Michigan 26, Missouri 9

Per expectations, Michigan cruised to an easy victory over Missouri Saturday night, riding a big second-half output to pull away from the Tigers.

Tempo Free

From the official recap, your tempo-free breakdown:

Against competition of a lesser caliber than Colorado State and Arizona State, it’s not surprising to see Michigan dominate a game like this. However, this was easily the most efficient Michigan’s offense has been in any game over the past two seasons. Scoring on more than half their possessions (as defined here) is ridiculous.

Part of the reason for that efficiency output was pace. By Michigan’s standards, especially in a blowout-type game, this was a verrrrrry slow contest (though D-1 games average about 70 possessions, MCLA games – or at least those involving Michigan – are much faster). The Wolverines were going to score about 25 goals regardless of pace, so the slow pace caused them to capitalize on a higher percentage of possessions.

Notes

I wasn’t at this game, so I can’t give much first-hand information, and with the way the game unfolded, it sounds like there isn’t too much deeper meaning we can draw from it: Michigan was better start to finish, and especially so when the depth started showing after halftime.

Chad Carroll scored 8 goals (and added an assist) and Ryan Dutton-O’Hara had 3 goals and an assist. Trevor Yealy had “only” 3 goals, and the team isn’t relying on him nearly as much to as the main source of scoring as they have over the past couple seasons.

It was an up-and-down day on faceoffs, with Brian Greiner actually finishing below .500 on the day. From the recap, it sounds like the second quarter went really poorly – which makes a better-than-.500 day for the team impressive.

The goalies executed the standard halftime switch. Stone had a rough outing, allowing 8 goals on 11 shots. The defense stepped up a bit more for Fowler after halftime (depth showing there), and he only faced 4 shots, letting one in.

Up Next

It’s a big weekend in the Great Lax State, as Michigan and Michigan State face each other at Seaholm High School in Birmingham on Saturday at 7. Preview content forthcoming throughout the week.