- The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, March 27, 1995 Crowd badgers Michigan By Tom Seeley Daily Hockey Writer MADISON - The Michigan Hockey Band was not the only group to feel the wrath of the Wisconsin fans in Dane County Coliseum this weekend. Anybody caught not wearing red was prey for the Badger faithful that turned out in droves for this weekend's contests at the NCAA West Regional. During Saturday's Michigan-Wisconsin quarterfinal matchup, the Wolverine band's traditional opening cho- rus of "The Victors" only lasted a hail-and-a-half before the roar of the Badger fans, who drowned it out. Then in the middle of the second period, the packed house turned and pointed to the Michigan musicians and chanted "high school band." But while the crowd directed some of its attention toward the stands, much more of its energy was focused on the Badgers' opponents and the actions on the ice. "The crowd was just unbelievable," Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer said after his team's 5-3 win over Michigan State Friday. "It was definitely a major factor. It was so loud down on the ice, you couldn't even hear the line changes." Saturday, the boisterous crowd was so loud that it overpowered the announcer's introduction of Michigan's freshman goalie, Marty Turco. The nearly 8,000 Badger fans welcomed the Wolverine netminder to his first NCAA playoff game with such a hearty "sieve" chant that it seemed to make the entire building shake. The crowd was so loud that at times it made the noise level at Yost Ice Arena seem more like the accepted level at the Graduate Library. Before Saturday's loss to the Wolverines, Wisconsin was 8-0-1 in NCAA games held at their home arena. "Tonight's crowd was a great crowd for a college hockey game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said after the Wolverines' 4-3 win. "It was a hostile environment, but I think it helped bring our team closer together." In addition to having the capacity crowd on their side, the Badgers had the advantage of being used to Dane County Coliseum's larger ice surface. Wisconsin's home ice measures 200 feet in length and 97 feet across - 12 feet wider than most of the rinks the Badgers' opponents are accustomed to. Friday night, Michigan State jumped out to a 3-1 lead, and successfully took the crowd out of the game. But in the third period the effect of the larger rink took its toll on the Spartans and left the team skating as though it were dragging an anvil behind it. The Badgers capitalized on their opponents' fatigue and used breakaway after breakaway to score four unan- swered goals and claim the victory. "The bigger rink makes your work a lot tougher." Michigan State forward Rem Murray said. "And they really took advantage of the wide ice." Saturday night, fatigue did not appear to cause the same problems for the Wolverines as it did for the Spartans. "The width was more difficult for the defensemen," Michigan blueliner Steven Halko said. "It was an item we had to get used to. We watched the Michigan State game and adjusted to it." 0 0 ,. h', tV ' n \ , ~. DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily Wisconsin defenseman Mark Strobel tries to keep Michigan's Kevin Hilton from getting a handle on the puck during Saturday's game. The win was the Wolverines' third in their last eight games against the Badgers. Blu 1 1 es Mediocre showing no pmatter for Blue t Barry 1%1knbogt Daily Hockey Writer MADISON --Saturday's 4-3 win over Wisconsin wasn't the No. 1 Michigan hockey team's best perfor- mance of the season. But in the end, it really didn't matter. Nor did it matter that the selection committee sent Michigan off to play in front of 8,000, as Mike Knuble said, "anti-Michigan people." It didn't matter that the Wolver- nes started a freshman between the pipes in the biggest game of the season. It didn't even matter that Marty Turco gave the Badgers a goal when he cleared the puck to Wisconsin's Mike Strobel instead of the boards early in the second period. When Strobel took the gift and was greeted with an empty net, all of Madison went nuts. The Badgers had the momentum and the frenzied crowd behind them, but in the end, it didn't matter. The better team ended up winning. Michigan's 4-3 victory over Wis- consin means the Wolverines are headed to their third final four in four years. Michigan outshot the Badgers, 40- 27, and never trailed, but the Wolver- nes did blow countless chances to dis- 'ose of Wisconsin early at the Dane County Coliseum. The Michigan power play, No. 1 in he nation heading into the weekend, vas clueless for the first two-and-a-half periods Saturday and finished one for :ix. "When you're losing faceoffs on he power play, you spend most of your time carrying the puck up the ce," Wolverine coach Red Berenson .aid. "Wisconsin did a good job of orechecking our power play." Fortunately for Michigan, the goal he Wolverines scored with a man ad- vantage earned them a trip to Provi- Jence. While they couldn't even find the -uck during their first five opportuni- es. Mike Knuble broke a 3-3 tie at 1:51 of the third period on Michigan's xth power play of the evening. "I thought we had things under con- rol early in the third period," Wiscon- a-in coach Jeff Sauer said. "But then we ,nded up with that four-on-three situa- -on and (Knuble's goal) was the differ- nce in the game." It's safe to say that Knuble is the eason Michigan's season isn't over. Ehe senior right wing, who leads the ation in goals with 37, scored two -nor- and added an assist. People can make careers out of )off hockey," Knuble said after game. HOCKEY NOTEBOOK M' survives second- period blanking By Tom Seeley and Barry Sollenberger Daily Hockey Writers MADISON - Even though Michigan skated off the ice after the second period with a 3-2 lead Satur- day night, the Wolverines couldn't have felt very good about themselves. They had just missed a chance to ' put the game out of reach. Michigan completely domi- nated the second s t a n z a , outshooting Wis- consin, 16-6, yet the Wolverines managed just one Daubenspeck goal. Badger goalie Kirk Daubenspeck kept Wisconsin in the game with 15 saves during the pe- riod. "In the second period, we prob- ably should have scored four goals," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We definitely had the opportunity to score more goals than we did." During one of Michigan's power plays in the second, Daubenspeck placed his stick behind him and fought off the Wolverines with his hands. Michigan was 0-for-3 in the second stanza with a man advantage and 1- for-6 on the evening. AlWest Regional Team Forward Nick Checco - Minnesota Mike Knuble - Michigan Mike Strobel - Wisconsin Defense Dan Trebil - Minnesota Brian Rafalski - Wisconsin Goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck - Wisconsin MR. QUOTABLE: The Wolverine fans were so outnumbered by the Bad- ger faithful that whenever the Michi- gan band would try to strike up a familiar cheer of "Let's Go Blue," the Wisconsin fans would replace the "Blue" with "Red" and turn it into their own rallying cry. Berenson had his own unique way of responding to the fans' cheer. "I would like to thank everyone for cheering for 'Red' tonight," he said at the postgame press confer- ence. "I haven't had that many people cheering for me in a long time." THE BEST CONFERENCE?: The Western Collegiate Hockey Associa- tion placed four teams in the NCAA final eight - the most of any confer- ence. Colorado College, Wisconsin, Denver and Minnesota represented the WCHA. Hockey East and the CCHA each had two representatives while the East Coast Athletic Conference was shut out. The CCHA's Michigan and Lake Superior State joined Hockey East members Maine and Boston Univer- sity reached the final eight. THE RIVALRY: Michigan has faced Wisconsin in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments. The Badgers knocked off the Wolverines, 4-2, in the 1992 NCAA semifinals, and Michigan nipped Wisconsin in over- time, 4-3, in the national quarterfinals two years ago. The Wolverines lead the all-time series with the Badgers, 52-46-6, in- cluding a 7-2 victory at the College Hockey Showcase in November. GOT THEM WHEN IT COUNTED: Michigan's 4-3 victory over Wiscon- sin was the Badgers' first-ever defeat in an NCAA Tournament game at Dane County Coliseum. The Badgers are 8-1-1 in NCAA games and 52-7- 2 in post-season games at Dane County. KNUBLE IS THE MAN: Mike Knuble "I haven't had that many people cheering for me in a long time. " - Red Berenson Michigan hockey coach, on the crowd chanting "Let's go Red" was the regional's Most Outstanding Player and the only Wolverine se- lected to the West Regional All-Tour- nament team. Wisconsin's Mike Strobel and Minnesota's Nick Checco joined Knuble as forwards on the squad as chosen by the media. The Badgers' Brian Rafalski and Minnesota's Dan Trebil were named as defensemen and Daubenspeck was the All-Tour- nament goalie. WISCONSIN Continued from page 1 trol the action most of the game. Wisconsin's special teams outplayed the Wolverines' all night long. The Badgers scored all of their goals ei- ther up a man or down one, and that's what kept them in the game until the very end. "(When it was 3-3), I told my guys that the next goal was going to win," Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer said. "They had more shots than we did, but the bottom line was it was 3-3." Kirk Daubenspeck, who made 36 saves on the evening, was as much to credit for that as anybody. The Bad- gers' sophomore goaltender turned away Michigan's Brendan Morrison twice on breakaway chances in the third period, keeping the score tied. Much like the two teams' meeting in November, the game was slowed considerably by frequent and often inexplicable whistles. Berenson was asked what the Wolverines could do to avoid getting so many penalties in their game next Thursday. "We'll have new referees next week," he said. MICHIGAN 4, WISCONSIN 3 Wisconsin I 1 1-3 Michigan 2 1 1-4 First Period - 1, UiM, Knuble 36 (Gordon, Hak 7:39. 2, UW, Raygor 18 (Carter, Bianchi), 11:23(pp). 3, UM, Gordon 15 (Knuble), 11:43. Penalties - Botterill, UM (charge), 5:10; Tompkins, UW (hit after the whistle), 8:24; Botterill, UM (hit after the whistle),8:24; Sinclair, UM (interference). 11:02; Spencer, UW (hit after the whistle), 12:34; Spencer, UW (hit after the whistle), 12:34; Knuble, UM (hit after whistle), 12:34; Luhning, UiM (hit after whistle), 14:11; Rafalski, UW (hit after whistle), 14:11; Tompkins, UW (tripping), 17:27; Mark Strobel, UW (hit after whistle), 17:27; Gordon, UM (hit after whistle), 17:27. Second PerIo- 4, UW Mike Strobel 22 (unassisted), 2:54 (shg). 5, UM Morrison 23 (Gordon), 9:33. Penalties - Spencer, UW (interference), 1:27; Williams, UW (interference), 5:37; Mark Strobel, UW (hit after whistle), 6:28; Tok, UW (hit after whistle), 6:28; Botterill, UW (hit after whistle), 6:28; Gordon, UM (hit after whistle), 6:28; Madden, UM (hit after whistle), 11:06; Mark Strobel, UW (hit after whistle), 11:06; Raygor, UW (interference), 14:50; Schock, UM (interference), 19:05. Third Period - 6, UW Williams 26 (Mark Strobel, Rafalski), 2:54 (pp). 7, UM Knuble 37 (Hilton), 11:51 (pp). Penalties - Gordon, UM (roughing), 3:22; Carter, UM (roughing), 3:22; Herr, UM (holding), 5:42; Spencer, UW (hit after whistle), 10:11; Ellick, UW (hit after whistle), 10:11; Botterill, UM (hit after whistle),.10:11; schock, UM (hit after whistle), 10:11; Balkovec, UW (holding), 10:35. Shots on goal - UW 9-612-27. UM 12-16- 12-40. Power'Plays- UW 2 of 4, UM 1 of 6. Goalie saves- UW, Daubenspeck 10-15-11- 36. UM, Turco 8-5-11-24. Referees-J. Gravallese, J. Fitzgerald Unesman- Jones At: Dane County Coliseum 0 DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily Wisconsin goalie Kirk Daubenspeck makes one of his 36 saves in Saturday's NCAA quarterfinal against Michigan. .0 1995 NCAA Hockey Championship WI: Michigan (29-7-1) Gophers eliminate Colorado College W4: Wisconsin (23-144) Dane County Coliseum Madison W5: Michigan St. (25-11-3) / E3: New Hampshire (22-9-4) The Centrum Worcester, Mass. E6: Denver (24-14-2)f Dane County Colsum Michigan, 4. Providence Civic Center WisconsinProvidenceceRRII E2: Maine (29-5-6) Providence, R .. April 1 o oCes ent 30 Maine4-2 Denver, 9-2 W2: Colorado College (30-11-1 Dane County Coliseum Mneoa52 Madison Mn'soa - Minnesota, 3-0 ProvidennceeR.I March 30 By Tom Seeley Daily Hockey Writer MADISON - Minnesota's 5-2 victory over Colorado College Satur- day meant more than just a return trip to the NCAA semifinals for Gopher coach Doug Woog. The win was the 300th of Woog's career. "There's a lot of heart and soul in this program and a tremendous amount of tradition that overcomes obstacles," Woog said. Right wing Dave Larson scored twice for Minnesota (25-13-5 over- EAST REGIONAL Boston University 6, Lake Su- perior State 2 WORCESTER, Mass. - Kaj Linna had a hat trick as Boston Uni- versity beat Lake Superior State 6-2 Saturday night and advanced to the hockey final four. The Terriers avenged a 9-1 loss to the Lakers in last year's champion- ship game. It is the third straight final four appearance for BU. BU will face Minnesota Thursday night in Providence. 1\s., A T n.sr i.' W3: Minnesota (23-13-5) Dane County Coliseum Madison W6: RPI (18-13-4)