ALBANY, N.Y. — A strong first period and an exceptional performance by Jack Ivankovic through two periods helped send Michigan to the Frozen Four, though not before Minnesota Duluth made things very interesting in the third.
Ivankovic stopped 30 shots, and Michigan got a massive offensive explosion in the first period in a 4-3 win over Minnesota Duluth in the Albany Regional final Sunday at MVP Arena.
Michigan is headed to the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years, first since 2024 and 29th overall. The Wolverines will seek the 10th NCAA title in program history, which would tie Denver for the most all time.
Denver will be Michigan’s opponent when the Frozen Four begins April 9 in Las Vegas.
Special teams played a key role for Michigan in the first period. After Will Horcoff tipped in a Ben Robertson shot for a 1-0 lead at 3:05, Adam Valentini scored five-hole on Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan on the power play to make it 2-0 at 11:24.
That was followed by a shorthanded goal from Garrett Schifsky, who stole the puck from Minnesota Duluth’s Jayson Shaugabay and skated in alone on Gajan to make it 3-0 at 12:33. That was the score at the end of the first period, and it remained that way after a scoreless second.
Harper Bentz gave the Bulldogs a spark with a goal 26 seconds into the third period to cut Michigan’s lead to 3-1.
Jayden Perron scored his 15th goal of the season at 3:07 of the third to restore Michigan’s three-goal cushion, but the Bulldogs answered with a power-play goal from Ty Hanson at 10:24 to make it 4-2.
Zam Plante’s assist on Hanson’s goal was his 50th point of the season, joining his brother Max as one of two Bulldogs to reach the 50-point mark this season.
It was 4-3 after Scout Truman turned a net-front scrum into a goal at 16:54, a score that was upheld after a lengthy video review for potential goaltender interference.
Minnesota Duluth, which beat Michigan for the NCAA title in 2011, was seeking its first trip to the Frozen Four since 2021.