4-- The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 27, 1995
Blue sweeps Falcons,
Spartans to win CCHA
By MELANIE SCHUMAN
Daily Hockey Writer
DETROIT - The stage was set,
the props were in place and all that
was needed was someone to yell "ac-
tion." Yet somehow, when referee
Jeff Shell dropped the puck Saturday,
Feb. 18 at Joe Louis Arena, the Michi-
gan State squad did not catch their
cue.
In front of 17,938 fans, most of
whom were cheering for the Green
and White, Michigan completed a
season sweep of the Spartans in con-
vincing fashion, defeating them 7-1.
When the two teams met last sea-
son, the game did not have the impli-
cations it did this time around - and
Michigan State won. This time, when
pride and the CCHA regular season
title, the Wolverines jumped all over
the opportunity.
Michigan struck first when junior
Kevin Hilton
made a brilliant
move to pass two
S p a r t a n
defensemen for
what was his first
of two goals on the
night. In fact,
Hilton played a
significant role in
itfour of Michigan's
Hilton seven tallies. It
was he who set up the winning goal.
Hilton drew the Spartan defender
away so John Madden could pass off
the boards to Warren Luhning.
Luhning, who has notched a point in
10 of his last 11 games, scored the
Wolverines' second goal, which was
all they would need.
Leading 3-1 after the first period
thanks to Hilton's second goal, the
Wolverines went on to score two more
in the second. With Matt Herr in the
penalty box, Madden scored his third
shorthanded goal this season just 32
seconds into the period.
Midway through the second,
Michigan was out-shooting Michi-
gan State 21-6, a good indicator of
how one-sided the contest was. The
second line of Madden, Hilton and
Friday's Game
MICHIGAN 4, BOWLING GREEN 3
Bowling Green 0 2 1 -7
Michigan 1 2 1 -4
Fist Peiod - 1, UM, Knuble 24 (Legg, Herr),
16:44.
Second Peiod-2, UM, Hilton 15 (Luhning, Legg),
9:59 (pp). 3, BG, Hall 11 (Johnson), 10:32. 4, UM,
Morrison 17 (Hilton, Knuble), 15:18 (pp). 5, BG
Punchard 12 (unassisted), 16:26 (pp).
lirkd Period - 6, BG, Lune 11 (Punchard,
Ackerman), 1:02 (pp). 7, UM, Madden 16 (Morrison,
Knuble), 8:40 (pp).
Shotsongoal-BG8-9-12-29. UM 10-12-14--
36.,
Power plays - BG 2 of 8, UM 3 of 5.
Goalie saves - BG, Clarke 9-10-13--32. UM,
Turco 8-7-11-26.
Referee - P. Petterie.
Uneamen - Lulich, Newell.
At: Yost Ice Arena A: 7,341.
Luhning combined for 11 points in
the contest.
After the Wolverines tallied their
sixth and seventh goals on the night,
Al Loges replaced starter Marty Turco
between the pipes.
"Every time we've played them,
we've shut out their big players,"
said Michigan captain Rick Willis
after Michigan completed its sea-
son sweep of the Spartans. "If
they're invisible, that team is not
going to win."
The Wolverines were successful
in shutting down the Spartans'
Hobey Baker candidates, Anson
Carter and Steve Guolla,just as they
did at Michigan State three weeks
ago. On the weekend, they also
stifled Brian Holzinger, the league's
leading scorer.
In a nail-biter Friday, Feb. 17,
Michigan edged out the Falcons, 4-3,
despite some fluke goals.
With his team up 2-0, Michigan
netminder Marty Turco mishandled
the puck just to the left of the goal,
allowing Bowling Green to regain
possession and score.
Later in the second, Turco rou-
tinely came out to play the puck fly-
ing off the boards. Yet this time, the
puck came off the glass where he
couldn't see it, and it floated into the
goal.
All Bowling Green had done was
dump in the puck from the neutral
zone as it went for a line change and
all of a sudden it was a 3-2 game.
Turco admitted being rattled for
the first time in his young career.
According to Michigan coach Red
Berenson, he had a right to be.
"How often do you see (goals)
like that?" he asked. "I've seen three
in my whole life. Those were a
couple of strange goals that kept it
close."
The Falcons tied the game in the
third on Kevin Lune's power-play
goal early in the period. But with
11:20 left to play and Michigan on its
own power play, Madden fired a
slapshot past goalie Will Clarke for
the game-winner.
Saturday's Game_
MICHIGAN 7, MICHIGAN STATE 1
Michigan State 1 0 - _
Michigan 3 2 2 -7
Prst Period-1, UM, Hilton 16 (Sloan), 6:07. 2,
MSU, Berens 10 (unassisted), 10:56 (sh). 3, UM,
Luhning 15 (Hilton, Madden), 12:35.4, UM, Hilton 17
(Madden, Luhning),16:39.
Second Period-5, UM, Madden 17 (Halko), :32
(sh). 6, UM, Luhning 16 (Hilton, Madden), 17:55.
Tird Period - 7, UM, Morrison 18 (Gordon,
Sacka), 4:28. 8, UM, Willis 3 (unassisted), 9:09
(sh).
Shotson goal - MSU 5-8-4-17. UM 17-9-8-
34.
Power plays- MSU 0 of 5, UM 0 of 5.
Goalie saves-MSU, Alban 14-7-xx-21, Buzak
xx-xx-6. UM, Turco 4-8-3--15, Loges x-xx-1-1.
Referee - J. Shell.
Unesmen - LaDuke, Lulich.
At: Joe Louis Arena A: 17,938.
'F Y
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
The Michigan hockey team clinched the CCHA title before Its game against Ferris State Friday night.
No one hands 'Mtitle this tine
Blue eliminates Bowling Green, Michigan State without any help
By Melanie Schuman
Daily Hockey Writer
DETROIT - After its 7-1 thrashing of Michigan
State, the Michigan hockey team huddled in the
lockerroom at Joe Louis Arena and sung "Hail To The
Victors" as it does after any weekend sweep. The
Wolverines had defeated Bowling Green at Yost Ice
Arena the night before.
It's no secret that beating Michigan State, not to
mention sweeping it during the regular season, is quite an
accomplishment. And the same could be said of Michigan's
three victories over the Falcons this season.
But Michigan was basking in a much sweeter spot-
light - the CCHA regular season championship. And
for the first time, this guarantees a bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
For many on the team, it was a different feeling than
last season, when Michigan captured its second regular
season conference championship in three seasons on a
weekend it did not compete.
"This is the best way." junior Kevin Hilton said.
"There is no better feeling than beating Michigan State
and then getting the title out of it."
Then-ranked No. 1, the '94 Wolverines were 22-1-
1 and maintained a double-digit lead over the second-
place Spartans. Lake Superior State helped Michigan's
cause for probably the only time ever by defeating the
Spartans, handing the trophy to Michigan.
For their third title in the past four seasons, though,
Michigan waited until the third-to-last weekend of the
season, one week later than it clinched last year. There
was a lingering question as to who would win the title
this season with Michigan, Bowling Green and Michi-
gan State all vying for the league's top spot.
But when the Falcons and Spartans were swept the
previous weekend, Michigan's lead increased to six
points. The Wolverines were guaranteed at least a share
of the title if they won Feb. 17 and 18.
"There were a lot of years where I would have sold
my soul to end up in first place," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "Now we're spoiled. We've got the
There were a lot of years
where I would have sold my
soul to end up in first place
Now we're spoiled. We've
got the team and we expect
to be here."
- Red Berenson
Michigan hockey coach
weekend would be the Wolverines' toughest, espe-
cially if Bowling Green lived up to expectations. Even
though the preseason CCHA poll picked the Falcons to
finish anywhere between fourth and eighth, there was
subtle chatter that they would be a contender.
The preseason media poll ranked Michigan State
No. 1, while the coaches' poll selected Michigan by one
point. While the Falcons and Wolverines led the CCHA
most of the way, the Spartans were always right on their
heels.
Now, however, Michigan is all by itself at the top.
The Wolverines have become the sixth team in league
history to win back-to-back regular season titles. So
with a record of 24-5-1 in the league, Michigan clinched
the championship the same weekend four other teams
guaranteed themselves home-ice advantage for the play-
offs - Bowling Green, Miami, Michigan State, and
Lake State.
What remains to be seen is if the Wolverines mirror
another late-season performance of a year ago. Then,
Michigan lost four of its last five games in the regular
season.
"(We're) totally low-key," Warren Luhning said.
"Last year we clinched the title and we started playing
badly and went into the playoffs on a down note.
"We don't want that to happen. We've got to keep
on playing well, pick up our game now, not settle down.
And get that killer instinct."
Gutless
Spartans
don't put
upa fight
DETROIT - While his
fellow Spartans limped onto
the ice for one more period of
punishment, Chad Alban could only
watch from the bench. The Michigan
State goalie might as well have stayed
in the lockerroom, for his day was
done. The seemingly invincible
Wolverines had built their 5-1 lead
with Alban guarding the net and they
weren't about
to show him
any mercy.
Mike
Buzak
replaced him
u 5in goal. Such a
move at that
DARREN pint in a
blowout is the
DDVR tolosing team's
DDariferent way of waving
be 'iffeent the white flag.
But on this
particular evening the Spartans
were so pathetic, they probably had
that universal sign of submission
flying from their team bus on the
way down to Joe Louis Arena.
Michigan State entered the contest
in fourth place, eight points behind
CCHA front-runner Michigan. With
only five games to go for each team,
the Spartans had no real hope of
catching up in the standings.
Even so, that hardly means they
should play like they have no hope
of beating the Wolverines.
"We got ahead by a couple of
goals and it seemed like (Michigan1
State) died," Michigan forward
Warren Luhning said. "They weren't
playing with any heart like they were
before. We just walked over them."
John Madden's goal at the start of
the second period gave the
Wolverines a commanding 4-1
advantage. However, there were still -
almost two full periods of hockey left
For a team featuring Anson Carter,
Rem Murray and Steve Guolla - all
40-point scorers - there was plenty
of time to catch up.
Maybe the Spartans' problem
was they didn't believe they were
capable of mounting a comeback.
"I think we may have a mental
advantage on them," Michigan
captain Rick Willis said. "I don't
know if they think they can beat us."
"I knew they were going to win
(the CCHA title) after they beat us
in our place," Michigan State coach
Ron Mason said. "That was no
surprise."
The Wolverines needed one win
to clinch the league championship,
and they got it against Mason's
team. If the Spartans looked at
Michigan's schedule, they'd see
that all but one of the Wolverines'
remaining games are on the road.
And the one team that had et to
visit Ann Arbor (Ferris State) beat
Michigan earlier this season.
But Mason is probably right. It's
highly unlikely Michigan would have
lost all of its last four games. It also
would have been out of the ordinary
for the Spartans to beat the
Wolverines - Michigan State had
lost the first three games this season.
Mason, however, was visibly j
upset after each loss. The Spartan
coach would have very little to say
to the media, and the few words he
did speak came from a reddened
face in an angry tone.
This time he seemed quite
relaxed, and he had plenty of
compliments for Michigan. Maybe
that's because Mason has grown
accustomed to seeing Madden,
Luhning and Kevin Hilton skate
circles around his team.
But that's not the way this
rivalry is supposed to be. When
Michigan is trying to clinch the title
the Spartans were supposed to win
by beating Michigan State, no one
should come away saying the
Spartans died out there.
And even if they lose and they
don't win the CCHA, their coach
had better not excuse it by saying
"that was no surprise." What a joke.
.
"
0
team and we expect to be here,
Berenson knew as early as this
summer that this
>,.
HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Semors take final bow
i
against Ferris State
By Darren Everson
Daily Hockey Writer
NOTRE DAME - Friday's game against Ferris State marked the end of
an era for seven Wolverines. The 6-2 victory over the Bulldogs was the last
regular-season home game for the Michigan senior class.
For this occasion, an all-senior lineup started the game. Rick Willis, Mike
Knuble and Ron Sacka were at the forward positions, with Tim Hogan and
Alan Sinclair on defense and Al Loges in goal. Fellow senior Mark Sakala
also saw some playing time.
Loges had perhaps the biggest impact of all of them. He stopped 37 of 39
shots on goal, including all 16 of Ferris State's shots in the third period.
"I don't know the number (of shots) but I knew it was a lot," he said. "As
the game went on, I just got stronger."
A GAME OF FIRSTS: Notre Dame's victory over Michigan was the team's
first win in 19 tries against the Wolverines. The Fighting Irish had lost
every meeting since the 1982-1983 season.
The game was also something to remember for Michigan's Peter
Bourke. Playing in just his eighth game of the season, Bourke made the
most of his opportunity. After assisting on Ron Sacka's goal in the second
period, the sophomore defenseman scored his first career goal on a wrist
shot 6:04 into the third.
CAN ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?: Michigan might not have had any
trouble with its goaltending Friday, but the Bulldogs weren't quite so lucky.
Seth Appert, Jeff Blashill and Rich Nagy all appeared in goal for Ferris
State. Appert and Blashill suffered from injury or poor play or both at one
time or another, so Nagy - the third-stringer - finished the game.
"That shows they're not afraid to use all their goalies," Michigan
forward Brendan Morrison said. "Their coach must have a lot of confi-
dence in them."
0
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
Michigan forward Warren Luhning can't escape Ferris State's Andy Roach during Friday night's game. Luhning
did manage to tally two assists in the Wolverines' 6-2 victory over the Bulldogs.
ICERS
Continued from page 1
While it was a huge win for Notre
Dame, it wasn't a very big loss for the
Wolverines.
"You don't want to say this was a
meaningless game," Michigan forward
Mika Knnh1- -P ca"h.t wP' .a. - lrPa
Loges, a senior playing in his final
game at Yost, and he responded by
stopping 37 of the 39 shots.
"I felt that the game was evenly
played," Bulldog coach Bob Daniels
said. "Their goaltender and special
teams made the difference."
"As the game went on I felt stron-
FridaY's Game
ger and stronger," Loges said. "The
more shots you get the better you
feel."
While Loges provided the stops
against the Bulldogs, Brendan Morrison
scored the goals. Morrison scored once
in the first and twice in the second for
his second hat trick of the season.
Saturday's Game
I
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