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Michigan hockey is No. 3 seed overall, will play in Allentown

Chris Balasby: Chris Balas03/19/23Balas_Wolverine
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Michigan hockey crushed Colgate in first round NCAA Tournament play. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

On paper, Michigan hockey got about as favorable a draw NCAA Tournament draw as anyone might have hoped — with one exception. The Wolverines could play host Penn State (No. 8) in Allentown, Pa. in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Michigan will play Colgate Friday night in Allentown (8:30 P.M., ESPNU) and — with a win — would face the winner of PSU and Michigan Tech (No. 10). The Wolverines moved up a spot in the pairwise from No. 4 with a Big Ten Championship clinching win at No. 1 Minnesota Saturday night.

Michigan would play Sunday at 6:30 with a victory.

The Wolverines surged at the end of the season under head coach Brandon Naurato to finish second in the Big Ten. They handled Wisconsin two games to none in a best of Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal, beat Ohio State in Ann Arbor in the semis, and got two goals from Rutger McGroarty in the second period and the game winner in the third from Dylan Duke to beat the Golden Gophers.

Michigan is 24-11-3 overall and finished 12-10-2 in a loaded Big Ten. The Wolverines are 12-3-2 since Jan. 14 and are led by NCAA scoring leader and Hobey Baker Award finalist Adam Fantilli (27 goals, 34 assists). Colgate, U-M’s first opponent, is 19-15-5 and earned the auto bid as the Eastern College Athletic Conference champion. They won five games, including victories over No. 2 Quinnipiac and No. 6 Harvard, to get there.

The Red Raiders haven’t made the tournament since 2014.

Penn State, meanwhile, played Michigan tight in three of four games this year, winning one. U-M won one in overtime and came back from three goals down at home in another before taking the finale, 7-4, at Yost Ice Arena.

Michigan Tech earned an at-large bid after finishing 24-10-4 overall and will make its 15th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. This will be its third under CCHA Coach of the Year Joe Shawhan.

Michigan, though, will be the heavy favorite to come out of the regional and move on to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla. this year. The Wolverines boast the No. 1 offense in the country, averaging 4.1 goals per game. They lost to Denver in last year’s Frozen Four semifinal and haven’t captured a national title since 1998.

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