Michigan and Wisconsin earn sweeps: Recapping weekend one
Two sweeps, 22 total goals and lots to discuss from the first weekend of play
The first weekend of college hockey is in the books. Four of the five games went off without a hitch (RIP to LIU’s debut, which will now be this coming Thursday), and that feels like a pretty solid win given the state of, well, everything.
Wisconsin notched its first road sweep since 2017, Michigan opened the season with a sweep for the first time since 2015 and there were plenty of interesting things happening in all four games. Let’s talk about it.
Wisconsin at Notre Dame (2-0 Friday, 5-3 Saturday)
I, for one, did not predict this outcome. I thought the Badgers might pull off a split, but for most of the weekend, they were in control. Notre Dame’s offense picked up Saturday night, but Wisconsin’s forwards had a step regardless.
And after having the third-worst save percentage in college hockey last year, the Badgers may have their goalie, too. Robbie Beydoun picked up the Badgers’ first shutout in almost exactly a year on Friday night (the last was Daniel Lebedeff on Nov. 15, 2019 — also at Notre Dame) and made 29 saves Saturday. The Fighting Irish aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut even in their best games, so sweeping conclusions about Beydoun and Wisconsin’s defense are probably premature, but things certainly seem to be improved.
Other things of note:
Wisconsin is really going to miss Dylan Holloway in the rest of this first half. He left Sunday for Hockey Canada’s World Juniors evaluation camp and, if/when he makes the team, he won’t be back until early January. Holloway had two goals in the series and looked pretty dominant.
The Badgers’ top power play unit is five forwards. If you’re unlucky enough to be someone I text regularly, you already heard all about this. The unit of Holloway, Cole Caufield, Roman Ahcan, Ty Pelton-Byce and Linus Weissbach scored Wisconsin’s two power play goals on the weekend. I hope to have more on this soon, and I also hope it doesn’t stop now that Holloway is leaving. Very fun stuff from Tony Granato.
Notre Dame’s all-freshman line (Grant Silianoff, Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston) will go through some growing pains but has a chance to be really good. It’ll be fun to watch them develop throughout the year.
The Fighting Irish have been known for their defense and goaltending over the last few years, but neither looked great in the first two games. Dylan St. Cyr struggled, and the defense in front of him didn’t make things much easier. That’ll be something to keep an eye on this season.
Arizona State at Michigan (8-1 Saturday, 3-0 Sunday)
Michigan’s much-heralded freshman class finally made its debut and they were as advertised both nights. Owen Power, Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, Brendan Brisson and Thomas Bordeleau have a combined fifteen points through two games. It’s silly. And it isn’t just the freshmen who are contributing — Cam York already has three points, and only three skaters appeared in both games without picking up a point.
The Sun Devils never really had a chance in either game. They were outshot 84-33 and out-attempted 148-70 in the series.
“That’s the best team I’ve seen from a pure talent and skill and speed (perspective) since we’ve been Division I and it’s not even close,” ASU coach Greg Powers said Sunday. The Sun Devils began Division I play in 2015.
Strauss Mann picked up where he left off and currently sits atop the (five goalie) leaderboard in both save percentage (.970) and goals against (0.50).
Other things of note:
Under Mel Pearson, Michigan has prided itself on being one of the least penalized teams in college hockey. Last season, the Wolverines averaged 3.6 penalties per game — they’re averaging 6 so far. It’s a trend I expect to change, but one to keep an eye on.
Arizona State arrived in Ann Arbor on Friday night and won’t return to Tempe until it finishes a series at Notre Dame the first week of December. That’s a long time to spend on the road, and it may impact how they play. It already seemed to on Saturday night — the Sun Devils looked sluggish from the beginning.
Johnny Walker was easily the Sun Devils’ best player, particularly Saturday night, and James Sanchez is close behind. That top line is dangerous, but the danger drops off pretty quickly.
Speaking of Walker, he suffered a lower-body injury midway through Sunday’s game and didn’t play much after that. Powers said he’ll continue to be evaluated.
Play(s) of the week
There were a lot of highlight-reel plays I could choose from for this category. Between Alex Steeves’ unreal assist on Colin Theisen’s third goal or Owen Power’s slick feed to Cam York, among many others, there are a lot of options.
But I’m making myself just choose one, and it has to be Holloway’s goal Saturday night. The finish is incredible — that window was almost nonexistent. Once again, Wisconsin is really going to miss him.
If you’re new to Fresh Ice and haven’t subscribed yet, please do! Each week, I’ll have coverage of all the Big Ten games and I’ve got some fresh (no pun intended) plans for content as the season goes along.