The Michigan Daily -Sports Monday- February 8, 1993 -Page 5 Wolverines didn't get it done at crunch time by Tim Rardin Daily Hockey Writer OXFORD - Following their game with Miami Saturday, most of the Michigan hockey team wasn't looking on the bright side of its 4-3 overtime loss to the Redskins. What the Wolverines saw, on the other hand, was the painful reality that they simply didn't get done what they had set out to do, and what they virtually had to do if they boasted any hopes of defending their regular-season CCHA title. Yes, Michigan blew it in a big game, one that Coach Red Berenson had previously described as being a playoff-type game. But itis precisely that fact - that it was like a playoff game - that could be the brightest bright side of all in this story. The Wolverines had won six straight games going into Saturday's contest, and had been playing as well as they had all year in the run. In those six games, Michigan rolled over its opponents by a combined score of 45-5. Suffice it to say, Michigan had not played in a game of the caliber, or significance, of the Miami game in some time. And it showed. "We haven't been in a game like that for awhile," Michigan captain David Harlock said. "Things have been going our way, so it was a drastic change from what we've been used to." Indeed, the Wolverines came out flat, allowing the Redskins to strike just 14 seconds into the game. Though Michigan would eventually tiethe score toward the end of the first period, it would never lead, forced to play catch-up the whole way. Costly errors and missed chances killed the Wolverines. Michigan might have won had defenseman Aaron Ward not made a bad passe in the Wolverine zone that Miami promptly converted for its third goal. Then again, Michigan might have won had center Mike Stone, standing right in front of the Miami goal with goaltender Richard Shulmistra out of position, put the puck in the net late in the third period. But they didn't. And certainly, blame cannot and should not be placed on any single play, or any single player. The Wolverines, as a team, just gave Miami too many opportunities, and failed to convert on enough of their own to win that kind of a game. Simply put, Michigan did not play big in the big game. "We came out flat off the bat," Harlock said. "For every step we took in the right direction, we took one in the other direction. But we'll rebound." And that's the beauty of it. As cliche as it sounds, the Wolverines will learn from their mistakes. And they will learn precisely because they have time to learn. If those miscues occur in a CCHA playoff final, or an NCAA tournament game, there is no opportunity to rebound. There is no opportunity to "do betternext time." There is no bright side. Make no mistake, this game was big. But the reality is that it really didn't matter, not in the grand scheme of hockey things. It was not a playoff game; it was only like a playoff game and so, for that reason, the Wolverines got a good chance to learn what they cannot afford to do in the next big game. Indeed, because the Wolverines learned this valuable lesson sooner, they can make sure that the same mistakes they made against Miami don't happen again later, when it does matter. Michigan's David Roberts backhands the puck past Ohio State goaltender Kurt Brown in Friday night's 10-1 Wolverine victory at Columbus. Michigan lost Saturday night at Miami, 4-3, in overtime. HOCKEY Continued from page 1 bad if I watch it on tape and it didn't go in." It was a series of mistakes that crippled Michigan. The team outshot Miami, 32-26 overall and 17-10 in the third period. Shields and Shulmistra had brilliant stops at both ends. How- ever, :14 into the game, Wolverine defensman Chris Tamer misplayed a dump-in and Savage lifted the puck over Shields for the first goal of the game. Ward's debaclealsocostthe team a goal. "It was a game of mistakes," Berenson said. "We made two and it cost us the game. We're going to be disappointed but we'll bounce back. We have to do that now." 'They are probably the best team we've played this year," Stone said. "We're behind the eight-ball now. It's Did the puck really go up to somebody else to beat them for us." Friday was a bit of a different story as Michigan mercilessly pounded Ohio State. It was never close as Michigan led 4-0 at the first intermission and did not look back. Junior Cam Stewart continued his scoring ways with a goal and four as- sists. Right wing David Oliver scored two goals for the second consecutive game and defensemen Dave Harlock and Ward dented the twine for the first time this season. "The red light looked like the sun," confided Ward. Stewart, now second on the team in scoring with 38 points, has found his confidence as of late. "We're trying to build with each win," he said. "Our lines are more bal- anced. Our defense and Shields are play- ing really well." Sn? Nobody knows 0.. by Chad A. Safran Daily Hockey Writer OXFORD - Mysterious and un- known happenings often make for fine entertainment. For the Michigan hockey team, the strange ending that accompa- nied Saturday's overtime loss to Miami was anything but amusing. At the 1:00 mark of the extra ses- sion, Redskin right wing Jason Mallon fired the puck past Wolverine netminder Steve Shields to give Miami the 4-3 victory. Yet, all did not seem right in Goggin Arena as the Miami players celebrated the win. The Wolverines did not leave the ice immediately following the goal. Their eyes focused on the figures of the three officials, who appeared tobe discussing the goal near the penalty boxes. A little over a minute later, the offi- cials headed off the ice and the teams held their customary handshake at cen- ter ice amid Miami's jubilation. So, what was the big puzzle causing the delay? The answer is another ques- tion - did the puck even cross the goal line? The puck apparently hit the cross- bar, ricocheting to the ice. Shields ended up on top of the disk immediately. How- ever, the goal light did not go on. After a few second delay, the bulb's red glow filled the arena, the referee signaled the goal, and the Redskins raised their arms in triumph. Following the game players and coaches expressed doubt whether the goal should have stood. And although he was on thebench at the time, Michi- gan defenseman Al Sinclair was able to offer his assessment of the play. "(The puck) hit the lower part of the crossbar," Sinclair said. "Ithit thecurved part of the bottom and went straight down. Steve was down and it landed somewhere between his pads. The ref thought it hit the crossbar and went straight in." But this mystery can not be solved with a single observation. The winning coach expressed his doubts with regard to the call as well. "I saw the shot. I wasn't sure if it hit (Shields') shoulderand then hitthe cross- bar or if it hit the crossbar," Miami coach George Gwozdecky said. "I saw it go up and I wasn't sure if it was in or not. A lot of people were questioning whether it was in." The Michigan defensive tandem of David Harlock and Pat Neaton was on the ice at the time of the decisive tally. Harlock felt that the situation should not have even occurred. "It was a miscue on our part," Harlock said. "Neaton stepped up to take the puck and it slid by him. I didn't see (the goal)." The plot thickens in this tale of the "phantom goal" as the play remained an enigma to many involved, including Shields as well. "I didn't see it, but I heard it hit the crossbar," Shields said. "I don'tknow if it went in, but by the time the referee reacted, the red light went on." Will the case ever be solved? Michigan coach RedBerenson might me able to unravel this web of intrigue when he gets a chance to review the last play through the use of moderntechnol- ogy. "I didn't think it went in," Berenson said. "(the referee) might think it went in when it came back down." Team Miami Lake Superior Michigan W. Michigan Michigan State Ferris State Bowling Green Kent State Illinois-Chicago Notre Dame Ohio State w 17 16 16 13 12 10 8 7 5 4 3 L 2 4 5 7 8 9 14 14 14 18 17 T 3 4 2 2 1 3 0 1 2 2 2 Pts. 37 36 34 28 25 23 16 15 12 10 8 SCORE BY PERIODS Michigan 42 4- 10 Ohio State 010- 1 First Period: 1, UM, Oliver 24 (Stewart), 10:31. 2, UM, Ward 1 (Sittler) (pp), 12:13. 3, UM, Hilton 10 (Wiseman, Stewart) (pp), 16:14. 4, UM, Stewart 13, (Roberts, Wiseman) (pp), 18:49. Second Period: 1, OSU Green (Choi, Peters) (pp), 2:30. 5, UM, Roberts 12 (Stewart) (sh), 9:27. 6, UM Knuble 15, 15:32. Third Period: 7, UM, Tamer 3 (Knuble, Stone), 1:52. 8,UM, Oliver 25 (Stewart), 2:51. 9, UM, Sacka 5 (Roberts), 5:22. 10, UM, Harlock 1 (Stone, Knuble) (pp), 19:35. Goalie Saves: UM, Shields (4-8-x - 12), Gordon (x-x-4 - 4). OSU, Brown (9-7-x -16), Slazyk (x-2-15 - 17). Officials: Referees-Matt Shegos, Don Cline. Linesman - Larry Lulich. At: OSU Ice Rink Attendance: 1,600. SCORE BY PERIODS Michigan 1 0 2 0 - 3 Miami (Ohio) 1 1 1 - 4 First Period: 1, Miami, Savage 23 (Marshall, Bergeron), 0:14. 1, UM, Oliver 26 (Wiseman, Roberts) (pp), 16:42. Second Period: 2, Miami, Adams 11 (Mallon, Boxer), 13:00. Third Period: 2, UM, Roberts 13 (Ouimet), 7:48. 3, Miami, Savage 24 (Marshall), 14:10.3, UM, Knuble 16 (Wiseman), 15:05. Overtime: 4, Miami, Mallon 4 (Adams, Boxer), 1:00. Goalie Saves: UM, Shields (5-8-9- 0 - 22). Miami, Shulmistra (4-10- 15-0-29). Officials: Referees-- M at Shegos, Don Cline. Linesman - Larry Lulich. At: Goggin Arena Attendance: 3,050. Friday Results Mich. 10, OSU 1 Miami 7, Kent St. 1 LSSU 6, UIC 4 MSU 5, Notre Dame 1 W. Mich. 3, Ferris St. 2 Saturday Results Miami 4, Mich. 3, OT Kent St. 4, OSU 1 LSSU 4, UIC 3 W. Mich. 2, MSU 0 Ferris St. 5, Notre Dame 4 STONE . Continued from page 1 pert penalty killing. Stone is the driving force on the CCHA's top-rated penalty killing unit. He and sophomore left wing Rick Willis team up to form the forward line on the first unit of a band that kills penalties at a rate of 85 percent. This has given Stone an opportunity to display his de- fensive skills, and to garner recogni- tion. "Mike Stone is as good a penalty killerasthereis inourleague,"Berenson said. "He's the bread and butter of our penalty killing. He has probably killed penalties in every game he's played. He is the kind of guy you want on the ice when things are desperate." "He's a dominant penalty killer," Willis said. "He knows everybody else's job as well as his own. If you kill penal- ties with him, you're going to be play- ing on one of the best penalty killing units in the nation. He just reads and anticinates really well." push his abilities to the limit and get the little outside recognition he does. "It's frustrating seeing him not get- ting enough credit-it'sajoke," fellow junior Brian Wiseman said. "He sets the mark for our team in terms of his work ethic. He does his job so well, someone should stop and say, 'Hey, this kid's good." "It doesn't matter who or where we're playing, he always gives 100 percent," forward David Oliver said. "He's not just out there filling a spot, he does the job. "He establishes a work ethic every player should strive for. When you see aplayer busting his butt to help the team in any way possible, it makes you take another look at yourself." Stone is an extremely versatile player. He has played on several differ- ent lines this season. At first, he was on aline counted on to score goals. Then he was on achecking line. He was bounced back to a scoring line after that. Throughout his career at Michigan, Stone has been asked to play all three Michigan experience. Another reason he is happy about being a Wolverine is the close proximity of his family. His parents attend most of the games and talk to him often. T'e best part about living close to home for Stone, though, is Mom's care packages. Nancy Stone loads up gro- cery bags full of goodies and transports them to Mike's house fairly regularly. However, Stone's five housemates - all teammates - see to it that he rarely gets to eat the food. "That guy's got all the food," house mate Aaron Ward said. "But we always steal it from him." "Sometimes when I bring the bags in, he says, 'Just take it right to my room,"'Mrs. Stone said. "When I bring them into the kitchen, Wiseman and (goaltenderSteve) Shields say 'Oh, what have we got this week?"' Off the ice, Stone is an inconspicu- ous, peaceful individual. He tries to do his job and avoid the spotlight. In group discussions, he is the one who sits back and takes it all in. t .... $ .