In a game that Michigan Hockey absolutely needed, it produced one of its strongest efforts of the season as the No. 12 Wolverines (17-12-2, 30 points Big Ten) defeated the No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers (21-6-4, 39 points B1G) 3-2 in overtime Friday night.
Head coach Brandon Naurato cannot afford many slip-ups at this point in the season. His team is a borderline candidate for the NCAA Tournament and a sloppy final two weeks could see them on the outside looking in.
However, Friday was a pivotal step for the postseason hopefuls.
The first real threat of the game came via Michigan’s top line of Garrett Schifsky, TJ Hughes and Josh Eernisse.