Battling back from a slow start for the second straight night, the University of Michigan ice hockey team rallied back to defeat Minnesota State 3-2 on Saturday (Oct. 16) at AMSOIL Arena. Erik Portillo was outstanding between the pipes for the Wolverines, pushing aside 27 of 29 Mavericks shots to help Michigan win the 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament crown.

The first period was marked by physical play as each team rolled through their lines, testing the opposing netminder to no avail.

Owen Power was assessed a minor penalty for roughing with 7:48 remaining in the opening period, giving the Minnesota State the first power play of the game. Coming off of a perfect 5-for-5 effort on the penalty kill against Minnesota Duluth on Friday night (Oct. 15), U-M kept their momentum rolling by killing off the Mavericks' first opportunity with the man advantage.

After 20 minutes of play, the game remained scoreless, but U-M trailed 8-3 in shots on goal.

The Wolverines came out for the second period with gusto, moving their feet and drawing a penalty less than 40 seconds into the frame.

Not long after, Michigan was celebrating its third power-play goal of the weekend. Nick Blankenburg needed just 15 seconds on the power play to record his first tally of the season, a one-time blast from the point. The captain's shot beat Minnesota State's goalie cleanly to open the scoring 55 seconds into the middle period. Luke Hughes and Michael Pastujov picked up assists on Blankenburg's strike. The secondary assist for Pastujov marked his 50th point as a Wolverine.

U-M killed off two more penalties in the middle of the period to extend the team's PK success to a perfect 8-for-8 at the Ice Breaker.

Shortly thereafter, Portillo pushed aside a grade-A scoring chance from the slot with traffic scrambling in front of his crease. Out of that scrum, Hughes scooped the puck in transition and nearly created a clean breakaway for himself before having a late shot opportunity turned away.

Minnesota State put in a strong shift, maintaining possession for an extended period of time and cycling the puck around the U-M zone. After a seam pass was deflected off of a U-M defender and cries of "too many men" came from Michigan's bench, the puck skittered to an open Maverick near the blue paint and he buried it from in close to tie the game at 1 with 6:05 to go in the second period.

The Mavericks went on the power play for the fourth time with 2:30 left in the second period. With 19 seconds left in that man-advantage, the Michigan penalty killers ceded the first power-play goal of the weekend in nine chances to fall behind 2-1.

After two periods, the Wolverines trailed on the scoreboard 2-1 and in shots 19-10. Following the buzzer to close out the second period, Minnesota State's goalie, Dryden McKay, was assessed a minor penalty stemming from a netfront scrum.

Michigan threatened on the power play to start the third period, but failed to capitalize with the extra skater, dropping their season success rate to 50 percent (7-for-14).

Back at even strength, the Wolverines flexed their offensive muscle in pressuring the Minnesota State end. After setting up in the zone on a quasi-power play due to a defender's broken stick, Jacob Truscott unleashed a shot from the left point that Thomas Bordeleau was in perfect position to deflect past the Mike Richter Award Finalist, McKay. Bordeleau's tip-in goal near the blue paint at 4:20 of the final frame tied the game at 2, while Truscott collected the lone assist.

The game remained tied during the home stretch of the third period before Michigan's offense struck once again. With Bordeleau skating the puck into the zone along the left-side boards, Pastujov drove down the center of the ice, collapsing the defense and opening up a lane for Bordeleau to find their third linemate, Brendan Brisson, with a perfect seam pass. Brisson received the puck in stride as he entered the right circle and ripped a one-timer from his knee into the back of the net to pull Michigan ahead 3-2.

Blankenburg was sent off with 2:08 remaining to give Minnesota State one final chance on the power play.

With 1:12 left, Portillo stifled a Maverick with the puck at the top of the blue paint. Then, with 19 seconds left, Beniers sacrificed his body for a massive shot block in the slot. With five ticks remaining in regulation, Garrett Van Wyhe lifted a stick to win one final faceoff in the Michigan end.

As time expired, Truscott pinned the puck on the boards and closed out an early-season trophy win for the Wolverines over the No. 1 team in the country. In the postgame ceremony, Blankenburg collected the trophy and Brisson was named Player of the Game. U-M celebrated the win and the trophy-winning performance.

The win marks Michigan's fourth consecutive time it has been victorious when playing a No. 1-ranked opponent.

Next weekend, U-M will return to the Wolverine State to face off against Western Michigan in a home-and-home series with the Broncos. Puck drop for Friday's (Oct. 22) game at Yost Ice Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's (Oct. 23) matchup in Kalamazoo is set for a 7:05 p.m. start.