MINNEAPOLIS, Ill. – Freshmen provided the bulk of scoring as second-seeded Michigan posted a 4-3 come-from-behind win over top seed Minnesota Saturday night in the Big Ten Hockey Tournament Championship Game. The title game was played before a sellout crowd of 10,305 at 3M Arena at Mariucci and a Big Ten Network viewing audience.
Michigan (24-11-3) captured its second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title and third overall, the most of any conference school. The fourth-ranked Wolverines receive the conference’s automatic berth into 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, freshman defenseman Seamus Casey pulled Michigan even at the 5:29 mark and teammate Dylan Duke provided the game-winner with 8:14 remaining, sweeping a puck past goaltender Justen Close.
Top-ranked Minnesota (26-9-1) had taken the lead just 1:57 into the period on Rhett Pitlick’s 10th goal of the season.
The Gophers opened scoring at 6:52 of the first period when rookie forward Logan Cooley blocked a shot in his zone, rushed up ice and fed classmate Brody Lamb across the slot.
Brandon Naurato’s squad 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 back boards. Jimmy Snuggerud found himself alone in the right circle and found Cooley for a tap-in midway through the period to even the score at 2-2, setting the stage for a dramatic finish in the third.
Michigan and Minnesota dominated the all-tournament team with the Wolverines’ Adam Fantilli earning 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
Justen Close, G, Minnesota
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Adam Fantilli, F, Michigan
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Big Ten Conference…