Wolverines take both at Showcase

By Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan is now on a 12-game winning streak after winning both games of the College Hockey Showcase last weekend at Yost Ice Arena against Wisconsin and Minnesota from the WCHA.

Friday night, Michigan beat Wisconsin, 3-2. Chad Kolarik scored shorthanded in the first period, senior captain Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty found the back of the net, both on the power-play, in the middle frame. Kolarik assisted on both tallies.

The Badgers threatened late in the third period with goals 18 seconds apart.

"It was a game where the momentum really changed late in the game,” said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. “I thought the third period wasn’t going anywhere, and then we had a couple of shifts where we had three or four point-blank chances and the puck didn’t go in. Then we had a couple of penalties and all of a sudden we're on our heels. The puck went in for them and they got a life. Then they got a second goal, when we made one bad mistake, and it was a new game. We did a lot of good things in the game, but we didn’t finish them off in the third period and I can't remember the last time we lost a third period like that."

Billy Sauer stopped 24 shots for the Wolverines.

Porter tallied four points (two goals, two assists) and now has a nation-best 16 goals on the year and Kolarik had his second straight three-point contest to lead Michigan to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota Saturday night.

"I think it was just one of those nights where we were clicking,” Porter said. “We were finding each other and things just happened to go our way. We got a couple lucky bounces and it worked out."

Kolarik scored the first two goals of the game and Porter added a third before Minnesota could respond.

Ben Winnett chipped in a third-period goal for the Wolverines and Sauer stopped 26 shots en route to his 13th win.

Michigan (12-1-0, 8-0-0 CCHA) suffered its lone loss of the season to the Gophers on Oct. 13 and swept the College Hockey Showcase for the first time since 2002 and the fifth time in the tournament’s 15-year history.