Michigan 10, Delaware 7

Until Saturday, Notre Dame was the top team in the country (and for good reason). This one probably could have been even uglier.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

This one was pretty close in most respects. The Wolverines made up for a stalemate on faceoffs (which, fortunately, is a poor performance compared to the rest of their season thus far) by putting together a perfect clear, and riding Delaware into a couple mistakes. Then, the Maize and Blue were more efficient offensively, and that was the story of the game.

Notes

Third-quarter woes had been an issue for Michigan in a couple previous losses, so it’s only fair to point out when that frame is what wins the game for the Maize and Blue. The Wolverines exited the locker room looking at a one-goal deficit, but scored the first three goals of the third quarter to take control. Although Delaware did pull one back to get within a goal, a strong performance in the fourth sealed it. Everywhere other than the scoreboard, U-M had ground to make up at halftime, and though they didn’t even out shots (for example), theirs were much more effective than the Blue Hens’.

The other thing that jumps out about this one is that it was a sloppy, sloppy game from a penalty perspective. Michigan committed five, and Delaware four. Three of U-M’s were simple mental/discipline errors (an offside, a delay of game, and an unsportsmanlike conduct), and one of Delaware’s was, as well. Michigan, despite the slight deficit in penalties (including a 6-on-4 in the fourth quarter) didn’t give up an extra-man tally, while scoring two themselves.

Offensively, it wasn’t the Ian King show (as much as two points in a ten-goal offensive output can be a relatively quiet night), but his fellow starting attackmen went off. Peter Kraus had three goals and an assist, while Kyle Jackson scored five times. It’s fair to say the move to attack is working for him (and the offense as a whole). Backup attackman Decker Curran had two points, a goal and an assist on two separate man-up chances.

The Michigan offense has had a bit of an issue launching away without putting shots on goal (as much as you can assume that’s a problem in an era of the timer-on shot clock – possession shots serve a purpose of their own), but that wasn’t a problem in this one, to say the very least. 20 of 29 U-M shots were on cage, and while Delaware also put 20 on the net, it took them 37 overall shots to get there. More wasted opportunities.

The goalie play was a decider in this game, then. Gerald Logan had a nice .650, whereas Delaware’s Parker Ferrigan was right at .500 – and  couple that he did make were sort of lame attempts from Michigan dodgers. Realistic scoring attempts, he didn’t do so hot.

The rest of Michigan’s defense did their part, as well. Delaware committed 16 total turnovers, including 11 forced by the Wolverines. All three starting defensemen – Charlie Keady, Chris Walker, and Andrew Hatton – had a pair, while five other Wolverines forced one. The two failed clears – perhaps fewer than you might expect, given that Michigan went to ten-man ride quite a bit – played a major role in the victory, too.

After being up-and-down the past couple years (since the faceoff rules change, especially), Brad Lott is truly becoming comfortable at the dot. He won 9/16 draws – Mike McDonnell went 1/5 to give Delaware the advantage – and though some of that was simply good wing play (he didn’t pick up a single GB), this is a results-based charting service.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Delaware recap. Michigan photo gallery. Watch the whole thing, thanks to MaxLax OC.

Up Next

U-M had another nice, competitive win before crashing back to earth against the best team they’ve faced al year.