ANN ARBOR – All four of Michigan’s meetings with Ohio State last season were decided by one goal, with each team winning two.
A three-goal outburst from the Wolverines on Friday ensured the team’s first matchup this season wouldn’t be decided by the narrowest of margins. Captain T.J. Hughes scored the game-winner with 9:04 remaining, and the team added two more goals in the final three minutes for a 5-2 victory over Ohio State.
No. 2 Michigan (12-3, 5-2 Big Ten) outshot OSU 45-22 but fell behind by a goal in both the first and second period before answering. The Wolverines have won the opener of all four Big Ten series this season but have lost the second game each of the past two series. They will go for the sweep Saturday night.
Here are the highlights from the Wolverines’ postgame news conference:
Head coach Brandon Naurato on his takeaways from the game: “I thought we did a lot of really, really good things. I felt like we controlled the play, out-chanced them. I thought their goalie was unbelievable. And it wasn’t for lack of getting to the net. We had some second, third chances. I think we did a lot of good things, like on our forecheck and in the o zone to tilt the ice.”
Defenseman Luca Fantilli on Hughes finally converting on a scoring chance after registering six shots, not including a hit post, earlier in the game: “He’s an unbelievable captain, and I think he played well all over the ice tonight. I thought he was laying some big hits. I thought he was playing amazing defensively. And then he had like five shots in the slot to score. To see him get that one, it was just really well deserved, and I was happy that he got that.”
Hughes, who is second in the NCAA with 22 points after his three-point night Friday, on the team findings ways to win: “Yeah, just trust we’re building for the end of the year. Ohio State is a good team. They played well. Just that trust in the guys that we’ll come back, we’ll claw back and we’ll win, and we showed that tonight.”
Naurato on the emotions of facing the Buckeyes (5-6, 1-4): “I feel like every weekend, it’s like we have like 19 rivals. It’s the whole Big Ten. It’s tough, but that’s why you do it. It’s fun games to play in.”
Fantilli, who scored the team’s fifth goal into an empty net, on continuing their strong start in the Big Ten after facing back-to-back top-10 opponents the previous two weeks: “I think it’s just good for us to learn and it’s good for us to see that because, I mean, we’re a team that could keep a lead when we’re up, and we’re a team that can come back when we need to. I think getting feels in the Big Ten – every team’s good in the Big Ten. Every game’s a battle, so you’re playing playoff hockey every single night. It’s good to get used to that and get the feel for it.”
Naurato on his team responding with wins after all three losses this season: “It’s good. Now the next step is we got to find a way to sing a song tomorrow night (win). We know how hard it is to sweep in the Big Ten, and we’re in that same moment again. Another opportunity, another test to do it.”
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