4B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - March 30, 1998 Ho Quotable: "The crowd was awesome. They were incredible. It would have been embarrassing for anyone to not give their best with this crowd and the envi- ronment here. Was it fair to have this game at Yost? Maybe not." - Michigan coach Red Berenson "Yeah coach, it was fair." - Michigan captain Matt Herr Herr's goal sparks 'M icers By Fred Unk Daily Sports WriterHockey During the first intermission, things didn't Notebook look good for the Wolverines. Trailing 2-0 with just a minute to play in the first period, Matt Herr was given a two-minute minor for slashing. One minute later, Andrew Merrick was called for boarding and given a five- minute major and a game misconduct. So, during the intermission, the Wolverines found themselves down two goals and facing 4:47 of shorthanded play including 34 seconds two men short. And the way the Fighting Sioux outplayed Michigan in the second half of the first period, it seemed almost inevitable that the Wolverines would fall behind at least 3-0, and their season would be all but over. "After the first period, Mel Pearson came down and tried to con- vince our team that we're not playing our game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "I mean, they're a good team, but they're not that good. We're giving them too much respect, and we've got to play our game and give ourselves a chance." North Dakota coach Dean Blais thought it would be "game over" if the Fighting Sioux could go up 3-0 on the power play. But Michigan managed to kill off the remainder of the Herr penal- ty. And when Herr came out of the box, Clark found him behind the North Dakota defense. Herr walked in alone on North Dakota net- minder Adam Schewitzer and beat him five-hole. Instead of 3-0, it was 2-1 and the Wolverines were back in the game. "Once we scored you could see the momentum change," Berenson said. "That was a big goal for us. That got us going." After Herr's goal, Michigan killed off the remainder of the major penalty and the crowd got back in the game. "That just ignited the crowd," Blais said. "Up until that point, I thought we were in control. That just livened them up and changed the momentum of the game." WE WANT SHEGOS: Referee Tim Benedetto and linesmen Bill Jones and John Jones were not popular people with the Yost crowd. Benedetto disallowed two Michigan goals and called 51 minutes of penalties on the Wolverines, including a game misconduct and two 10-minute misconducts. Throughout the game, Benedetto was harassed by the Yost crowd with chants of"We want Shegos," a reference to CCHA referee Matt Shegos. Shegos was in the building Saturday night, watching the game from the press box. And apparently, he didn't agree with some of the officiating either. After Benedetto disallowed Dale Rominski's game-tyihg goal in the third period, Shegos reportedly questioned the call, saying "What the ..." MARGARET MYERS/Daid Michigan forward Dale Rominski celebrates what he thinks is Michigan's third goal - prematurely. His goal was waved off due to a penalty called on Geoff Koch for interference. It was the second Michigan goal called off -- and another example of suspect calls from the referees. YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: Michigan's nine freshmen played an important role in the Wolverines' two victories. Playing without Sean Peach, who remains out of action after suf- fering a concussion against Notre Dame in the first round of the CCHA playoffs, the Wolverines were forced to dress four freshmen defensemen. And much of the burden for stopping North Dakota's high-powered attack fell to freshmen Dave Huntzicker and Mike Van Ryn. "Van Ryn and Huntzicker had outstanding weekends," Berenson said. "They never got beat one on one. They stopped their top play- ers, they cleared the puck, and they made all of the right decisions." Freshman Mark Kosick also played an important role in the Wolverines' victories. After scoring the game-winning goal against Princeton, Kosick had two assists against North Dakota. For their efforts, Van Ryn and Kosick were named to the all-West Regional team. HEART ATTACK HOCKEY: Michigan's 2-1 victory over Princeton on Friday night and its 4-3 victory over North Dakota on Saturda) were the Wolverine's 15th and 16th one-goal victories on the seas The previous Michigan record for one-goal victories in a season 10. The Wolverines are 16-4 in one-goal games this season. And Michigan's experience in close games may have made th difference Saturday. "All year long we've been in tight games," Michigan netminde Marty Turco said. "I think it showed through. Being in tight game helped us out a lot, so I had all the confidence in the world in thi team." PRETTY SPECIAL TEAMS: Against Princeton and North Dakota Michigan's special teams proved to be a big advantage. Th Wolverines tallied three power-play goals, one shorthanded goal an just two even strength goals. And Saturday against North Dakota, the Wolverines killed sevei penalties including a five minute major. Hayes redeems himself, scores winning goal for Blue, By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer For Michigan's Bobby 'Maize' Hayes, Saturday's game couldn't have been scripted any better. One week earlier, the junior center had never seemed so demoralized. As Hayes stood outside the lockerroom at Joe Louis Arena ink Detroit after a dev- astating 4-2 loss to Ohio State, he mumbled as he tried to explain what happened. "It's a very dis- appointing loss," Hayes said. "Not so much that we 'Maize' Hayes lost on the score- board, but we let down the name Michigan.' We let down the University today." It was a bold statement, probably one that was too harsh, but it encapsulated the devastation Hayes felt after making a crucial mistake late in the game against the Buckeyes. Hayes cleared a puck from behind Michigan's goal line, which was intercepted by Ohio State's Louie Colsant. Colsant then slapped the puck past Michigan netminder Marty Turco to make the score 3-2 and give Ohio State the lead for good. Afterward, Hayes solemnly took the blame for his mistake while he wished for a chance at redemption. But at the start of Saturday's game, it looked like Hayes wasn't going to get another chance, especially against a lightning-quick North Dakota squad. The Fighting Sioux jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Wolverines, and looked to close out the game after the first period. But a shorthanded goal by Matt Herr early in the second period closed the gap for Michigan, giving Hayes and the rest of the Wolverines life. With renewed vigor, Hayes took the ice sec- onds after Herr's goal and fired a shot along the right goal line which appar- ently tied things up for the Wolverines. Unfortunately for Hayes, the goal never materialized - it was called back because Michigan had men in the crease. It was a controversial call by the officiating crew - the first of many on the night. After another goal put the Sioux up 3-1 in the second period, Hayes was frustrated again by the officiating. An episode following North Dakota's goal landed Hayes in the penalty box with a 10-minute game misconduct penalty. The call hurt the Wolverines even more than usual, considering fellow center Andrew Merrick had been disqualified earlier in the contest. As one of the team's strongest penalty killers, losin Hayes also hampered Michigan's spe cial teams. The officiating "was somewhat frus trating' Hayes said. "I look at myself a an important player on this team. I fe like if this team's going to win I have t play well defensively, and I have to co tribute offensively. "I don't think (staying focused) w problem. I knew no matter whatA score was, or what I actually did - knew (committing the penalty) wa wrong - the team still needed me. wasn't going to let them down." And Hayes didn't let his teammat down. After a 10-minute absence in th penalty box, Hayes returned to th game late in the second period. H' late-game heroics pushed Michiga over the top. Hayes scored the g' winning goal with three minutes leIC the game. Undoubtedly, Hayes was grateful f the chance to redeem himself - esp cially after a disappointing outing week earlier. "I wanted to be a bigger factor in th game,' Hayes said. "I took the I minute misconduct and let my tea down. I knew I had to go out there an do whatever I had to do to help the tea win ... I was very fortunate to scor goal." WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan junior center Bobby 'Maize' Hayes and defenseman Dave Huntzicker get a little cozy after Hayes scored the game-winning goal against North Dakota. FARAH Continued from Page 1B skating circles around them. After building a 2-0 lead, it seemed as though North Dakota - which averages about five goals per game - had nothing to worry about. Even I had my doubts. Michigan outplayed Princeton the night before, but it took a lucky goal from Mark Kosick to put the game away. After a sloppy loss to Ohio State in the CCHA Tournament semifinals, I wasn't sure that the Wolverines had the resolve to pull off a big upset. Every time I got my hopes up before a game against Michigan State, they were dashed to the ground summar- speed with their size and by moving the puck well. Their defensemen kept the Sioux out of dangerous open-ice sit- uations, sticking to their men like glue. The offense played with a precision it's lacked for awhile. The Wolverines made the extra pass and held back an extra second before shooting to get open looks at the net. Matt Herr and the rest of the seniors skated with confi- dence - they simply would not lose. Junior Bobby 'Maize' Hayes recovered spectacularly from a nightmar- ish error in last weekend's game against Ohio State. And the freshmen, well ... they just didn't look like freshmen. Mark Kosick proved he's one of the team's top ::.; '< em