I was able to attend the Michigan vs. Penn State game on Thursday, thinking it was going to be one of the last times I'd be able to see them live all year. What I didn't expect was that it was the last time anyone would see them all season. The 2-1 2OT game on Thursday was one of the most disappointing things I've had to watch. From when I was younger until today, I can't think of any other time where I've been so disappointed. Not even last year, when we had to win to get into the NCAA tournament to keep our 22 year streak alive, have I been this disappointed. Penn State simply dominated UM in the first 2 periods of the game. We looked like we didn't even belong on the same sheet of ice as PSU, a team that is in it's second year of D-I competition.
The third period and majority of Overtime belonged to the Wolverines. It was almost as if they awakened (as they should have), and tried to salvage their season. The worst part about watching them play in the final 3 periods of the game was that I knew they could have been playing like that all game. It's hard to win games with 2 goals, and it's even harder to win with one. As I sat in my seat at the Xcel Energy Center, the Wolverines gave a stick salute to their fans, and I soon realized, that there is a high probability that we might not be able to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. I immediately went home, logged onto the Pariwise Predictor and tried to find every which way Michigan could make the Tournament. There were a lot of different ways we could sneak into the NCAAs, and even possibly nab the 14th seed. A lot would have had to happened, and as I sat around Saturday, I realized that none of those situations were panning out.
It was an interesting season, one that seemed to peak way too soon. It will be interesting to see who decides to leave early, and who decides to stick around to try to get Michigan back to it's national prominence.
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