4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 18, 2002

Slap shouts
"Honestly, some would have
given up their left leg to sto p a
shot in the third. It was a lot of
... balls on the line."
- Michigan freshman Milan Gajic on the
third period of yesterday's game.

SATURDAY'S GAME
Ohio State 1
Michigan 2 (OT)

YESTERDAY'S GAME
Michigan State 2
Michigan 3

Key play
Sunday, 3:43 into the first
Junior Mark Mink carried the puck into
the Michigan State zone. After a shot by
Milan Gajic, Mink got the puck back ofa
rebound and put it in.

6


THE DAILY'S STARS
The Michigan Daily hockeywriters'
picksfor Michigan's three stars of the
weekend.
Jed Ortmeyer
Center
Michigan's captain scored a pair of
goals in Michigan's 3-2 win yesterday
over the Spartans and helped kill Michi-
gan State's final powerplay.
Mike Cammalleri
Forward
Cammalleri scored both of Michigan's
goals in its 2-1 win over Ohio State Sat-
urday, including the game-winner in
overtime.
Josh Blackburn
Forward
Blackburn made several crucial saves
this weekend, including a few in the
waning moments of yesterday's game.
'M' SCHEDULE
NCAA West Regional
This week:
Friday vs. St. Cloud State
Yost Ice Arena, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. Denver
Yost Ice Arena, 4 p.m.
For the second year in a row, Michigan
will have to get through St. Cloud State
if it wants to advance to the Frozen Four.
Last year, Michigan defeated the
Huskies 4-3 in the second round of the
regionals to advance. If they win, the
Wolverines will move on to face the No.
1 seed in the West, Denver, for the right
to play in this year's Frozen Four.
HOW THE'TOP 10 FARED
No.1 New Hampshire (29-6-3) def. UMass-
Lowell 4-3, def. Maine 3-1
No. 2 Denver (32-7-1) def. Minnesota 5-2,
def. Colorado College 3-0
No. 3 Minnesota (29-8-4) lost to Denver 2-5,
def. St. Cloud 4-1
No. 4 St. Cloud (29-10-2) lost to Colorado
College 1-2, lost to Minnesota 1-4
No. 5 Michigan State (27-8-5) lost to Michi-
gan 2-3, def. Northern Michigan 2-1
No. 6 Boston University (25.9-3) lost to
Maine 3-4, def. Providence 4-2
No. 7 Maine (23-10.7) lost to New Hampshire 1-
3, def. Boston University 4-3
No. 8 Cornell (24.7-2) lost to Harvard 3-4, def.
Rensselaer 3-0
No. 9 Michigan (26-10-5) def. Michigan
State 3-2, def. Ohio State 2-1
No. 10 Coiorado Coliege (26.12-3) def. St.
Cloud 21, lost to Denver 0-3, def. Wisconsin
3-2
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 2, Ohio State 1.(OT)

Pearson makes crucial adjustment

By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Writer
DETROIT - During Michigan's first
two powerplays yesterday, it seemed as
if Michigan State was the team with the
man advantage.
The Spartans' penalty killing unit -
first in the CCHA with a killing per-
centage of .925 - was swarming all
over Michigan and
not allowing it to get HOCKEY
any rhythm going Notebook
with the extra man.
The key to the
Wolverines' success on the powerplay
this season has come at the point, with
junior forward Mike Cammalleri and
sophomore defenseman Mike Komis-
arek swinging the puck from side to
side and firing bullets at the opposing
goaltender. But Michigan State's penal-
ty killing unit purposely put pressure on
the point, which threw the Wolverines
out of their comfort zone in the first
period.
On "the first powerplay, they had us
devastated," Michigan coach Red
CAPTAIN
Continued from Page 1B
out of the corner of his eye standing right by
the net. Nystrom fired a pass across the
crease, and Ortmeyer banged it into the open
net for a 3-2 lead.
"I think (the third goal) gave our team a big
lift," Ortmeyer said. "We came into the third
excited to get the lead back, Nystrom made a
great pass, and I was fortunate to get it in."
The two goals, though, were an added
bonus from Ortmeyer. They came in addition
to what he is used to contributing every game
- leadership, defense and momentum-shift-
ing checks.
"Obviously, everyone wants to score goals,"
Ortmeyer said. "Mike (Cammalleri) has been
leading our team the last few weeks, but I was
able to get open a couple times today. I didn't
go in thinking I needed to score, but I knew
we needed to play well as a team."
Said Michigan associate head coach Mel
Pearson: "Jed's a great leader. People don't see
the things he does behind the scenes, but in
the lockerroom tonight he was outstanding.
"He's been a little snakebitten this year, but
I'm glad to see him get a couple - it's a big
boost for his confidence."
Ortmeyer also showed tremendous leader-
ship during the game by staying out of the
penalty box. The Michigan State powerplay,
which ranks first in the CCHA with a 21.7
percent success rate, was given just three

Berenson said. "We couldn't handle the
puck, we couldn't make two passes.
There was so much pressure."
But Michigan associate head coach
Mel Pearson saw a weakness in the
Spartans' penalty-killing strategy, and
he immediately informed Berenson and
the Wolverines of this loophole.
Pearson's solution was to try and take
the focus of the powerplay away from
the point and to force the puck low in
the zone. The key to this crucial adjust-
ment was junior center John Shouneyia
and his ability to free up some space at
the top.
"We started to get Shouneyia to
almost anticipate the puck coming from
(Cammalleri) and start skating towards
the blueline as quickly as possible,"
Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers
said. "(That would) suck their defense
all the way out. It was just a matter of
Johnny buying more time for (the play-
ers at the point)."
Pearson's plan also consisted of
"rotating down low and trying to do
back-door passing because (Michigan
State) was pressuring at the points,"

Michigan defenseman Eric Werner said.
Pearson appears to have been a
prophet, as it was a backdoor pass on
the powerplay which won the game for
the Wolverines. Freshman forward Eric
Nystrom received a pass from Cammal-
leri in the right corner of the Michigan
State zone, and he found forward Jed
Ortmeyer going backdoor for the 3-2
lead and game-winning goal.
"Mel Pearson made a great adjust-
ment," Berenson said. "It really helped.
The players did a great job of executing
it."
FAMILY REUNION: Michigan junior J. J.
Swistak will have plenty of bragging
rights after last night's 3-2 victory over
Michigan State. The game was the first
time that Swistak has played against his
cousin, Michigan State freshman for-
ward Steve Swistak.
Steve got physical in his first game
against J.J., slamming Michigan for-
ward Charlie Henderson against the
boards in the second period, earning a
charging penalty. J.J. played his usual
role as one of Michigan's premier
penalty killers.

I
a

TOM FELDKAMP
Michigan freshman Eric Nystrom had an assist on Jed Ortmeyer's
game winning goal in the third period.

The Victors
First Round Play-in round Semifinals
Best-of-three series March 15 March 16 -::
Mar. 8-10
No. 1 Michigan
No. 12 Lake Superior
No. 4 Alaska-Fairbanks

TOM FELDKAMP/Daily
Michigan defenseman Eric Werner avoids the
check of Ohio State's Miguel LaFleche.
chances to operate the whole game, and con-
verted just once. One of Ortmeyer's biggest
and most crucial non-scoring plays came on
Michigan State's powerplay late in the third.
With time winding down on the powerplay,
Ortmeyer blocked a shot from the point that
sent the puck down the ice. The Spartans'
powerplay came.to an end without them scor-
ing.
"(Ortmeyer) was huge for us tonight," Nys-
trom said. "He just works so hard. He's been
the leader all season for everybody on this
team, and he's been a role model for the fresh-
men. To see him score two goals tonight is
huge for this team."

No. 9 Ferris State
No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha
No. 8 Notre Dame
No. 6 Western Michigan
No. 7 Ohio State
No. 3 Northern Michigan
No. 10 Miami (Ohio)
No. 11 Bowling Green

Northern Michigan
Notre Dame Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan State
Northern Michigan
Ohio State
Alaska-Fairbanks

Michigan
Michigan State

Michigan

No. 2 Michigan State
Michigan defeated Ohio State 2-1 Saturday night, while Michigan
State knocked off Northern Michigan later in the evening. Sunday,
Michigan defeated Michigan State to become CCH-A Tournament
Champions. With the win, the Wolverines also received an automatic
bid for the NCAA Tournament, which will begin this weekend with the
West Regional in Ann Arbor at Yost Ice Arena.

Ohio State
Michigan

O 1 0 0-1
1 0 0 1-2

Pstperiod - 1. UM,cammallei22 (Ortmeyer), 9:05;
PenailUes- OSU, Steckel (hit after whistle), 8:00; UM,Vardik
(hit after whistle), 8:00; OSU, May (slashing), 8:00; UM,
Komisarek (crosschecking), 8:00; OSU, May (roughing),
8:00; UM, Komisarek (roughing), 8:00; UM, Nystrom (rough-
ing),11:56.
Second peduod- 2. oSU, May 12 (camponigri), 19:26. Penai
Ies-OSU, crain (roughing), 8:04; UM, Nystrom (hit after
whistle), 8:04; OSU, Whiting (tripping), 6:17; OSU, Steckel
(interference), 19:58.
Third pedod - No scoring Penalties- OSU, Benchariki
(boarding), 11:46; OSIJMay (slashing), 18:08; UM,
Shouneyia (slashing).
OT-3. UM,cammalleri 23(Shouneyia, Werner), 5:23(pp).
Penalties-OSU, Caponigri (slashing), 0:42; OSU,YanDes
Ggne (holding), 3:52.
Shosongsal-UM,12-12-7-3-34;OSU,10£3-1--20.
PowerPlays-UM,1of5;OSU,0of5.
Saves - UM, Blackburn -(19-20); OSU, Betz- (32-34);
Rfree- Mark Wilkins
Ikesen- Kevin Laseth, John LaDuke
At Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Attendance:14,079.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3, Michigan State 2
Michigan State 11 0- 2
Michigan 1 1. 1.- 3
Fast peiod- 1. UM, Mink 5(Gaic, Shouneyia), 3:43; 2.
MSU Goldie 9 (Fast), 6:55. Penaties-
Second perIod -3. UM, Ortmeyer 13 (Cammalleri), 8:54; 4.
MSU clark 1(Insana),18:56. Penalties- LSSU, Thompson
(minor penalty), 9:43; UM, Moss (obstructionbooking),
10:44.
Third period - 5. UM, Ortmeyer 14 (Nystrom, cammalleri),
2:00; 4. UM, Nystrom (cammalleri, Ortmeyer), 4:39 pp.
Penalties- UM, Gjic (obstructionbooking), 1:15; UM, Roe-
mensky (interference), 9:50; UM, Rogers (holding), 13:14.
Shots ongpal-UM, 91355-27; MSU, 9-7-7 -23.
PowerPlays-UM,1 of 2; LSSU,1of 7.
Saes- UM, Blackburn -(60:00,12-13);
Reeree-Steve Piotrowski
Lineeen- Kevin Langseth, John LaDuke
At Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Attendance:16,452.
ALL-CCHA TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michigan puts four
on tournment team
At the close of last night's CCHA Tour-
nament championship game, the media
selected the All-CCHA ournament team.
Here are the players who made the cut:

Times to remember..

Hockey alfresco
Michigan entered the season having
lost two former All-Americans in
Andy Hilbert and Jeff Jillson and a
large senior class. But coach Red
Berenson was ready to replace
those losses with 10 incoming fresh-
men and the emergence of Mike
Komisarek.

On the prowl
Michigan took to the road to
solve it's problems and went
undefeated in the CCHA in the
process, reclaiming its reputa-

Murray Christmas
The Wolverines headed into Win-
ter break without four of their top
players - Mike Cammalleri,
Mike Komisarek, Dwight Helmi-
nen and Eric Nystrom - who
were playing in the World Junior
Championships. But with the help
of veterans like Craig Murray (3
points),

Final 'State'-ment
Michigan lost its first CCHA playoff
game to Lake Superior but rebound-
ed to defeat rival Ohio State 2-1 in
overtime and Michigan State 3-2 to
capture its first CCHA Tournament>
Championship in three years.
The success is'a momentum boost
into the NCAA Tournament.

T
t
r
7
S
L,
a
al

he Wolverines dropped the puck on tion as one of the premier They battled through the losses
heir season in front of a world teams in the nation. to go 2-1-2 as several freshman
ecord-breaking crowd of more than Over a five-week span that stepped up to replace their miss-
4,000 on a giant sheet of ice in included seven road games, the ing teammates. Michigan rallies behind
Spartan Stadium. Michigan left East Wolverines went 7-1-1 with Despite the forward steps, Michi- the loss of Cammalleri
.ansing with a 3-3 tie after giving up their only blemish coming gan failed to win the Great Lakes and comes from behind
goal with less than a minute to go against then-No. 1 Minnesota in Invitational for the fourth consec- to tie Michigan State 1-1
igainst then-No. 1 Michigan State. the College Hockey Showcase utive year. in a game in which Ryan
on the day after Thanksgiving. Miller stoned 42 shots.
That's sick! Grand old cha'M'ps
The Wolverines got back to
Cammalleri, Michigan's leading "Michigan hockey" to finish up
scorer, contracted mononucleo- the regular season and attempt
sis from his roommate at the to catch Michigan State.
World Junior Championships - They succeeded in their efforts
the week before playing Michi- when they pulled ahead of Michi-
gan State at Yost Ice Arena. gan State in the CCHA standings
He missed the next six weeks of on the second to last day of the
regular season.
Northernexposureplay'utDuring this stretch, the Wolver-
After splitting a hone-and-homeGutter ball ines went on a nine-game CCHA
series against Western Michigan, After the emotional high of winning streak with their onlye
losscomigha the hands of the
Michigan was swept in a home series tying Michigan State the Spartans in a nonconference
for the first time in two years by week before and demonstrat- game at Jon Louis Arena.
Northern Michigan. ing that the team did not
While the Wildcats finished in third need Cammalleri to be a con-
place in the CCHA, they had been a tender, Michigan lost to 11th-
preseason pick to finish in the bottom place Bowling Green 4-2.

Mike Cammalleri
Jed Ortmeyer
Chris Gobert
Mike Komisarek
Brad Fast
Josh Blackbum

Forward
Forward
Forward
Defense
Defense
Goalie

Michigan
Michigan
No. Michigan
Michigan
Michigan St.
Michigan

half of the CCHA.

West Regional

- Yost Ice Arena

- Ann Arbor

Mlnnesota
Golden
Gophers

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