N The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - March 30, 1998 - 58 KEY Key play: Michigan forward Matt Herr skated out of the penalty box and scored a short-handed breakaway goal in the second period to give the Wolverines their first goal of the game, making the score 2-1. The goal began the Michigan comeback. Neutral site' pushes 'M' past North Dakota M:ichigan4, North Dakota Michigan 0 2 2 -4 North Dakota 2 1 0 -- 3 By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer The sarcastic look on Matt Herr's face during Saturday's postgame press conference spoke vol- es about Michigan's dramatic 4-3 upset of h Dakota. Michigan coach Red Berenson was in the mid- dle of saying, "Was it fair to have this game at Yost? Maybe it wasn't fair." Meanwhile, Herr, ever the joker, grinned from ear to ear and humored Berenson by adding, "Yeah coach, it was fair." The funniest part of the entire exchange was the fact that everyone in the arena knew one thing - Yost Ice Arena was anything but a neu- site e fans who packed Yost on Saturday were staunch supporters of the Wolverines, not a mix of fans from every school playing in the region- al. And don't think North Dakota coach Dean Blais missed that. "I'm sure the fans enjoyed (the game)," Blais said. "It was a real treat for a spectator, especial- ly when it's all Michigan fans. It's tough to come into Ann Arbor - with the home ice, home crowd - and win. It's certainly not an easy thing to do. It's tough to come in here with the fans and the tra- dition and try to win." The fans made things difficult for the Fighting Sioux throughout the night. Every faceoff won, pass made and goal scored swung momentum Michigan's way. When the Wolverines needed it most, their fans stepped up their effort - almost begging the players to do the same. The second period effort by Michigan's fans was especially rousing during a 10-minute stretch of the game in which Michigan was flagged for five penalties. With the penalty box filled and the Wolverines facing numerous penalty-kill situations, crowd noise made as much difference as an extra man on the ice. "Our fans were a big part of this," Herr said. "They deserve as much credit as our team work- ing real hard. There are times when we do take some of those penalties, and you hear 'Let's Go Blue' or 'Hail to the Victors' pumping out loud - it's definitely a factor." While the fans raged on through the night, Michigan seemed to gain strength with every increase in decibel level. In the end, Michigan center Bobby 'Maize' Hayes explained his jubilation following his game-winning goal and how the crowd pushed Michigan through the adversity of questionable officiating and a speedy North Dakota squad. "It means a ton," Hayes said. "I know they weren't just screaming for me, they were screaming for the entire team - the fans are just incredible. "Our team was feeding off them all night long, and we couldn't have done it without them." Aside from the success of his team, Berenson was pleased with the show put on at Yost over the past weekend. Michigan's attempt to host the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament was a success in his eyes, and it also seemed to be a hit with the fans. Though ticket sales were slow to pick up, by Friday all tickets were sold out and there were few, if any, no-shows. And for their efforts, the fans were greeted with some of the most com- petitive college hockey of the 1997-98 season. First period -1. NO, Henderson 24 (Vig), 8:25; 2, ND, Hoogsteen 20 (Jay Panzer), 18:53. Penalties - ND, Murphy (charging) 0:15; UM, VanNRyn (holding) 8:54; UM, Merrick (roughing) 10:58: ND, Calder (roughing) 10:58; ND.,IUlmer (boarding) 17:57; UM, Herr (slashing) 18:53; UM, Merrick (check from behind)19:47; UM, Merrick (10-min, game misc. - served by Gassoff), 19:47. Send period -1. UM, Herr 13 (Clark, Turco), 3:28 (sh); 3. ND, Calder 9 (Hammer, Vig), 5:06; 2. UM, Muckalt 32 (Kosick, Herr), 8:38 Penalties - ND, Williamson (interference) 3:28; UM, Langfeld (elbowing) 4:27; UM, Hayes (10-mn, game misc.) 5:06: ND, Bull (interference) 7:53:ND, Blake (high- sticking) 8:58: UM, Langfeld (interference - served by Gassoff), 9:05; UM, Langfeld (10-min, game misc.) 9:05; UM, Huntzicker (tripping) 9:18: ND, Murphy (interference), 10:36; UM, Koch (inter- ference), 17:29, ND, Henderson (hit after whistle), 20:00. Third period -1. UM, Crozier 12 (Kosick, Herr):;2. UM, Hayes 21 (Herr, Clark). Penalties - UM, Koch (hit after whistle), 9:06; ND, Armbrust (hit after whistle). Shots on goal - ND 6-18-8 - 29 --24; UM 7-11- 11 -29. Power Plays - NO 2 of 6: UM 0 of 7. Saves - ND, Schweitzer 7-9- 9- 25; UM, Turco 4- 17-8 -29. Referee: Tim Benedetto linesmen: Bill Jones, John Jones At: Yost Ice Arena A: 6,554 Michigan cap- tain Matt Herr shows his appreciation to the 'neutral' fans at Yost ice Arena after Saturday's vic- tory. Herr said the fans were as much a part of the victory as the team was. WARREN ZINN/Daily "I think it was a success just from the envi- ronment in the building, the kind of games and the crowd," Berenson exclaimed. "It was a spe- cial environment: people out on the street, peo- ple out on the lawn in front, T.V. cameras every- where. "I'm looking around, and I'd like to capture this whole moment as one of the highlights of Yost, ever. What a great environment:' Michigan 2, Princeton 1. Princeton 0 1 0 -1 Michigan 0 1 1 -2 In addition to Michigan's stunning upset over defending national champion North Dakota, Ohio State pulled off quite a thrilling upset over CCHA champion and No. 1 Michigan State in the first game on Saturday. The excitement of Saturday's two games com- bined with Friday's contests cemented the idea for Berenson that the NCAA Tournament at Yost was a smashing success. FIrst period -no scoring Penalties - PR, Betoli (high sticking).(1:07: UM. Rominski (holding stick), 4:06; PR, Manin (interfer- ence).12:58; PR Morin (cross checking).10:00; PR, Yopyk (holding stick), 11:10 Second period-1. UM, Fox 5 (Kosick, Herr), 10:45 (pp); 1. PR, Halpern 28 (Masters), 18:38. Penalties - UM, Koch (charging), 4:11: UM, Muckalt (hitting after whistle) 7:14; PR, bench (too many men on ice) 9:50, Corrinet serves; PR, Betoli (slashing), 11:56. Third period - 2. UM, Kosick 12 (unassisted), 0:41. Penalties - UM, Van Ryn (hooking) 18:40. Shots on goal - PR 8-6-7 - 21; UM 158&8 - 31. Power Plays - PR 0 of 4; UM lof 6. Saves - PR, Saltarelli 15-7-7 - 29; UM, Turco 8-5- 7- 20. Referee: Don Adams Linesmen: Derek Shepherd, John Champion At: Yost Ice Arena A: 6,437 NCAA Roundup I Buckeyes end Spartans' dream season, 4-3, in OT By Fred Link Daily Sports Writer One week ago, Michigan State and Ohio State battled into the second overtime before Mike York scored to give the Spartans the CCHA playoff title. Saturday, the two teams faced off again, but this time it was the Buckeyes who emerged victorious, winning 4-3 at the 8:47 mark of the first overtime. The Buckeyes ended the game when Eric Meloche cut down the left wing and fired a bad angle shot in on Michigan State goaltender Chad Alban. The shot deflected off Alban directly to Ohio State defenseman Andre Signoretti, who blasted the , rebound past Alban and into the far side of the net for his second goal of the game. "I just buried my head and shot it as hard as I could, and it went in," Signoretti said. Just before Signoretti's goal, Michigan State had a chance to win the game when Mike York deflected a point shot in on Ohio State goal- tender Jeff Maund. But the Ohio State netminder made a tremendous glove save to keep the game tied. "We had our opportunity to score, and Maund made a great save," Michigan State coach Ron Mason said. "And they came down and had their opportunity to score and they scored. So I guess it's tit for tat." Ohio State had to rally from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime. Michigan State took an early lead on a power-play goal by Brad Hodgins. Late in the first period, the defenseman fired a shot off a York rebound past Maund. The Spartans took a two-goal lead in the sec- ond period when Sean Horcoff deflected a shot from the point over Maund. "We just knew that if we kept going, that we would get a break," Ohio State coach John Markell said. "I didn't say too much, but the team knew it was either do or die. You either score two goals and you're back in it or you're done." The Buckeyes answered just 41 seconds later. Signoretti scored his first goal of the night when he fired a shot off the faceoff which alluded Alban, to pull Ohio State within one goal. Ohio State tied the score, 2-2, just five minutes later when Meloche snuck in behind the Spartan defense and beat Alban through the legs. Rustyn Dolyny scored the Spartans' third power play goal of the game late in the period to give the Spartans the lead again. Again, Ohio State battled back to tie the game when Neil Rech chipped a rebound over Alban just under six minutes into the third period. For the remainder of the period and in over- time both teams had tremendous scoring chances, but neither Alban nor Maund would surrender a goal, until Signoretti's goal ended the game. WARREN ZINN/Daily hio State defenseman Andre Signoretti led the Buckeyes with two goals against top-seeded VMichigan State on Saturday, as Ohio State knocked off the Spartans, 4-3, in overtime. New Hampshire stuns Boston U. in overtime Wildcats will face Michigan in semifinal game; Boston College to square off with Ohio State ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Odd-man rushes, turnovers nd short-handed goals made the scoring decisions in New Hampshire's 4-3 overtime victory over No. 1 Boston University yesterday in the NCAA East Regional. Tournament MVP Mark Mowers won the game 10:49 into overtime when short-handed New Hampshire broke away in a two-on-one and Mowers slid it behind Michel Larocque. In what was perhaps the most even matchup of the weekend tournament, both teams put on a skating, nassing and hitting display. "I don't think there were too many people who thought we were going to win tonight," Mowers said. His game-winning goal was his second short-handed goal of the game. He also assisted on Derek Bekar's power-play goal in the second period that tied the game at three apiece. Dakr nkon hoadtwrn scctc forNe Nar anhire 25- Larocque dived back too late to stop Mower's poke. "It took me three or four seconds before I even real- ized it was the game winner," Mowers said. "All I had to do was pretty much tap it in." Boston University, which has made the final four seven of the past eight years, is the host for this year's final rounds. "It'll be difficult for us to swallow," Parker said. BOSTON COLLEGE 6, COLORADO COLLEGE I Boston College scored three first-period goals yes- terday to beat Colorado College 6-1 in the second round of the NCAA East Regional yesterday. Boston College, which had a first-round bye, used fresh legs to outskate a tired Colorado College team to the puck and jump on turnovers throughout the game. Jeff Farkas' shorthanded goal with 1:09 left in the first gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead, draining the life out of the Tigers. "We ncoldIn't yet anv enerov ionin" said Tigers I ......... ..