Late Game Gaffe Costs Wolverines

By: Tristan Hobbes

To quote the Clash, "Should I stay or should I go?" Goalies have less than a second to respond to that question. On Saturday night, Michigan goalie Bryan Hogan chose to play the puck and it ended up costing his team the game.

Whenever a goalie plays the puck, it’s a scary moment. Just ask Edmonton Oilers fans. On October 3rd, Nikolai Khabibulin came out to play a dump-in in the right circle of a tie game. The veteran netminder lost control of the puck and Calgary’s David Moss put the puck in vacated net to the give the Flames a 4-3 victory.

Saturday, a seemingly harmless dump in by Boston University forward Ryan Santana ('13) at the end of a shift, turned into much worse. Junior forward Joe Pereira ('11) went on the forcheck and “jumped” Hogan’s pass attempt. The scrappy forward quickly wrapped the puck around the net and stuck it home for the game-winning goal as Hogan tried to dive back in.

Michigan fans left Agganis Arena wondering what their goalie was thinking. Terrier fans left with a sigh of relief. After all, their team had blown a two goal lead in the third and winning the game looked bleak as they were outshot 21-4 in the final period. Hogan’s miscue rescued the Terriers.