ND, Michigan battle in Frozen Four
The Frozen Four is underway, and Notre Dame leads Michigan 3-2 with 10:44 left in the second period. It was 3-0, but Michigan just scored two rapid-fire goals to get back in it.
Liveblogs here and here. The game is being televised live on ESPN2. Winner gets Boston College in the national championship game Saturday. GO IRISH!!! BEAT SKUNKBEARS!!!
UPDATE: Michigan tied it at 3-3... then Notre Dame just took a 4-3 lead with less than 9 minutes left.
UPDATE 2: Tie game 4-4, with 5:21 left. Ugh.
UPDATE 3: Overtime. And, alas, I have to go to bed. Go Irish.
UPDATE 4: IRISH WIN!!!! (Okay, so I didn't actually go to bed...) WOOOHOOO!!!
UPDATE 5: The Associated Press is mean. Check out their lede:
Michigan has Notre Dame's number on the football field. Not so the ice.
Jeez! Is that really necessary? The Irish hockey team makes it to the national championship game for the first time ever -- upsetting the #1-ranked team in the country, and becoming the first #4 seed ever to advance this far -- and the first sentence of the AP article takes an irrelevant shot at the football team? WTF?! Is Brian Cook working ghost-writing for the AP or something?
Moreover, it's inaccurate. Yes, Michigan beat Notre Dame -- badly -- in 2007 and 2006, but the Irish won easily in 2005 (when Michigan was ranked #3 in the country, the Irish just #20) and in 2004 (when ND was unranked and Michigan was #7). Michigan won in '03; Notre Dame won in '02. That makes them 3-3 in their most recent series. (They didn't play from 1998 to 2001.)
If you want to go back further, the Irish are 12-11-1 against the Skunkbears since the series was renewed in 1978 after a 35-year hiatus. Michigan leads the overall series 20-14-1, but somehow I don't think the Wolverines' 9-2 record between 1884 and 1943 was what the AP reporter had in mind.
In any event, 20-14 is hardly a massive advantage, and 11-12 isn't an advantage at all, nor is 3-3. However you look at it, you simply cannot construct an accurate historical reality in which "Michigan has Notre Dame's number on the football field," unless you're looking only at the last two years, which is rather myopic and hardly a sufficiently representative sample to make such a sweeping statement. Neither team has the other's number; they've been very even in recent years.
Maybe the AP's hockey writers should stick to talking about hockey. How about that.
Anyway, here's a better ESPN article about Notre Dame's amazing run to the national championship game. In hockey.
P.S. Now, if you want to say that USC currently has Notre Dame's number in football, thanks to six straight wins -- five of them blowouts -- that would be accurate. :) Likewise, it would have been accurate to say that the Irish had the Trojans' number back during their 13-year undefeated streak in the '80s and '90s. But no way does either ND or UM have the other's number right now.
Michigan is hitting harder and skating faster through much of the 2nd period. Hopefully the Irish can find some energy and will to win in the locker room to put this one away.
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 10, 2008 11:07:05 PM
3-3 after a Mich. powerplay to start the 3rd. Ugh...
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 10, 2008 11:25:55 PM
Damn this is intense. Mich. is going all out...
Posted by: PenguinSix | Apr 10, 2008 11:27:10 PM
GOAL! 4-3 Irish...7:40 to go...
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 10, 2008 11:40:49 PM
4--3 IRISH!! Intense game here
ESPN2
Posted by: PenguinSix | Apr 10, 2008 11:41:02 PM
Tied up again- 4-4. Please no OT. Find some momentum Irish.
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 10, 2008 11:46:40 PM
That was an entirely fake penalty, yes?
Posted by: Brendan Loy | Apr 10, 2008 11:52:38 PM
Between his skate and the goal post! AGHAGH. What a crap way to goto OT.
Damn
Posted by: PenguinSix | Apr 11, 2008 12:00:02 AM
Totally. Much like Paulus for Duke. Or like Karl Malone/John Stockton used to pull with the Jazz. Evil floppers. If they had won because of that, I'd be absolutely livid.
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 11, 2008 12:00:34 AM
5-4 Irish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Irish, Beat Eagles!
Posted by: NDLauren | Apr 11, 2008 12:23:25 AM
AWESOME!!!!
ND just threw everything at the net in OT. Absolutely crazy few minutes.
Posted by: PenguinSix | Apr 11, 2008 12:28:55 AM
That was quite the cool game. The 2nd Michigan and 4th Irish goals were two of the best plays I've seen this year, actually. And yeah, Brendan, the late Michigan power play was total garbage. The scrappy team in blue and gold getting hit with phantom calls...I'm guessing Becky got flashbacks during it. ;) Now all that's left for ND's to take down BC in one of the most unlikely tournament runs ever.
Posted by: Mike's brother Matt | Apr 11, 2008 2:51:38 AM
I guess I know who gets to sleep in on Saturday, Mr. I-watch-random-sporting-events-and-bitch-about-being-tired-to-my-sleep-deprived-cranky-and-always-endearing-wife. Harumph.
Posted by: Becky | Apr 11, 2008 10:38:29 AM
It's nice to read the times on these comments and figure out what time my drunk ass went to bed last night.
Posted by: JT | Apr 11, 2008 10:43:38 AM