TAMPA, Fla. – Michigan’s Brandon Naurato didn’t have the luxury of continuity with his lines during the first half of the season.
Whether it was because of injuries or illness, the first-year head coach was forced to frequently mix and match his lineup to try and find chemistry on the fly.
But the Wolverines (26-11-3) started getting healthier in January, and when the team traveled to face a first-place Minnesota squad late in the month, Naurato discovered an electric combination.
Freshmen Adam Fantilli, Gavin Brindely and Rutger McGroarty have been arguably the most dominant line in the country since combining four eight points during series split against the Gophers Jan. 20-21. They are expected to be deployed often in Michigan’s national semifinal matchup at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The Wolverines, the nation’s top-scoring team, are 13-3-2 in their past 18 games and have scored at least three goals in 15 of them. The all-freshmen line has led the charge.
“They’re all ultra-competitive,” Naurato said at Wednesday’s Frozen Four news conference. “All can make plays, all can score. I think their game really changed. And Gav’s going to laugh at me, but they are making their plays. They’re doing a lot of really good things, but when they started going to the net more – it wasn’t that they were perimeter, but just finishing at the net as a unit. And all three of them, not just one guy once in a while, they started putting up big numbers and scoring a lot of big goals. They’ve been outstanding together.”
All three entered the season as elite NHL prospects. McGroarty was the No. 14 overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets last June, while Fantilli is widely projected as the No 2 overall selection in the 2023 draft. Brindley also is expected to hear his name called in the early rounds on draft day this year.
When Naurato put the trio together, he instantly saw their skill sets complementing each other. With Brindley’s speed, Fantilli’s tenacity, quick-release shot and playmaking ability and McGroarty’s strength and nose for the net, the three teenagers’ talent and cohesiveness has created matchup nightmares for opposing coaches.
“They’re not just going to be NHL players, they’re going to be high-end NHL players,” said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold, who coached Brindley and McGroarty for Team USA at the 2023 World Junior Championships and faced Fantilli, who skated for Team Canada. “They make plays at pace. They can all skate and they think the game so well. A lot of times, they make something out of nothing.
“We got to defend them in layers. We are gonna get guys who are gonna get beat one-on-one from time to time, and then we got to have a second layer there, and sometimes we have a third layer there.”
Fantilli, the NCAA’s scoring leader with 64 points in 35 games, has been the team’s most consistent player and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best player in the country.
But Brindley and McGroarty have both elevated their games during the second half of the season, especially recently. Brindley had one goal and 11 assists during his first 20 games but has 11 goals and 17 assists in his last 20.
During the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament, McGroarty has eight goals and five assists in six games, including a hat trick in Michigan’s 11-1 victory over Colgate in a regional opener.
Naurato has called Brindley the most improved player on multiple occasions this season, but the 5-foot-9 Estero, Florida native also has benefitted from playing with Fantilli, who has recorded at least a point in 32 of 35 games and has 19 multi-point performances.
“He’s a generational talent,” Brindley said of the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Fantilli. “I’ve played against him since I was 10 years old. We’ve had lots of battles growing up. Playing on the same team now, it’s pretty special. And now playing on the same line.
“He’s in my dorm watching hockey every night after practice. He’s grown so much as a person, too, I think since the beginning of the year, just maturing. His game, it’s obviously something special to watch. He’s a pro and with that frame of his and what he can do out there.”
Goals might be hard to come by Thursday against Quinnipiac’s top-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 1.54 goals per game. The Wolverines will be counting on their top line, along with several other key contributors from their 12-member freshman class, to provide enough of an offensive punch to send the team to the national championship Saturday.
“Twelve freshmen, that’s pretty impressive to go as far as we’ve gone,” Brindley said of the team’s rookies. “I know we were kind of knocked as an immature team at the start, but I think we’ve proven that we could play a really good game for 60 minutes and be mature. We have a lot of guys in that room who are gonna go on to play hockey at high levels, so we all just gelled together and it’s finally coming together for us.”
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