The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 63 HOCKEY PREVIEW Just like the forwards, the blue line is well represented with NHL Draft picks. Junior Joseph Cecconi was taken by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, and junior Nicholas Boka was picked in the sixth round by the Minnesota Wild the same year. Sophomore Griffin Luce and senior Cutler Martin are also expected to be key members of the defense. Also just like the offense, there's a freshman that could quickly become a star. Quinn Hughes is widely ex- pected to be an early first-round pick in next year's NHL Draft and comes to Michigan after posting 47 points in 56 games last season for the United States National Team Development Program's U-18 team. Hughes will be someone to keep an eye on as the season goes along. GOALTENDING A "STRENGTH" When asked which part of the team is a strength, Pearson quickly brought up the team's goaltending. Michigan has three goalies on the roster — junior Chad Catt, and soph- omores Hayden Lavigne and Jack La- Fontaine, the latter a third-round pick in 2016 by the Carolina Hurricanes. Both LaFontaine and Lavigne played a lot as freshmen last season. LaFon- taine played in 11 games, starting 10, and had a save percentage of .911. He allowed 3.34 goals per game and of- ficially went 1-7-1 between the pipes. Lavigne played and started 13 games, allowing 2.92 goals per game. He had a save percentage of .912 and tied the graduated Zach Nagelvoort for the best record among goalten- ders at 6-6-1. "Even though they're young, they're very talented," Pearson said. "A little bit of an unknown, but I think that will be the strength going forward, from the net out." The coach explained he doesn't know which goalie will become the No. 1 or if they will rotate, saying he believes all three guys are capable. "That'll be up to them," Pearson said. "It's a little like the quarterback position, they'll let us know and show us who's ready to play. Both will get work early and we'll see how it goes." Both LaFontaine and Lavigne have high ceilings, and with the ex- perience they each got as freshmen, should be solid in net. The work ethic of both have impressed Pearson. "They're both good-sized goalten- ders and very athletic for their sizes, which is important in this day and age," the coach said. "They move extremely well. They stop the puck, which is big — some guys just can't stop the puck. They work extremely hard in practice and they challenge the shooters in practice, which I like. "A lot of times you'll see goalies in practice just get through drills, but these guys work hard and it's only going to make them better." ❏ Sophomore Hayden Lavigne was part of a three-man rotation at goalie last year, and finished tied for the team lead with six wins and two shutouts. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2017-18 MICHIGAN ICE HOCKEY SCHEDULE Date Opponent Sept. 30 Western Ontario# Oct. 6 at St. Lawrence (N.Y.) Oct. 7 at Clarkson (N.Y.) Oct. 20 Vermont Oct. 21 Vermont Oct. 27 at Penn State* Oct. 28 at Penn State* Nov. 2 Ferris State Nov. 3 Ferris State Nov. 10 Minnesota* Nov. 11 Minnesota* Nov. 17 at Wisconsin* Nov. 18 at Wisconsin* Nov. 24 Ohio State* Nov. 25 Ohio State* Dec. 7 Michigan State* Dec. 8 at Michigan State* Dec. 27-30 Great Lakes Invitational^ Jan. 5 Notre Dame* Jan. 7 at Notre Dame* Jan. 12 at Minnesota* Jan. 13 at Minnesota* Jan. 19 Penn State* Jan. 20 Penn State* Jan. 26 at Ohio State Jan. 27 at Ohio State* Feb. 2 Wisconsin* Feb. 3 Wisconsin* Feb. 9 at Michigan State* Feb. 10 vs. Michigan State* Feb. 16 at Notre Dame* Feb. 18 Notre Dame* Feb. 23 Arizona State Feb. 24 Arizona State March 2-17 Big Ten Tournament! March 23-25 NCAA Regionals& April 5 NCAA Semifinals% April 7 NCAA Final% Note: All start times TBA # Exhibition; * Big Ten Conference game; ^ 53rd annual Great Lakes Invitational at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; ! at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; & at various sites; % at United Center in Chicago