Ni 4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 22, 1999 Puck talk "I think our team will be fine, but I've been saying that for four weeks now. - Michigan captain Bubba Berenzweig, on the state of his team after it extended its winless streak to eight games 3sM Michigan 5 24 Michigan 1 3 Key play 12.8 seconds remaining in the second period of Friday's game - AMichigan winger Geoff Koch earns a major penalty for cross-checking, and the Broncos score twice on the ensuing power play to get back in the game. Western Michigan 5 5 Michigan State Michigan 5, Western Michigan 5 Michigan 3 2 0 0 -5 Western Mich. 1 1 3 0 -5 First period -1. Mich, Berenzweig 6 (Trainor), 6:37; 1. WMU, Waring 7 (Gove, Crane), 6:52; 2. Mich, Clark 3 (Van Ryn, Huntzicker), 9:51; 3. Mich, Langfeld 15 (Comrie, Berenzweig), 13:43 (pp). Penalties - Mich, Hayes (roughing), 3:42; WMU, McCabe (holding), 3:42; Mich, Crozier (slashing), 10:39; WMU, Andrews (elbowing), 11:39; WMU, Collard (roughing), 12:09; WMU, Kline (kneeing), 12:09; WMU, Jones (checking from behind), 19:24. Second period - 4. Mich, Langfeld 16 (Van Ryn, Berenzweig), :30 (pp); 2. WMU, Redenius 8 (Waring), 16:20 (pp); 5. Mich, Peach 2 (unassisted), 18:34 (pp). Penalties - Mich, Jillson (interference), :56; WMU, Rymsha (slashing), 2:18; Mich, Van Ryn (slashing), 2:18; Mich, Matzka (tripping), 5:08; Mich, Peach (tripping), 10:58; Mich, Jillson (rough- ing); 14:28; WMU, Lukasak (crass checking), 16:40; Mich, Rominski (cross checking), 19:47; WMU, Rymsha (roughing), 19:47; Mich, Koch (major cross checking), 19:47; Mich, Koch (game disquali- fication), 19:47. Third period - 3. WMU, Crane 1 (Gove, Mindel), :45 (pp); 4. WMU, Waring 8 (Collard, Redenius), 4:48 (pp); 5. WMU, Wilkinson 1(Kline, Rymsha), 5:26. Penalties - Mich, bench minor served by Vancik (too many men), 13:58; WMU, Addesa (holding the stick), 17:22. Overtime - no scaring. Penalties - none. Shots on goal - Mich, 12-95&1 - 30; WMU, 9-913-3 - 34. Power Plays - Mich 3 of 6; WMU 3 of 9. Saves - Mich, Blackburn 8-8-103 - 29; WMU, Barnes 9-7-&1- 25. Referee - Michael Mondalek. Unesmen - Larry Lulich, Kevin Langseth. At: Lawson Ice Arena. Attendance: 3,108. Stedysgae lwnl need its own hero to escape slide, make tourney DETROIT - It's like the classic MacGyver episode: the show's central character, in his pur- suit of the bad guys, finds himself trapped some- where with time ticking down before disaster. Michigan's NCAA playoff chances seem to be fol- lowing the same plot line. Once a virtual guarantee to make the tournament's 12-team field, the Wolverines are now on the bubble - an unfamiliar perspective for a team that last missed the NCAA postseason in 1990. And while Michigan graduated quite a bit of goal- scoring talent from last season's national championship team, the Wolverines returned more than enough to be a player in the national championship hunt. Thisn year's sophomore class, under the guidance of senior captain Bubba Berenzweig, was supposed to grow f and take a greater leadership role. It's possible that development is taking place. It's possible the CHRIS Wolverines will be all right in the DUPREY long term.D But for now Michigan is in trou- Dupe's ble. Carrying a 17-9-6 record with Scoop four regular season games left to play, the 20-win plateau has become a challenge for a team that was surely capable of 25. Last season's team was happy to be at home in Ann Arbor in March. when it won the Yost regional. It used the friendly confines of the Old Barn to skate its way to the Frozen Four. This year's Wolverines might not have a choice. The old men who decide the NCAA field will have severe distaste for a Michigan team that surrenders three-goal leads to bottom-of-the-barrel opponents like Western Michigan. They will disapprove of a team that is playing its worst hockey of the season when it is supposed to be playing its best - although the Wolverines' second- periodshowing against Michigan State on Saturday night had a shred of promise. The players continue to point to a lack of execution as the reason for their slide down the mountain. We're just not burying our chances, they're fond of saying. That explanation was acceptable for the early part of this streak. Yet as the winless skid hits eight, maybe there are other problems - problems behind closed doors. Maybe the egos that highly-recruited players are prone to have are clashing in that Michigan lockerroom. Maybe the losing and the tying and the lead-blowing have caused destructive finger-pointing among the Wolverines. It would be easy to understand if Michigan had no talent. But its November hot streak proved otherwise, as the Wolverines defeated Michigan State and Notre Dame in businesslike fashion, playing some of the best hockey in the country at that point of the season. The time has come for these guys to play like Michigan, to honor the tradition that would take such a hit if the Wolverines didn't qualify for the NCAA tour- nament. Whatever the problem, whatever the frequent clich6, Berenzweig and Michigan must find it, before it's too late. Time is running out. Where's MacGyver when you need him? - Chris Duprey can be reached via e-mail at cduprey@umich.edu. SPARTANS Continued from Page 1B Joe Blackburn to sprawl to the ice, and was about to flip in tae game- tying goal. But Mike Weaver dove to the ice and knocked the puck from Comrie's stick, preserving the Spartans' lead. "The defenseman had a bit of a jump on me and I tried to Dutskate him," Comrie said. "The defenseman just caught my stick. It was an unlucky bounce -just like the whole night." Adam Hall had a little bit of lady luck on his side, as he scored two o the Spartans' three goals. The first came off of a great feed from York on a two-on-one to put the Spartans up 2-0 in the third period. "It was one of our only breakdowns and it cost us the game," Michigan captain Bubba Berenzweig - the one in the two-on-one - said. "Van Ryn stepped up, they got the puck, and York made a great play." Berenzweig was also the victim in Hall's second goal, as the puck went through his legs into an empty net in the last period of the game. But instances like that have been typical for the Wolverines as of late. Friday night was a good example, as Michigan blew a three-goal lead in the final period to finish in a 5-5 tie with Western Michigan. Two of those goals were a result of a five-minute power play stemming from a penalty by Geoff Koch, who was thrown out of the game and sus- pended for the Michigan State con- test. MARGARET MYERS/Daily For the most part, Mike Comrle and the Michigan offense was foiled by Michigan State on Saturday night. Blue gets more offense, but e uck Michigan State 3, Michigan 0 0 Michigan State 1 0 Michigan 1 1 -2 2 -2 First period - 1. MSU, Dolynty 13 (Goodenow, Hutchinson), 9:34. Penalties - Mich, Matzka (trip. ping), 1:36; Mich, Hayes (cross checking), 2:06; MSU, Horcoff (roughing after whistle), 6:06; MSU, Bogle (interference), 13:10; MSU, Horcoff (rouhing after whistle), 16:37; Mich, Gassoff (roughing after whistle), 16:37; Mich, Langfeld (interference), 18:38. Second period -no scoring. Penalties -Mich, Merrick (cross checking), 3:28; MSU, Horcoff (hold- ing the stick), 9:33; Mich, Merrick (charging), 12:29; MSU, Goodenow (high sticking), 17:35; MSU, Goodenow (roughing), 17:35; Mich, Jilson (slashing), 17:35. Third period --2. MSU, Hal 8 (York, Kozakowski), 12:08; 1. Mich, Matzka 3 (Jiison, Huntzicker), 17:04; 2. MSU, Hall 9 (unassisted), 19:16 (en). Penalties -- MU, Insana (cross checking), 6:42; Mich, Langfeld (boarding), 14:45. Shots on;goal - Mich, 5-12-10 -27; MSU, 1149--24. Power Plays - Mich 0 of 5; MSU 0 of 6. Saves - Mich, Josh Blackburn 10-4-8-22; MSU, Joe Blackburn 5-12-9 - 26. Referee - Matt Shegos. Unesmen - John Pearson, Larry Lulich. At: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit. Attendance: 19,983. By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer DETROIT - The Michigan hockey team's offense worked in some weird ways this past weekend. On Friday night, Michigan had the offen- sive effort, scoring early and often. The Wolverines scored the first goal of the game for the first time in five contests and added four more goals before the conclusion of the second period. But mental breakdowns and costly penal- ties allowed Western Michigan to tally three goals in the first 5:26 of the third period and send Michigan home with just one point. Against Michigan State on Saturday, the Wolverines controlled the tempo for much of the game, outplaying Michigan State in the second and third periods. The Michigan offense that sparkled earlier in the season showed up for a second straight night. But that offense only managed one goal. Like a Blackjack dealer pulling 21 to a solid 20, luck wasn't on the Wolverines' side against Michigan State. While Michigan cruised to more scoring opportunities as the Spartans, a hockey game is decided by goals scored, not chances. The Spartans raked in three goals on their fewer opportunities, while it took the Wolverines 57 minutes to erase the zero on the scoreboard. "When it's going your way it seems like everything is going in. And when it's not going your way, it's like there's a plastic wall in front of the net," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We hit two posts on deflec- tions in the second period, but they weren't going in. They hit the post and went out the other way. That's just the way it's going now." After an early second period rush, the Wolverines seemed relentless in their check- ing and were able to keep the puck in the Michigan State zone for several long periods of time. "The way Michigan was forechecking us, we couldn't do anything about the things in our own zone," Michigan State coach Ron Mason said. "Michigan put just an unbeliev- able amount of pressure on our defensemen. They kept coming and coming." The Wolverines had more breakaways, bet- ter control of the puck and superior power plays compared to Michigan State. But the Spartans never left their defensive positions and held strong during the Michigan onslaught. The Michigan State defense showed why it has allowed a CCHA- low 34 goals in 26 games by preventing rebounds and blocking shots. That effort helped give Michigan State goalie Joe Blackburn little trouble in stop- ping 21 shots in the final two periods. "It was a really easy night for me out there," Blackburn said. "Our defense blocked a lot of shots for me." As the Wolverines were denied on their best opportunities, they had to count on a Scott Matzka deflection of a Jeff Jillson shot to prevent a shutout. After the contest, Michigan center Mark Kosick recounted the extensive amount of scoring chances that each of his teammates had but could find no answer how the actual scoring escaped them. "I could go through the whole team,' Kosick said. "When you go though and hit posts like we did, you can't say how you did- n't win the game." Michigan found better shots thanks to some crafty passing and more teamwork than in recent games. "We were roiling through our lines getting chances," Kosick said. "We're starting to put together a system that when we play like a team we're one of the best teams in the nation. Tonight was a big turning point fo* us." And despite the improved offensive effort, the final score didn't officially get the Wolverines back on the road they wanted to be on. "The outcome was brutal,' Kosick said. It was "luck for them, bad luck for us. We out- played them and we lost." Rivalry sells out joe Louis Arena hockey teams currently competing in the state - soon to be eight with the addi- tion of Wayne State. "This is hockey country here in the state of Michigan, and I think it's evi- denced by the crowd here tonight," Mason said. "And the job Joe Louis does to really support college hockey." That job has been extensive, especial- ly when it comes to advertising. From newspaper ads to billboards to banners on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, "College Hockey at the Joe" gets significant pub- licity. STREAKING APARr: Like two trains that seemed to be at the same station in December, Michigan and Michigan State have been traveling in different directions ever since. The Wolverines' winless streak has reached eight games - a skid Michigan hasn't experienced since 1988, when the team went nine straight games without a victory. Conversely, the Spartans have broken a school record for consecutive unbeaten games with 20. Interestingly, the record this streak eclipses is also from 1988, when the Spartans won 19 in a row. BUBBLE DANCING: With the weekend results, Michigan has fallen to 13th in the Pairwise college hockey rankings. Pairwise is the ranking method the NCAA selection committee consults when selecting the tournament field of 12 teams. Although the committee con- sults other factors, Pairwise boasts to having perfectly predicted the field in past seasons. But, despite seemingly being a place off the pace, the Wolverines can take some solace in the fact that Quinnipiac (currently No. 8 in the rankings) will likely be overlooked due to a weak schedule. TEAMING UP: Michigan captain Bubba Berenzweig will set aside CCHA rivalry and join forces with Michigan State captain Mike York at season's end. The two have been selected as co-cap- tains of Team -USA for the North American College Hockey Championships - a two-game series which will take place on April 10-11. The remainder of the US roster will be announced at a later date. MARGARET MYERS/Daily Hard-nosed Wolverines like Andrew Merrick had their hands full with a physical Michigan State team. Buckeyes upset, Notre Dame falls from fourth. Alaska-Fairbanks jumped out to a fast 2-0 start, and used an overtime goal by Daniel Carriere to defeat the Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday night, 3-2. Despite being eliminated from postseason contention %fP Mmi'sovrtm victrover Mike Jones had two goals to lead Bowling Green, while Adam Edinger, Dan Price and Chris Bonvie had a goal apiece for the Falcons, who turned a 1-1 tie into a blowout with four unanswered scores. Bowling Green solidified its playoff standing with the 4-0 to Northern Michigan while the Broncos were idle. All three teams in contention for the CCHA's final play- off spot and have played an equal number of games. Deskins was the hero on Friday night also, as the RedHawks defeated Alaska-Fairbanks 4-3. The Nanooks