Denver wants '9-8 game' with Michigan hockey - U-M says, 'fine'

Mel Pearson’s Michigan hockey team is a significant favorite to beat Denver tonight and advance to Saturday’s night’s National Championship game. The Wolverines, the No. 1 overall seed, have been jokingly referred to as “that all-star team” by opponents this year given their collection of talent.

RELATED

• Breaking down four emerging leaders on the Michigan Football offense

• Opinion: How Michigan football position battles stand — the defense

But that doesn’t guarantee anything, of course, other than a target on the back. Michigan turned it up in the second half of the year to earn the No. 1 overall seed, but this year’s Frozen Four field is elite, too. Denver — the No. 3 seed overall — has weapons of its own, and can score quickly.

“We’re going to go for 9-8,” Pioneers coach David Carle said with a smile when asked if he wanted a track meet or to try to slow Michigan down.

The Michigan response?

“Bring it on.”

“The best thing about our team is we can play any type of game,” senior forward Jimmy Lambert said. “We’ve shown that all year long. We’ve played teams that play both styles of game, and we’ve beaten those teams.

“I think no matter what is in front of us, we’re ready for it. The type of game I want to see tomorrow is a 1-0 or 2-0 game.”

“Jimmy hit it right on the head,” fifth-year forward Mike Pasutjov added. “We played a lot of teams, a lot of different styles. We matched up against all of them pretty well. Whether it’s 9-8 — good luck on getting eight on us — or 2-0, I think we’ll be ready for the occasion.”

So does Pearson, whose team appears to be peaking at the right time. Last year’s squad was a two seed before having to bow out due to COVID-19 just hours before the puck dropped. Several on this squad might have returned for this opportunity as a result, and they can’t wait to take the ice.

The Michigan team took in some of the city Tuesday and had some fun, but this is a business trip. Pearson believes his team is ready to go.

“It’s going to be a great game,” he said. “I said this week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 7-6 game; I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 2-1 game. Denver played two tough games last weekend. They’re a really good team. It’s like looking in the mirror a little bit. They can score, get up and down the rink. They can beat you in so many ways, but they can play good, hard-nosed defense.

“We just want to play our best game. That’s the bottom line. We just want to bring our best and make sure play to our identity, who we are. We won a lot of hockey games playing the style we play. That’s how we’re going to go after it tomorrow.”

That, and playing three strong periods and not just two. Michigan entered its last game with a 4-0 lead before giving up three straight in about six minutes to allow Quinnipiac to make it a game.

That’s been an issue at times, this year. After the win, Pearson told reporters they’d need better focus to win it all. He embedded that into his Michigan players’ minds this week.

“We had our longest video session I can remember in my 40 years — I think it was on Tuesday,” he said. “It wasn’t the most pleasant video. I’m usually real positive with our players, [but] you just can’t sweep it under the rug. You have to address it.

“Sometimes you get comfortable when you have a lead. The things that happened in those games were very fixable. As a coach, you’re a little concerned, but not overly. We talked about it a lot. We drilled a few things.”

At the same time, he said, he would “love to have a 4-0 lead going into third period” against Denver. Playing loose is what got Michigan off to great starts in their first two tournament wins, and it will be key in the Frozen Four.

Pearson called his former boss and Michigan coach Red Berenson after the win over Quinnipiac for advice. He went back to the 1996 and 1998 seasons to recall what worked in the national title years.

But he also asked him about the times they lost. They did surveys with the Michigan players, and they found one common denominator.

“Some early years when we lost, one of the things that came up was our team was too tight,” the Michigan coach said. “We’re trying to keep them relaxed and normal, not try to make the game more than it is. It’s an important game, but let’s not make it more than it is.

“We’ve taken that to the team. We try to do things, not tell them so much, but how we proceed every day in practice. How we approach it — what we talk about with them about this. We keep it to a minimum. We want to just keep continuing to play how we have.”

He believes his Michigan team will.

“This team is fairly loose,” he said. “They’re relaxed. They know what it takes to win.

“We’re on another stage, but it’s another hockey game. We just have to find a way to win 60 minutes.”

That and another 60 — or overtime, if necessary — would bring the program its first national title since 1998.