The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513253
JANUARY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 43 Date Opponent Time (ET) Sept. 30 Simon Fraser (Exhib.) W, 8-1 Oct. 7 Providence L, 4-2 Oct. 8 Providence W, 5-4 Oct. 13 at UMass W, 7-2 Oct. 14 at UMass L, 6-3 Oct. 20 Ohio State W, 7-1 Oct. 21 Ohio State T, 2-2 (SO, L) Oct. 27 Lindenwood W, 9-1 Oct. 28 Lindenwood W, 10-1 Nov. 3 at Wisconsin L, 5-4 Nov. 4 at Wisconsin L, 2-1 Nov. 10 Minnesota L, 4-3 Nov. 11 Minnesota T, 2-2 (SO, W) Nov. 17 Penn State W, 6-4 Nov. 18 Penn State L, 5-3 Nov. 24 at St. Cloud State W, 2-0 Nov. 25 at St. Cloud State T, 3-3 Dec. 1 at Notre Dame L, 6-1 Dec. 2 at Notre Dame W, 2-1 Jan. 6 at U.S. NTDP U-18 Team* 7 p.m. Jan. 12 Stonehill 7 p.m. Jan. 13 Stonehill 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Jan. 20 Michigan State 7 p.m. Jan. 26 Wisconsin 7 p.m. Jan. 27 Wisconsin 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Ohio State 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at Ohio State 8 p.m. Feb. 9 Michigan State 7 p.m. Feb. 10 vs. Michigan State^ 8:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at Penn State 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at Penn State 7 p.m. Feb. 23 Notre Dame 8 p.m. Feb. 24 Notre Dame 6:30 p.m. Mar. 1 at Minnesota 7:30 p.m. Mar. 2 at Minnesota 7:30 p.m. Mar. 8-10 Big Ten Quarterfinals TBA Mar. 16 Big Ten Semifinal TBA Mar. 23 Big Ten Championship TBA * Exhibition ^ Duel in the D, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit BY CLAYTON SAYFIE W hen USA Hockey unveiled its pre- liminary roster Dec. 4 for the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team, it included four Wolverines. The group will gather for training camp in Plymouth, Mich., Dec. 14-16 in competition for 25 roster spots that will represent the United States at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden. U-M's players selected to take part in the training camp are a quartet of sopho- mores in forwards Gavin Brindley, Rut- ger McGroarty and Frank Nazar III, along with defenseman Seamus Casey. Brindley, McGroarty and Casey were part of the USA team that won bronze last season. Nazar sat out last season's event with an injury. "I think that experience is great," head coach Brandon Naurato said, according to The Michigan Daily. "It's the best players in the world under 20, and they can take a lot from it. I just hope they come back healthy." Last season, Naurato saw Brindley, Mc- Groarty and forward Adam Fantilli, now a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets after being picked No. 3 overall in this past year's NHL Draft, raise their level of play after returning from playing on the world stage. "I thought Brinds, Adam and Rutger came back and their second halves were unreal," Naurato remarked. "I think Adam was motivated by his situation. I think Brinds was motivated, meaning he had a good World Junior, same with Rutger, so they came back with some confidence." Michigan players have earned a total of 24 medals with USA Hockey at World Juniors since 1980. The Wolverines will play an exhibition game against the U.S. National Team De- velopmental Program Jan. 6, before re- turning to regular-season action Jan. 12 against Stonehill. MICHIGAN STILL WITHOUT WEEKEND SWEEP IN BIG TEN Last season, Michigan didn't notch a Big Ten series sweep until late January, when it grabbed a pair of wins against Penn State. The Wolverines won seven consecutive tilts at one point and rolled through the Big Ten Tournament to cap- ture the championship before making a trip to Tampa for the Frozen Four in April. The Wolverines are hoping for some similar magic this season, currently sit- ting at 8-7-3 and fifth in the Big Ten standings with 12 points as of Dec. 11, be- hind Michigan State (25 points), Wiscon- sin (24), Minnesota (17) and Notre Dame (15). They've had five Big Ten series to this point but haven't been able to come away with a pair of victories in any of them, with a 3-5-2 mark in conference. Michigan has been stellar offensively, with an average of 4 goals per game that ranks tied for fourth in the country and a power-play conversion rate of 31.1 per- cent that leads the nation. But the defense has lagged behind, allowing 2.9 goals per game, checking in 30th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten. To be fair, injuries have plagued the Wolverines thus far. Sophomore for- ward Jackson Hallum is out for the sea- son with a lower-body ailment suffered against Wisconsin Nov. 3. McGroarty left the Wolverines' 6-4 win over Penn State Nov. 17 on a stretcher and was taken to the emergency room. He'll attempt to partici- pate in U.S. World Junior training camp but hasn't played in a game since going down. Additionally, junior forward Mark Estapa left the same game with an injury. McGroarty is fourth on the team with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists), even with missing four games. Hallum contributed 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists), while Estapa has totaled 3 (2 goals, 1 assist). ❑ ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY Four Wolverines Tabbed To U.S. National Junior Team Preliminary Roster Sophomore forward Frank Nazar III was one of four U-M players picked for the USA Hockey training camp roster. They are competing for 25 roster spots on the team that will go to the World Junior Championships in Sweden at the end of December. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY 2023-24 MICHIGAN HOCKEY SCHEDULE