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The Michigan Daily - SP RTSMonday - December 9, 1996 - 7B
Late-night call leaves
Sloan on 'M' sideline
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Michigan junior
Chris Fox had two
assists in
Saturday's 7-3
Michigan victory
over Ferris State.
Here he slides a
pass just by the
outstretched stick
of the Bulldogs'
Brent Wishart.
SARA SiILLMAN/Daily
Icers power way to victory over Ferris State
Madden dishes out a career-high six assists, earns CCHA offensive player-of-the-week honors
By Dan Stillman
Daily Sports Writer
BIG RAPIDS -The Michigan hock-
ey team arrived in Big Rapids during the
day Friday for Saturday night's game
against Ferris State.
Around 11:30 Friday night, when
the team returned to the hotel for the
night, Michigan coach Red Berenson
had a message to call CCHA
Coordinator of Officials Dave Fisher.
Much to
Beren son's
surprise,
F i s h e rX
informed him
that defense-
man Blake
Sloan wouldn't -
be able to play
against the
Bulldogs.
Sloan had 11664Z
been suspend-
ed for a hit from behind into the boards
during the second period of
Wednesday's game against Western
Michigan. At the time, Sloan received a
two-minute penalty, but Fisher said the
penalty was not enough.
"It's an automatic game misconduct
and a five-minute major penalty, and it
wasn't issued," Fisher said.
While Berenson did not disagree with
the suspension, he was upset with the
situation he and his team had suddenly
been placed in.
"I was completely surprised, com-
pletely caught off guard," Berenson said.
Because this weekend's road trip
involved one game instead of the usual
two, the Wolverines travelled with fewer
players than normal.
Suddenly, Michigan was missing
three defenseman instead of two -
Bubba Berenzweig, who was left back in
Ann Arbor, and an injured Peter Bourke.
While the Wolverines' situation may
seem unfair, the process followed cur-
rent CCHA and NCAA rules.
The infraction occurred Wednesday
night and the suspension was issued
Friday night. The rule states that such
infractions must be brought to the
league's attention within 72 hours of the
infraction. Any suspension is then
required to take effect for the next game.
"(That's) assuming that you're playing
the next Friday, not a Wednesday-
Saturday (schedule)," Berenson said:
"So typically by Tuesday you'd know if a
player's going to miss a game and you'd
have some time to prepare."
Clearly this rule needs to be changed
to allow for special circumstances:
While supplemental discipline is called
for in the NCAA rulebook, implementa-
tion is up to each individual league.
But this is not the only rule that needs
amending. This incident is just one of
several this season that should serve as a
wake-up call to the CCHA and NCAA.
The most prevalent problem this sea-
son, at least for Michigan, is that there if
no instigator penalty in college hockey
Too often, those who start a fight have
received the exact same penalty as those
who retaliate.
In a game against Bowling Green ear
tier in the season, Michigan's Bubba
Berenzweig took six punches from
Bowling Green's Dan Price before fight-
ing back. Both received fighting majors
and game disqualifications.
A problem requiring more than
rewriting the rulebooks, is one that may
have the most impact on any one game.
In another game between Michigan
and Bowling Green earlier this season,
replay showed that Michigan's Brendan
Morrison scored what could have been a
game-winning goal. But the hometown
goal judge did not turn on the light and
the referee did not have a clear view.
The solution is easy - set up replay
capability at all 10 CCHA stadiums.
Unfortunately, the technology would
require dollars.
Nevertheless, the CCHA is one of the
top conferences in college hockey. Like
any successful operation, it must invest
in the future and change with the times.
By James Goldstein
Daily Sports Writer
BIG RAPIDS - It was a simple math equation.
Penalties plus power plays equals goals.
And in the end, the equation equaled a win for
the Michigan hockey team.
All but three of the combined 10 goals in the
Wolverines' 7-3 victory over Ferris State on
Saturday night were scored on the power play.
Brendan Morrison and Matt Herr led the
Wolverines' charge with two power-play goals
apiece, and Warren Luhning scored one.
Michigan forward John Madden assisted on six
of the seven goals. His six-assist performance was
his career high and two shy of the team record. His
final assist of the night was his 25th, putting him
one ahead of Morrison for the team lead.
Madden was named the CCHA Offensive Player
of the Week for his two-game output of one goal
and six assists.
} Forward Todd Steinmetz led the Bulldogs with
a power-play goal and an assist. Ferris defenseman
Andy Roach assisted on all three of the Bulldogs'
goals.
The Wolverines (8-1-1 CCHA, 15-1-1 overall)
increased their point total to 17 in the conference
standings, moving them to within one point of
first-place Lake Superior and Michigan State.
Ferris State dropped to 5-9, 8-11-1.
It wasn't only Michigan's power play that was
clicking Saturday night. The Bulldogs kept them-
selves in the game with their power play, convert-
It g on two of seven opportunities.
"Certainly, Michigan had the best power play
we've seen this year," Ferris State coach Bob
Daniels said. "I felt our power play looked real
good too."
Kenzie Homer knocked in the second of Ferris
State's power-play goals at 9:01 of the second
period to cut the Michigan lead to 4-3 on a five-
on-three advantage. That was the closest the
Bulldogs would get.
Morrison capitalized with just three seconds left
on a Michigan man-advantage with 4:54 remain-
ing in the second period.
He blasted a shot past Ferris State goaltender
Mike Szkodzinski from the point. It was
Morrison's second power-play goal of the night
and his ninth goal on the season.
"It's a good sign in that we took advantage of
our opportunities and kept them from playing too
aggressive by capitalizing on the power play,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "The other
good sign is Morrison is starting to shoot the
puck. He had to start shooting, and I think that
opened things up for everyone else."
Luhning added a power-play goal and Chris
Frescoln scored for the first time this season with
a second left in the game.
Berenson said that if the Wolverines hadn't been
successful on the power play, it would have been a
completely different game.
"The bad sign is that five-on-five - it was a
close game," Berenon said. "Take the penalties
out, and it was a much closer game than the score
indicated."
The Wolverines also could have prevented the
Bulldogs from scoring their power-play goals had
Michigan's top defenseman - assistant captain
Blake Sloan - played in Saturday's game.
Sloan was suspended by the CCHA for the game
against Ferris State. CCHA Coordinator of
Officials Dave Fisher called Berenson late Friday
night in his hotel to inform him that the league had
reviewed a check from behind into the boards in
the second period of Michigan's 3-1 victory over
Western Michigan Wednesday night. Sloan origi-
nally received a two-minute minor for the hit.
What frustrated Berenson and the Wolverines
most was how late the decision was made - one
night before their game.
"I was completely surprised, completely caught
off guard," Berenson said. "(1 had) no sense of
warning or indication or maybe we would've
brought another player with us on the trip."
The CCHA rule states that a decision on a
reviewed play must be "brought to the office with-
in 72 hours of the infraction." But the Wolverines'
mid-week game against Western Michigan made
things worse.
"(The rule) is assuming that you're playing the
next Friday, not a Wednesday-Saturday, so typical-
ly by Tuesday, you'd know if a player's going to
miss a game and you'd have some time to prepare.
We had no time to prepare."
Sloan didn't even hear of the news until the
morning of the game.
"I deserved a penalty, but I don't think I
deserved a game-misconduct," Sloan said. "The
guy (I hit) did a good job of acting, as far as I'm
concerned."
Fisher said that the referees should have called
a harsher penalty on Sloan's hit.
"It's an automatic game misconduct and a five-
minute penalty and it wasn't issued," Fisher said.
y COntacts
FILE PHOTO/Da
Michigan defenseman Blake Sloan was forced to sit out Saturday's game against
Ferris State. League officials decided that a hit from Sloan during last
Wednesday's 3-1 Michigan victory over Western Michigan was Illegal and merited
a one-game suspension.
CCHA Weekend Scores
Friday, Dec. 6
MICHIGAN STATE 4, Notre Dame 3
BOWUNG GREEN 7, Alaska-Fairbanks 4
Miami (Ohio) 5, WESTERN MICHIGAN 2
FERRIS STATE 5, Ohio State 3
Saturday, Dec. 7
NOTRE DAME 3, Alaska-Fairbanks 1
HOCKE Y----4
A$O*ATI--
WESTERN MICHIGAN 7, Miami (Ohio) 6 (OT)
Michigan 7, FERRIS STATE 3
Home team in CAPS
PROFESSIONALS
I-
72
Michigan 7, Ferris State 3
Michigan 3 2 2-7
Ferris State 2 1 0-3
First period -1. UM, Morrison 8 (Madden,
Luhning), 2:56 (pp):.1. FSU, Wishart 6 (Irwin.
Roach), 10:02 (pp); 2. UM, Herr 15 (Madden,
Legg), 12:34 (pp); 3. UM, Botterill 12 (Madden,
Luhning), 17:28; 2. FSU, Steinmetz 4 (Roach,
Kowalski), 19:00. Penalties - Homer, FSU
(interference), 0:29; Wishart, FSU (boarding),
1:56; Frescoln, UM (hooking), 8:16; Bennets,
FSU (high-sticking), 11:13; Luhning, UM
(unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:30; Muldoon,
FSU (hitting after whistle), 19:30.
Second period -4. UM, Herr 16 (Fox, Madden),
6:27 (pp); 3. FSU, Homer 11 (Steinmetz, Roach),
9:01(5-3 pp); 5 UM, Morrison 9 (Muckalt,
Merrick), 15:06 (pp). Penalties - Irwin, FSU
(roughing), 0:27; Peach, UM (cross-checking),
0:27; Peach, UM (roughing), (served by Clark),
0:27; Muldoon, FSU (cross-checking), 4:28;
Schock, UM (cross-checking), 7:13; Luhning,
UM (cross-checking), 8:09; Steinmetz. FSU
(interference), 13:09; Bennets, FSU (interfer-
ence), 16:18.
Third period - 6 UM, Luhning 10 (Botterill,
Madden), 17:12 (pp); 7. UM, Frescoln 1
CCHA Standings
Team Record Pts.
1. Lake Superior 9-2-0 18 a
1. Michigan State 9-2-0 183i a
3. Michigan 8-1-4 1? i
4. Miami (Ohio) 8-2-0 16
5. Ferris State 5-9-0 10
6. Western Michigan 4-6-1 9
7. Notre Dame 4-8-1 9
8. Bowling Green 4-8-1 9
9. Ohio State 3-6-0 6
10. Alaska-Fairbanks 2-12-0 4
Up next
What: Great Lakes Invitational
Where: Joe Louis Arena
When: Dec. 27-28
Friday, Dec. 27
Mir higan CS ta e akeSuoerior
For 6 pairs of FreshLook®
disposable color contacts
- #F " /irwi. IiA oi i ' M s