Week 14 Preview
Weekend Recap
The Golden Grizzlies took on an MCHC – East opponent over this past weekend in a traditional two-game series against #35 Central Michigan University. Coming into the weekend, coach Stirling and his staff were 5-5-0 against the Chippewas and currently are sitting at 12th in the national ranking period.
In the first of the two-game series, the Golden Grizzlies were at home against CMU. The game that took place at Buffalo Wild Wings Arena saw Oakland jump out to a 2-0 lead through two periods. Goals from forwards Brendan Danou and Jules Sainte-Marie got the Grizzlies out front in the contest. The Grizzlies would win the third period as well to take the game by a final score of 5-1. Other scorers in the contest included Evan Chippa, Matt Phaneuf, and Jake McCatty. In net for the Golden Grizzlies was junior goalie Tate Potteiger who made 33 of 34 saves in the contest. For the Chippewas, Loren Jones was in the net and made 35 saves in the game. Oakland led the game with the final shots being 40-34.
The next night was the second and final game of the series with CMU at Martin Ice Arena. The Grizzlies found themselves in a dogfight after not having the same effort from the night before. The Chippewas would score in the opening frame while a goal in the second from Oakland’s Tommy Davis would tie the score 1-1 after two periods. Early in the third, CMU’s Jayce Johnson would score what would be the game-winner as the Chippewas would take the game with a final score of 2-1. Goaltender Caleb Godlewski would make 36 saves in the losing effort. The Grizzlies had 42 shots in the game.
After 13 weeks of play (record of 16-6-2-2), the team highlights are below:
Leading in Goals: Brendan Danou (17)
Leading in Assists: Jack Abbo (23)
Leading in Points: Jack Abbo (32)
Team Powerplay: 29 of 113 (25.66%)
Team Penalty Kill %: 87 of 106 (82.08%)
Leader in Wins: Tate Potteiger (8)
Leader in GAA (at least 180 minutes played): Evan Hays (1.70)
Leader in Save % (at least 180 minutes played): Evan Hays (94.02%)
Week 14 Preview (#13 University of Michigan Wolverines)
The regular season continues this weekend as the Golden Grizzlies (16-6-2-2) welcome a home-and-home series with the #13 University of Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines are the defending National Champions of the ACHA DIII level. Michigan is currently 6-4-0 in MCHC – East play and sits right behind the Golden Grizzlies in the MCHC – East standings. Oakland hosts the Wolverines on Friday night at Birmingham Ice Arena with a return trip to Arctic Ice Arena on Saturday evening. Oakland had three games against U of M last season as they also met in the MCHC – East playoffs with final scores of 4-2 (L), 4-0 (L), and 8-3 (L). Coach Stirling and his staff have struggled against the Wolverines as they are a staggering 0-9-1 all-time. The Wolverines are 12-5-0 against teams the Grizzlies have played this season.
Michigan is led by forwards Tommy Shea (GP 19, 25 Points, 1.32 Points per game), Connor Chi (GP 21, 19 Points, 0.90 PPG), and Zach Mohammed (GP 17, 18 Points, 1.06 PPG). The defending National Champions come off a successful weekend against U of M – Flint with victories of 9-2 and 5-3. In goal for the Wolverines is second-year goaltender Aaron Loch (GP 17, 11-5, 91.2 Save %, 2.87 GAA). Loch has accumulated 1026 minutes in net so far this season.
The game times for this coming weekend are as follows. Friday night’s game is at Birmingham Ice Arena and is an 8:30 PM puck drop. Oakland will return the trip to Arctic Ice Arena in Canton for Saturday’s game which also has an 8:30 PM puck drop.
Other News and Notes
Program Notes:
With the goal against CMU last weekend, Brendan Danou scored his 50th career goal for the Golden Grizzlies.
With Friday night’s result, the Golden Grizzlies have passed the 100-goal mark on the season! Evan Chippa had the goal.
Lastly, the grade report for your Golden Grizzlies saw the team with a 3.15 GPA throughout the first semester.
Rankings:
The fifth ranking period of the season was announced on 1/19 via social media and the ACHA website. The Golden Grizzlies are currently ranked 12th in the national ranking system. The sixth ranking will be on 2/2/2024 in the afternoon. This will include any games played by other teams and the games against CMU.
The rankings will continue throughout the season on a bi-weekly basis until the final ranking period in the middle of February (games through 2/18). The top 16 teams with some automatic bids for league winners (must be in the top 25 nationally) will make the tournament which is hosted in St. Louis this season. There is currently one Auto bid outside of the top 16 (with a second at 27th), as of this writing, that will potentially replace the 15th and 16th seeds.
Out-of-Town Schedule for Week 14 Relevant Games
GVSU vs MSU
Purdue vs Notre Dame
LTU vs University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown
Northwood vs Central Michigan University
Adrian vs Saginaw Valley State
U of M – Flint vs Calvin
Hope vs Ferris State
Florida Gulf Coast vs Arkansas
Dartmouth vs University of Massachusetts
New Mexico vs Arizona State University
Saint Vincent College vs Akron
IUP vs Kent State University
MCHC – East Standings (As of 1/30/2024, 14 Games)
1) LTU – 11-0-1-0 (23 Points)
2) SVSU – 6-1-1-2 (15 Points)
3) Oakland – 6-3-1-0 (13 Points)
4) Michigan – 6-4-0-0 (12 Points)
5) CMU – 4-3-1-2 (11 Points)
T6) U of M – Flint – 3-8-0-1 (7 Points)
T6) Adrian – 3-8-0-1 (7 Points)
8) Northwood – 2-7-0-0 (4 Points)
Please visit our website https://oaklandhockeyd3.acha.hockeytech.com for more information about game times, stats, and more.