A week after a near-miss against Maryland, the “near” portion of that situation didn’t come into play at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took home the comfortable victory.
Tempo Free
From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:
| Rutgers 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Rutgers | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 16 | Faceoff Wins | 7 |
| Clearing | 11-13 | Clearing | 21-23 |
| Possessions | 31 | Possessions | 32 |
| Goals | 6 | Goals | 13 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .194 | Offensive Efficiency | .407 |
Even in possession, not even on the scoreboard. Rutgers ran away with the game (especially late), thanks to a much more efficient performance on each side of the ball.
Notes
With the way things went against Maryland, you might have expected this one to be close as well (after all, though Rutgers is pretty good this year, nobody was as strong this season as Maryland – however their Memorial Day weekend turns out). That did not happen, though it wasn’t quite as ugly as the final score. Michigan collapsed in the fourth quarter, allowing a two-goal margin entering the final frame to turn into a seven-goal blowout.
The defense was not so hot, with the Maize and Blue scrambling futilely for answers to Rutgers attackmen Scott Bieda (2G, 4A) and Jules Heningburg (5G). Those two were first-team all-league, so it’s not like other programs necessarily had the solution, but after a nice game against Maryland, the longpole trio of senior Chris Walker and freshmen MJ Melillo and Nick DeCaprio couldn’t get it done. The third starting attackman, Adam Charalambides, also chipped in a goal and an assist.
Despite the weak defensive performance in front of him, Gerald Logan didn’t have a particularly poor day in goal. He saved 12 shots while allowing the 13 goals, though only five of those goals were assisted (generally considered tougher to stop because they tend to be time-and-room or on the doorstep).
Ian King returned for the Michigan offense, and although he didn’t start, he led the way with a goal and two assists. Patrick Tracy and Sean McCanna each had a goal and an assist, as well. Aside from a Peter Kraus goal, the starting lineup was kept completely off the scoreboard.
In what was not a banner day on either end of the field, the play in getting there wasn’t bad. Brad Lott had an outstanding (16/23) faceoff performance, and Michigan rode the Scarlet Knights into a pair of failed clears. However, they also coughed it up in transition a couple times themselves, and with far fewer opportunities, that allowed Rutgers to slightly win the possession battle.
Elsewhere
Boxscore. Michigan recap. Rutgers recap. Highlights.
Up Next
Scarlet is not a color that treated Michigan well in April. Ohio State was the next opponent.