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What just happened (TL;DR): After a tight first few minutes, Michigan completely outclassed UMass scoring three times on the power play and another four at even strength. It took a Penalty Kill breakdown and a skating error for the Minutemen to beat Jake Barczewski. Dylan Duke and Garrett Schifsky each scored twice. TJ Hughes, Seamus Casey, and Rutger McGroarty each added a tally. This game was over midway through the second Period.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Michigan overmatched UMass after the first 10-15 minutes of the game. Michigan was great in space and created good looks repeatedly. After being down 5-1 in shots, the Wolverines outshot the Minutemen 19-5 for the rest of the first two periods.

-Brandon Naurato elected to go with a Hero Line of Rutger, Frank Nazar, and Gavin Brindley. Michigan has done that in the past with Matty Beniers, Kent Johnson, etc. They were Michigan’s most dangerous line all night and it paid off with gorgeous OMR goal to close the game. I liked what I saw from this line and hope to see it stay together.

-Garrett Schifsky got on the board twice, after being named the third line center. He rifled home a shot (maybe a soft goal) that beat Cole Brady from the top of the House. He also finished in the crease after Jackson Hallum won a battle in the corner and got the puck to the slot. If Michigan is getting depth scoring from their third line, this team should look a lot like the past couple of teams…

-Chase Pletzke got ROCKED in the head, struggled to stand up or skate to the bench , but no penalty was called. He never returned to the game. I would expect to see Tanner Rowe dressed on Saturday night.

Defense Notes.

-Tyler Duke didn’t dress on Friday night after leaving the game in the third period last Sunday. Michigan skated Josh Orrico…sparingly while the game was tight. He did get to play more as the game got out of hand, including taking a penalty. While he doesn’t exactly look ready yet, it looks like he’ll get a chance to play until Tyler returns. It’s getting a little iffy on defense now, after Michigan’s top three.

-Luca Fantilli did have a nice initial assist on Dylan Duke’s first goal, making a terrific diagonal pass on the offensive zone. That does fall in his wheelhouse. He also quarterbacked the second powerplay unit.

-Seamus Casey is awesome and really fun to watch. He looks to be in for a huge season.

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. Michigan’s power play was buzzing on Friday night in Amherst. Rutger McGroarty made a neat pass to Dylan Duke in the House. Duke found an open TJ Hughes on the far dot who opened the scoring on a one-timed blast. Seamus Casey walked into the slot on their next man advantage and buried a shot under the bar. Later, Duke finished a Brindley shot, right where Dylan scores most of his goals…the top of the crease. Michigan moved the puck well, creating chance after chance. Their speed and skill were just way too much for the overmatched UMass penalty kill.

Penalty Kill. Michigan struggled on their first penalty kill of the game, early in the first period, but got much better over the course of the game. Unfortunately, they got too many chances as they went to the box too much for my liking. Finally, the Minutemen power play broke through late in the third period. Scott Morrow finished a cross slot pass that went through Steve Holtz and Jacob Truscott. Not great, but killing five of six is fine. Just maybe don’t take six next time.

Jake tracked the puck well all night (Bill Rapai)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Jake Barczewski started in goal on Friday. He played really well in the opening minutes as Michigan struggled to find their skates. The Minutemen came out buzzing and Jake held his net well, giving his teammates a chance to get going. After the initial rush, he didn’t have a ton to do until the third period…when the game was decided. Barczewski’s best save followed a bad DZTO by Casey that saw Jake go from post to post and make a great pad save. Jake couldn’t do much on either goal as cross-slot passes were finished after defensemen either got out of position or didn’t get their stick on the pass. He stopped everything in front of him. It’s his net.

Rutger finshed in transition off of great plays from Nazar and Brindley (Bill Rapai)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. I didn’t see any OMRs that Michigan gave up. Nazar got beat after downshifting in the defensive zone, but that wasn’t lost in transition. After a sloppy game last Saturday, this is Michigan’s second game in a row where they were pretty clean getting back on defense.

The Wolverines created one OMR, a 2v0 breakaway. Gavin Brindley had one of the best bank passes I’ve ever seen to spring Frank Nazar. He slid the puck across to Rutger McGroarty for an open net tap-in. Awesome all around.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Michigan did what they needed to do against an overmatched opponent. They fought their way through their first road period of the season and then poured it on. Scoring came from three of the four lines. Jake Barczewski backed up his solid performance on Sunday with an equally impressive showing on Friday night. The penalty kill was better while the power play was sizzling. If they can only get their defense healthy! Game two of this series is Saturday night at 7pm, also on ESPN+.