Michigan 3/2
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2024 9:17 am
Tomorrow the Delaware Blue Hens meet up with the Michigan Wolverines for the 7th time. UD and the Big Blue have split the first six matchups with the cumulative score adding up to 66-69 in favor of Michigan. In last year’s game the Hens had all the momentum early and looked upstoppable with a 9-4 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half. The stadium was going crazy. Unfortunately, Michigan’s Nick Rowlett won a faceoff and went straight to the goal to make it 9-5. The Hens then lost the ball in their offensive zone with 10 seconds left in the half, and after a timeout, Peter Thompson took the ball coast-to-coast and scored with less than a second left on the clock. Momentum gone.
Last year was a wasted opportunity for the Hens losing 16-12 after edging out the Wolverines in nearly every stat (shots 44-38, turnovers 13-14, clears 16-17 vs 16-18, ground balls 30-26) but were slightly beaten on faceoffs 16-13 and most importantly saves 12 to just 7 (admittedly a tough game for Matt Kilkeary). Important to note, the Hens played without an injured Mike Robinson in last year’s matchup.
This year the Hens will be facing a very different Wolverine squad that returns a lot of familiar faces like Michael Boehm (45g 28a last year) on attack, Bo Lockwood, Ryan Cohen (on midfield this year vs attack when he had 27g 30a), middie Aiden Mulholland, defensemen Kees Van Wees, Jack Whitney and both Hunter Tayler and Shane Carr in goal. Additionally, the Wolverines have bolstered the defending Big10 Championship squad with some impactful grad transfers from Princeton, Lehigh and Bucknell. The three Princeton transfers are all-IVY SSDM, Beau Pederson, Christian Ronda (middie) who had 21 goals 11 assists last year and LSM Cathal Roberts. The Lehigh transfer is 6’2” off-ball attackman Justin Tiernan who scored 46 goals last year and has 22 goals in just five games this year. The Bucknell transfer is close defenseman Andrew Stanzel who had 27 caused turnovers last year along with 35GBs. This team is LOADED with talent.
What the Hens will need to do to win
First, the Hens will need to contain the Wolverines prolific attack unit especially since they will most likely get killed on faceoffs with Justin Wietfeldt (.634 winning percentage) taking the majority of draws. Boehm is the guy who really makes the offense flow though. He can beat a defender one-on-one from x and is equally talented at finding teammates open on the crease. This year, that open guy has been Tiernan who is deadly from inside 10 yards. I am sure that Tate Wasson will have his hands full with Boehm. Bo Lockwood is also very talented from behind the net. He is more dangerous as a feeder than a shooter but is very quick and shifty. It would not surprise me to see DeLuca handle Lockwood with a short stick (Aiden Fritz) and ensure that middies Cohen and Ronda are always covered with a pole.
Last week the Hens were a little sloppy with slides and coverage inside. If that happens this week, the game could get ugly in a hurry.
Also, the Hens will need to watch Cohen coming out of the box at midfield. He terrorized Jacksonville earlier this week with this tactic. Cohen is super quick and the Hens should pick him up immediately when he subs on. They need to put a body on him before he gets inside of 15 yards. Guy is deadly from the wing.
Offensively, Delaware will need to do what they always do so well. The Hens have a ton of speed and quickness at midfield. They need to beat the Michigan defenders up top and get the defense spinning. They need to look for fast break opportunities and avoid too many extended one-on-ones. The Wolverines have a senior-laden defense that hunts balls. Grad transfers Roberts (10CTs) and Stanzel, in particular, put a ton of pressure on offenses. Hens should share the ball and look for the best matchups, like they did last week (got a little unlucky with Penn’s insanely hot goalie). Michigan has an over-zealous defense that has only faced one team with a great offense this year (Virginia) and got lit up for 19 goals. I am clearly not comparing the Hens to Virginia, but if UD moves the ball quickly and limits turnovers, there is no reason they can’t get to 13-14 goals. The defense will need to play nearly perfect to win this game, but it should be fun.
Another thing to note, it is going to be raining tomorrow. The Hens have been awesome in the rain over the last couple of years. Hopefully, this trend continues. I will be there in head-to-toe Gore-tex. Can’t wait.
Last year was a wasted opportunity for the Hens losing 16-12 after edging out the Wolverines in nearly every stat (shots 44-38, turnovers 13-14, clears 16-17 vs 16-18, ground balls 30-26) but were slightly beaten on faceoffs 16-13 and most importantly saves 12 to just 7 (admittedly a tough game for Matt Kilkeary). Important to note, the Hens played without an injured Mike Robinson in last year’s matchup.
This year the Hens will be facing a very different Wolverine squad that returns a lot of familiar faces like Michael Boehm (45g 28a last year) on attack, Bo Lockwood, Ryan Cohen (on midfield this year vs attack when he had 27g 30a), middie Aiden Mulholland, defensemen Kees Van Wees, Jack Whitney and both Hunter Tayler and Shane Carr in goal. Additionally, the Wolverines have bolstered the defending Big10 Championship squad with some impactful grad transfers from Princeton, Lehigh and Bucknell. The three Princeton transfers are all-IVY SSDM, Beau Pederson, Christian Ronda (middie) who had 21 goals 11 assists last year and LSM Cathal Roberts. The Lehigh transfer is 6’2” off-ball attackman Justin Tiernan who scored 46 goals last year and has 22 goals in just five games this year. The Bucknell transfer is close defenseman Andrew Stanzel who had 27 caused turnovers last year along with 35GBs. This team is LOADED with talent.
What the Hens will need to do to win
First, the Hens will need to contain the Wolverines prolific attack unit especially since they will most likely get killed on faceoffs with Justin Wietfeldt (.634 winning percentage) taking the majority of draws. Boehm is the guy who really makes the offense flow though. He can beat a defender one-on-one from x and is equally talented at finding teammates open on the crease. This year, that open guy has been Tiernan who is deadly from inside 10 yards. I am sure that Tate Wasson will have his hands full with Boehm. Bo Lockwood is also very talented from behind the net. He is more dangerous as a feeder than a shooter but is very quick and shifty. It would not surprise me to see DeLuca handle Lockwood with a short stick (Aiden Fritz) and ensure that middies Cohen and Ronda are always covered with a pole.
Last week the Hens were a little sloppy with slides and coverage inside. If that happens this week, the game could get ugly in a hurry.
Also, the Hens will need to watch Cohen coming out of the box at midfield. He terrorized Jacksonville earlier this week with this tactic. Cohen is super quick and the Hens should pick him up immediately when he subs on. They need to put a body on him before he gets inside of 15 yards. Guy is deadly from the wing.
Offensively, Delaware will need to do what they always do so well. The Hens have a ton of speed and quickness at midfield. They need to beat the Michigan defenders up top and get the defense spinning. They need to look for fast break opportunities and avoid too many extended one-on-ones. The Wolverines have a senior-laden defense that hunts balls. Grad transfers Roberts (10CTs) and Stanzel, in particular, put a ton of pressure on offenses. Hens should share the ball and look for the best matchups, like they did last week (got a little unlucky with Penn’s insanely hot goalie). Michigan has an over-zealous defense that has only faced one team with a great offense this year (Virginia) and got lit up for 19 goals. I am clearly not comparing the Hens to Virginia, but if UD moves the ball quickly and limits turnovers, there is no reason they can’t get to 13-14 goals. The defense will need to play nearly perfect to win this game, but it should be fun.
Another thing to note, it is going to be raining tomorrow. The Hens have been awesome in the rain over the last couple of years. Hopefully, this trend continues. I will be there in head-to-toe Gore-tex. Can’t wait.