How Landon DuPont and Michigan Dominated Bowling Green In The Season Opener

There were many question marks surrounding the Michigan Wolverines heading into this season. Is this group experienced enough? Is Landon DuPont the real deal, and can this team win a national championship?

On Friday night, Michigan displayed a very dominant performance, where the guys they need to be good stood out and took over the game. After a 7-2 win against a very solid Bowling Green team, how did Michigan dominate this one?

It started with how the team hunted loose pucks; they were fast, aggressive, and most of the time the first ones there, and they consistently made smart decisions and simple plays to gain possession in all three zones. 

There was a clear pace gap between these two teams; at times, Michigan was skating circles around the opposing players and simply couldn’t lose the puck no matter what. 

If you simply looked at the shots, you wouldn’t think that Michigan was so dominant, considering Bowling Green still had 31, while Michigan had 42. Bowling Green also blocked 20 shots compared to Michigan’s seven, just showing what could have been a 50-plus-shot game. 

The Wolverines simply generated higher-quality chances, and the fact that Jack Ivankovic played very well gave Michigan the confidence to play a bit more aggressively away from the puck. 

They didn’t just go fast to loose pucks; they swarmed puck carriers and denied time and space throughout the whole game. 

Although they only scored once on the power play, the top unit looked unreal. They made quick decisions and made some really high-end plays, working the puck around inside and outside of the structure. At times, the passing execution wasn’t there, but they did a great job of recovering pucks and holding the line, so they weren’t punished too heavily for those mistakes. 

There was one specific player on the blueline who was very, very intriguing, and that’s the phenom freshman Landon DuPont, who looked exactly as you would have expected. He played with pace; his motor was going all game; he supported his teammates very well defensively, and he made some really high-end plays in the offensive zone. He finished the game as a plus-three and had two points to go along with it. 

He played exactly how he did in Everett, and it seemed like the team fed off of it to the point where everyone was playing fast, moving off the puck, and making quick and decisive decisions all night. 

Overall, it was a very solid start for Landon DuPont and Michigan, but they will have to continue this throughout the whole year, and especially in two weeks when they play against the defending champs.