The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2023 prising to the Quinnipiac players. In fact, that was part of their strategy. "That was obviously on the pre- scout," Quinnipiac forward Sam Lipkin said. "He's big — aggressive. Portillo is a really good goalie. But the big thing for us was get pucks on net, create traffic, and we were fortunate to get two. And they were two pretty big goals for us." They would have had a lot more had Portillo not come up with some incred- ible stops, too. The Bobcats had several odd-man rushes, even a 2-on-0 in the second period, that could have put them up more. Regardless, Naurato was pleased with the effort. "I was talking to the rest of the coaches after the game — I wouldn't have changed any of our preparation lead- ing into it," Naurato said. "Quinnipiac is a great team, and we have respect for them. They did a great job tonight. "But that could have gone either way. Two goals from behind the net and one from the top of the circles in the board … it is what it is. That's why it's so hard to win a national championship. It's one game." The third Bobcats goal, one that broke a 2-2 tie, was perhaps the most frustrat- ing. Portillo made a sprawling save but stayed on the ice and didn't recover to the post. Lipkin knocked it home off the goalie's backside only 1:24 into the period, ensuring the Wolverines would have to play catch-up again, as they had all game. Quinnipiac's Jacob Quillan scored from behind the net, banking it in off Portillo, to open the scoring in similar fashion at 5:18. "Just a bad bounce," Naurato said, re- fusing to throw his netminder under the bus. Michigan, meanwhile, had a hard time against Quinnipiac's stifling defense. The Wolverines had 8 shots in the first period, but not many great scoring chances. The only goal, in fact, came on a great individ- ual play from defenseman Seamus Casey, who skated through defenders and put a move on goalie Yaniv Perets that brought the Michigan contingent to life. The Bobcats, though, controlled the play for much of the first period and had several odd-man chances. Portillo made some ridiculous saves to keep the Wol- verines within 2-1 at the end of the period. For the grief he'd receive for the three softer goals allowed, he also kept the Wol- verines close enough to be within striking range. U-M got it working in the second, and the Wolverines finally evened it on a wicked finish from frosh Adam Fantilli at 10:15. Fantilli took a brilliant pass from sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes and buried it to tie the score at 2-2. Michigan had a power play to end the period but couldn't convert, sending it to the third period tied. Both teams had their opportunities in the final stanza, but the Bobcats made the most of theirs to pull out the win and advance. The bottom line — Michigan had the better talent, but Quinnipiac had the bet- ter, more experienced team. The Bobcats limited U-M's offensive chances and played disciplined hockey from start to finish, even if three of the goals probably shouldn't have been. Portillo was caught off guard on the fourth goal with 7:00 remaining that put Michigan in despera- tion mode. But again — there was nothing fluky about Quinnipiac's victory. They ex- ecuted their game plan beautifully with a veteran team and played with confidence throughout. A NEW LOOK FOR 2023-24 Despite the loss, Naurato remained optimistic about the future, dismissing the notion that the Wolverines were go- ing through a Frozen Four jinx. "It's just one game. It's tough," Nau- rato said. "It's a crazy stat [losing 7 of 8 semifinals], but if you look through all those games, it's not one thing holding Sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes finished his U-M career as a two-time first-team All-American. He made his NHL debut with the New Jersey Devils less than a week after the Frozen Four. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY