Project OSPREY
Saturday, 30 January @ Madison Square Garden
Michigan 79-72 Penn State
17-5, B1G 7-2
The ferocious Nittany Lions did not score for almost four minutes, 'til 16:08 of the first half; soon thereafter, the valiant Wolverines lead 10-3. Alas, the game was tied, 13-13, at 12:24 due to an 8-0 Penn State run. The Maize & Blue thereafter grew their lead to 25-17 at 8:24, 32-22 five minutes later, &—thanks to a last-second three—38-26 at the half. Michigan still lead by ten at 15:00 to go in the second half, 44-34; the lead swelled to seventeen by 9:30, 60-43; but then shark to a perilous five, 64-59, by 4:47, again due to a 9-0 Penn State run. The valiant Wolverines responded, growing the lead to 70-61 & then making their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 79-72 victory.
This was the eighth game for Team 100 without leading scorer Caris LeVert (senior, guard); 6-2 in league play without LeVert's twenty points a night, with a victory over Maryland & the only losses being on the road to Iowa & Purdue? I'll take that any day of the week & twice on Sunday. The game against the ferocious Nittany Lions (for whom this was a home game, despite the neutral court) was the end of the valiant Wolverines' "easy stretch" that included games against the bottom three clubs in the B1G; things get much tougher in the remaining nine games of league play (before the B1G tourney). That said, Team 100 still doesn't have a bad loss (four of the five clubs to defeat us are still ranked in the Top 25) & can boast a win over (№ 8) Maryland, without LeVert.
Next: (№ 19) Indiana within the friendly confines of the Crisler Center, on Tuesday. The wily Hoosiers have but one B1G loss & boast a higher three-point-shooting percentage than the valiant Wolverines.
Go Blue!
Seven hours after tip-off on the hard wood, the puck dropped on the ice for the second half of the inaugural B1G Super Saturday. Having been a part of similar transformations at the Palace of Auburn Hills, I tip my hat to the staff of Madison Square Garden for a job well done.
Same schools, different game, same result.
Project PUFFIN
Saturday, 30 January @ Madison Square Garden
(№ 6) Michigan 6-3 Penn State (№ 15)
16-3-4, B1G 7-1-2
The valiant Wolverines are the highest scoring team in N.C.A.A. Division I ice hockey, which is a good thing based on what I saw of the defense & goaltending. The first half of the usual weekend series was played in State College on Thursday, 28 January: Michigan 7-4 Penn State.
The Leaders & Best drew first blood, but the ferocious Nittany Lions scored the equalizer in the last minute of the first period (tied 1-1) & used that momentum to dominate the second period, outscoring the valiant Wolverines 2-1 in what seemed like an endless flurry of shots & chances (Penn State led 3-2). The offensive prowess of "living legend" Red Berenson's latest squad came to the fore in the third period, as the puck seemed never to leave the Penn State end. Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam was under constant siege, eventually surrendering two more goals. With Michigan up 5-3 & enjoying the man-advantage of the power play, the ferocious Nittany Lions pulled McAdam, almost immediately allowing an empty-net goal to Tyler Motte (junior, right wing), the "M" in the prolific "C.C.M." line, alongside captain J. T. Compher (junior, center) & Kyle Connor (freshman, left wing).
Next: A pair of games against Michigan State, Friday at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena & Saturday in the tire-fire-of-a-burg that is East Lansing.
Go Blue!
Code Name: CHAOS
I've reversed an early, never-implemented decision (
Wayback Machine), choosing "Project PUFFIN" as the title for discussions of hockey, rather than "Project ALBATROSS." Saturday's game was the first college hockey game I'd watched in its entirety in years, so already PUFFIN is off to a better start than ALBATROSS ever enjoyed. I've never denied that there is a great deal of navel-gazing involved in publishing a personal blog over the course of almost a decade & a half.
