Michigan HockeyCast 8.23: Duel with Dice in the Desert

1 Hour and 18 Minutes

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

Segment 1 Between college hockey and the NHL playoff race the past few weeks have been exhausting, but worth it. The Eastern Conference is an extremely tight race, the Western Conference is the Avalanche, the Stars, and then everyone else competing for third place. The Red Wings have a weak rebuild and a lack of young star power like a lot of other rising teams. Previewing a red-hot Denver team with exception goaltending. Both Michigan and Denver have similar metrics. At one point this season the Denver goalie gave up 17 goals in 15 games. Is this sustainable against Michigan? Michigan should prioritize shot quality over quantity. Denver has an experienced defense but not as explosive of an offense as Michigan. If Michigan can exploit Denver's goalie early they may finally break their Frozen Four curse.    Segment 2 Previewing Wisconsin and North Dakota. North Dakota is a more consistent, well-rounded team with strong possession metrics, balanced scoring from a core group, and solid special teams. Their goaltending is good not great. Wisconsin is more volatile: they can compete with anyone if they get strong goaltending and finishing, but their inconsistency, weaker penalty kill, and reliance on high-end performances make them less reliable.North Dakota is more dangerous overall, but Wisconsin is higher variance and can use that to compete with anyone. Both opponents would be difficult for Michigan for different reasons - we've seen what Wisconsin can do to Michigan.

  MUSIC

• NHL on ESPN Theme
• "Arrhythmic Glow" -- Mortimer Nyx
• Ice Hockey (NES) theme