h - i ne Michigan Daily - bportsi nursoay - January 4, 2001 ____ Nlouts trrm the point "I don't think we've played that poorly in three years." -Alicl uancouchi Red Berenzson, after the J4o/v('~eror vlot to Atlichigan Th bfor ishe first htime5since?1984 and neveut on to , ,lost twice in t/he (rout Luas Invitational. SATURAY' AME K'Michigan 3 7 ~Boston College 5 Krey play Saturday, 12:16 of first period Rob Scuderi ufedel l'i s Aolanzos for a cane-timer that beat a//lailing Josh Blackhurn -- puttin ~the Eagles up, 3-0) and a dagg er in Alichigan 5 heart. Michigan Tech I.,. K''T HE DAILY'S STARS The Michigan Daily hocey writers picks for Michigan'sthree stars of the weekend. .EDORTMEYER 1GHT WINO; Ortmeyer was a warrior out on the ice, taking the place of Andy Hlbert on the w first line to tally four points on the weekend. 1~ GEFF Koci- ,LfuT WIN inhe captain had a gutsy performance, t'icluding scoring two key goals for the Wolverines in an attempt to keep pCNo. 9 Minnesota (12-52) cef Union 3-2 elLake Superior, 5-4 No. 10 Providence (9-5-3) def. Ferris State, 4A-2' lost to Denver, 2- FRIDAY'S GAME (Michigan Tech 7, Michigan 3 Michgan 1 1 1 -3 Michigan Tech 0 3 4- 7 First period - 1.U . Or tmer bMurr). 19:58. Penaties-- W. frinor inrierence, 2:30: MTU .Kaman ;osructi xnhotdig; 13:03 Second period -2. MU, Cabana 10 (Ptterson, :48: 3. MTU, Snesrud 3 (hwel ng, Brown, 9:1: 4. UM, Koch 5 ro~rniyer, Muray); 5. MU, Weinberger i~hveiing, Ertr'nardt;.},1645 Penalties- IM, Cessof I (slashing. 7:20: MU, Larila (holding stick. 7:53~ MTU. Patterson (obstrucionooing, 11:57; UM. Langfed (high stck ig. 13:12. .-. TJ peiod - 6. %ITU. Ulwelng 2 (L~uiI, Way), 2:30 '- OM. Wyzgwsk i Vanck. 0tmee): 8. MTU. 'Weiberger 5 turno. 11:10 (pp: 9. MU, Larder 3 iCaana; 14:10. MTU, Ulwelling 3 Wenberger, 18:12. Penalties - MU. Laula (itererence, 4:31 UM, Fra~er (iookig;. 95; Mill' Keiyer lntirferece,, 11:54. ;n. Shots on goai-__M. 81615 3"-:3M; T. 3 10 13-- 2. A wgr Pays-CM,0of 5: M , 1of 4. 0:..UBackburn 37 -- 19; M u, Rogers 715 x.1 - 36. Referee . Bruint Rtherford. Linesmen -, Kevin Langseth Brent Gawlk. At Jo Louis Are na Detroit Attedance: 17 744 'n SSATURDAY'S GAME Boston College 8, Michigan 5 Boston College 4 1 3 "-8 sMichigan 1 2 2 -5 First peiod -1 B;, !ennes : (Srk ri. McLennan 5:00: y2. BC, Dolnar 5 ,u nassistedj), 7:20 si); 3. C,Koans l4 c Scuderi Kohsw, 12:16: 4 UM. Matzka 6 Tranor, xSw.stak. 13:185. BC KWans 15 1uliano;. 15:36. tPenalties - CM, ilsori(ooking. :35: BC. Orpik eiow mg. :35: BC. Gionta ;igisticking:. 6:51; UM, Mink cht ing. 8:01; BC, Css hoding, 19:48 rSecond perid- 6 1. Koch 6 Shouneia Ortneer r1:30 {p; 7. BC. Koasew 10 (Ginta. Alen; 952 pp):8 sUM lsun 5 (Shoueyia. Mink, 18:53. Penalties -BC rik ;rosschecki g~,:42: UM. Ma) ka hobstructonhbook ing, 226: UM, Roeensky (ttipping, 11:45; M, Wzgwski (charging.19:24. Thi period -9. BC. Let~art 9( Eaves), 1 13 {pp): 10. UM CM.aigh'k 8 (Kosick. Wyzgosa, 2:59: 11. BC. Gonta 1. (aves. Lcliart), 4.08: 12. BC, Doinr 6 (Kobasew, r Scuderi), 11:57 (pp): 13. UM. Shouneyia 7 (Matzka). S14:14. Penalties - BC, Dziama (oibstr uct ion hoiding), 7:06: UM. Wy'gowsk iighsticking), 11:07; CM, vWyzgowski j ~1mirite misconduct;, 11:07: BC. Koanos (siashing), 17:16: BC. Kobasew hitting ater whistle). 17:16: CM, y Gassof (hiting after whistle;, 17:16. v Shots on goal--- BC, 1789 - 34: UM, 13139-- 35. Power Plays - BC. 3 of 6AJM. 1 of 6. 'p Saves -- BC. Cleinnensen 1211- - 30; "!M, Backburn S137 6-_26. ,,Referee - Duke Shegos. r Linesmern -- Kevin Langseth. Brent Gavlir. At: Joe Louis Arena Detroit. Attendace: 13.550 t WHERE'S THE 'D'70 A usually solid defensive Michigan Steam surrendered more than its fair share of goals in. the Great Lakes -Invitational. Here are the last times :~that the Wolverines were so gener- Sous on D': %. 1, Last allowed eight goals in 1992. ~2) Last gave up 15 goals in back-to- back games in 1991. 3i Last allowed seven or more goals 'in back-to-back games on Feb. 21 Sand Feb. 27, 1987. The beat goes. on for m~vs. MIARJORIE MARSHALL/ Daily Michigan couldn't seem to escape a hungry Michigan Tech team that went on to embarrass the Wolverines to the tune of a 7-3 drubbing. Cinderella Hsisspurn Michigan to last pace By Joe Smith Daily Sports Writer DETROIT -- It w.,s not tile usual Michigan hockev team that shlowed up for the Great Lakes Invitational - - not by atny means. Tihe Wolverinles (13-5-3) f inishled a disappointing fourthl place inlthle tournament for the first time sinlce]1983 after losinc 8- inl tile. conlsolation, tatle against No. 2 Boston College;.Michiean'Iecl (4-1 4-1 / Iad upset tile Wolverines tiletnightlt before, 7-3. It also mlarked the fitrst time thlat Michiian has allowed seven or more goals in cotnsecutive games sinlce 1987. "I (don't tihink we've played that poorly in three years, ' Michigan coachl Red Berenson said after losing to Michigan Tech for tile first time inltile past I11 meetings, dating back to 1984. "'You canl see thlat they were vill- ting the races to the puck. 1Theyvvwere winning thle battles. T1hen were tile llaltgrier team, thlat seemed to cotntinlue througihout tile- game. It also continued throughlout tile rest of tile (iLl, as Micigian was unlable to answer the bell and come up withl a win thlat tihey may nleed for a possiple NCAA Tournament bid come March. Looking to redeem themselves on Saturdav niehit inl a rematch of tile 1 998 NCAA title game, Michligan oncee again Camle up flat -- gettilg dominated ill every sense by Boston College (13-4-I1,trailitla 4-i by thle 2nd of the first period. Up to tihis past weeKend, tile Wolverines hladn't given up four goalls in oneC period all season. Bitt Michigan fIcl itth lat fate for thle second straight period followitng tile four they surrendered to Michligan Tell ill 1Friday 's tihird period. But it wasn't enltirely- losh Blackburn's fault -thle goaltender looked hlelpless at many timles due to the sloppy and undisciplinled defensive effort by the rest 01 thle Wolverines. "We gave thenm way too m~anly chanlces." freshman defenseman Andy Burnes said. "Josh1 stood onl his hlead. You can't fatult hliml for any of those goals. They scored on rebounds, two-on-onles, three-onl-onles _- a lot of breakdowns thlat shouldn't hlave happened. We can't play like that and expect to wi." Case ill point was tile Eagles' third goal, where if the game wvere a box- ing match, Michigan would have thrown in thle towvel after-ward. After a Michigan turnover, the Eagles carried the puck at even-strengthl into tile offensive zone and kept it there for over 35 seconds. Chuck Kobasexv literal ly skated circles around three flat-footed M ic 11igan-players before sending a shot at Blackburn, who sprawled out to kick tile puck out of the crease. B~ut it eent right to defensemlan Rob Scuderi, whlo senlt a pretty feed across thle zone to cenlter Krys Kolanos. Hockey East's leading scor-er tihen fired a one-timer past a flailing Blackburn, who was forced out of posi- tiotl.Kolanos added two m~ore goals later on to record hlis first career hiat trick Michligan was missing1t its two leadinlg scorers ill Andy [lilbert anld Mike Cammalleri. who along witil defenseman Mike Komisarek are competing in tile World Junior Championships. Once Jay Vancik went down 01n Friday night with a knee injury, tile Wolverines were left without three of' its top four defenseman. Vatncik is expected to be out for at least two weeks. "''I llsure in a mnithl or so, tihey're goinlg to be a very different club,' Boston College coacih Jerry York said. '"We defe~ated a good, solid Michigan1 team, but whlen tihey add tile three players that al-c at tile World Junior Tottrnament, and iHuntzicker (itnjured), they become an exceptionl- al teamil" To tiheir credit, none of tile Wolverines used thle three mlissing players as anl excuse for tiheir play. Ber-enson was more worr-ied about what players were ill his lineup, including tile senior linle of Scott Matzka, Josh Lailufeld and Mark Kosick -- which Michigan nleeded to come up big. Instead thley combinled for a mlinuis- I over tile two ganmes, including being onltile ice fot' five of-tile seven Michigan Tech goals oil Friday nigilt. "If v-ou go thrioughl the teaim, you dotn't find too mlanly guys tilat had good gamecs,'' Matzka said. -'I know our line didnlt play well. I'm disap- poinlted iintile way I played and I thlink a loft of 0111cr guys are. Micluimn Tech, tile('inderella of the tournamlent, pulled away frotm the Wolverinles after captainl (eoff Koch tied the game at 2-2 withl four inl- utles remaitig illtile seconld period. Tihey scot-ed five of the last six goals -- m lostly due to rebounds, lack of backcileckitlg and odd-man rushes. 'It's nlot skill,"Kochl said. "It's hlard work, and we didn't laveit.' Seniors Jarrcett Weitnbet-ger and Matt Ulwellitlg tallied two goals apiece to lead tile Huskies to tiheir secotnd upset of the season. They beat then-No. I North Dakota earlier this year. The I-luskies lost a hleartbreaker to chamn- pionl Michigan State 3-2 in the last intute of tile first overtime. mediocre teams By Ryan C. Moloney DAl, Sports Writer DETROIT -- "We didn't come out ready to paQ They outworked us';.Jed Ortmcver said inl the frigi 7 corridor of tile Joe Louis Arena after Michigan's embarrassing 7-3 loss to Michigan Tecih Ftldav niglit. Haven't we seen this movie before'? Sure, you remlenmber the original starred current CCHA=' caboose Ferris State, a tiluggish teamthtiat ambushed Michigan 5-4 in their second meeting 'of tile yeMt Then tihere was tile formulaic sequel, a 5-2 shlocker- loss to an Alaska-Fairbanks programn that remains' nlestled neatr the bottom of tile CCIIA. Finally, thle ilomentous finale of thlis epic trilog a shellacking at tile hands of the then-3-13-I Huskies that was too absurd to be true, even as the HOCKEY4 Michigan Tech benlch ' datnced over to goalie Brian Commentary Rogers as tille expired. . "Th1ev wanted it more than us, pla iln and simpl'e Jeff Jillson said. A 7-3 loss to Miciligan Tech? Tile doormat of thc WCHA'? At the Great Lakes Invitational'? Alice Cooper couldn't have said it better -- weY conilc to Michigan's nightmare. t-0 Michigan fans aren't just scratching their heads; they are banging thenm against the wall. IHow 'does a Michigan team tihat looked like world-beaters barely over a mlonth ago in the College Hockey Sihowcase suddenly nosedive in thc GLI ? The Wolverines used to own this tournamient --the trophy engr'aver needed only to mail in the iew title plate a week in advance.' That's fast becoming Michligan State's sclltick. It's foolish to judge tile legacy of the Mihig seniors based on thleir GLI history. Would you rather have a GLI title or a natiotlal chamnpionlship'? Bat's &tpi'cssing as it is, the scotre tells tile story Michigan State seniors 4, Michigan seniors 0.- "Bottom ine is, a couple of other teams wanlted it more than we did." senior Bob Gassoff said afti Michiganl's 8-5 loss to Boston College. Sure, the loss of top two scorers Mike Cammalleri and AiJ& Hilbert and rising star defenseman Mike Komisarok - to tile World Jlunior Championships did not h elp' tmatter-s. Both Michigan Tecih coach Mike Sertich- and Boston College coach Jerry York mlade tho clear inl postgamle remarks. Without_ three of its top players, Michigan mlight tot have been able to match the second- ran ked,. Eagles, butt thle sur-renderinlg of eight goals probably' itndicates left over deflation from the nligiht befo~re. ilhe Huskies. a teamllsnmall oil talent anld big oil f jt. isinig cihecks, beat up on a sleeping giant -- arid' remainled comatose the nlext nlight. "We got outworked, outplayed- it's all embaf -x rassi ng situation" Jay Vancik said. WVhat separates the Wolverijnes fromn tile uppt- echlelon of tile NCAA is tile inability to show up against lesser teams, to play with tile taste of bV)f ; in their rhoutils against playet-s with mammoth chpi- on their shouldei-s and nothing to lose. That's the. pi-oblem wi-l being Michigan - against top teaets it sholitd will, againlst nmediocre teams it should win' big, n10 exceptions. 'Devastated' seniors lose fourthGL By Joe Smith I Ail Sports Writer DETROIT --- Just after Michigan Iecih scoredl to mlake it 4-2 early in tile tihird peri- od of its upset over Michligan, senior Mat-k Kosick took his stick anld slammred it against the boatds behind his own nlet. It was a telling frustt-ation that had been boil- ing for a while and ended in hliml never witliill a GLI title in his four years as a XVolverille -- something tihat is tnot com- mnlplace for Michigan seniors. Sincee 1991, seven senior classes ihave giraduated from Michigan without ever losing a GLI title. In the tournament's 36- year hlistory, Michigan hlas won it a record I I times, including nine times in a row fr-om 1988-1996. But this year's seniors will leave Michigan without winning a single onle. Their final m~emory of the tournament will end up being the Wolverines' first last- place finish since 1983 - definitely nlot all easy reality to swallow. "It's tertibly di sappoinlting, captain (Geoff Koch said "I'm devastated. I really aml." How could never winnuing a hloliday tournamletthurt 50o much11? Tile Great Lakes Invitational is all about SENIOR WOES How the seniors fared in the GLI: Geoff Koch: Scored two goals in an overall solid performance. Mark Kosick: Tallied one assist while struggling defensively with a minus-4. Bob Gassoff: Received more playing tinle dud to depleted blueline, but was beaten for a key goal by the Eagles. Josh Langfeld: Scored a goal for tile first time since Oct. 28 while earning a minus-5. Bill Trainor: "One of better players on ice" according to Berenson. Scott Matzka: Notched a goal and assist but was minus-3 for tournament. L.J. Scarpace: Played seven minutes. A new twist for defense corps' rollercoaster year MARJORIL MARSHALL. DAILY conlsolationl game against Boston College -a remlatch of tile 1998 title game. But it wasnttjuist tihat they lost, buit how they played. The senior linle of Kosick, Joshl Langfeld and Scott Matzka - all of whom were inltegral parts of Michigan's 1998 victory over tile Eagles, withiLang, scringtile ganme-winner ill overtimle - nleeded to hlip a sihorthanded Micihigan. rebound from a disappointinlg per-formlance againlst Michigan Tech. Thle Wolverinies wet-c alrieadv witihout their two leading scotels,.Andy Hilbert and Mike Cammal leni, ' because they wer-e comlpetinlg ill tile World Junior Championships. But nleither Berenlson not' his players used that as an excuse for the teanms performnllce. 111ev wanlted to focus insult to injury was the Wovenles' 8-5 loss to Boston College illtile third-place ganne. The senlior line didn't start, aind was mlatchled up againist tile Eagles' tihird and fourth lines during most of'the game -- nlot something tihey're used to. It answered with four points, includinig goals by Matzka aind Langfcid. But it wasnl't enougih to salvage the tournament for Michigan. Meanwhile, seniors from tile othler tihree teams illtile tournanment proved imlpressive --as three made the A ll-Tournament Teaml that featured no Wolverines. "I don't really have any answers for it," Kosick said. "I'm not going to believe (tile criticisml) and I know tihat Langer wvon't eithei. We've got a good team niid we've got to try to find a way to keep our confidence high." NAI.-. ..,is,..nnin,.tno, frint-YC Sine nno nnI By Ryan C. Moloney D aily Sports Writer DETROIT --- In keeping withl the seasonls pattern, tile Michigan hockey team's defensive cot-ps got a dose of good news at last week's Ct-eat Lakes Inlvitationlal - only to be followed by m11re bad inews. Before the start of Friday n ighlt's gamtie, defense- Mlan Dave HOCKEY H-untzicker said Notebook hle expects clear- ance to play in two or thrtee weeks. The senlior' has been nlursinlg thle MCL inr his left knee since hle injured it in the first period againlst Alaska-Fairbanks oil Nov. 17. Irotnically and unfortunately fot' the Wolverines, blutelinet' Jay Vancik injur'ed his rigiht knee later on tihat nigilt, twisting it in the first period againlst Michigan Tech, then twisting it again illtile second period.. Vancik fin- ished the game, but will sit out thle next few weeks. "We are thini on defenlse anld it showed," coach Red Berenson said. Tile latest batch of' bad news on defense brought about several new sce- narios for the upcoming series against Lake Superior State. Seldom-used senior Robbie Kohen was the sixth delnseman in Saturday night's 8-5 loss to Eagles, but n~~i"la t oivj inlthe' waing m(~itesliII(of At one poinlt, l-untzicket's injiy was thought possibly season-eniding. The _faulty early prognlosticationl of'tile injury was due to a combination of fa6- tot's, according to Huntzicker. - "I had a lot of soreness-kt sweling'" Huritzicker said. -The' WI caine back as though I was irijudd more severely than I really was.., "It's hlealinig kind of slow - Aid Fraser hlad the same injr and Ihe's back playing this week." GRTIEY'ER ALERT: Orti'never' emletrged ftrom the shadowvs of -his departed fellow sophonmores, M ike Camlmallet aind Andy Hilbert at 'thu CUI, scoring, four points. Ortnlieers two-way commilitmlent did. not laps:"-~ he was one of Michigan's few cor0 tent forward backeheckers all weekend. "IHe's one guy who showed up arid played his heart out' all wcekenrd Berenson said. H1UMOROUS HUSKIE;S: Michigan Tech inlter'im coach Mike Sertie~h preachled tile importance of humbi' kil weekend when asked about .tie imlpr'obable perform'ance of thle H-uskies. It turns oiut he Was seri(Ar' On the Michigail Tech lineup .'l k distributed to the media on Satpaiay night, each players namne was acotrr- panied by a brief caption undelnctil, foi' example: "JUSTIN BROWN :-- Had Assist Last Night." Defensemian Rvanl Lenton's caption was the tone exce'ption to the format --- the freh- 1