6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 29, 2001 0 Slap shouts "I think that we are tired of being called a young team. I think the freshmen are sick of being called young players." - Michigan junior forward and alternate captain Mike Cammalleri said after Saturday's loss FRIDAY'S GAME F Northern Michigan 1 Michigan 0 SATURDAY'S GAME w ~ Northern Michigan 5 Michigan 3 Key play Friday, :53 into overtime After shutting out Northern Michigan in regula- tion, goalie Josh Blackburn let in defenseman, Ryan Carrigan's, game-winning goal with less than a minute into the sudden death period. 4 FRIDAY' S GAME NorthermMichigan I, Michigan 0 Powerplay struggles bury 1cers at home Northern Michigan Michigan 0001 -1 0000 -0 First pedod - Penalties- Eric Werner, UM (interference) 12:08; Jimmy Jackson, NMU (roughing) 15:58. Second pedod - PenaIies- Brandon Rogers, UM (roughing) 1:21; Justin Kinnunen, NMU (roughing) 1:21; Brandon Rogers, MICH (insti- gating)1:21; Alex Sawruk, NMU (unsportsmanlike conduct) 3:49; Eric Werner, UM (unsportsmanlike conduct) 3:49; Ryan Carrigan, NMU (roughing) 3:49; Craig Murray, UM( roughing) 3:49; Ryan Carigan, NMU (instigating) 3:49; Jesse Baraniuk, NMU (roughing) 7:45; Michael Woodford, UM (roughing) 7:45; Michael Woodford, UM (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:45; Bryce Cockburn, NMU (boarding) 8:21; Justin Kinnunen, NMU (elbowing) 14:56; Mike Komisarek, UM (hit after whistle) 17:36; Bryce Cockburn, NMU(hit after whistle) 17:36; Jay Vancik, UM (obstruction-tripping)18:10. 1Wrd pedod-Penalties- Chad Theuer, NMU (unsports- manlike conduct) 0:41; Alan Swanson, NMU (interference) 12:43; Mike Canmalleri, UM (checking from behind) 15:14; Mike Stutzel, NMU (slashing) 16:11. OTpedod 1, NMU, Ryan Carrigan 2 (Justin Kinnunen, Peter Michelutti) 0:53. Penudies -None. Shots on goal-NMU, 8131-2 -24; UM,910-9- 28. Power Plays- NMU 0 of 5; UM, 0 of 7 Saves-NMU, Kowalski2-0-1-28;.UM, Blackburn2-3-1-23 At: Yost Ice Arena.Attendance:6,492. SATURDAY'S GAME Northern Michigan 5, Michigan 3 By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Writer The Michigan hockey program has seen better days. After Northern Michigan deliv- ered the Wolverines a 5-3 defeat on Saturday, Michigan coach Red Berenson reflected on the state of the Wolverines. "We are not the sane team that we were in the 1990s," Berenson said. The numbers tell the same story. Northern Michigan (3-0-1 CCHA, 3-0-1 overall) secured its first sweep of the Wolverines since 1984. After two NCAA Champi- onships and seven Frozen Four appearances in the last 10 years, Berenson's team now appears to be vulnerable. After its worst start since the 1986-87 campaign, Michigan (1--3-1, 2-4-1) finds itself in a tie for eighth place in the conference. The first loss of the weekend featured a battle of masterful goal- tenders. Michigan's Josh Black- burn and Northern's Craig Kowalski put on a show, turning away a combined 51-of-52 shots. Northern's Ryan Carrigan scored the game winner 53 seconds into overtime. But on Saturday both netmin- ders looked very human. "They can't stand on their head night after night," Berenson said. "These guys are good goalies. Sometimes goalies can be good and sometimes they're lucky, but they can't always be good and they can't always be lucky." The Wildcats dominated on the powerplay, scoring three goals in less than four minutes with an extra attacker. But Northern opened the scoring four minutes into the game during five-on-five play. Michigan fresh- man defenseman Brandon Rogers lost control of the puck when it hit linesman Bruce Vida's skate. Northern's Mike Stutzel quickly turned the fluke turnover into a 1- 0 lead, using a 2-on-1 breakaway to beat Blackburn. Michigan answered four minutes later when Mike Cammalleri won a faceoff and Mark Mink scored on a wrist shot. After Northern scored its first powerplay goal of the night, the Wolverines reeled off two quick points to pull ahead 3-2 early in the second period. Dave Moss made a well-timed centering pass from the corner to fellow freshman Dwight Helminen for the second goal, and Cammal- leri fired a one-timer past Kowals- ki with a two-man advantage to secure the Wolverines' first lead of the weekend. But that was all the offense that Michigan could muster. The Wildcats scored three unan- swered goals to sweep the series and earn a spot atop the CCHA standings. The Wildcats' coach, Rick Com- ley, blamed Michigan's poor start and sudden vulnerability on its youth and inexperience. "You just can't expect to replace juniors with freshmen," said Com- ley in reference to the early depar- tures of Mike Comrie, Andy Hilbert and Jeff Jillson over the last two years. PHOTOG/Daily Michigan freshman Eric Werner is pursued by Northern Michigan's Jimmy Jackson. Werner and the Wolverines were dominated by the Wildcats this weekend, leaving Michigan tied for eighth-place in the CCHA. I Northern Michigan Michigan 2 2 1 -5 1 2 0 -3 Fst period-1, NMU, Mike Stutzel 1(Chad Theuer) 4:02. 2, MICH, Mark Mink 1(Mike Cammalleri) 8:30. 3, NMU, Alan Swanson 2 (Chad Theuer, Sean Connolly)14:07 (pp). Penalties-Alex Sawruk, NMU (high sticking) 11:43; Joe Kautz, UM (roughing) 11:43;Michael Woodford, MICH (checking from behind) 13:36; Bryce Cockburn, NMU (rough- ing) 14:07; Mike Komisarek, UM (roughing) 14:07;Jirnry Jackson,vNMU(10-minute misconduct) 14:07; Joe Kautz, UM (10minute misconduct) 14:07; Bryce Cockburn, NMU (insti- gating)14:07; Mike Komisarek, UM (elbowing) 18:07. Second ped~od -4, UM, Dwight Helminen 2 (David Moss, Michael Woodford) 2:14.5, UM, Mike Cammaller 5 (Mike Komisarek, Jason Rynar) 4:42 (pp). 6, NMU, Chad Theuer 3 (Bryce Cockbum) 6:40.7, NMU, Kevin Gardner 1(Jesse Bara- niuk, ChrisGobert) 8:08(pp). Penalties-Justin Kinnunen, NMU (tripping) 3:08; Jesse Baraniuk, NMU (crosschecking) 4:13; Jay Vancik, UM (hooking) 7:27; Sean Ovens, NMU (crosschecking) 15:15; JJ. Swistak, UM (roughing) 15:15 IWpeod-8, NMU, Bryce Cckbun 1(Kevin Gardner, ChadlTheuer) 5:01 (pp). Penalties- Michael Woodford, MICH (roughing) 4:21; Ryan Moderson, NMU (obstruction- holding) 5:52; Mike Komisarek, MICH (roughing) 9:39; Alex Sawruk, NMU (roughing) 9:39;Alex Sawruk, NMU (checking) 9:39; Mike Komisarek, MICH (roughing) 9:39; Jesse Barn niuk, NMU (tripping)11:20. Shots on goal: NMU12-11-4 27;UM 101315 38. Powerpay s NMU3of4;MICH1of5 Saves-NMU, Kowalski3401-35; UM, Blackburn 241-22 At: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor. Attendance: 6,597. HOW THEY FARED No. 1Michigan State (3-2-1) lost to Nebraska-Omaha 4-3, lost to Nebraska- Omaha 5-1 No. 2 Minnesota (3-0-0) did not play No. 3 St. Cloud (6-0-0) def. MSU- Mankato 7-1, def. MSU-Mankato 4-0. No. 4 North Dakota (4-3-0) def. Wiscon- sin 6-4, lost to Wisconsin 3-2 No. 5 Colorado College (2-2-0) did not play. No. 6 Michigan (2-4-1) lost to Northern Michigan 1-0, lost to Northern Michi- gan 5-3. No. 7 Maine (2-3-1) lost to Western Michigan 4-2, tied Western Michigan 2- 2. No. 8 Denver (4-0-0) def Alaska-Anchor- age 7-2, def. Alaska-Anchorage 3-2. No. 9 Boston University (2-0.0) did not play No. 10 New Hampshire (2-1-1) tied Northeastern 2-2. But don't tell the members of this Michigan team that they are too young. "Youth doesn't factor in for us," Cammalleri said. "I think that we're sick of being called a young team. I think the freshmen are sick of being called young play- ers. They don't play like it out there." Things won't get any easier for the, Wolverines anytime soon. Their next two series will be on the road against Alaska-Fairbanks and Nebraska-Omaha, which swept No. I Michigan State this weekend. "If we can be better than .500 by the middle of December, then we will have a shot in the second half," Berenson said. "We could go on a string (of victories) or we could go'the other way. I think we are fragile right now." The Wolverines competed on Saturday without two of their top veteran forwards - captain Jed Ortmeyer and senior Craig Mur- ray. Ortmeyer was sidelined with a minor concussion and is expected to be available for the trip to Alas- ka. Murray suffered a first-degree shoulder separation and will most likely return against Nebraska- Omaha. Not since... 2001... the last time Michigan was shut out at home. The loss came at the hands of Northern Michigan's Craig Kowalski. 1999... the last time Michigan was swept at home in a two-game series. This sweep was at the hands of Lake Superior State. 1984... the last time Michigan was swept by Northern Michigan. 1943... the last time Michigan was shut out in two consecutive home games against the same opponent. Promising season for Blue now hanging in the balance By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Writer At the beginning of the Michigan hockey season, many people were drawing compar- isons between this season's team and the 1997-98 national championship team because of the dominating youth. But now, after a 2- HOCKEY 4-1 start to the season, Notebook people are beginning to _______ draw comparisons to other seasons. This is the Wolverines' slowest start since 1986-87, when they began the season going 2-5. This weekend was the first time Michigan has been swept at home since 1999-00, when it dropped a pair to Lake Superior. This was also the first time since 1983-84 that it has been swept by Northern Michi- gan. Although frustrated by the losses, Michi- gan coach Red Berenson knew before the season began that wins would not come easy. "I think the start is a combination of our young team, the schedule, and the other teams in our league," Berenson said. "We have to deal with the cards that we're dealt. This is a tough time for us, but whether this is the worst start in five years or 25 years, it doesn't really matter." Things are not going to get any easier for the Wolverines anytime soon. By losing two precious early season home games, Michi- gan now finds itself in a position where it must get back on the winning track away from home. This coming weekend they will play two games at Alaska-Fairbanks (2-2-0 CCHA, 6- 2-0 overall), followed two weeks later by a pair of games at Nebraska-Omaha (2-0-0, 5- 1-0). "Playing on the road is not any easier, and certainly we were hoping for better out- comes at home," Berenson said. "We didn't want to dig ourselves a hole this early, but we knew it was going to be a tough battle. I'm disappointed in the outcome this week- end, but we have to suck it up during this part of the schedule. "I'm confident that our team's going to get better." SPECIAL TEAMS NOT SO SPECIAL: After com- pletely stopping the Northern Michigan powerplay Friday night, holding it scoreless in five opportunities, Michigan's penalty killing problems returned in Saturday night's game. The Wildcats scored three powerplay goals in four chances, -while Michigan was only 1-5 on its powerplay. "Right now we're a little snakebit around the net," Berenson said. "When looking at the final analysis of this game, special teams were the difference." With the exception of a 5-on-3 powerplay goal by Mike Cammalleri Saturday night, the Michigan powerplay was once again ineffective, going 1-for-12 over the week- end. Overall, the Wolverines are 4-for-43 in their seven games played, a nine percent success rate. "I think that we struggled getting the puck into the zone and getting the powerplay setup," Michigan alternate captain John Shouneyia said. "We definitely need to move it around more, we need more shots form the point, and I think we need to screen the goalie a little more." SCARY PARITY: While Michigan was being swept at home by Northern Michigan, No. 1 Michigan State was being swept by Nebras- ka-Omaha in Omaha. Although the Spartans are still above .500, their CCHA record of 3- 2-1 seems modest for a top-five national team. After Saturday night's game, Berenson said that his team was no longer the domi- nant force that it was in the 1990s. "I don't know if there's anyone in the league that can't beat anyone else this year," Berenson said. "That just seems to be the way the teams are built this year. Based on who they lost and who is returning, we-don't have any edge over anyone, and neither does Michi- gan State. They have (Ryan) Miller, but you can see that it's not making a difference." I 9 STANDINGS CCHA Team W L T Pts GP GF GA OVER W L Northern Michigan Michigan State Ohio State Alaska-Fairbanks Western Michigan Nebraska-Omaha Miami Michigan Bowling Green Lake Superior Notre Dame Ferris State 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 11 20 14 15 14 9 8 12 12 7 6 6 7 3 0 13 3 2 14 2 1 14 6 2 17 2 2 4 5 1 6 4 2 15 2 4 12 1 3 12 2 4 7 04 10 2 3 RALL T 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 l 2 30 CCHA ROUNDUP Friday's games: Alaska Fairbanks 3, Lake Superior 2 Bowling Green 5, Ohio State 3 Miami 5, Ferris State 4 Northern Michigan 1, Michigan 0 Nebraska-Omaha 4, Michigan State 3 Western Michigan 4, Maine 3 Saturday's games: Northeastern 3. Notre Dame 3 Lake Superior 4, Alaska Fairbanks 1 Ohio State 4, Bowling Green 3 Miami 3, Ferris State 2 Northern Michigan 5, Michigan 3 Nebraska-Omaha 5, Michigan State 1 Western Michigan 2, Maine 2 GALLO Continued from Page 11B "We were planning on third, worry- ing about maybe getting fourth," said senior captain Katie Ryan. Sophomore Lindsey Gallo ran a per- sonal best 17:26.7 at the Orange and Blue Golf course in Champaign. An elated Gallo celebrated with team- mates and family after earning first team All-Big Ten honors. The top-seven finishers are awarded first team honors. The next seven take second team as their reward Only 22.6 seconds later, Jeanne Spink fought across the line with a 13th-place finish. Spink also took to the stage afterward to claim her plaque. "Last night I talked to every player," said Michigan coach Mike McGuire. "She was ready." No. 6 Michigan State lived up to its reputation with a first-place finish, scoring 35 points. Michigan had a surprisingly low 101 points on the day. - --- .1 ' atC 1 n: 'T .. The team never won a meet this year and had only placed second once. "We were totally shocked," said Gallo. "We knew that if we didn't run well here, basically, our season would be over." Though the outcome was a shock, the Wolverines have done well on fast courses this year. The other second- place finish was at Notre Dame - a course known to produce quick times. Slow, hilly trails tend give the squad major problems. "For two weeks we've been training for a fast race," said McGuire. Sunny, brisk conditions contributed to the dry course that ran like a track. For the first time this season the team kept the gap between scoring runners close enough to make an impact. There were only 47 seconds between Gallo and Sturtz, who closed Michigan's pack. When the others can keep close to their leader scores usual- ly go up. "Starting off, we were all with each other," said Ryan. "We were talking to each other keeping each other confi- ao ' WEBB Continued from Page 1B compared to Michigan's two. The Badgers tallied a low score of 28 points, topping the Wolverines by 43 points. The freshman Webb set a new Big Ten Championship record to continue his winning streak of three meets by out-kicking Wis- consin freshman Matt Tegenkamp in the final 100 meters of the 8-kilometer course. Tegenkamp, who placed fifth at the World Junior Champi-, onships, had the best time in the conference coming into yester- day's meet. Tegenkamp "tried to break me throughout the race," Webb said. "But I ran my own race and it was just my day." Webb and Tegenkamp began to distance themselves from the field a mile into the race. For the next three miles, Webb followed clnelv hhind Tegenkamn only placed fifth and earned first team All-Big Ten honors. Crossing the line third for the Wolverines was Senior Mark Pilja placing six- teenth overall. Sophomores Thomas Greenless and Nick Stanko placed fourth and fifth for the Wolverines, respectively. Although not favored to win, Warhurst described his team's second-place finish as "kind of a disappointment. We could have run better in the middle" For Michigan to run to its potential, Warhurst believes his Wolverines need to improve their "mental and emotional tough- ness." With regionals two weeks away, Warhurst expects, "a solid performance, but nationals is definitely the most important race." Athough somewhat disappoint- ed in the final outcome, Webb remains optimistic about the team's chances going into region- als and then nationals. "Second nlace isn't what we fA~ ~ ig