4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 8, 1999 Puck talk 'This team is really good. We just don't play that way." - Michigan captain Bubba Berenzweig, after Friday night s 3-2 loss to Lake Superior ' Michigan 2 Michigan 5 2 Key play 10:35 remaining in the second period of Saturday's game - Michigan defenseman Sean Peach ' power-play goal gives Michigan a 2-0 lead that they would never relinquish. . *Lake Superior 3 a Northern Michigan The Daily Stars The Michigan Daily hockey wters' picks for Michigan's three stars of the weekend's game. - I. JQ LAGFELD The sophomore winger, Michigan's leading goal-scorer, kept rolling with two goals on the weekend. Langfeld now has 19 goals on the season. - 2. ScOTT MATZKA - FORWARD Matzka's energy on the ice gave Michigan a big lift He also scored Michigan's first goal against the Wildcats, which was his second shorthanded goal of the season. -3.iLL TRAINOR r FORWARD ' The sophomore hit career highs in assists and points this weekend. His first career goal helped Michigan to a 5-2 victory over Northern Michigan. Michigan wms first on road in'99 By Chris Duprey Daily Sports Editor MARQUETTE -The familiar demons were lurking again Saturday night - untimely penal- ties, a goal in the last minute of the period by the opponent and a precarious two-goal lead. But unlike the previous night, in a 3-2 loss at Lake Superior, the Wolverines put a halt to Northern Michigan's surging momentum with execution on both ends of the ice to secure a 5- 2 win - Michigan's first road victory in 1999. The key sequence came with just under 13 minutes to play and the Wolverines protecting a 3-1 lead. The Wildcats seemed to have six men on the ice as they swarmed the Michigan net, using their energy to block three attempts by the Wolverines to clear the zone. "They came out strong in the third," defense- man Sean Peach said. "They had a lot to prove, and in the first few minutes, they were all over us. Michigan was in dire need of a line change and was on its heels - the same combination of events that had been costly in past games. Finally, goaltender Josh Blackburn was able to freeze the puck and Northern Michigan's surge. The Wildcats would never threaten again. "Those are the breaks in the game - maybe the breaks that we haven't been getting," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Our goal- keeping, when the game was on the line, was really going at its best." Blue confronts na ngroad pro ems m the UP A RQUETT E- Deep in the Upper Peninsula, where snowdrifts and Indian casinos run ram- pant, the Michigan hockey team finally took a stand. No more unfriendly goal posts, the Wolverines said to themselves. After hitting the post twice the previous night in Lake Superior and drawing more iron than a public school drinking fountain, they would settle for nothing less than the back of the net. No more using the officiating as a scapegoat for their problems, they decided. And besides Bobby Hayes, whose ongoing love affair with CCHA officials contin- ued with a 10-minute misconduct in the late stages of Saturday night's game, Michigan played as if the striped shirts weren't there. No more taking flak from opponents, Michigan deter- mined. If the referee isn't going to call behind-the-play * obstruction penalties, Bubba Berenzweig decided, then MARGARET MYERS/Oaty Michigan won it's first road game of 1999 when It defeated Northern Michigan on Saturday night The closest the Wolverines had come before was a 3-3 tie with Michigan State on Jan. 29. Lake Superior 3, Michigan 0 1 Lake Superior 0 1 Michigan 2 1 -2 2 -3 First period - no scoring. Penalties - Mich, Huntzicker ( interference), 14:24; LS, Team (too many men on ice), 15:25; LS, Palmer (hooking), 18:07. Second period - 1. LS, Slukynsky 8 (Palmer) 7:43; 1. Mich, Jillson 4 (Huntzicker, Hayes), 14:16 (pp). Penalties- Mich, Koch (cross-checking), 1:33; LS, Cheeseman (roughing), 2:23; Mich Hayes (rough ing), 2:23; LS, Praznik (cross-checking), 4:12; LS, McCauley (high sticking), 9:29; Mich, Berenzweig (high sticking). 9:29; LS, Mcauley (roughing), 9:29; Mich, Berenzweig (roughing), 9:29; IS,' McCauley (10-minute misconduct), 9:29: Mich, Berenzweig (10-minute misconduct), 9:29: LS, Knox (interference), 12:15; LS; Praznik (high sticking), 13:28; LS, Vince (cross-checking), 19:56. Third period - 2. LS, Bachusz 6 (Vigilante, Knox), 4:12 (pp); 2. Mich, Langfeld 18 (Koch, comrie) 10:04; 3. LS, Cheeseman 9 (Keup), 10:27. Penalties - Mich, Ritchlin (high sticking), 3:18; LS, Vigilante (high sticking), 19:47; Mich, Rominski (high sticking), 19:47; IS, McCauley (10-minute misconduct), 19:47; Mich, Peach (10-minute mis- conduct), 19:47. Shots on goal - Mich, 91012 -31; LS, 6613- 25. Power Plays - Mich lof 6; LS 1 of 3. Saves - Mich, Blackburn 6-5-11- 22; LS, Platt 9- 9-11-29. Referee - Steve Piotrowski. Unesmen -- John Nowosatka, Terry Schug. At: Taffy Abel Arena. Attendance: 3,491. Michigan 5, N.Michigan 2 SMichigan 1 1 3 5 N. Michigan 0 1 1 -2 Rt Period -1~ Mich, Matzka 6 (Koch. Jiison), 18:23 tsh). Penalties - Mich, Hayes (boarding) :23; NM, Sandbeck (interference) 5:56; Mich, Crozier (tripping), 15:31; Mich, Rominski (high stick- ing), 16:40. Second period - 2. Mich, Peach 3 (Jilson, Hayes), 9:25 (pp); 1. NM, Trudeau 18 (Vigier, Smith) 19:53 (pp), Penalties - NM, Frattaroli (slashing)t 1:55; Mich, Ritchlin (roughing), 1:55; NM, Ruff (hooking), -5:54; Mich, Koch (interference), 6:06; NM, Frattaroli (boarding), 8:08; NM, Ruff (hooking). ?13:53;, Mich, Trainor (Crss checking), 19:32. Third period - 3. Mich, Jillson 5 (Trainor, Merick), 4:02; 4. Mich, Langfeld 19 (Berenzweig, Koch), 48:56; 5. Mich, Trainor 1 (Kosick, Berenzweig). 10:33; 2. NM, Schmidt 7 (Mattersdorfer, Riipi), 19:48 (pp). Penalties- NM, Holly (roughing), 712:15; Mich, Jilison (roughing), 12:15; Mich, Hayes (10-minute misconduct), 17:59; NM, Frattaroli (10- minute misconduct), 17:59; Mich, Peach (high stick- :ing), 17:59. Shots on goad - Mich, 14-9-7 - 3b NM, 7510 - 22. Power Plays - Mich 1 of 4; NM 2 of 6. Saves - Mich, Blackburn 749 - 20; NM, -Ragusett 13482 - 23, Hoey 0-0-2 - 2. -Referee - Matt Shegos. sUnrestren - Mark Nebel, Sean Jacques. At. Lakeview Arena Attendance. 4,053. ~ Next Opponents HOME GAMES I4 CAPS - if necessary ^ - if Michigan advances March 12-13 BOWLING GREEN March 14 BOWLING GREEN* March 19 CCHA Semifinals A How the USCHO Top 10 fared !nkgs anidrecoiis as of Maih t No. 1 North Dakota (27-3-2) beat St. Goudi State -2, 5-2. No. 2 Michigan State (25-3-7) beat Fenis State 4.1, lost to Ferris State 2-1. No. 3 Maine (253-4) lost to New Hanshe 6 ,1, 4A No. 4 New Hampsh a (24-5-3) beat Maine ~6-1,41.- No. 5 Colorado College (23-10-1) beat. Minnesota-Duluth 4-3. 3-2, No. 6 Uarson (20-9-1 lost to Colgate 4-3 No. 7 Boston Colege (19-11-4) beat Boston Unversity 3-2. No. 8 MIchigan (t9.9-6) lost to lake Superior 3-2, beat Northern Michigan s-2. No. 9 Ohio State (19-12-4) lost to Bowling Green 3-0. No. 10 Denver (28.12-2) beat Micigan Tech .3"L ; Rather than ragging the puck with the 3-1 lead, Michigan took advantage of the Wildcats' offensive frustration by turning on the afterburn- ers. The Wolverines scored two demoralizing goals in the next three minutes of play to stretch its lead to 5-1 and effectively end the contest. The luxury of playing with the lead helped keep the momentum in Michigan's favor. Lake Superior never allowed the Wolverines to get ahead in Friday night's game, and the continu- ous catch-up they forced Michigan into ulti- mately led to the Wolverines' downfall. "We're just playing behind too much, Berenson said after Friday's loss. "We still feel like we have a chance when we're behind, but you run out of time." The Wolverines' physical play was another reason for their improved play Saturday. Michigan's intensity was evident right from the start, as Bobby Hayes, Bubba Berenzweig, and others flattened the Wildcats along the boards. Michigan will need its hard hitting next weekend, as Bowling Green - a team that loves to crash the offensive zone - comes to town. "They play well against Michigan,"Berenson said. "I'm sure they're looking forward to it." I'll police the matter myself. His second-period scrap with Lake Superior's Blaine McCauley on Friday night proved that the Wolverines are done getting pushed around. Michigan's physical play on Saturday put Northern Michigan on the defensive. Hayes laid a monster check just 23 seconds into the opening period, and was called for boarding - referee Matt Shegos' cheesy way of telling Hayes that he was playing CHRIS DUPREY Dupe's Scoop All-around performances spur 'M' By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer MARQUETTE - A trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula wasn't the happiest spring break vacation for the Michigan hockey team, but this past weekend saw an all- around performance from the Wolverines. Defensively, the special teams and the fourth line helped spur Michigan to a blowout win over Northern Michigan HOCKEY Saturday. Notebook Sophomore Bill Trainor .-.-.-........... notched career highs in assists and points, tallying his first career goal in the process. "I knew I would get my shot once in awhile and I took advantage of it," Trainor said. The winger also toughened a penalty-kill unit that didn't allow Lake Superior or Northern Michigan achieve success on five- on-three advantages. "I'm not worried about Trainor's statistics, but he needs to help our team any way he can," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "What that tells me is that he can do that more often." Trainor, along with junior Andrew Merrick, was scratched for several games in the middle of the season. Both have returned to the lineup in the past few weeks to enhance Michigan's fourth-line play. Against the Wildcats, the line of Justin Clark, Trainor and Merrick helped Michigan by netting two goals. Clark and Trainor helped solidify the penalty-kill unit while Merrick filled in on shifts to give Michigan's special teams some rest. Merrick also helped out by stepping back in the play to cover for a pinching Jeff Jillson, who at times went in on the offensive attack. Jillson and the other Michigan defensemen also gave Michigan the scoring boost they needed this weekend. The freshman notched two goals and an assist, while junior Sean Peach tallied a cru- cial second period power-play goal against the Wildcats. Senior Bubba Berenzweig also added two assists. "When the fourth line scores essentially two goals tonight, that's really good for your team," Berenson said. "When your defense- men are chipping in for your team, that's good also." BUBBA BATTLE: One of the defining themes of the weekend was the physical play of the Wolverines. Berenzweig led the charge with a scuffle with Lake Superior defense- man Blaine McCauley. Referee Steve Piotrowski fell to the ice after a collision with a Lake Superior player, leaving the behind-the-play chippiness unsu- pervised. As Berenzweig took the puck into the Lake Superior zone, McCauley dragged him down and then held him while spearing him with his stick. Berenzweig then defend- ed himself by going after the Lakers' defend- er. "He broke his stick over me' Berenzweig said. "I got pretty upset about it. He pulled me down and he wouldn't get off of me." The scuffle resulted in both players receiv- ing 10-minute misconduct penalties and two minor penalties. "I let it get to me and I shouldn't have," Berenzweig said. "I got lucky with just the 14 minutes." Berenzweig was unhappy that his team let the Lakers' rugged play get to them, but Saturday night, Michigan used strong physi- cal play to its advantage over the top-ranked Northern Michigan offense. GOING BOWLING: Michigan, which earned second place thanks to Ohio State's two loss- es to Bowling Green, faces the Falcons them- selves in the first round of the CCHA play- offs. Bowling Green finished seventh in the CCHA, but has one of the best power plays in the nation. Michigan won the season series, sweeping the Falcons 3-0. a little too rough with the Wildcats. As the game went on, though, it was Michigan who was left standing after most of these collisions. The Wolverines finished their checks and played with a new level of intensity, as if it were their last game of the season. Maybe that's the key. Michigan has tremendous suc- cess when it plays with its back to the wall, as evi- denced by the two-game thrashing of Miami the preN i- ous weekend. Other times, when there's nothing tangi- ble to play for, the Wolverines ease up on the throttle and it costs them. With every game from now on having playoff signifi- cance, Michigan doesn't need to worry about finding motivation to play well. If the season ended today, Michigan would probably earn an NCAA berth. Winning its first-round series against Bowling Green in two games, especially since it's at home, could be the final push the selection committee needs to include the Wolverines in the bracket. Beating out Ohio State in the regular season and securing second place was huge, since now it's the Buckeyes, and not Michigan, that is on the NCAA hot seat. The Buckeyes have checked in and out of the U.S. College Hockey Online Top 10 all season long, and, considering their recent slide, won't be looked upon favorably if they lose to a tournament prospect like Michigan at Joe Louis Arena - or worse yet, if they don't make it out of the first round at all. Ohio State's 0 first-round opponent, Ferris State, has broken a few hearts already this season. These weekends are getting bigger and bigger. Fortunately for the Wolverines, the big time is when they come to play. - Chris Duprey can be reached via e-mail at cduprey@umich.edu. ICers spilt games up north YOOPERS Continued from Page 18 Ragusett. Matzka's tally was Michigan's fourth shorthand- ed goal of the season, but more importantly gave Michigan its first lead on the road since a 3-3 tie with Michigan State on Jan. 29. "For them, having to play from behind, as we have known, it's tough" Berenson said. "When they got down, they had to take some chances, and we got some outnumbered rushes." Michigan struck again in the second period, again on special teams, when defenseman Sean Peach found a hole in the Northern Michigan defense from the point and lofted the puck past Ragusett, giving Michigan a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats sliced the Wolverines' lead to one with seven seconds left in the second thanks to Roger Trudeau's 18th goal of the season on the power play. But the third period belonged to Michigan. While Northern Michigan continued to control the puck in the Michigan zone, costly mistakes led to Michigan netting three more goals from Jeff Jillson, Josh Langfeld and Bill Trainor, turning the game into a blowout. The blowout was needed, as the Wolverines fell to Lake Superior 3-2 on Friday night. Michigan outshot the Lakers in the first two stan- zas, and racked up 31 shots, but was unable to find the net before it was too late. "It was a game when every goal counted and we just couldn't put our chances in," Berenson said. "I t don't think we are going to score nine goals every night, but when you get 31 shots, you should score more than two." Michigan's power play continued its improved play, especially in the second period when Michigan received more than six minutes with the man advantage. Jillson put the puck on net, deflect- ing off a Lake Superior player and past Jayme Platte to knot the game at one. But while Michigan dominated much of the first and second periods, it sputtered in the third. "I thought we were a sporadic team," Berenson said. "We had a few good chips in the first two peri- ods. I can't tell you we had a good concentrated effort.' Langfeld answered Michigan's pleas for a come- back on a play like Lake Superior's goal. The winger received a long pass from Koch and easily beat Platt one-on-one. But the Michigan momentum ended 23 seconds later when Ben Keup picked up a Michigan turnover and centered it to a cutting Jeff Cheeseman, who slapped the puck past Blackburn and handed Michigan its 10th loss of the season. NATHAN RUFFER/Daily The Wolverines lost to Lake Superior at home this season, and again to Lakers in the Soo this past weekend, 3-2. Final CCHA Standings 1999 CCHA Tournament rr Team Michigan State Michigan Ohio State 20 17 17 ti CCHA T 7- 3 5 0 3 Pts 47' 39- 37 GP 30 30 30 w 26 Z0 19 OVERALL L T 4 7 10 6 14 4 17 The Second Season After enduring an up-and- down season, Michigan's drve to defend its national title begins Friday night against Bawling Green. The best-of three series starts Friday and OP 37 36 37 tir 2 Michigan* I Michigan State ** *