No. 7 Michigan stumbled in the season opener

ANN ARBOR – With 12 new players and no exhibition games this season, Michigan head hockey coach Brandon Naurato said earlier in the year that it might take some time for his team.

The seventh-ranked Wolverines open the season Friday against Minnesota State, and it looks like the streak is still on. The Mavericks scored five goals on 21 shots to defeat Michigan 5-2 at Yost Ice Arena.

Seven freshmen and five transfers are new to the Wolverines this year as the team loses most of its production from last season's squad that reached the top three in the Frozen Four.

MSU had little offensive zone pressure throughout the game, but was dangerous off the rush. It didn't capitalize on its first three two-on-ones but scored on its next two. Brian Carabas put a wrister past Logan Stein, a Ferris State transfer, to tie the game at the 4:25 mark of the second.

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Four minutes later, Michigan defenseman Jacob Truscott created an immediate opportunity for the Mavericks after catching an edge and falling down. Brett Moravec receives a concentrated feed from Campbell Cicose and makes a smart move to give the team the lead.

Rhett Pitlick, a transfer from Minnesota who is familiar with the Wolverines' game, gave MSU some breathing room with 63 seconds left. A turnover by Tim Lovell set up Pitlick for a breakaway goal. Mavericks added some more insurance just two minutes later when Luke Ashton slotted in from the point and fired a shot just under the crossbar.

Sophomore Garrett Shifsky briefly gave the Wolverines some life, burying a feed from freshman Michael Hedge, a 2024 first-round pick, to pull within two with 5:03 left. The momentum was fleeting as MSU responded with 2:20 left.

Michigan, which lost five of its top six scorers from 2023-24, finished 1 for 2 on the power play and used the man advantage to take a 1-0 lead early in the second minute. On the team's preseason media day video conference call, defenseman Jacob Truscott and forward TJ Hughes raved about the shots of sophomore transfer William Whitelaw, who scored 10 goals as a freshman for Wisconsin. The 2023 third-round pick put that on display Friday, blasting a one-timer over Alex Tracy in Haze's setup.

The Wolverines finished with 34 shots on goal but were unable to create second chances. The two teams will end the two-match series on Saturday at 6 p.m.