The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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68 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M ichigan trailed 3-1 heading into the third period of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash against Michigan State Feb. 6 at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines pulled off some third-period magic to force overtime and won in the extra session, stealing a 4-3 victory from the second- ranked Spartans. Freshman defenseman Asher Barnett found the net at the 10:27 mark, before senior forward Kienan Draper scored shorthanded to tie the score at 3-3 with 7:08 remaining in the third. In overtime, the Wolverines got on the power play — four-on-three action — and capitalized with junior forward Jayden Perron scoring off an assist from sophomore forward Michael Hage. The Yost crowd erupted to the point that the Big Ten Network broadcast audio suf- fered difficulties. "I've never heard Yost that loud," said head coach Brandon Naurato. "How unbelievable would it be to play as many games at Yost and then get a fi- nals game at Yost in the Big Ten Tourna- ment? And that's what we're fighting for. "We have a lot of work to do — I don't want to get ahead of ourselves — but this place is special, and the Children of Yost [student section] make it that way." "It's always special playing at Yost, but tonight was unbelievable," Perron said postgame. "That third period was probably the loudest game of hockey I've ever heard." Freshman netminder Stephen Peck made 31 saves on 34 shots and improved to 6-0 in net, filling in for injured class- mate Jack Ivankovic. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Ivankovic made his surprise return the follow- ing night in the Duel in the D, another showdown with the Spartans, this one at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Per- ron scored to get Michigan going, but the Wolverines lost, 5-2, in front of 19,515 fans. Ivankovic turned aside 32 of 36 shots and took the loss. "It's great to have him back," Naurato said. "Jack's the backbone of our team." The Wolverines, who lead the nation in scoring with 4.68 goals per game, simply couldn't produce offensively against the Spartans, who allow only 1.96 marks per contest (second nationally). Michigan is now one point behind MSU in the Big Ten standings (39-38) with a conference record of 14-4-1. The Wolverines will take on Penn State in Ann Arbor Feb. 13-14. The Nittany Li- ons are in third place in the standings at 10-6-0 versus league competition. FOUR WOLVERINES COMPETE IN MILAN WINTER OLYMPICS Four of the five former Michigan student-athletes in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, come from the hockey program. All four — Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets), Quinn Hughes (Min- nesota Wild), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) and Zach Werenski (Colum- bus Blue Jackets) are representing the United States on the ice. Only Boston University (five) has more former play- ers on Team USA. Michigan's fifth former athlete in the games is Evan Bates, the first American figure skater to compete in five Olym- pics. Bates and his wife and ice dancing partner Madison Chock already helped Team USA win skating team gold in Mi- lan. Their first gold medal came at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, after top fin- isher Russia was disqualified due to a doping scandal. The men's hockey tournament is be- tween 12 countries and will begin with three preliminary round groups. The USA is paired with Germany, Latvia and Denmark, and each group winner, along with the next-best team among the groups, will receive a bye into the second round. The eight remaining teams will be seeded based on points in a qualification round to determine the four other quarterfinal participants. Each quarterfinal winner advances to the semifinals with the winners playing for the gold medal and the losers playing for the bronze. ❑ ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY Michigan Splits With MSU, Gets Jack Ivankovic Back Senior forward Kienan Draper scored short- handed to tie the Spartans at 3-3 with 7:08 remaining in the third period on Feb. 6, a game U-M went on to win in overtime, 4-3. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY REMAINING 2026 SCHEDULE (23-5 OVERALL; 14-4-1 B1G) Date Opponent Result/Time (TV) Jan. 3 U.S. NTDP U-18 Team* W, 7-5 Jan. 9 NOTRE DAME W, 5-2 Jan. 10 NOTRE DAME W, 7-4 Jan. 16 at Minnesota W, 5-1 Jan. 17 at Minnesota W, 3-2 (OT) Jan. 30 at Ohio State W, 6-4 Jan. 31 at Ohio State W, 3-2 Feb. 6 Michigan State W, 4-3 (OT) Feb. 7 vs. Michigan State# L, 5-2 Feb. 13 PENN STATE 6:30 p.m. (B1G+) Feb. 14 PENN STATE 5 p.m. (B1G+) Feb. 20 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. (B1G+) Feb. 21 at Wisconsin 7 p.m. (B1G+) Feb. 26 MINNESOTA 6:30 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 27 MINNESOTA 6 p.m. (BTN) Mar. 5 SIMON FRASER* 7 p.m. Mar. 11 Big Ten Quarterfinal TBD Mar. 14 Big Ten Semifinal TBD Mar. 20 Big Ten Championship TBD Mar. 27-29 NCAA Regional TBD Apr. 9-11 NCAA Frozen Four Las Vegas All times Eastern; * Exhibition games; # Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena