BU 3 - Michigan 2

On the road against the 10th ranked team in the country, the Wolverines couldn't have gotten off to a better start.

Michigan jumped on BU early with an Alex Kile goal at the six minute mark and Cooper Marody made it 2-0 on a power play goal midway through the first. The Wolverines were stronger, faster and more efficient than BU.

The Wolverines caught the Terriers sleepwalking and ran all over them, jamming the BU forwards at the blueline and disconnecting their zone entry. When a scoring chance did make it to Steve Racine he was there to shut it down.

It was the finish that would leave Michigan players and fans in disbelief.

The Terriers would come out of the locker room looking like a completely different team. From the drop of the puck to start the third their energy was noticeably higher and they took full advantage using that energy to overwhelm the Wolverine defensemen. Once the BU forwards applied pressure the turnovers and 2-on-1's came roaring back.

The Michigan turnovers kept coming and at the ten minute mark Danny O'Regan came down the middle and ripped a shot that Steve Racine never saw. Fourteen seconds later a Robbie Baillargeon shot hit Nolan De Jong's skate and went into Michigan's net.

Tyler Motte had a chance to break the tie when Kyle Connor sprung him on a breakaway and he was hauled down for a penalty shot, but Motte was stuffed by Connor LaCouvee.

In fitting fashion, Doyle Somerby capped it off scoring from a Michigan turnover and in a stretch of seven minutes BU had gone from two down to taking a 3-2 lead.

Thoughts

It was a tough loss to stomach. Letting a lead slip away against a Top-10 team is one that Michigan will look back on at the end of the year and wish they had held onto, just like they did last year after losing to BU late in the game last year.

That third period was bad. One of the worst I've seen in a number of years. Not only did BU grab three goals in a span of seven minutes but they could have had more and those were only prevented by stellar defensive plays or ferocious backchecks. The 13th ranked team in the country dominated for forty minutes and tried to hang on for dear life the last twenty.

The forwards are starting to worry me. The underclassmen have been fantastic which is a nice surprise but the upperclassmen outside of Tyler Motte have been underwhelming. How long can this team go on the backs of three freshman and a sophomore?

I don't know what I can say about the blueline that hasn't been said the last four years. There's still no poise in the face of pressure; once BU started to bring the energy the Michigan defensemen folded like a wet paper bag and handed the puck over on a silver platter.

It's a quick turnaround before a 4:00 game tomorrow. We'll see how the team responds.