Depth Does the Job for Hopkins in B1G Semifinal Win Over Michigan

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — More than a month removed from taking a faceoff in a game, Dan Sheppard received a least a bit of a hint from Johns Hopkins coach Peter Milliman that he might get a look in the Blue Jays’ Big Ten semifinal against Michigan.

“He definitely gave me a little warning, just, ‘Stay warm,’ going into the fourth quarter,” Sheppard said. “I was just pumped the entire game.”

He helped pump up his teammates, too, winning the game’s final three faceoffs and setting up the Blue Jays’ last two goals in a 14-12 victory at SHI Stadium.

Hunter Chauvette had three goals and two assists and Jimmy Ayers delivered three goals and an assist for Hopkins (9-4), which will face either second-seeded Penn State (7-5) or third-seeded Maryland (7-5) in Saturday’s title game.

The offensive balance — not to mention the team’s 40-percent shooting — reflected a program-wide devotion to depth. Yet perhaps nothing could exemplify it better than Sheppard’s vital role against the Wolverines (6-9).

The junior had taken just 15 career faceoff attempts prior to Thursday. His last appearance was a single draw in Hopkins’ Big Ten opener against Michigan on March 21. Before that, he hadn’t played since Feb. 20 at North Carolina.

The Blue Jays’ regular faceoff man, Joe Hobot, was 8 of 22, and Milliman had already tried a couple other options. And so it was Sheppard that trotted out just after Michigan’s Alex Lobel finished off the Wolverines’ rally from a 12-7 deficit to tie it.

“We felt there was an opportunity to give someone else a shot,” said Milliman, whose team had won 9 of 26 faceoffs before Sheppard entered. “Dan has the ability to create some loose balls, pick up some. It was just awesome to see a guy from New Jersey who comes home and gets the chance to make some plays.”

He won the first faceoff, and Hopkins quickly generated a Brooks English shot that ricocheted to a waiting Chauvette for a clean look to make it 13-12 with 7:49 to go. Sheppard helped the Blue Jays claim the next faceoff, too, and English collected a long carom off Michigan goalie Hunter Taylor and buried it from 10 yards out to restore a two-goal edge with 6:41 remaining.

Sheppard collected the next faceoff, too, matching his previous career total for wins in a span of a little more than a minute.

“Before every single game, they say every single time, ‘All six, be ready just in case,’” Sheppard said of the Blue Jays’ super-sized faceoff unit. “We all have our different go-tos and our different specialties, and it just so happened that coach put some faith me and put me out there, and I’m grateful.”

Nick Roode had three goals and an assist for the Wolverines, who lost seven in a row in the middle of the season but had won three of four to stir memories of the program’s role as a May menace for the rest of the Big Ten.

Michigan earned its first two NCAA tournament trips by claiming the league’s automatic berth in 2023 and 2024, and it threatened to get 60 minutes away despite spotting Hopkins a 3-0 lead on its first three shots and allowing the Blue Jays seven goals in their first 12 possessions.

Yet Michigan got it tied at 7 late in the first half, then managed to do so again after Hopkins rattled off five consecutive goals. In the process, the Wolverines became the first Big Ten team to score at least 11 goals — let alone 12 — in a loss to a conference rival this season.

“It’s just kind of the way our season went,” Michigan coach Kevin Conry said. “We had highs and then we had real bad lows, and then we came back and battled. It’s a credit to these kids and the resiliency that we had. They made two more plays than we did.”

It was a potentially costly victory for Hopkins, who lost defenseman Quintan Kilrain in the second quarter when he was undercut on a play near the crease. Kilrain struggled to put weight on his right foot as he was helped from the field.

Yet the Blue Jays found assistance throughout its roster, underscoring Milliman’s mantra in building the program. Some it came from others on defense filling the communication void tied to Kilrain’s absence. Some of its stemmed from a second midfield that combined for two goals and two assists.

And in the fourth quarter, almost out of nowhere, Sheppard delivered three decisive faceoff wins and helped Hopkins move within 60 minutes of an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

“There’s just some certain guys on the team where they come in and you can almost feel the energy boost, and he’s one of those guys for us,” Chauvette said. “Watching him win those three faceoffs, and obviously we scored two goals off of that, the bench goes crazy, everybody’s feeling it. He’s feeling it. We love that.”