UConn Hockey Player Gets Blasted When Attempting "The Michigan" in OT + Penn State Advances to Frozen Four For First Time in School History

It's always slightly bugged me how that move is internationally become known as "The Michigan". For one, the name sounds incomplete. The Michigan what? The Michigan Lift? I feel like it's missing something. And what about the Michigan player who actually made the move? It's must kinda suck for that player, who despite being credited with "inventing" this move, not a single person can tell you his actual name. It's Mike Legg. And Mike Legg didn't invent the move either. He learned it from a guy named Bill Armstrong who used to play for Western Michigan. Armstrong reportedly scored 4 goals using the move with the minor league Albany River Rats. ESPN actually has a pretty interesting interview where the two of them talk about it.

ESPN - While Legg's lacrosse-style shot made him famous, he didn't invent the move. Nor was he the first hockey player to use it in an official game. Enter Bill Armstrong, a former Western Michigan player and career minor leaguer.

BERENSON: "I think Mike learned the shot from a kid in London, Ontario [Legg's hometown], that played in the minors."

LEGG: "I learned it from Bill Armstrong. He was in the New Jersey Devils organization."

ARMSTRONG: "We're both from London. Basically, I was getting ready to go off to training camp, skating with the best people in the area. You work out, scrimmage. I was doing the move out there in those [pickup] games."

LEGG: "It was the summer before my freshman year of college [1993]. You get there early, skate around, no real goalies."

ARMSTRONG: "As a pro, you're on the ice a lot. I learned to pick up the puck pretty well on my stick. It was almost second nature. Anyway, I originally would pick it up coming down the wing in stride, spin around and throw it over my shoulder, like a lacrosse shot. One day, I was standing behind the net, picked it up and put it in the top corner. I thought, 'Jeez, that might be something I could actually use in a game.'"

LEGG: "Bill has great hands. I'll never forget, one day I'm watching him, maybe from the far blue line, and he does something."

ARMSTRONG: "First thing you do, you lay the blade of the stick as flat on the top of puck as you can. Then, you try to tip the puck back so it's on its back edge. Most people from this point try to turn their wrist to pick the puck up. But you need leverage. So you pull it back, and then flip your wrist -- give puck momentum to get on top of your stick. It's all about feel."

LEGG: "It was the move. I'm like, 'Oh, my goodness, I have to see this again.'"

ARMSTRONG: "I worked on it in my spare time. Worked on it at hockey schools while the kids were practicing plays. I was playing in Hershey, Pa. I didn't want to try it in a game and miss. When I was traded to the Devils, I played in Albany, N.Y., with the River Rats. I did it for fun in our East-West games. My coach, Robbie Ftorek, said, 'You do it so easily, why don't you try it?' So I did. I finally had permission."

LEGG: "At first, I didn't really have the nerve to talk to Bill. I would just watch him."

ARMSTRONG: "In Albany, I scored four goals with the move. The fans there got to know it because they ran a piece on local television. So I would get behind the net -- maybe only 3,000 people are in the building -- and I'd hear the fans yelling, 'Do it! Do it!' We called the shot the 'do it.' When I went to the IHL, they asked me what to call it. I said, 'I guess you call it the high wrap.'"

LEGG: "I finally asked Bill, 'How do you do that?'"

ARMSTRONG: "I pulled him aside and showed him how to get the puck on your stick."

LEGG: "I just fell in love with it."

ARMSTRONG: "Mike picked it up pretty quick."

LEGG: "I didn't want to pester Bill, so I just tried it and tried it and tried it when I had private time on the ice."

ARMSTRONG: "Mike said to me, 'I'm going to try this year in a game.' I said, 'Yeah, you're not going to try it.' [Laughs]."

I'd imagine the move had been done in several other places as well. But whatever. That's not the point. Just a personal grievance of mine. I imagine the moment in a game where a player realizes he's in position to pull off The Michigan is quite the thrill. You're behind the net. The puck falls into perfect position. All you have to do is pick it up and tuck it behind the goalie's shoulder. For a trip to the Frozen Four no less. It would have been the goal of his life. He would have gone down-ish in college hockey history. In UConn hockey history at least. Like Penn State, UConn had never made the Frozen Four either. This was the first UConn hockey team to make the NCAA Tournament at all. He was so damn close. But not really. The problem with that move, is unless you're really fucking good at it, in order to pull it off, you have to break hockey's cardinal rule. Which is carrying the puck through a high traffic area with your head buried in the ice. His full concentration was on the puck. And unfortunately, he massively miscalculated how immediately Penn State's defenseman would pick up on what he was doing and run him over like a NYC bus driver when Liz Gonzales has the right of way.

Immediately following that hit, Penn State went on a rush of their own and nearly scored. Which would have been one of the more wild/hilarious endings to a hockey game I've seen in a while. For that UConn player to go from thinking he's about the do the coolest thing in the history of his life, to being laid out flat, then watching the opposing team from his back as they turn his fancy Michigan attempt into an odd man rush that won them the game. But luckily for him, Penn State didn't score right there. They at least gave him the courtesy of waiting 8 minutes.

I watched that whole game. It was an even battle throughout. But Penn State was gassed in OT. UConn was clearly the more well-conditioned team. It was starting to look like UConn had an extra skater out there. It felt like UConn scoring was inevitable. You can even see it on Penn State's game winning goal. Charlie Cerrato (#15) who made that behind the back pass, after making a great move at the blue line, it looked like he was skating in concrete. When he went behind the back, I thought there was less than a 0% chance it was going to turn into a goal. Matt Dimarsico (#14) who scored the goal, no way did I think he had enough room to get that shot off. But somehow he did. Also… #28 from UConn isn't gonna sleep tonight. If you watch that play back, he gets walked bad at the blue line. And I don't want to say he dogged it on the backcheck afterwards… but you can't help but wonder if he had moved his feet a little more…. idk. I'll let you make that determination for yourself.. 

Hell of a game from start to finish. By far the best madness of the day. Where college basketball has lacked this post-season, college hockey has been there to pick up the slack.

Frozen Four starts next Thursday night in St. Louis. It's been a great hockey tournament so far. I highly recommend it.