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Frozen Four: How everything went wrong for Michigan hockey in final seconds

Michigan's hockey season ended in gut-wrenching fashion, as Jake Evans scored his second goal of the game at 19:54 of the third period to break a 3-all tie.
Credit: Aaron Lavinsky, AP
Michigan goaltender Hayden Lavigne gives up a goal to Notre Dame forward Jake Evans in the waning seconds of a semifinal in the NCAA men's college hockey tournament Thursday, April 5, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Hayden Lavigne thought he got enough of the puck to make the save.

He didn't.

Michigan’s hockey season ended in gut-wrenching fashion, as Jake Evans scored his second goal of the game at 19:54 of the third period to break a 3-all tie.

Cam Morrison rushed wide of the net, then passed back to Evans in the middle of the ice. Evans poked the puck between the legs of Michigan freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes. The puck went off Hughes' skate, then beat Lavigne five-hole.

Michigan, which had a two-goal lead in the second period, lost, 4-3, to Notre Dame on Thursday night in a Frozen Four semifinal at the Xcel Energy Center.

The game-winner was Evans' second of the night and 13th of the season.

“Honestly, it’s just kind of a blank to me,” Lavigne said after the game. “I knew there wasn’t much time on the clock. I didn’t think (Morrison) was going to pass.

“I tried to get out there and make sure he wasn’t going to put one in short side. Went back across the middle and tried to get out there as quickly as I could. I got a big chunk of it and it kind of slipped through.”

Lavigne said he thought he’d stopped it.

“Obviously that wasn’t the case,” he said. “My heart just kind of dropped, to be honest.”

Michigan's Cooper Marody, Tony Calderone and Hayden Lavigne react to a 4-3 loss to Notre Dame in the semifinal in the NCAA men's hockey tournament on April 5, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (Photo: Stacy Bengs, AP)

Evans credited Morrison for passing him the puck in the final seconds.

“Honestly, I knew it was coming close to the end,” Evans said. “And I was pretty tired. But I saw Cam flying down … and he’s got really good speed, so I knew he was going to try and make a play, so I think why not get one more shot. He did it all. I just had to find the puck and put it in the net.”

Michigan coach Mel Pearson was still numb more than 20 minutes after the loss. He said he told the players there was nothing he could say to change how they felt, so he didn’t try.

“As long as you’re in this game, you’re going to have some tough losses,” Pearson said. “I’ve been around my share of them. I just feel bad for our team.”

Pearson said he was proud of the effort they gave, battling back from an 8-10-2 start.

“They continued to battle and they really grew as a team,” Pearson said. “The growth and joy that they had. We weren’t the most talented team, by far. But, we played well as a team.”

Senior forwards Tony Calderone and Dexter Dancs each had a goal and an assist to help give Michigan a 2-0 lead.

Calderone’s team-leading 25th goal of the season opened the scoring at 8:19 of the first period. Dancs scored 17 seconds into the second period on a shot that went off a Notre Dame defenseman.

“First goal, Dex made a nice play to create some space,” Calderone said. “Throw it down low and I was able to walk across the top circle and shoot.”

But Andrew Oglevie scored on a power play at 2:41 and Evans scored his first goal during a 4-on-4 at 6:20 to tie it for the Fighting Irish.

Cal Burke gave the Irish a 3-2 lead 1:35 into the third period, but freshman forward Michael Pastujov scored at 14:38 to tie the game for the Wolverines. Pastujov had a couple shots at a loose puck before netting his fifth goal of the season.

The Wolverines were expecting to go to overtime, before Evans’ shocker.

“Call it the luck of the Irish or whatever, they’re just finding a way to win,” Pearson said of Notre Dame.

There was so much for Pearson to dissect on the final goal and all of it going wrong for U-M.

"Just everything about that goal,” Pearson said. “The guy going wide, we just couldn’t get a stick. Could have blocked the pass. The guy going to the net – I don’t know if it went off a stick or not or a skate. Hayden probably overreacting a little bit, thinking it’s probably going to go far post. He just opened right up.

“Almost anything that could have gone wrong on that last rush did."

Calderone said Lavigne, who finished with 25 saves, was Michigan’s best player in the second half of the year.

“He’s going to have so many opportunities,” Calderone said. “He’s going to push this program in the right direction. It’s tough, but he’s got such a bright future. He’s going to be OK.”

Notre Dame (28-9-2) will face Minnesota-Duluth (24-16-3) on Saturday in the national championship game (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). Minnesota-Duluth beat Ohio State, 2-1, in the first semifinal.

Michigan finishes the season 22-15-3.

Pearson said there’s no good easy way to lose.

“Good play for them,” Pearson said of Notre Dame. “From the bench, it didn’t look like it was going to amount to much. I thought we’d end up going into overtime.”

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