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Who: #12 Michigan vs Dartmouth
Where: Yost Ice Arena
When: Friday and Saturday, 7:35pm
It's Thanksgiving weekend and the Wolverines host Dartmouth. The Big Green make a rare trip outside of the northeast and their first visit to Yost since 1979 when current Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet was their goaltender.
Dartmouth has gotten off to a slow start this season with a 2-4-0 record. Big Green has recorded wins over Brown and Princeton while losing soundly to Harvard, Yale and Quinnipiac.
Offensively Dartmouth ranks 33rd in goal scoring averaging 2.67 per game. Led by a trio of scorers, seniors Jack Barre and Nick Bligh have four goals each and sophomore Corey Kalk has tallied three. Five players on the team have recorded one goal. The Dartmouth power play has had the least amount of chances out of any team in the country going to the man advantage just twelve times and they have converted twice.
On the other side of the puck The Big Green have not been great defensively. In their losses this season Dartmouth has been outscored 22-6 and their penalty kill ranks dead last in the country allowing eighteen power play goals at a rate of 66.7%.
In net Dartmouth has a pair of senior netminders. James Kruger was their starter a year ago posting pretty good numbers, a 1.98 GAA and a .926 SV%, but this season Kruger has put up a GAA of 4.00 and a save precentage of .868. Charles Grant is the other goaltender. He has recorded an .829 SV% and a 4.41 goals against.
For Michigan
Steve Racine played well in the Saturday game against BU and he should start in net this weekend.
Michigan's special teams have been solid since they started experimenting with new looks and they should have plenty of opportunity this weekend facing a Dartmouth team that spends quite a bit of time in the box.
The Wolverine's upperclassmen have gotten off to a slow start. JT Compher and Boo Nieves have just one goal, but this series should give both players a chance to get in rhythm.
The Michigan blueline is going to have to stay sharp against a Dartmouth squad that can score goals. They'll need to keep the turnovers down, stay in position and avoid trips to the box.