror and realizing like, 'Hey, we got a really good team here. What are we going to do about it?'" fresh- man forward Rutger McGroarty said of the bounce-back win. The series marked Michigan's fifth split in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have struggled to play consistently and string together victories, something they'll have to do come the postseason. The Maize and Blue haven't won more than two games in a row since a four-game win streak in nonconference play back in October. "We're a great hockey team, and we have to come ready to play Friday and Sat- urday," McGroarty said. "I feel like every- body will be seeing that out of us moving forward." The Wolverines slotted No. 8 in the PairWise college hockey rankings follow- ing the weekend. — Clayton Sayfie Fantilli scored the game-winning goal at 5:46 of the second period and had the primary assist on a third-period goal in Team Canada's 6-2 semifinal win over Team USA at the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MICHIGAN HOCKEY Adam Fantilli Wins 2023 World Junior Championship With Team Canada