Friday, March 21, 2014

3/20 Recap: Duo blanked

J.T. Compher (-1, 3 SOG) was kept off the score sheet as Michigan was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament by Penn State 2-1 in double overtime. Compher, who leads all Michigan scorers with 31 points (11+20) nearly ended the game with an excellent one-time opportunity early in the first overtime, but Nittany Lions netminder Matt Skoff was able to flash a leg for one of his 52 stops. The quarterfinal round loss sees the Wolverines slide into a bubble position heading into Sunday's naming of the 16-team NCAA Tournament field.

In the OHL, Nick Baptiste finished with a plus-one rating as Sudbury opened the 2014 playoffs with a 3-2 loss at Barrie. Colts defender Aaron Ekblad had a good all around game for the Colts, smartly operating at both ends of the ice including some strong work on the penalty kill. Ekblad missed some time in the middle of the second period after taking a shot off his elbow but eventually returned to clog his side of the ice the rest of the way. Game Two is Saturday in Barrie.