Senior weekend had more finality in the air than usual in Ann Arbor. Aside from the upperclassmen taking their final regular season shifts at Yost, the team had to grapple with the possibility of the entire season ending effectively before March.
The Michigan Wolverines have struggled to find consistency this season and found themselves firmly on the Pairwise bubble entering the weekend. After a few weeks of flirting with the disastrous possibility of missing the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines responded against Notre Dame.
On the back of another fast start — although it took more than 30 seconds this weekend — Michigan seized a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first game thanks to a Dylan Duke glove-side snipe past the best goalie — Ryan Bischel — in college hockey.