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Michigan and Ohio State Set to Clash on the Ice in the Big Ten Tourney

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Hockey

The No. 6-ranked and No. 3 seed University of Michigan ice hockey team (14-9-1) will begin the single-elimination format Big Ten Tournament with a quarterfinal match-up against No. 6 seed Ohio State (7-18-1) on Sunday (March 14) at 8:30 p.m. inside Compton Family Arena in South Bend, Ind. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

The Series
Michigan went 3-1 against Ohio State this season, sweeping the Buckeyes on the road in January before splitting at home at Yost in February. In this season's series, the Wolverines have outscored OSU, 17-5. Michigan leads, 87-48-14, in the all-time series with Ohio State. The Wolverines are 4-3 when playing on neutral ice with this being the first meeting in the Big Ten Tournament. The teams were set to meet in the semifinals last year before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolverine Bites
• Michigan went 1-0-1 last weekend against Arizona State in its final home games of the season. The Wolverines are ranked No. 6 in the latest edition of the USCHO poll (March 8) and are 8-3-1 since January with a scoring margin of +32.
• Freshman Thomas Bordeleau leads the team in scoring with 26 points on a team-high 19 assists and seven goals. He had a 10-game point streak from Jan. 8-Feb. 14 (3-11-14). Kent Johnson adds 23 points on seven goals and 16 assists. Matty Beniers has 19 points and Brendan Brisson has 18.
• Following the four rookies in scoring are three defensemen led by sophomore Cam York (16 points), while D-partner Owen Power has 15 points. Junior Nick Blankenburg follows with 12 points.
• Michigan has split goaltending duties between Strauss Mann and Erik Portillo the last four weekends. Mann is 9-7-1 with a .929 save percentage and a 1.87 goals-against average, while Portillo is 4-1-0 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.67 GA.
• Michigan's high-flying offense averages 3.55 goals per game, ninth nationally, while the defense has limited opponents to just 1.91 gpg, fifth nationally.

Scouting the Buckeyes
• Ohio State is 7-18-1 on the season and is the No. 6 seed in the B1G Tournament.
• Freshman Travis Treloar leads the offense with 20 points on a team-best eight goals and 12 assists. Sophomore Mark Cheremeta follows with 19 points on team-high 14 helpers. Junior Quinn Preston and senior defenseman Grant Gabriele follow with 13 points apiece.
• Senior Tommy Nappier has started in all but three games this season and has a .905 save percentage and a 3.29 goals against average.
• OSU averages 2.04 goals per game (44th nationally) and allows 3.73 GPG (45th). As the most penalized team in the conference, the Buckeyes are at 77.2 percent on the penalty kill. The power play has converted on 17.2 percent of its opportunities.

Up Next
If the Wolverines advance past Ohio State, they will play the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal game between Minnesota and Michigan State on Monday (March 12) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. That contest is scheduled for an 8:30 pm start and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.