Michigan Shuts Out Notre Dame 4-0 with Shawn Hunwick in Net

By Sean · Friday, February 26, 2010 · 11:14 PM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

Despite losing goalie Bryan Hogan to a groin injury after less than 11 minutes of action last night, Michigan not only beat Notre Dame, but it did it in shutout fashion thanks to a stellar performance by Shawn Hunwick.  Hunwick had barely seen any playing time before yesterday, and even then the little amount of time he got was shaky, to say the least.  Honestly, every shot Notre Dame fired at Hunwick left me holding my breath during the rest of the first period and basically all of the second as well.  By the third, however, Hunwick had played well enough where I no longer felt nervous when Notre Dame had the puck, especially since Michigan was well in control of the game, going on to win 4-0 to give Hunwick his first career win.

The scoring in this one got started right after Hogan left the game.  Chad Langlais made a couple of nice moves to get around the defense and fired a shot at Notre Dame’s goalie.  The puck bounced in the air and slowly went into the net for a goal.  It was really a pretty bad goal for Notre Dame to give up, but that was basically the theme of the night for the Fighting Irish.

Michigan’s next goal came after it had to kill off a 5-on-3.  The penalty kill did a great job of keeping ND from doing anything, and once Carl Hagelin got out of the penalty box in a 5-on-4 situation, he zoomed down the ice, faked out a defenseman, and made a picture perfect centering pass to Matt Rust for an easy goal.  The shorty gave Michigan a 2-0 lead, and this was really the beginning of the end for the Fighting Irish.

Although there was no scoring in the second period, Michigan wasted little time in adding its third goal.  Only 1:32 into the third period, Chris Summers fired a shot at the net from around the blue line and somehow ND’s goalie lost sight of it and let it go in for a goal.  Michigan now led 3-0, and Brian Lebler added goal number 4 about seven minutes later when the puck bounced off of a Notre Dame player and into the net.  The game concluded with no more scoring from either side, meaning Michigan won 4-0 and Shawn Hunwick and Bryan Hogan combined for a shutout.

The great performance was the perfect way to celebrate Senior Night at Yost Arena, and it meant that Michigan is now guaranteed to host a series in the CCHA playoffs.  Whether or not that series will be held next week or in two weeks (meaning Michigan would have a first-round bye) is still to be determined.  Because Northern Michigan beat Lake Superior State in overtime tonight, Michigan will need help from LSSU on Saturday if it wants to have a shot at a first-round bye.  Of course, Michigan has to beat Notre Dame for fourth place to even be possible, and that will have to again happen without Bryan Hogan.

Hogan’s groin injury will keep him out of the starting lineup tomorrow in South Bend, and his status beyond that is uncertain.  Red Berenson said the injury is of the week-to-week variety rather than day-to-day, meaning that if Michigan does not reach fourth place and has to play next weekend, there is a very good chance that Hogan will miss the series.  As well as Hunwick played last night, I would rather have a healthy Bryan Hogan in goal.  Hogan has started every game this season, and although he hasn’t been the greatest goalie in the world at times, I just don’t have a ton of confidence that Hunwick can sustain last night’s great play over multiple games.  Then again, my expectations for Hunwick last night were pretty low and he pleasantly surprised me, so anything can happen if a goalie gets on a hot streak.

Basically what Michigan’s CCHA playoffs outlook boils down to is what happens in its game at Notre Dame and what Northern Michigan does against Lake Superior State.  To even have a shot at fourth place and a first-round bye, Michigan must beat Notre Dame.  Northern Michigan simply needs to pick up a point to guarantee at least a tie of fourth place, and a shootout or regulation win would give the Wildcats sole possession of fourth place.  To make it simple: Michigan needs a win and a Northern Michigan loss, otherwise it will be hosting a series to open the CCHA playoffs next weekend.