Dynamic duo of Hyman and Larkin strike again for Michigan

By @MichaelCaples –

DETROIT – The top two scorers in the Big Ten made their presences felt in the nightcap of the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament opener.

Zach Hyman and Dylan Larkin (Waterford) teamed up for four of the Wolverines’ five goals in a 5-1 win over the Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday, playing important roles in their school advancing to Friday’s semifinals.

Hyman, announced as a Hobey Baker finalist earlier in the day, recorded two goals and one assist in the victory, while Larkin picked up a goal and three assists of his own.

“Well they have things you don’t teach,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said of the duo after the game. “They have abilities you don’t teach, and that’s what you have to find in players you recruit. You try to limit what they can get done, but they got some things done against us tonight.”

Coming into the contest, Hyman had 33 points in Big Ten play, while Larkin was behind him by only a single point. The pair led their conference in scoring – both in Big Ten play and over the course of the entire season – and now they will get another shot against rival Michigan State, the team responsible for them having to play on the first day of the B1G tournament.

Michigan State beat Michigan on the final day of the regular season to secure second place in the conference – good for a first-round bye.

“We rely on all our lines,” Hyman said after the contest, when asked about the success his line had Thursday night. “We’re not a one-line team, by any means. For us personally, we just want to have a good game, play well offensively and defensively, and get chances. We got a lot of chances over the weekend against State, and we didn’t get them in, and today, we got a few in, so it’s good.”

In the first period, Hyman broke a scoreless tie when he knocked in a rebound off Larkin’s initial shot. The power-play tally was Hyman’s 20th on the season, making him the first Wolverines player to reach that plateau since Louie Caporusso in 2009-10. It also gave him 50 points on the season – the first UM player to reach that mark since Carl Hagelin did it in 2009-10, as well.

The second goal for the duo came in the second period, when Hyman tipped a shot from Cutler Martin (East Lansing) past Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel. Larkin picked up the secondary assist on the play after having set up Martin for the initial shot.

The third strike for the duo was the most worthy of highlight reels, however, and it was an individual effort from Larkin. The Red Wings’ first-round draft pick went “coast-to-coast” after carrying the puck out of his own zone, racing all the way down the ice, and eventually sliding the puck past Rumpel for the Wolverines’ fourth goal of the evening. It came shortly after a crucial five-on-three penalty kill by Michigan, and it was the goal needed to put any hopes of a Wisconsin comeback out of reach for the Badgers.

On the fourth, it was Hyman passing to Larkin, and Larkin passing to Selman, for Selman to bury an easy goal for a 5-1 lead.

The high-scoring duo will now take on the Spartans with a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line Friday night at Joe Louis Arena. Puck drops at 8 p.m.