MINNEAPOLIS, Ill. — The freshmen provided the bulk of the points as second-seeded Michigan cruised to a 4-3 win over top-seeded Minnesota on Saturday night in the tournament championship game Big Ten Hockey League. The title match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,305 at 3M Arena in Mariucci and in front of an audience of Big Ten Network viewers.
Michigan (24-11-3) won its second straight Big Ten tournament title and third overall, the most of any conference school. The fourth-seeded Wolverines receive the conference’s automatic berth for the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week. The 16-team field will be revealed tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Trailing 3-2 early in the third period, freshman defenseman Seamus Casey tied Michigan at 5:29 and teammate Dylan Duke provided the game-winner with 8:14 left, sweeping a puck in front of goaltender Justen Close.
Minnesota, the highest ranked (26-9-1), had taken the lead after just 1:57 on Rhett Pitlick’s 10th goal of the season.
The Gophers opened the scoring at 6:52 of the first period when rookie forward Logan Cooley blocked a shot in his area, rushed to the ice and fed schoolmate Brody Lamb through the slot.
Brandon Naurato’s side got on the board in the second period with a pair of goals from freshman forward Rutger McGroarty, who scored 34 seconds apart on rebounds in the slot and off the backboard . Jimmy Snuggerud found himself alone in the right circle and found Cooley for a mid-period tap-in to level the score at 2-2, setting the stage for a spectacular finish in third.
Michigan and Minnesota led the all-tournament team with Wolverines’ Adam Fantilli winning the Most Outstanding Player award after setting tournament records for goals (7) and points (11).
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Adam Fantilli, F, Michigan
Rutger McGroarty, F, Michigan
Logan Cooley, F, Minnesota
Seamus Casey, D, Michigan
Luke Hughes, D, Michigan
Justin Close, G, Minnesota
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Adam Fantilli, F, Michigan
