The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 8, 2001- 3B
Cammalleri and Ryznar: A winning combo? RAPHAEL
The Wolverines' top line combined to score all five of Michigan's points GOODSTEIN

By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - Early last week,
Michigan coach Red Berenson decided
to put junior captain Jed Ortmeyer,
freshman Jason Ryznar and junior alter-
nate captain Mike Cammalleri together
as Michigan's first line for the 'Cold
War' game Saturday night against
Michigan State.
Berenson couldn't have made a better
choice.
"When we sensed that Cammalleri
could play, I put Ortmeyer with him and
Ryznar and it turned out to be a pretty
good combination," Berenson said.
The line combined to score five of
Michigan's points - Cammalleri with
two goals and an assist, and Ryznar
with a goal and an assist.
Their first strike came late in the first
period from Ryznar, who didn't show
ny signs of early jitters. With just
under three minutes remaining, Cam-
malleri won the faceoff but lost control
of the puck. It bounced over to Ryznar,
who had been battling in front of the
net, and the freshman took care of the
rest.
"Cammalleri took the draw and tied
up his man, Ortmeyer tied up his man. I
just saw the puck sitting there and fired
it on net and it went in," Ryznar said.
Berenson - who was a bit hesitant
about his decision to play Ryznar with
two of his veterans -- felt his young
player was perfect for the role.
"You are always a little worried
about putting a freshman with two of
your top players, but he fit in pretty
well," Berenson said. "He made a cou-
ple of great plays and certainly got a lot
of confidence from this game. He is
oing to be a good player - he already
s a good player."
Ryznar's goal was crucial because it
not only tied the score at one, but it also
showed the Wolverines that Michigan
State goaltender Ryan Miller was beat-
able.
"I think the goal was a big momen-
tum shift for us because we were able to
pick up our game and take over," Ryz-
nar said.
Cammalleri was responsible for giv-
g the Wolverines their first lead of the
night. Three minutes into the second
period, Michigan's offensive phenom
single-handedly captured the puck in
the Spartans' lone and took it toward

the goal. Displaying amazing patience,
Cammalleri moved across the crease
with the puck until Miller sprawled out
on the ice to poke-check it away. With
Miller out of position, Camrnalleri
sniped the puck perfectly into the top
corner of the net.
"He just outwaited me," Miller said.
"I thought he had a lot less time than he
actually did have. He's a smart player
like that and tough to defend."
"There is no question that Mike can
pick up our team on his back alone,"
Berenson said. "When he gets the puck,
things happen, and he is just determined
to do that. He is ready to have a great
season. We just need to keep him
healthy.".
Unable to suit up for any exhibition
games due to an early season hip flexor.
Cammalleri only began skating in full
practices last week. But during Satur-
day evening's performance, he showed
no signs of discomfort and proved to be
nothing short of spectacular.
Cammalleri tacked on Michigan's
third and final goal about 11 minutes
into the third period - this time with a
little help from Ryznar. The goal would
have stood as the game-winner had
Michigan State not scored with 47 sec-
onds remaining in the game to tie.
"Jason and Jed were working hard
and they got the puck loose in the ofTen-
sive zone, Cammalleri said. "Ryznar
made a great play and showed great
patience when he slid it across to me.
He didn't pass it too hard so I could
control it. It was a great pass and all I
had to do was shovel it in."
Shovel it he did, giving Michigan its
second lead and once again demonstrat-
ing his remarkable offensive skills.
Although the lead did not stand,
Michigan showed that it did in fact
possess the offensive firepower nec-
essary to contend with one of the
strongest defensive units in the coun-
try.
"We played well, we had good chem-
istry, we worked hard and it was great,"
Ortmeyer said. "I've played with Cam-
malleri before so we know each other.
and Ryznar battled hard and played
well. I think he really fit in."
"It's never okay to tie against Michi-
gan State, but we put a good effort forth
and that's what were proud of," Cam-
malleri said. "We're proud of the heart,
determination and the character we
showed."

The last Blue score
A breakdown of Mike Cammalleri's third period goal
photos by DAVID KATZDaily
After a struggle for possession of the puck in Michigan State's zone, Michigan
freshman Jason Ryznar (right) came away with it and headed for the goal.
t
Ryznar spotted Mike Cammalleri coming down the right wing and slid a pass
to him right across the crease of Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller.
Cammalleri
received the
pass from
Ryznar and
redirected the
' puck over the
glove of Miller
and into the
goal, giving
SMichigana 3-
2 lead with
< only 8:48
z t remaining in
>a the third peri-
od. But Michi-
':' ao 3Y gan was
2 unable to hold
onto the one
goal lead.

Lady luck will help
Northwestern recover

n case you didn't see, North-
western was humiliated Saturday
night in Columbus, when it lost
to Ohio State 38-20.
The Buckeyes beat up the smaller
Wildcats and revealed what many
thought all along - all Northwest-
ern has going for it is a lot of luck
(see last week's game with Mvichi-
gan State) and a gimmick offense.
After the game, Northwestern -
linebacker Pat Durr said: "It's plain
and simple, the Big Ten is black and
blue and we're black and blue right
now. They put it on us pretty good."
So what does this mean for No.
12 Michigan?
It means that it controls its own
destiny, as far as a BCS bid is con-
cerned, but Northwestern is still
looking pretty good.
How?
Because of its schedule.
Northwestern doesn't play Michi-
gan or Wisconsin this year, and has
already played Michigan State and
Ohio State. That means that a road
game with No. 17 Purdue is the last
game that the Wildcats won't be a
big favorite in.
So, for the sake of this column,
let's assume they win tut and finish
with one loss.
And, let's assume that Michigan
loses a game somewhere along the
way and finishes tied for the crown
with Northwestern. Who would go
to the BCS game?
Northwestern.
Why, you ask? The Orange, Sugar
and Fiesta Bowls would all much
rather have Michigan's marketabili-
ty and large fan base than North-
western, which would bring neither
big television ratings nor a large fan
base.
All of that's true.
But unfortunately for Michigan
--- and my holiday travel plans --
there's a check on the Orange Bowl
picking Michigan every year it can,
and it's the Big Ten's tiebreaker
system.
The first BCS tiebreaker that
would be used in this case is overall
record. Because of Michigan's 23-
18 loss at No. 10 Washington,
Michigan would finish 9-2 if it wins
out, while Northwestern -- which
played UNLV and Duke and still

has Bowling Green on its schedule
-would finish 10-1.
This rule applies in case of a
three-way tie as well.
Northwestern's loss does mean
that if Michigan wins out, every
other Big Ten team besides the
Wolverines would have at least one
loss, and Michigan would receive
the BCS bid. But with tough road
games at Iowa, Michigan State, and
Wisconsin and home games with
ranked Purdue and Ohio State still
on the schedule, winning out is not
likely.
If Michigan finishes 9-2, the
Wolverines would still be a candi-
date for one of the two at-large BCS
bids, as Michigan has the largest
alumni base in the world, and many
of these alumni travel with the team
to bowl games. Also, ABC would
love the prospect of Michigan play-
ing another big-name team.
Two years ago, Michigan
received an at-large bid to the
Orange Bowl to play Alabama. The
game received huge ratings and
everyone was happy.
The Orange Bowl would not be as
happy with a South Carolina-Fresno
State game.
And, at least so far this year, there
appear to be more candidates for
those two at-large bids than in most
years.
Fresno State, the Big 12 runner-
up, SIEC runner-up, Pac 10 runner-
up, and the loser of the Miami
(Fla.)-Virginia Tech game are all
candidates for the spot, and could
all finish with a better record than
Michigan.
What's more, since Michigan has
played in the Citrus Bowl two out of
the last three years, there's a strong
possibility that Michigan could slide
all the way to the Outback Bowl.
Obviously it's way too early to
make plans for January, or even
start thinking about Iowa or Michi-
gan State, as Purdue's passing
attack will present Michigan with
problems.
But what all of this means is that
luck, once again, could smile on
Northwestern.
Raphael Goodstein can be
reached at raphaelg(djumich.edu.

Historical event just as memorable for fans

y Seth Klempner
Daily Sports Writer

EAST LANSING - Saturday
night was the culmination of four
months of anticipation and hype -
Michigan and Michigan State faced
off in a historic hockey game.
Spartan Stadium was about to
burst open with a world record
74,554 people on hand to watch the
game and seemed ready to explode
ith every goal and bone-crunching
hit.
The crowd took on the atmos-
phere of a heavyweight title bout,
with fans cheering after every jab
and hook.
With eight-and-a-half minutes left
in the game, Mike Cammalleri
scored his second goal of the night
to put Michigan up 3-2. After this
oal, Spartan Stadium fell silent
with the exception of an enclave of
boisterous Michigan fans that began
to celebrate the seemingly imminent
victory.
Some fans even joked about
storming the ice and pulling down
the boards after the upset in football
like fashion.
"You've got support and that is
what made the game great," 'Michi-
gan coach Red Berenson said. "If
obody had come to this game it
would have just been another game.
It may not go in the records like a
national championship but it was
like a national championship at the
ice level."
While Yost Ice Arena is known
for its intense fans and its intimate
settings, Spartan Stadium proved to
be no different. Despite the distance
rom the field, fans were able to fol-
low the entire game.
The party atmosphere was aided
by the large crowd that shook the
stadium after every goal as fans
jumped up and down and hugged
strangers.
Once in the stadium, fans quickly
became accustomed to the trans-
formed football field.
"Sight lines were all right but the

puck in a ceremonial faceoff before
the game.
Ilowe's appearance was the only
thing that got these bitter rivals to
cheer together for Saturday - he
received a deafening ovation from
fans on both sides of the fence.
For Howe, the game had an old
school feel to it - reminiscent of
the outdoor games he played in his
youth.
"He has seen a lot and played out-
door hockey, but he was pretty over-
whelmed as well," Berenson said of
his conversation with Howe.
Unlike Howe's playing days, this
game was outfitted with lazer light
shows complete with smoke and
techno music between periods and
AC/DC blasting out of speakers at
key points in the game.
In addition, several machines
lined the field that emitted large

fireballs, that could be felt from the
stands, after each Michigan State
goals.
"The lazer light show was unique,
but pretty one sided towards Michi-
gan State," Kinesiology junior Eliz-
abeth McQueen said. "I thought it
was pretty cheesy though."
While most older players have
experienced playing outdoors, the
elements added to the uniqueness.
At one point, ice shavings could
even be seen blowing in the wind,
something none of the players had
ever dealt with before.
"I think it was colder than people
expected and there was a little wind
out there," Berenson said. "It was
also pretty noisy at the ice level,
particularly every time Michigan
State scored, but I thought our team
stayed focused throughout the game.
We didn't think there were any seri-

ous distractions though. I think the
lights, boards and glass worked
well."



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