Michigan forward Phil DiGiuseppe skates away from Western Michigan players during the two teams’ Friday night game.
Matt Gade | Mlive Media Group
This file will be updated
KALAMAZOO -- The Michigan hockey team continues to flex its muscles as it cruises toward Detroit. And Saturday night may have been its most impressive display yet.
Michigan scored three goals in the first 11 minutes of the second period and took a 5-1 win and the CCHA quarterfinal series sweep over Western Michigan Saturday night at Lawson Ice Arena.
Michigan, the No. 7 seed in the CCHA tournament, is now just two wins away from a tournament title and automatic NCAA tournament berth following a 13-18-3 regular season. Michigan has been to a record 22 consecutive NCAA tournaments.
The Wolverines will play a semifinal game Saturday at Joe Louis Arena against either Miami, Ferris State or Ohio State.
Michigan take an eight-game unbeaten streak into that game, after two straight sweeps to end the regular season and straight playoff sweeps.
Michigan got on the board 1:08 into the game, when Lee Moffie threaded a long pass to a streaking Kevin Lynch at the blue line, and Lynch fired a shot high over Western Michigan goaltender Frank Slubowski.
The Wolverines dominated the first period, winning the shot battle 15-3. But they went into the first intermission tied, after Western’s Garrett Haar fired a shot past a screened Steve Racine.
Michigan’s second-period barrage started two minutes in, when Slubowski left the net to play a loose puck, and Michigan’s A.J. Treais dug it out of the corner and found Andrew Sinelli in front for a wide-open goal.
The Wolverines’ next two goals came 49 seconds apart, the first on their first power play chance of the night, when forward Alex Guptill picked up a loose puck in front and buried the shot.
Derek DeBlois added to the lead less than a minute later when he netted a backhand shot. That goal chased Slubowski, who had a 1.92 goals against average in 37 games on the year.
After Racine made a save on a Western breakaway chance with a minute left in the second period, Guptill notched his second goal of the period with a top-shelf shot over Broncos backup Lukas Hafner.
Guptill’s goals gave him points in nine consecutive games, and multiple points in seven of his last nine. Moffatt, a junior, finished with three assists, the the most he’s tallied since his freshman year. Treais finished with two assists.
Racine, starting his eighth consecutive game, gave up one goal for the third time in his last six outings.