The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529264
DECEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 41 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M ichigan is off to a 7-2-1 start, winner of five consecutive games, and the team has moved up to No. 5 in the USCHO poll, looking like a contender in the Big Ten once again. The Wolverines have won inside the friendly confines of Yost Ice Arena and on the road, with sweeps at No. 5 Bos- ton University Nov. 1-2 and versus No. 20 Notre Dame Nov. 8-9. Dating back to last season, which ended in the Frozen Four, the Wolverines have won seven straight series. Beating BU (5-1 and 5-4 in over- time) marked Michigan's highest-ranked sweep since defeating No. 6 Miami (Ohio) in a home series Jan. 10-11, 2009, and the first time the Terriers had been swept at home since 2017. After trailing 1-0 at the second in- termission, the Wolverines used 5 un- answered third-period goals to win the first tilt against the Terriers. The second matchup was more drama-filled, with junior forward Jackson Hallum captur- ing his first career hat trick by netting the game-winner in overtime. He's now tied atop the team with 5 goals, joined by freshman forward Michael Hage, sopho- more forward Garrett Schifsky and soph- omore forward Evan Werner. Facing such challenging opposition just before conference play began was valu- able for Michigan. "It helps prep you for the end of the year to just play teams like this," head coach Brandon Naurato said of the pair of nonconference games, according to The Michigan Daily. "Be battle-tested at home, on the road, see where you stack up and what you need to do to have success." Werner was the hero in the overtime victory over the Fighting Irish, with the game-winner that marked his fourth goal in three games. Graduate defenseman and captain Jacob Truscott, who had an assist in the second clash with Notre Dame, be- lieves Michigan has picked up some major momentum after a tough start to the year. "I think we're just finding our stride here," Truscott said, per The Michigan Daily. "Team defense, we're doing really well with that. Things are clicking, so it's going to continue to progress and move forward. And hopefully look forward to more sweeps in the future." GOALIE PLATOON ONGOING Michigan has gone with a straight pla- toon at goaltender, playing both gradu- ate Logan Stein and freshman Cameron Korpi in the same amount of games — six appearances with five starts for each. Both have performed well, but Stein — a Ferris State transfer — has been more efficient, with a 93.4 save percentage compared to 90.9 for Korpi. The battle has gone into Big Ten play, with Naurato playing each of them one game in the conference-opening series versus Notre Dame, Stein in the first and Korpi in the second. Both gave up just 1 goal. "We feel comfortable with both of them right now. I think we need more of a scope of work," Naurato said. "I think both goalies have been good. And you can even see a difference a little bit with goals against and save percentage. But that's eight games. How about 10, 12, 14? If we're winning, life's good. They only need to prep for one." Naurato did note that it's difficult for Korpi to close out sweeps — which has been his job more times than not — since the opponent will likely look to get more shots on goal following a loss the prior day. For now, it appears the Wolverines will continue the rotation in net. Michigan ranks tied for 18th nationally with 2.2 goals allowed per contest, and it's killing penalties at an 85.7 percent rate (tied for 19th) through Nov. 10. ❏ ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY Michigan Gaining Steam With Five Straight Wins, No. 5 Ranking Junior forward Jackson Hallum captured his first career hat trick — including the game-winning goal in overtime — in U-M's 5-4 win at Boston University Nov. 2. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS