4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 22, 2002
Slap shouts
"He's a good goalie - he's not God."
- Michigan forward John Shouneyia talking about
Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller after Miller made 42
saves, including 15 in the third period, as the two teams
skated to a 1-1 tie on Saturday night.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan State 1
Michigan 1 (OT)
Key play
:30 left in the third
After a Josh Blackburn misplay, defenseman
Andy Burnes dove on the puck and threw it out
of the zone, preventing the oncoming Michigan
State attackers from scoring into the gaping net.
al
THE DAILY'S STARS
The Michigan Daily hockey writers' picks
for Michigan's three stars of the week-
end.
Dwight Helminen
Center
The freshman ended an evening of frus-
tration for the Michigan offense, beating
Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller on a
wrist shot to tie the game with 6:37
remaining in the third.
Eric Werner
Defenseman
Werner assisted on Helminen's game-
tying goal and created several chances
while logging a lot of minutes on the pow-
erplay and penalty kill.
Josh Blackburn
Goalie
Blackburn made several dazzling stops
on his way to 20 saves and kept the
Wolverines in the game.
'M' SCHEDULE
This week:
Friday vs. Bowling Green
Yost Ice Arena, 7:35 p.m.
Saturday vs. Bowling Green
Yost Ice Arena, 7:35 p.m.
Michigan will try to avoid another let-
down at home (442 this season) as
it hosts Bowling Green. The Falcons
have struggled all year, and are cur-
rently in 11th place in the CCHA.
Michigan swept Bowling Green 61I
and 43 in the teams' only two meet-
ings last season.
How TE TOP 10 FARED
No.1 Denver (22-2-0) def. Bemidji State 6-2,
def. Air Force 2-1
No. 2 St. Cloud (2041) lost to Brown 4-1,
beat Providence 5-2
No. 3 Massachusetts-Lowell (16-5-1) lost to
Northeastern 5-3, lost to Northeastern 5-1
No. 4 New Hampshire (1742) def. Massa-
chusetts-Amherst 5-1, def. Massachusetts-
Amherst 6-1
No. 5 Minnesota (174-4) tied Alaska-Anchor-
age 3-3, def. Alaska-Anchorage 5-2
No.6 Michigan State (17-5.3) tied Michigan
No. 7 Boston University (145.2) def. Boston
College 2-1, def. Boston College 3-1
No. 8 Michigan (13-7-5) tied Michigan State
1-1
No. 9 Northern Michigan (157-2) def. Wayne
State 6-3, def. Wayne State 4-1
No. 10 Colorado College (14-8-2) def. North
Dakota 6-5, def. North Dakota 1d
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 1, Michigan State 1(OT)
Rivals not at full
strength in duel
By Seth Klempner
Daily Sports Writer
Prior to Saturday's 1-1 tie against Michigan State, Mike
Cammalleri stepped into the lockerroom in street clothes to say
goodbye to teammates before heading back home to Ontario
for two weeks to recuperate from his mononucleosis infection.
There would be no "win one for the Gipper" speeches or any
tears shed. Instead the team just focused on the task at hand -
a game for possession of first place in the CCHA.
Cammalleri, who had been feeling sick all week, was report-
ed to have mono on Thursday afternoon. He will be out indefi-
nitely.
Playing without Cammalleri is nothing new for the Wolver-
ines. The junior had missed five games over the winter break,
during which the team went 2-1-2. But more importantly,
Michigan increased its goal output with Cammalleri out of the
lineup to four goals per game.
Without Cammalleri's 15 goals on the season, everyone in
the Michigan lockerroom knew the importance of elevating
their performance in place of their leading goal scorer.
"He is a really good goal scorer and a really good all-around
player," freshman Eric Werner said. "(His absence) made
everybody on the team step it up a notch, and I felt that every-
body did step up and it really showed. We didn't have (Cam-
malleri) out there scoring the goals, but we could have used
him."
Werner was not the only player disappointed to be without
Cammalleri. Michigan State goalie, Ryan Miller, against{
whom Cammalleri has scored five career goals against, was
also disappointed. But even without Cammalleri, Michigan
was able to get off 43 shots against the CCHA's stingiest goal-
0
Michigan goaltender Josh Blackburn kept his team throughout the game, stopping 20 Michigan State shots on the evening..
tender. Miller holds a .943 save percentage and a 1.56 goals
against average in CCHA play.
"I always like to play against the best that a team has to
offer, but I think the rest of their team stepped up," Miller said.
"With Cammalleri in the lineup, I think they would have had
just as many shots. I think they came out hard, stepped up and
played well."
But Michigan State had it's own problems with injuries -
its players were dropping faster than shares of Enron. Forwards
Lee Falardeau and Steve Jackson both injured themselves dur-
ing last Tuesday night's game against Ferris State. Then senior
defenseman Andrew Hutchinson suffered a neck strain late in
the first period against Michigan. He would not return to the
game.
"Unfortunately we lost Hutchinson to an injury in the first
period, and we got down to five defensemen," Michigan State
coach Ron Mason said. "(The defen semen) got pretty tired
because Michigan was forechecking pretty well and crashing
the net. We had to put different combinations together, and
they struggled with their timing."
0
SPARTANS
Continued from Page 11B
The goal came as a blow to the Wolverines,
who had thoroughly controlled the game up
till that point. But they would not let up:
"I let them know that it was a long game,"
Michigan captain Jed Ortmeyer said. "We
had a lot of time left, it was a bad break, but
we couldn't worry about the mistakes. We
had to move on and keep working."
But nothing could be done in the second,
and Michigan headed into the lockerroom
trailing by one. At that point, frustration
began to settle in.
"I think (Miller) was good and he was
lucky," Michigan freshman Milan Gajic said.
"There were a couple of times that he didn't
even see the puck, but it ended up in his
glove or off his head."
Said Helminen: "On another night, some of
those shots would have gone in, and we
would have won."
In the third period, the Wolverines finally
broke through. With 6:37 remaining, fresh-
man Eric Werner got control of the puck
inside the Michigan State zone. He skated in
and sent a pass across to Helminen, who blew
a wristshot over the shoulder of Miller for the
goal.
"The play started when I took a pretty good
hit into the boards," Werner said. "I got on
my feet and saw the puck lying there. I saw
Dwight coming from the right side, so I kind
of dished it over there."
It was the first and only goal Miller has
allowed at Yost Ice Arena in his two games.
The crowd of 6,986 erupted, finally getting
something to cheer about after 50-plus min-
utes of nerve-racking hockey.
"That was the loudest I have ever seen (the
crowd) since I've been here," said the junior
Ortmeyer.
Said Gajic: "When we skated back to the
bench, it was so loud I couldn't even hear
myself think."
The night gave the Wolverines a major
confidence boost. For the second time this
season, they tied a higher-ranked Michigan
State team, and this time without Cammal-
leri.
"We outplayed them the whole night,"
Michigan junior John Shouneyia said. "We
know as a team that the puck isn't going to
go in every night, and (Miller's) a good
goalie. But we know we should have won."
M' keeps Spartans on heels.
Blackburn solid again in front of rowdy Yost crowd
By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan State
Michigan
0 1 Q 0,.-1
0 o 1 0 -1
Rt~ peod- Pe.aite- MSJ, Etraa (roxENrg), 3:58;
UM,Bunes(ash;g),3:58; MSU, Insna(roughinr), 7:56; UM,
Rogers(hookirg), 14:51.
Second peudod-1. MSU, Lalonde 6 (Goldie,Fast), 12:59.
Penalties- UM,Vancik(checkirg from behind), 3:52; MSU,
Fast (hit after whstle), 6:48;UM, Kautz(hit aerwhistle), 6:48;
UM,Vancik(roughirg), 9:43; MSU,Slater(highstickirg),9:43;
UM, Shounyia (hooking), 14:29; UM,Komisarek(roughng),
14:49; MSU, Maloney (roughirg),14:49; MSU, Goldie (hocking),
17:17; MSU, Insana (rughing), 18:35.
7M peiod - 2.iHelnrien 8m(Werner, Ortneyer),13:23.
Penalties- UM, Burnes(slashirg), 126; UM, Wemer (ro gh-
irg),18:20; MSU, Maloney (slashirg), 18:20.
Ovrtie-None
Sholsongoal--UM, 914-164 -43; MSU, 8$32-21.
PowerPlays-UM,Oof 3; MSU,0of4.
Saves-UM, Blackburn-20-21; MSU, Miller -42-43.
Referee- Mak Wilkins
Lhesm- IKevin Lagseth, Toy Molina
At Yost Ice Arena, Am Arbor. Attence6,986.
CCHA ROUNDUP
Friday's games:
Miami 2, Lake Superior 0
Alaska-Fairbanks 2, Western Michigan 2
Nebraska-Omaha 3, Notre Dame 2
Ohio State 3, Yale 2
RPI 3, Bowling Green 0
Northern Michigan 6, Wayne State 3
Saturday's games:
Michigan 1, Michigan State 1
Alaska-Fairbanks 6, Western Michigan 3.
Lake Superior 6, Miami 3
Nebraska-Omaha 4, Notre Dame 2
RPI 2, Bowling Green 2
Northern Michigan 4, Wayne State 1
Saturday's games:
Yale 6, Ohio State 2
MICHIGAN LEADERS
Through Jan. 20 - all games
Livin' in the past
Michigan and Michigan State have dueled in some classic battles over the years. Beginning with the
"Cold War" this past fall, here are five games that show how fierce and tight the rivalry has become.
Oct. 6, 2001- Michigan 3, Michigan State 3 (OT) at Spartan Stadium - To kick off the 2001-2002
season, the Wolverines and Spartans took their rivalry to the football field when they faced off in the "Cold War"
in East Lansing. A back-and-forth game ended in a tie after Michigan State's Jim Slater scored with 47 seconds
left in the third period.
Jan. 27, 2001- Michigan 4, Michigan State 3 (OT) at Joe Louis
Arena - Down 3-2 heading into the third period, the Wolverines tied the
game on a goal by Mike Cammalleri and then won it when Andy Hilbert made a
spectacular individual move to beat Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller in over-
time.
Jan. 7, 2000 - Michigan 2, Michigan State 0 at Munn Ice Arena -
y After missing 19 consecutive games with a foot injury, Michigan goalie Josh
Blackburn returned in style, stopping 23 shots to give the Wolverines their first
win over Michigan State since a 2-1 win on Nov. 20, 1998.
Jan. 30, 1993 -Mlichigan 11, Michigan State 1 at Joe Louis
Arena - The two teams had split two games earlier in the season before the
Wolverines trounced the Spartans in the rubber match in Detroit.
Jan. 25, 1985 - Michigan State 11, Michigan 2 at Munn ice
Arena - In Michigan coach Red Berenson's first season at the helm, the
Spartans beat the Wolverines four times, including this rout.
Hilbert
Entering Saturday's game without its second
leading scorer, Mike Cammalleri, and having
to face a vaunted Michigan State defense led
by standout goalie Ryan Miller, Michigan had
to wonder how its offense would perform.
But the normally steady
Michigan State defense was Hockey
nowhere to be found in theN
1-1 tie. Michigan fired 43 Notebook
shots on Miller, controlling
the tempo - and the puck - for the majority
of the night.
"The first game I played against them (on
Oct. 6), I was like 'Wow, these guys are
good,' Michigan freshman forward Michael
Woodford said. "But tonight, we could wheel
and deal out there. We had them on their heels
the whole game."
Michigan State senior defenseman Andrew
Hutchinson left the game at the end of the
first period due to an injury and did not
return, further weakening an already strug-
gling defensive unit that finally allowed a goal
with 6:37 remaining in the third period to tie
the game.
"I knew they'd throw the kitchen sink at us
in the third period," Michigan State coach Ron
Mason said. "We tried to protect a one-goal
lead more than we should have."
FULL HOUSE: Saturday's crowd of 6,986 set a
new record for the largest crowd at Yost Ice
Arena since it was renovated in 1997.
Not only was the crowd large, but it was
raucous for the annual "Maize Out" - all
fans were asked to wear a maize shirt. The
noise levels at Yost reached a limit not heard
since Michigan hosted the 1998 NCAA West
regional.
"It was unbelievable - unreal. I've got the
(Vancouver) Canucks back home and even
when it was sold out it wasn't like this," said
British Columbia native and Michigan forward
Milan Gajic. "It was good to see - a lot of
games aren't like that, but it was Michigan
State, so they all go nuts for that."
After Michigan dominated play in the first
two periods but was unable to score, the crowd
erupted when Dwight Helminen tied the game
with 6:27 remaining in the third period.
"From warm-ups on, the crowd was going
crazy," Michigan forward John Shouneyia
said. "It's a great feeling once you step on that
ice. You get shivers because the crowd is
behind you and is as intense as you are."
JUST JOSH-IN': Ryan Miller's 42 saves again
stole the spotlight from Michigan goalie Josh
Blackburn. But the senior continued his
recent string of excellent netminding, turning
aside 20 shots.
The only shot to get past Blackburn was
Mike Lalonde's tip-in with 7:01 left in the sec-
ond period, but it came after a Mike Roemen-
sky turnover, when Blackburn was helpless to
make a save.
On several occasions, Blackburn made cru-
cial stops. His best save of the game, and pos-
sibly the season, came just a minute into the
second period.
Michigan State created a 3-on-2 chance, and
Brian Maloney eventually found himself in
alone on Blackburn. Maloney deked to his
backhand, but a sprawling Blackburn some-
how managed to get his glove on the puck,
turning it aside and keeping the game tied at
zero for the time being.
But a bad bounce nearly ended the game in
disappointment for Blackburn and his team-
mates, though. With 30 seconds left in the
third period, a Michigan State dump-in along
the boards took a bad hop into Blackburn's
skates as he attempted to corral the puck
behind the Michigan net.
The puck then popped out in front of the
open goal, where Michigan defenseman Andy
Burnes improvised by sprawling on the ice
and clearing the puck from danger with his
hand.
"The puck took a funny bounce off the
boards and (Blackburn) lost it in his feet,"
Burnes said. "At that point in the game you're
just trying to do whatever it takes to keep the
puck out of the net, and I just dove and put my
hand on it and tried to swat it out of there."
Player
1. Shouneyia
2. Cammalleri
3. Ortmeyer
4. Komisarek
5. Nystrom
6. Ryznar
Gajic
8. Woodford
9. Werner
10. Helminen
11. Murray
12. Moss
Goals
7
15
7
6
8
8
5
5
1
8
3
3
Assists
20
11
13
9
6
5
8
7
11
3
6
5
Points
27
26
20
15
14
13
13
12
12
11
9
8
PERSEVERING
Continued from Page 11B
losing four of their top players to the
World Junior Championships over win-
ter break and beginning the season with
12 players who had never played a col-
legiate game, Michigan -just like
Werner - climbed back up and found
a way to succeed.
Prior to last Saturday's loss to Alas-
ka-Fairbanks, the Wolverines had been
undefeated in their last 11 CCHA con-
tests (9-0-2) since their embarrassment
against the Wildcats. Without its four
stars, Michigan gained depth and
increased its confidence over the break.
But just when everything seemed to
have fallen into place for Michigan and
its CCHA title hopes, Mike Cammalleri
- its most prolific goal scorer - went
down with mono last Thursday.
Cammalleri isn't just a goal scorer.
He's a captain, a leader and the team's
lifeblood - a player who takes the
team on his back in crunch time.
Once again, fate frowned on the
Wolverines and gave them another
chance to flounder - to fall down and
never get back up. And with No. 6
Michigan State coming to Yost Ice
Arena Saturday and leading Michigan
by two points in the CCHA standings,
the Wolverines could have easily lost
their confidence without Cammalleri in
the lineup and fallen prey to a disci-
plined Michigan State defense and an
All-American goaltender.
But instead of playing the game wish-
ing for Cammalleri to join them on the
ice, the Wolverines proved to the Spar-
tans and to their fans that they aren't a
one-man team. They disproved the "As
Cammalleri goes, so go the Wolverines"
theory by outshooting Michigan State
43-21 (16-3 in the third period).
Michigan State's traditionally hard-
nosed defensive unit spent the entire
contest on its heels, as Michigan fired
on Miller time after time. The Wolver-
ines did anything they wanted against
the vaunted defense, giving them a
"We outplayed them and outshot
them the whole game and we got some
confidence out of it, but we know we
should have won," Michigan junior
John Shouneyia said.
Unfortunately for Michigan, knowing
that it should have won and actually win-
ning are not the same thing. Saturday's
1-1 tie marked the second time this sea-
son that the two arch-rivals finished in a
tie. The Wolverines were 47 seconds
away from upsetting then-No. 1 Michi-
gan State in Spartan Stadium earlier this
season, but Michigan State freshman
Jim Slater scored to tie the game.
With the two CCHA games between
the teams in the books and the Wolver-
ihes trailing the Spartans by two points
with 10 games left to play, Michigan
doesn't have time to dwell on its missed
opportunities.
The Wolverines need to duplicate
their intensity level from Saturday
night's game during every single
minute down the stretch and use their
success at creating scoring chances
against Michigan State to build confi-
USCHO Top 15
Team Record
1. Denver (40) 22-2-0
Points
600
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