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Bring on Miami: Michigan Takes Down Bemidji State for 5-1 Win
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The final score of last night’s Michigan-Bemidji State game really doesn’t reflect just how close the action was at times. Although Michigan did end up winning by a comfortable margin of 5-1, this game was very much in doubt until the Wolverines really got things rolling in the final ten minutes of the third period. Michigan went from being up only 2-1 to leading 4-1 thanks to a pair of goals by Carl Hagelin. An empty-netter in the final minutes gave Michigan a 5-1 lead and sealed the victory, allowing the thousands of Wolverines fans in attendance to start celebrating.
Michigan got the scoring started in this game six minutes in when Luke Glendening deflected a shot by Chad Langlais into the net. This shot came after a power play for Michigan expired, but the Wolverines kept applying the pressure and it paid off in the form of a goal by Glendening.
During the rest of the first period, Michigan had to kill off penalty after penalty. It seemed like the majority of the calls were extremely questionable, but the Wolverines didn’t let that bother them and killed all of them off. The whistles quieted a bit in the second period, but there was no scoring until Louie Caporusso sniped a shot off a nice setup to put Michigan on top 2-0 with 38 seconds left in the period.
In the third period, similar to what happened in the Northern Michigan game, Bemidji State scored a goal to cut the deficit in half. The goal was scored just more than ten minutes in and seemed like it was going to set up a tension-filled finish. As it turns out, though, a great deal of tension was relieved thanks to Carl Hagelin scoring a goal on a 2 on 1 advantage. Hagelin wasn’t done there, though. After Michigan took a penalty around four minutes later, Hagelin scored on a shorthanded breakaway. Suddenly Michigan led 4-1, and this game appeared to be as good as over. That feeling became even more solid when Brian Lebler put the puck into an empty net to give Michigan a 5-1 victory.
Shawn Hunwick made 26 saves in this game, including a few close calls that were just absolutely amazing to watch. Hunwick somehow managed to get a piece of the puck when it seemed like Bemidji State would for sure score, and his exceptional play made up for the fact that Michigan missed out on quite a few close calls as well.
Miami beat Alabama-Huntsville 2-1 before Michigan’s game was played. That means that the Wolverines will take on the RedHawks on Sunday night (8 p.m. on ESPNU) with a trip to the Frozen Four in Detroit on the line. Although Michigan just destroyed Miami a week or so ago, it’s going to be tough to win a game over a team like the RedHawks twice in such a short period of time. Not only that, but if that blowout provided anything, it was probably a wakeup call for the RedHawks. For the Wolverines, that big win showed that they are capable of beating anyone in the nation, Miami included.
All I can say is that this game is going to be absolutely epic. There was a lot of red in the crowd during Miami’s game, and it was basically all maize and blue when Michigan took the ice. The two fan bases coming together with the Midwest Regional title on the line will create an unbelievable atmosphere and an arena that will be buzzing from start to finish. Here’s to Michigan keeping the magic alive and clinching a trip to the Frozen Four at Ford Field.
Go Blue!
