ANN ARBOR – Michigan’s hockey team is headed to the Big Ten semifinals.
Sophomore forward Gavin Brindley broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period to lift the fourth-seeded Wolverines to a 4-3 victory and a best-of-three quarterfinal final sweep over No. 5 seed Notre Dame at Yost Ice Arena.
They will either travel to No. 1 seed Michigan State or No. 3 seed Minnesota for next Saturday’s semifinal. More importantly, they’ve put themselves in a good position to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they do not win the Big Ten. They entered the day No. 10 in the Pairwise rankings, a statistical model used by the selection committee to determine the at-large participants into the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
Saturday was the second straight nailbiter in the series, with Michigan (20-13-3) using two third-period power-play goals to overcome a 4-3 deficit in Friday’s victory.
Third periods have been the team’s Achilles heal all season, but it shut out the Irish in the final 20 minutes both nights. Michigan’s Jake Barczewski made two nearly identical sprawling right pad saves in the final minute to preserve the team’s one-goal cushion.
Once again, the Wolverines leaned heavily on their top players. Brindley, a 2023 second-round pick, and sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty, a 2022 first-round pick, are tied for the team lead with 50 points after combining for one goal and four assists. Sophomore forward T.J. Hughes, the team’s third-leading scorer, netted the first two goals.
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Michigan had the first four power plays of the game, but Notre Dame had the next two. It capitalized on its second to tie the game at two at the 7:01 mark of the second and then took the lead 2:26 later off the rush.
It didn’t take long for the Wolverines to answer. Junior forward Dylan Duke has made a living scoring at the net front and cashed in with a tap-in goal after the puck popped right to him on the doorstep.
Michigan closed a chaotic first period on a high note. Hughes’ second of the game came with 9 seconds remaining, banging home a loose puck in the crease after Rutger McGroarty’s initial attempt was denied. Brindley feathered a cross-ice pass right on the tape of McGroarty, who streaking toward the net.
Notre Dame challenged for offsides, but because it had already lost a challenge for a potential high stick on Hughes’ first goal, it was given a two-minute penalty for delay of game.
The Irish spent a large chunk of the first on the penalty kill. The Wolverines capitalized on their first opportunity as Hughes deflected Seamus Casey’s point shot, but they came up empty on a five-minute major to Michael Mastrodomenico for boarding.