The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 73 M ichigan owns 17-12-3 overall and 11-9-2 Big Ten records heading into the final two-game series of the regular season at rival Ohio State Feb. 27-28. The Maize and Blue entered the Feb. 14-15 home series against No. 4 Min- nesota on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to ESPN, but was in the "in the field, for now" category. The Wolverines capitalized on a big opportunity that weekend, beating the Golden Gophers, 3-2, in overtime and coming out on top in a shootout the next night. That helped honor the senior class the right way in their final home game. U-M recognized seven se- niors in their last game at Yost — Ethan Edwards, Mark Estapa, Jacob Truscott, Philippe Lapointe, Andrew Albano, Thomas Daskas and Logan Stein. U-M remained at No. 12 in the Pair- wise Rankings, which help the commit- tee determine who to select as the 10 at- large bids. Michigan also stood No. 4 in the Big Ten, which is significant because the top four teams begin the conference tournament at home. The Wolverines are 10-4-1 at Yost, it's worth noting. "We want to play more hockey here," junior forward T.J. Hughes said. "Love playing here. Love our fans. We always have that momentum when we're play- ing here." In the Feb. 14 overtime victory over the Golden Gophers, senior defenseman Ethan Edwards scored a game-winner during 3-on-3 play. With that result, the Wolverines had won their sixth straight game that went to overtime and picked up two points in the standings. "All around, we played hard," Ed- wards said. "We made plays when we had the opportunity and we capitalized. We got pucks to the net, too. That was a big aspect of the win." Even though the Maize and Blue have been up and down, they're picking up some steam late in the season, which has been the case in each of the previous two years under head coach Brandon Naurato. A week earlier, Michigan beat No. 2 Michigan State, 2-1, in East Lansing, before falling to the Spartans, 6-1, the next night in Detroit. The Maize and Blue also split with the Spartans in Ann Arbor Jan. 17-18, proving they can beat some of the country's best. "You have to keep building the con- fidence and belief," Naurato said. "It's just finding a way, like every team, to play 60 minutes the right way." T.J. HUGHES ON 15-GAME POINT STREAK Junior forward T.J. Hughes is on a heater, notching at least 1 point in an NCAA-leading 15-consecutive tilts. Hughes has recorded 9 goals and 14 as- sists in that span, and he's the team's leader in goals (14), assists (21) and points (35) on the season. Additionally, the Hamilton, Ontario, native was the Wolverines' lone shoot- out scorer in the team's win over Min- nesota Feb. 15. Acco rd i n g to T h e At h l e t i c a n a - lyst Scott Wheeler, Hughes is start- ing to get "a lot of attention from NHL clubs." He's not one of Wheeler's top 100 prospects, but he's been extremely productive in a winged helmet, earning an honorable mention All-Big Ten nod in 2024. "Michigan doesn't have the abun- dance of talent that we're used to it hav- ing this year but Hughes has gone from being very successful playing with good players like [now-professional forward] Rutger McGroarty to being very suc- cessful as more of a driver/go-to guy on his own this year. He's a 6-foot center who is excellent in the faceoff circle. He plays the bumper on their power play. And his pace and B game, once the question, have started to come." — Clayton Sayfie ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY U-M Is On The Right Side Of The Bubble Junior forward T.J. Hughes had scored at least 1 point in an NCAA-leading 15-consecutive games through mid-February. He also was the team leader in goals (14), assists (21) and points (35) on the season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 2024-25 MICHIGAN HOCKEY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time/Result Oct. 4 Minnesota State L, 5-2 Oct. 5 Minnesota State W, 4-1 Oct. 11 at Arizona State W, 4-1 Oct. 12 at Arizona State T, 3-3 Oct. 18 St. Cloud State W, 3-0 Oct. 19 St. Cloud State L, 4-0 Oct. 25 USNTDP U-18 Team (Exh.) W, 5-4 (OT) Nov. 1 at Boston U. W, 5-1 Nov. 2 at Boston U. W, 5-4 (OT) Nov. 8 Notre Dame W, 2-1 (OT) Nov. 9 Notre Dame W, 4-2 Nov. 22 at Penn State W, 6-5 Nov. 23 at Penn State W, 10-6 Nov. 29 at Western Michigan L, 4-1 Nov. 30 Western Michigan W, 2-1 Dec. 6 at Minnesota L, 6-0 Dec. 7 at Minnesota L, 2-0 Dec. 13 Wisconsin L, 4-0 Dec. 14 Wisconsin W, 3-2 (OT) Jan. 3 vs. Ohio State^ L, 4-3 Jan. 5 Ohio State W, 3-2 (OT) Jan. 10 at Notre Dame W, 5-3 Jan. 11 at Notre Dame L, 7-4 Jan. 17 Michigan State W, 3-2 (OT) Jan. 18 at Michigan State L, 4-1 Jan. 24 at Wisconsin L, 5-4 Jan. 25 at Wisconsin T, 4-4 (SO, W) Jan. 31 Penn State L, 5-4 Feb. 1 Penn State W, 7-3 Feb. 7 at Michigan State W, 2-1 Feb. 8 Michigan State* L, 6-1 Feb. 14 Minnesota W, 3-2 (OT) Feb. 15 Minnesota T, 2-2 (SO, W) Feb. 27 at Ohio State (BTN) 8 p.m. Feb. 28 at Ohio State (BTN) 6 p.m. Mar. 7-9 Big Ten Quarterfinals TBA Mar. 15 Big Ten Semifinal TBA Mar. 22 Big Ten Championship TBA ^ Wrigley Field, Chicago * Little Caesars Arena, Detroit All times Eastern