4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 3, 2001 4 Slap shouts "He's big, strong and mean." - Ferris State senior forward Rob Collins on Michigan defenseman Mike Komisarek. Komisarek, along with the rest of the Michigan defense, was able to hold Collins, the leading scorer in the CCHA, to just one assist this weekend. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 5 0 Ferris State 4 SATURDAY'S GAME Ferris State 1 Michigan 6 Key play Friday, 2:28 left in third With Michigan trailing 4-3 and time winding down, Komisarek corralled the puck at the top of the circle andfired a wristshot that tied the game at four 4 THE DAILY'S STARS The Michigan Daily hockey writers' picks for Michigan's three stars of the weekend. Mike Canimalleri Center Cammalleri scored three goals and had two assists on the weekend, including the game-winning goal with less than two minutes left at Ferris State Friday night. Mike Komisarek Defenseman Komisarek scored the game-tying goal in Friday night's win over Ferris State, and recorded three assists in Satur- day's contest. .vd t Helminen n er Helminen scored on a breakaway Friday night and added a powerplay goal and an assist Saturday. He now leads Michi- gan's freshman with six goals. 'M' SCHEDULE This week: Friday at Miami Saturday at Miami Friday: at Goggin Ice Arena, 7:35 p.m. Saturday: at Goggin Ice Arena, 7:35 p.m. The Wolverines have been the hottest team in the CCHA of late, and look to continue their torrid pce by taking two from the Red- Hawks. HowTETop 10 FARE No. 1 Minnesota (11-1-2) lost to St. Cloud 3-2, tied St. Cloud 2-2 No. 2 St. Cloud (12-1-1) def. Minnesota 3-2, tied Minnesota 2-2 No. 3 Michigan State (9-3-2) lost to Alaska-Fairbanks 3-2, def. Alaska-Fair- banks 5-1 No.- 4Denver (11-1-0) def. Minnesota- Duluth 8-2, def. Minnesota-Duluth 3-1. No. 5 New Hampshire (9-2-2) def. Boston College 5-4, def. Maine 4-1 No. 6 Boston University (8-3-1) lost to UMass-Lowell 3-2 No. 7 Massachusetts-Lowell (10.2-0) def. Boston University 3-2 No. 8 Northern Michigan (8-3-1) did not play.. No. 9 North Dakota (5-7-1) lost to MSU- Mankato 6-4, lost toM SU-M ank ato 6-0. No. 10 Cornell (7-2-1) tied Yale 1-1, def. Colgate 5-0. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 5, Ferris State 4 After slow start, Michigan powerplay is now clicking By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Writer In Michigan's 5-3 victory over Wisconsin over the Thanksgiving weekend; something began to show up that had not been visible earlier this sea- son: A consistent Michigan powerplay attack. The Wolverines went 3-7 with the man-advan- tage, the first time this season they scored three powerplay goals in a game. In this weekend's sweep over Ferris State, Michigan's powerplay not only showed up - it made its presence felt. The Wolverines lit the lamp five times this weekend on the powerplay (1-for-2 Friday night and 4-for-9 Saturday night). Michigan is now 8- for-18 on the powerplay in its last three games, a 44-percent conversion rate. "The powerplay is getting more confidence now," said Michigan coach Red Berenson. "When we had the puck in their zone, we were pretty good with it." Although there isn't a single explanation for why the powerplay unit has had success of late, one thing is becoming clear. Every time the pow- erplay is on the ice, the Wolverines have an excel- lent chance of scoring a goal. The powerplay unit seemed to flow very smoothly this weekend as each player posed a threat to the opposition. "We're moving it really well right now," fresh- man Eric Werner said. "(Mike) Cammalleri is get- ting shots through and he's putting them home, (John) Shouneyia is working good on that side, and (Jed) Ortmeyer and (Eric) Nystrom are both working really hard for loose pucks in the cor- ners." It seemed as though every time Cammalleri got the puck at the point and fired away, something good would happen. In the first period Saturday night, he received a pass from Shouneyia and blew a one-timer past Ferris State goalie John DeCaro to give Michigan a 2-0 lead. Even when he didn't find the net, Cammalleri's shots created offensive opportunities for others. For example, Michigan's first goal Saturday night came when freshman Dwight Helminen put in a rebound off of a Cammalleri shot. Shouneyia's presence on the powerplay not only allows Cammalleri to play the point, but it also adds a legitimate passing threat to the first unit. Shouneyia had two assists and a goal this weekend with the man-advantage. Although they don't need to take the bulk of the shots, Nystrom and Ortmeyer have been cru- cial to the success of the others. Ortmeyer had three assists on the powerplay this weekend, and Nystrom screened DeCaro on Cammalleri's goal RYAN LEVENTHAL/Daily The Michigan powerplay has had a lot to celebrate during the weekend. The Wolverines' converted on four of nine powerplay opportunities in Saturday night's convincing victory over Ferris State. Saturday night. And finally, Werner seems to have found his niche at the point. Not only has he been racking up the assists, but he also scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. "I was going to pass it to Nystrom down low, but I saw an open corner and I just let it go," Werner said. Depth on the powerplay has been a pleasant surprise for Michigan. With sophomore Mike Komisarek playing the point on the second unit, the first unit does not have as,-much pressure to score every time it takes the ice. This versatility was evident late in Saturday night's game when Komisarek slid a pass to fresh- man Milan Gajic, who was waiting on the doorstep for the easy score. "I think that once we got settled in the zone, we did a good job of moving the puck around, finding passing lanes, getting shots through and hitting the net," Komisarek said. "At key times, we got the powerplay goals that hurt Ferris State." Icers gaining 'confidence' at Yost By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer If the Michigan hockey team had to identify a turning point to the season, it would likely be the 1000-mile trip to Alaska-Fairbanks. The previous week, Michigan had been swept at home by Northern Michigan HOCKEY and held a 1-3-1 con-N ference record. TheNotebook Wolverines bounced back by sweeping their series against the Nanooks and have been finding ways to win ever since. This weekend, Michigan extended its season long winning streak to three games with a sweep over Ferris State. Over the past eight games, Michigan has put together a 6-1-1 record and earned 11 points in CCHA play. The success has catapulted Michigan from eighth place in conference standings to a tie for second with Nebraska-Omaha. The Wolverines have missed out on just just one CCHA point since being swept by the Wildctas. In addition, Michigan has played all three teams in its CCHA cluster (Alaska-Fairbanks, Nebraska- Omaha and Western Michigan) and has captured 9 points in those six games. Michigan will have to face each of these teams twice more this season, but five of those games will be at Yost Ice Arena. But Yost has not been friendly to Michigan, which is only 4-3 at home. The Wolverines are aware of the need to regain a home-ice presence and make Yost an intimidating place for opponents. "It is not just home-ice presence to scare other guys coming in here," Michi- gan coach Red Berenson said. "(We need) to give our guys confidence at home." In the meantime, the Wolverines have become road warriors, with a 5-2-2 record on the road since the season began. Playing away from home has given this young Michigan team needed experience and confidence. "We have had some great experience in the last few weeks. Tough trips to Omaha and Alaska," Berenson said. "We are gaining experience, confidence and some momentum as a team." DYNAMIC DUO SHUT DOWN BY 'D': Ferris State entered this weekend with the top two leading scorers in the CCHA in Rob Collins and Chris Kunitz. The linemates have combined for 22 goals and 43 points. Michigan knew coming into the series that if it was to have success, it would have to shut down the powerful duo. The Wolverines were able to do this, limiting the pair to one assist over the weekend. Berenson tried to match up his first line of Mike Cammalleri, Jed Ortmeyer and Eric Nystrom against the Collins-Kunitz line all weekend. Michigan's top line was able to pressure the Ferris State defense and keep the puck out of its own zone. "They matched Cammalleri's line against us, so you are not going to create a lot of offense when you are matched up against another offensive line," Collins said. "It is tough to score goals when the puck is in your end." Michigan also matched its top defen- sive pair against the two forwards. Sopho- more Mike Komisarek answered the call, playing one of his most physical week- ends of the year. "If I were a good player and I had to look up at (Komisarek) and (senior Jay) Vancik every time I was on the ice it would get discouraging after a while," Berenson said of Collins and Kunitz' weekend. "I thought (Komisarek) was a giant this weekend. He had his best defen- sive weekend of the year. He was a real factor in shutting those two guys out." NOTES: For the first time all season, Michigan scored more than five goals at Yost ... Senior goaltender Kevin O'Mal- ley saw action in Saturday's game in relief of Josh Blackburn. The senior played for 13-and-a-half minutes and stopped all nine shots that he faced. Michigan Ferris State 0 3 2 -5 1 1 2 -4 Rrstpeudod-1.FSU, Legue 2 (York),3:08 (pp). Penaltes- UM, Matens (interference), 15:17 Second peod-2UM, Shouneyia 5 (Cammalleri, Ortmeyer), 3.08(pp); 3. UM, HekTmnen 5 (Ortmeyer, Vatik),800; 4. FSU, Nesbitt 2 (unassisted), 8:25; 5. UM, Cammalleri9(Nys- tram), 9:43. Penee- FSUJ, Smith (tripping), 1:51; UM, Kauz (slashing), 10:49; UM, Komisaek (tripping), 16:00; FSU, Kunitz(crosschecking), 20:00. 7Wld peiod - 6. FSU, Nesbitt 3 (McIver, Legue),12:21;7. FSU, McIver 6 (York, Collins), 13:10; 8. UM, Komisarek 8 (Shouneyia, Mink). 17:32; 9. UM, Canmalleri 10 (Werner), 18:19. Penes- UM, (too many on ice), 2:03; FSU, Legue (high sticking), 18:43; UM, Fraser (high staking), 18:43; FSU, Legue (10minute misconduct), 18:43; UM, Faser (10minute misconduJct), 1843. Shsongd-UM, 14158-37; FSU,14W-13-35. PwPays- UM, lof 2;FSU0 of 4. Saves-UM, Blackburn13-7-11-31; UM, Brown 14-12-6 -32 Reeree-Steve Pitowski Lkesen-Paul Tunison, Chris Davis. At Ewigleben Ice Arena, Big Rapids. Attendance:2,450. SATURDAY'S GAME Mch ian 6, Feris State 1 TOM FELDKAMP/Daily John Shouneyla scored a powerplay goal Friday night and added two assists to finish the weekend with three points. Blue's explosive performance ignited by Gajic and Murray We knew we could count on you ... Mike Cammallerl Ferris State Michigan 0 10-1 3 2 1 -6 Fistpeiod - 1. UM, Helminen 6 (Cammallen), 7:30 (pp); 2. UM, Carnalleri 11(Shouneyia, Ortmeyer),14:49 (pp); 3. UM, Gajic 2 (Komisarek, Mink), 18:44. Penalties- FSU, Caudill (slashing), 6:13; UM, Shouneyia (slashing), 9:46; FSU, Mclver(ronghing), 13:41; UM, G ic (roughing), 13:41; FSJ, Schroder (checking from behind), 14:16; UM, Vancik (crosschecking), 15:11; UM, Komisarek (roughing), 19:45; FSJ, Scroder (crosschecking), 19:45. Second perod-4. FSU, Lewaidowski 4 (York, Legue), 6:43 (pp); 5. UM, Murray 1(Gic, Komisarek),12:52; 6. UM, Werner 1 (Ortmeyer, Shouneyia), 15:22 (pp); Penitis- FSU, MIlam (hooking), 1:24; FSU, Kunitz(highsticking), 3:31; UM, Martens (roughing), 5:46; UM, Werner (tripping), 8:01; UM, Rogers(slashing), 11:10; fSU, McIver (elbowing), 12:05; FSU, Milam(slashing), 14:43; UM, Murray (checking from behind), 20:00; FSU, Snth (crosschecking), 20:00. 711*dpeod -7. UM, C~ic 3 (Konisarek, Helninen), 5:40 (pp);Penalties- UM, Vancik (obstructionhooking), :27; FSU, Kunitz(charging), 5:21; UM, Martens (elbow- ing),13:48; FSU, Milam (interference), 15:04; FSU, Mclver (lo-ninute misconduct), 15:04; FSU, York (1O4ninute mis- conduct),16:51; UM, O'Malley (high sticking), 16:51; FSU, Thomson (interference),18:49. Shtson god-UM,12-1-14-36; UM,9149-28. PowrPlays- UM, 4of 9;FSU,1 of 8. Swes-UM, Blackburn 12-5-26; UM,O'Malley 009 -9; FSU, DeCaro688-22. Referee-Steve Mcinchak. Liemnen-Pat Bracco, Kevin Lagseth. At Yost Ice Arena, Am Arbor. Attardoe: 6,752. CCHA ROUNDUP Flay's games: MIchigan 5. FeRds State 4 Nebraska-Omaha 2, Bowling Green 2 Miami 1, Ohio State 0 Alaska-Fairbanks 2, Michigan State 1 Saturday's games: s.. . Qc..seC4_.&& By J. Brady McCoIlough Daily Sports Writer Before Saturday night's 6-1 victory at Yost Ice Arena, No. 13 Michigan had been counting on the same players to produce points night in and night out. If it wasn't one of center Mike Cammal- leri with his patented wristshots, it was defenseman Mike Komisarek firing bullets from the point. The Wolverines knew that a key to this weekend's series with Ferris State would be increased production from top to bottom. "We're going to have to get some production from some more of our players, and try and beat them with our depth," said associate head coach Mel Pearson in the middle of last week. Pearson got his wish Saturday night as four of the Wolverines' six tallies came from players who previously had one goal or less on the season, giving Cammalleri and company some much needed relief. Michigan received its biggest lift from freshman forward Milan Gajic, who entered the game with one goal. Gajic, who played junior league hockey in British Columbia last season, had been unable to get acclimated to the fast pace of college hockey. He felt like every time he got control of the puck, he was mobbed by a defender and couldn't make a play. He was even a healthy scratch from an early season game he had been looking for, scoring two goals - both on assists from Komisarek - and assisting on senior Craig Murray's first goal of the season. "It's helped out a lot, just knowing that I can actually put a puck in the net," Gajic said. "The first part of the season was pretty hard for me, but I've learned a lot." Said Michigan coach Red Berenson: "He's a kid that can score goals, and I think he'll add to the offensive depth of our team, but it hasn't happened yet. You want to be patient with your young players, but he's a player who I thought would be an impact player this year. It's taken him some time to get adjusted to this style of play." As one of many inexperienced for- wards in the lineup, Gajic was doing everything he could to put points on the board and help the upperclassmen - maybe too much at times. "I'm not going to lie to you," Gajic said. "At the beginning I felt a little pressure, but after a while, (the coach- es) just kept on working with me, and that helped me out a lot. It kind of took the pressure away." In an attempt to get Gajic more scor- ing chances, Berenson moved him from the fourth line to the second line to play with center John Shouneyia - the Wolverines' second leading scorer. Even though Shouneyia didn't assist on either of Gajic's goals, he has helped to elevate the freshman's performance. "Sometimes, I'm not even ready for what he's going to do," Gajic said. "It's kind of stupid to think that he doesn't even have to be looking and he can put the puck on your (stick). I have to work on being ready at all times." Gajic was inches away from record- ing a hat trick, but missed an open net on a breakaway. But after the miss, he immediately saw Murray trailing behind him, and snapped the puck to Murray who scored for the first time in his 10 games this season. "I missed a wide-open net, fell on my face," Gajic said. "(Murray) told me, 'Thanks, but you should have scored.' " Murray, who tallied 10 goals last sea- son, has struggled to find his scoring touch, and has been injured off and on with a hurt shoulder and groin. "It took me a while," Murray said. "Hopefully that'll change things for me a bit. I've been getting more shots as the games have gone on. One of them had to go in, and it was good to get that out of the way" Aside from the contributions of Gajic and Murray, Mink tallied two assists on the weekend after his move to the fourth line, and freshman defense- man Eric Werner, who has six assists, lit the lamp for the first time this sea- son. "We need all our experienced players to set an example night after night," Berenson said. "Mark Mink has been relegated to a fourth-line spot, but he's playing hard, and he's playing well now. We need those guys to be playing well. We need to have some depth and bal- ance in our scoring." I/ This weekend, Michigan was able to count on its key players to score and help sweep Ferris State. Mike Cammalleri (3-1-4): Twice on Friday night, Cammalleri broke ties with Ferris State. The first time came midway through the second period to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead. His second of the night was the game- winner with 1:41 left in the game. Mike Komisarek (1-3-4): Tied the game at four friday night, and had three assists in Michigan's 6-1 rout on Saturday. Komisarek has a four- game point scoring streak. John Shouneyla (1-3-4): On Friday, Shouneyia assisted on Komisarek's goal to tie the game up. After Fri- day's two-point night, Shouneyia posted his fourth straight multi-point game with two assists to give him three on the weekend. ALYSSA WOOD/Daily ... But we didn't know about you Michigan also received offense from some other players. Craig Murray (1-0-1): After a score- less night and minus-i rating on Fri- day, Murray rebounded with a goal and a plus-2 rating Saturday. His goal with 8:08 left in the second period on Sat- urday was his first of the season. Milan Gajlc (2-1-3): Gajic ended a month-long scoreless streak on Satur- day with two goals. His two goals and one assist gave him his first multi- point game of his college career. Eric Werner (1-1-2): Like Murray, Werner had his first goal of the season on Saturday night. On Friday, Werner recorded his seventh assist of the year with his pass to Cammalleri for the game-winner. Milan Gajic contest. But Gajic finally ALYSSA WOOD/Daily had the breakout olk-mums "A YTnTVh'(? 0('14A 1 t A T PP C BULLDOGS be a back-and-forth struggle. Ferris State iimned out to a 1-0 lead, but f >° tl lNkC -Aal1' itll'i A