Another game, another successful outing for Michigan Wolverines sophomore Michael Hage. The Montreal Canadiens’ first-round pick and 21st overall selection at the 2024 draft. After just three games this season, the 6-foot-1 and 190-pound center has nine points.

In a 5-1 win over Providence College, Hage posted a pair of goals. One with a nice backhand on a breakaway and the other one on a one-timer from the left circle on the power play. In the first game of the year, a 11-1 win over Mercyhurst, he posted five points (two goals and three assists), a standout performance that he followed with two assists in the second game, giving him seven points in two games.

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Last year, Hage posted 34 points in 33 games, but there were a few occurrences of scoring in bunches and being kept off the scoresheet in other games. So far this season, he’s scoring in every game. Granted, he has yet to take on any of the “powerhouse” teams in the Big 10, but it remains a remarkable start.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Golden Gophers and LJ Mooney bounced back after a 3-1 loss to Boston College on Thursday night. The Canadiens’ fourth-round pick in 2025 picked up an assist on his team’s second goal, helping them take a 2-1 lead over Boston, but the Gophers couldn’t hang on, and the visitors tied up the score with less than five minutes to go in regulation.

The game was decided in the shootout, where Mooney scored the Gophers’ first shootout goal since Valentine’s Day in 2020, on an astute move. It’s too early to know if Mooney will ever make the NHL, but he certainly has a lot of skill. It will be interesting to see how he does this season playing against older and bigger players. So far, in four games, he’s got a goal and two assists.

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