Portillo earns 25th career win in Wisconsin sweep at Michigan

» Erik Portillo picked up his 25th career victory as a Wolverine with a 38-save performance in Michigan’s 6-2 win over Wisconsin.
Six different Wolverines have scored, including Philippe Lapointe first report of the season.
” First-year student Marc Estapa recorded his first career two-point game with a pair of assists.

Site: Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center)
Goal: #4 Michigan 6, Wisconsin 2
Recordings: UM (21-7-1, 12-3-0-0-3 B1G), UW (9-16-3, 4-11-0-1-2 B1G)
Next UM event: Wednesday, Feb. 2 — vs. USNTDP U-18 (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 7 p.m.

• PDF score box

MADISON, Wis. — On the ice and in the standings, January was a fantastic month for the fourth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team. The Wolverines put the finishing touches to a 7-1 record in the first month of 2022 with a resounding 6-2 win and series sweep over Wisconsin on Saturday night (January 29) inside the Kohl Center.

The 7-1 mark is the best for the program in a single calendar month since March 2010 (7-1).

Erik Portillo continued his stellar play against the Badgers with a 38-save performance to back up UM in his 21st win of the season and 25th of his career as Wolverine.

After a Friday night game (January 28) that featured 12 combined penalties, jimmy lambert was sent to the box just 14 seconds into the contest for tripping after jamming his stick in an opposing player’s equipment. The Wolverines came together to kill the UW power play, with Portillo continuing to be the burning unit’s strongest asset.

Ethan Edwards, a freshman defenseman, intercepted Wisconsin’s attempt to get out of their zone before carefully dancing along the blue line to keep the puck in the UW side. He moved to the right side of the area looking for space to operate. Edwards first turned to the blue line and faked a regroup before changing course and heading back to the right face-off spot while leaving his UW counterpart in his tracks. Edwards made a move towards the net before composing a perfect wrist shot which he placed into the top left corner of the net to open the scoring with a magnificent unassisted scorer.

With one streak in the books, Michigan held a 1-0 lead after going nine shots on goal to UW’s 10.

The Badgers quickly tied the game at 1 with their first shot of the second period at 1:22 from left. The long shot was inadvertently deflected by a passing Maize and Blue before floating into the back of the net to put the home side on the scoresheet.

Shortly after, a UW forward rushed into the UM zone before cutting to the slot and using a pair of collapsed Michigan defenders as partial screens to beat Portillo and give the Badgers a 2 lead. -1 at 2:33 from the center frame.

Michigan was undeterred. The only newcomer to Saturday’s lineup, Philippe Lapointe, finished a game at just 1:22 after Wisconsin took its first lead of the weekend to tie the score. Lapointe’s first goal of the season, the second of his career, was assisted by Michael Pastujov and Keaton Pehrson.

Lambert more than made up for his first offense with a shot from the crossbar and at 8:18 to reclaim a one-goal lead, 3-2, for the Wolverines. His classmates and linemates, Nolan Moyle and Garrett Van Wyhehad assists on Lambert’s 14th career point against Wisconsin.

A few minutes later, Thomas Bordeau showed his grips with a deft move around a Badger defender inside the left circle before collecting the puck and sending it back to Brendan Brisson in the slot. Brisson fired a shot that found the string with 8:40 left in the second period to put Michigan ahead 4-2. Marc Estapa picked up the secondary assist on Brisson’s 17th goal of the season.

Wisconsin started their third power play at 2:30 p.m., but UM’s penalty killers spurned another chance.

The Wolverines took advantage of the man advantage with 1:36 remaining before the second intermission when a Badger forward was assessed a minor penalty for interference. On the first face-off, Michigan’s power play unit created a chance by rolling the puck in the blue paint and crashing towards the frontcourt of the net, but failed to make it. push across the goal line before play is called off.

After two periods of play, Michigan led 4-2 and 14 seconds on the power play in the final quarter. With 20 minutes left, UM trailed 28-18 in penalties, but Portillo’s solid play and relentless offensive attack kept Wolverines ahead.

Michigan nearly extended the lead to three in the middle of a flurry of shots with 12 minutes left in regulation, but the puck didn’t cross the line and the Badgers held the deficit to two.

Estapa was called for stumbling with 11:32 to put UW on the power play, but Bordeleau was also given a 10-minute misconduct after fending off a hit by Badger after the whistle. The penalty was killed in short order, but Bordeleau spent most of the rest in the box.

Mackie Samoskevich created a shorthanded Grade A opportunity when he drew several defenders by driving into the Wisconsin end on the left flank with a steaming header. As Hughes slid through the middle of the ice unchallenged, Samoskevich delivered a perfect backhand pass to his classmate’s boards. The fourth pick in last year’s draft quickly leaned in on a stunning shot that went over the goaltender’s shoulder and extended Michigan’s lead to 5-2 with 8: 44 to go.

After the Badgers were slapped with a late penalty and tensions remained high, Michigan’s powerplay unit capitalized with a powerplay goal to make it 6-2 with 21 seconds left in the game. weekend series. Captain Nick Blankenburg buried Estapa’s assist goal and Matty Beniers.

With the victory, Michigan wins the season series against UW with a 3-1 record and is 8-2 in its last 10 games against the Badgers. The Wolverines are alone atop the Big Ten Hockey standings with 39 points and six games remaining.

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, the Wolverines will host the U-18 squad of the U.S. National Team Development Program for a midweek exhibition game against a host of future stars, including several Michigan signers. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast live on B1G+.