No audio for the game, so this is going solely off the stats (and all the stats come from Gametracker so the official stats could be a little different). Thoughts on Michigan's 4-2 exhibition win over the NTDP Under 18 team:
-I know it's just an exhibition game against younger players, but it's an encouraging sign that AJ Treais and Ben Winnett contributed in a big way offensively. Winnett had a pair of assists. Treais had a 1-1--2 line and had another goal waived off. If Winnett can be somewhat of the offensive player he was supposed to be and Treais can make an impact, that bodes well for our chances. Additional scoring depth would be very welcome. Treais seems like one of those guys that's gonna be nice to have around. The NHL wasn't in love with him (probably because of his size) but he's an offensively gifted player who will be around for four years. He's drawn comparisons to Hensick in the past....if we get even half of that, he'll be a nice pickup.
-Also a positive: Carl Hagelin had a pair of goals on his only two shots of the hockey game. Hagelin led the team in shots on goal by 12 last season but scored 11 fewer goals than Caporusso. He's another guy that could take a step forward offensively. I like that he was out there on the power play.
-Chris Summers +3. Baller.
-Jon Merrill had the Americans' first goal of the night. We've heard about his offensive talents but he didn't get a chance to show them off a whole lot last year (3-7--10 in 50 games). He's got two goals in USA's first four games of season.
-Moffatt -2 with one shot on goal.
-Campbell's Yost debut got off to a rough start--giving up a goal 13 seconds in--but he rebounded pretty nicely, giving up 4 on 39 shots. Granted I didn't see any of the goals, but that's not a bad outing against one of the best offensive teams in the country, year after year.
-Hogie got off to a good start with 26 stops on the night. It's a bummer they scored that second one. Hopefully we'll see Hunwick tomorrow. Gotta build some goaltending depth in case Hogan can't, in fact, play every single game.
-One downer: The power play was 0 for 7 before capitalizing on their final opportunity. Those units have to be better than they were last year. Last year's squad had one of the worst percentages since they started keeping track of that stat at Michigan.
Tomorrow's opponent is the Windsor Lancers, who, as of this writing, trail the Miami Redhawks 4-1 after 2.
The shocker of the young exhibition season thusfar is Boston U tying St. Francis Xavier 2-2 tonight, despite outshooting them 53-16.
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Treais definitely stood out tonight. It was a pleasant surprise just how solid he was in the first outing.
Lindsay Sparks was also a player. I can't recall if he drew any comparisons to Turnbull previously, but he looked like a replica. Gritty and likes to throw his body around a little and mix it up.
Lee Moffie was the third freshman who I noticed often. More for seeing a lot of ice time versus any big plays, which is probably good for a defenseman in his first game.
It's really hard to judge these guys in exhibition play, but each of the freshmen looked like they're ready to step in and fill their roles at this level.
Hogie was solid. Stood his ground and was seeing the puck well, played well positionally.
The first goal on JMFC was more a defensive breakdown at the blue line than anything. It was essentially a 3 on 1 coming into the slot and he just got caught slightly out of position. 15 seconds in, you've gotta wonder if he was even ready for that.
The team looked good for their first outing with no official practices in the books yet. With the freshmen essentially playing purely on talent alone, I was happy with what I saw. Of course, that really doesn't mean a thing until next weekend.
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