4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 3, 2003 Chatting into the boards "It was just a bomb." - Michigan coach Red Berenson on his team's performance on Senior Night. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan State 4 Michigan 0 SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan 5 Michigan State 4 Key play 4:18 of the third period - Michigan forward Brandon Kaleniecki fired the eventual winning goal off a pass from fellow freshman Andrew Ebbett who recovered his own rebound. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan State 4, Michigan 0 Michigan State Michigan 2 1 1 000 - 4 -0 First period-1, MSU, Joe Markusen 1(Mike Lalonde) 8:02, 2, MSU, Lee Falardeau 5 (Brian Mal- oney, Brad Fast) 11:33. Penalties- Mike Lalonde, MSU (roughing) 14:40; Brandon Kaleniecki, MICH (unsportsmanlike conduct) 14:40; Andrew Ebbett, MICH (roughing) 14:40; Brad Fast, MSU (roughing) 14:40; John-Michael Liles, MSU (obstruction-holding) 17:28. Second period - 3, MSU, Brian Maloney 12 (John-Michael Liles) 8:46 (pp). Penalties - Nick Martens, MICH (holding) 0:38; Milan Gajic, MICH (obstruction-holding) 7:46; Colton Fretter, MSU (charging) 14:13; Jeff Tambellini, MICH (interfer- ence) 19:36. Third period - 4, MSU, Brian Maloney 13 (John-Michael Liles, Colton Fretter) 0:17 (pp). Penalties - Andy Burnes, MICH (high sticking) 7:54; Colton Fretter, MSU (roughing) 8:34. Shots on Goal: MSU 7-11-7 25; MICH 13-13-11 37. Power plays: MSU 2 of 4; MICH 0 of 3. Penalties: MSU 5 (10 min); MICH 6 (12 min). Saves - MICH, Montoya (23-9-1) -15; Noah Ruden --6; MSU, Migliaccio (16-9-2) - 37 Referee: Kevin Hall. At: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor. Attendance: 6874. SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan 5, Michigan State 4 Mkhigan Michigan State 1 3 1 - 5 2 1 1 - 4 Montoya s youth shows in1 mistalkes By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer DETROIT - Al Montoya has done a pretty good job of hiding the fact that he is the youngest player in college hockey. He ranks in the top 10 in the nation in goals against average and minutes played, and has done everything the Wolverines have asked. But now the real challenge starts. With so much riding on this weekend's contests - Red Berenson's 500th career win, Senior Night on Friday, the Michi- gan-Michigan State rivalry and playoff positioning - Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson felt that the pressure was starting to get to the 18-year-old net- minder. "The team is going to go as far as he can take us," Pearson said. "The way he deals with that pressure is going to be huge." On Friday and most of the game Satur- day, Montoya didn't look like the netmin- der the Wolverines have become accustomed to. The majority of the eight goals he gave up on 43 shots this weekend were on shots the freshman usually stops The woes started for Montoya in the first period on Friday as Joe Markusen sent a lob shot through the zone that went past Montoya's glove for the defender's first goal of the season. Then, minutes later, Brian Maloney dumped a shot that Montoya appeared to cover up, but the puck trickled behind him to his right for Lee Falardeau to tap in, leaving a deficit Michigan was not able to overcome. Montoya struggled again minutes into Saturday's contest as he mishandled a John-Michael Liles shot from the blueline to give the Spartans an early lead. Then after giving up two goals through the five First period-1, MSU, John-Michael Liles 16 (Brock Radunske 14, Brad Fast 25) 3:43 (pp); 2, MICH, Jason Ryznar 5 (Danny Richmond 7 David Moss 15) 5:07; 3, MSU, Lee- Falardeau 6 (Brian Maloney 11) 15:18 (sh). Penalties - David Moss, MICH (charg- ing) 2:17; Chad Hontvet, MSU (checking from behind) 13:58; Brian Maloney, MSU (roughing) 18:20; Mark Mink, MICH (bm) 18:20; Brian Maloney, MSU (high-sticking) 18:20; Nick Martens, MICH (high-sticking) 18:20. Second period - 4, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer 12 (John Shouneyia 22, Jeff Tambelli- ni 11) 0:23; 5, MICH Mike Roemensky 2 (John Shoeneyia 23) 2:55; 6, MSU, Troy Ferguson 2 (Tim Hearon 3, Brad Fast 26) 9:04 (sh); 7, MICH, John Shouneyia 6 (Eric Nystrom 8, Jeff Tambellini 12) 17:40 (pp). Penalties - Brock Radunske, MSU (obstruction-hooking) 7:49; Steve Clark, MSU (boarding) 12:24; Colton Fretter, MSU (elbowing) 17:15; Jed Ortmeyer, MICH (slashing) 20:00: Brian Maloney, MSU (cross-checking) 20:00; Jed Ortmey- er, MICH (roughing) 20:00; Brad Fast, MSU (rough- ing) 20:00; Andy Burnes, MICH (cross-checking) 20:00. Third period - 8, MICH, Brandon Kaleniecki 12 (Andrew Ebbett 14, Andy Burnes 6) 4:18; 9, MSU, Ash Goldie 6 (Brad Fast 27, Matt Migliaccio 1) 6:22 (pp). Penalties - Danny Richmond, MICH (hit after whistle) 5:37; Lee Falardeau, MSU (hit after whistle) 5:37; Danny Richmond. MICH (ir) 5:37. Shots on Goal: MICH 10-14-9 33; MSU 11-7-6 24. Power plays: MICH 1 of 4; MSU 2 of 3. Saves - MICH, Montoya (249-1) -20; MSU, Migliaccio (17-9-2) - 28. Referee: Mark Wilkins. At: Joe Lewis Arena, Detroit Attendance: 20,058. HOw THEY FARED No. 1 Colorado College (25-5-5) def. No. 10 Minnesota State-Mankato 8-1, lost to MSU-Mankato 9-6. No. 2 Cornell (24-4-1) def. Princeton 2-1, def. Yale 3-0. No. 3 Boston College (21-9-4) tied with No. 4 New Hampshire 3-3, lost to New Hampshire 4.1. No. 4 New Hampshire (21-7-6) tied with No. 3 Boston College 3-3, def. Boston College 4-1. No. 6 Ferris State (25-8-1) def. Nebras- ka-Omaha 5-0, def. Nebraska-Omaha 4-0. No. 7 Minnesota (19-8-8) tied with No. 12 Denver 3-3, def. Denver 8-5. No. 8 Michigan (24-9-1) lost to Michigan State 4-0, def. Michigan State 5-4. No. 9 North Dakota (22-8-5) tied with Minnesota-Duluth. No. 10 Minnesota State-Mankato (17-8- 9) lost to No. 1 Colorado College 8-1, def. Colorado College 9-6. No. 11 Boston University(21-12-3) def. Maine 4-2, lost to Maine 4-2. No. 12 Denver (20-106) tied with No. 7 Minnesota 3-3, lost to Minnesota 8-5. No.13 Harvard (19-8-2) tied with Clark- son 3-3, def. St. Lawrence 5-0. No. 14 Ohio State (22-03) lost to Northern Michigan 5-2, def. Northern Michigan 4-1. No. 15 Providence (19-12-3) def. Mass.- Lowell 3-1. CCHA ROUNDUP Friday's game: Michigan State 4, MicHiAN 0 ALASKA FAIRBANKS 2, Miami 1 LAKE SUPERIOR 2, Bowling Green 0 WESTERN MICHIGAN 4, Notre Dame 2 FERRIS STATE 5, Nebraska-Omaha 0 NORTHERN MICHIGAN 5, Ohio State 2 Sahurday's games: Ohio State 4, NORTHERN MICHIGAN 1 NOTRE DAME 5, Western Michigan 2 ALASKA FAIRBANKS 1, Miami 1 Bowling Green 3, LAKE SUPERIOR 2 Michgan 5, MIcHIGAN STATE 4 FERRIS STATE 4, Omaha-Nebraska 0 CCHA STANDINGS TONY DING/Daily Michigan goaltender Al Montoya gave up eight goals this weekend, as Michigan State was able to pounce upon a number of the rebounds he let up. hole, Montoya muffed an Ash Goldie shot tling no matter what." from the blueline off his glove. As Montoya has played as many games But, unlike Friday night, Michigan put so far this season as he did last season, the together a strong second and third period upcoming CCHA and NCAA tournaments to pull out the victory. will test his physical and mental stamina. "Our team has to play well in front of "Right now we have to rest him as much him," Pearson said. "I don't think we did as we can," Pearson said. "More for the (Friday). (But) we're going to have to help mental rest than anything." him tighten up and get through the tough When Montoya next steps on the ice, his weekend." ability to deal with coming off a bad Montoya battled back to make some key weekend is going to be tested. saves in the second period with the game "As you get older, you learn to deal with tied at three. adversity," Michigan goaltending coach "The saves gave me confidence," Mon- Stan Matwijw said. "Al's got to learn to let toya said. "Also, we're in the game the things go. If one squeaks by that he feels whole time, so we have to keep battling no he should have had, he should just let it go matter what the score is. So I just kept bat- and worry about the next one." Seniors feed off of Friday embarassment D ETROIT - All that was missing from this week- end's showdown with Michigan State was the Scoo- by-Doo ending. When we left the Wolverines on Friday/Senior Night, the seniors were being trotted out to a non-student-filled crowd that clapped for their four-year warriors. Unfortunately, the celebration of the careers of Mark Mink, Jed Ort- meyer, Mike Roemen- a sky, John Shouneyia and J.J. Swistak occurred after they were embar- rassed by the Spartans in a 4-0 loss. And the hype for Red Berenson's 500th career coaching KYLE O'NEILL victory had to wait for The Daily Janitor another day. Wayne also lost "Wayne's World" to Noah's Arcade, as Casandra went away with Benjamin. The Wolverines were riding on a wing and a prayer, but now that wing was on fire and the prayer was being answered by Satan. The next night came, though, and the long-haired prophet known as Garth entered and offered that this weekend be concluded with "the mega-happy ending." Michigan delivered it with no disappointments, and for the first time this season, it was the seniors that carried the rest of the team on their shoulders. It's not that the senior class hasn't been effective this year, but it's that they've been the reliable crutch to hold the team up until a Jeff Tambellini or Al Mon- toya can singlehandedly get the win. Saturday night - a night after the seniors were supposed to party at Yost Ice' Arena - the fiesta was brought to Joe Louis Arena. When the Spartans kept Tambellini in check both nights - as well they should have after his four-goal weekend against them two weeks ago - and Montoya was at his worst between the pipes, it was the captain and his four compadres who showed why the Wolverines are a different team when March and April rolls around. The one-night turnaround began with Ortmeyer's postgame comments on Friday night. "You know what, I'll take the blame, my team wasn't ready to play," Ortmeyer said of Friday night's loss. "It was a night for the seniors to be on top of things and ... I can't explain it." He didn't need to explain it. His team wasn't ready to play. He knew that, and like Wayne and Garth waving their fingers and arms to go to a better world, he erased the stench of Friday night by accepting the blame. So on Saturday night, when Montoya let in goals he nor- mally saves, the captain's line dug deeper - Ortmeyer, Shouneyia and Tambellini were plus-three on the night. When the high-scoring Tambellini couldn't get wide open looks, his upper-classman linemates each finished what the freshman started for them. And when Berenson needed a group of guys to get him his 500th win, who else could he count on more than his two-year captain and those who went the distance for him as players? "Orty's a great captain and he's going to take a lot of heat for (all the negative things the team) does," Roemensky said. "He's a great leader, and for him to have the game he had tonight shows how he can bounce back. And we just bounced back from (Friday) night's game ... to come out with that edge tonight." For Roemensky, his final regular season game against the Spartans was one to hang his hat on. After Friday night when he couldn't get a shot by Michigan State goaltender Matt Migliaccio, he buried one off of a Shouneyia feed to give Michigan its first lead of the game and finished with a team-best plus-three rating for the night. Saturday night was not just the perfect Senior Night for the Wolverines, it was also the quintessential atmosphere that was sorely missed on Friday. With all the students away on spring break, the weekend opener at Yost seemed more like a football game at the Big House (and that's the farthest thing from a compliment). But thanks to an energized 20,058 - many being students returned home - at Joe Louis, Michigan had its fans become the momentum chang- er for two different deficits. Now I'm not one for saying a crowd can win a game in any sport, but there is something about the energy of a crowd being paralleled with the energy of the teams they are watching. Michigan is a team that needs noise, whether it is good or bad. Except for losses at a rowdy Ferris State and at home against Notre Dame, Michigan has lost when it has played in low-energy arenas. When Michigan lost to North Dakota in Buffalo, it was quiet enough for every word on the ice to be heard in the third-level press box. At Northern Michigan for the Wildcats' sweep of the Wolverines, the crowd was into the game once they knew Michigan couldn't come back. Even at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing two weeks ago, there wasn't a continu- ous buzz amongst the crowd until the Spartans went up 4-1, causing a quick two-goal rebuttal by Tambellini. It's obvious that the seniors fuel off the crowd more than anybody, because they know it may be the last time they hear those roars. So here's a plea to those Michigan faithful who can ven- ture to Columbus next weekend and to all the rounds of the postseason in the weeks following: Be proud, be loud ... and "party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth." - Ifyou think that Ed O'Neills appearance in "Waynes World" was vastly underrated, please contact TheDailyJanitor@umich.edu. 01 Al NICHOLAS AZZARO/Daily A linesman struggles to separate Michigan State's John-Michael Liles and Michigan's John Shouneyia in the second period of the Spartans' 40 victory Friday. BERENSON Continued from Page 1B tribute to the man who has led them to 106 victories in their college careers. "It's a very special thing for this pro- gram and for Coach Berenson," senior captain Jed Ortmeyer said. "He puts his heart and his soul into this program and to be a part of something like this, it's really why guys come to Michigan." "It's a great feeling for us and for coach," senior defenseman Mike Roe- mensky said. "Coach has always been there for us. He has taught us a lot. It means a great deal to us, as it does to him. Just to be a part of it, it's just really something special." With the win, Berenson also moved within one victory of former Boston College coach John Kelley for 13th on the all-time NCAA win list. Berenson has been coaching in the college ranks for seven years less than any of the men ahead of him. "Like I told our players, I can't score goals and I can't stop the puck," Beren- son said. "But we can at least try and bring good players into our program and mold them into good teams. And I think that's why we're standing here tonight." When Berenson arrived at Michigan for the 1984-85 season, he took over a struggling program. - the Wolverines had finished ninth in the CCHA for the previous two seasons, combining for just 23 wins in 63 games. But with Berenson behind the bench, Michigan began a steady rise back to the top of the college hockey world. By 1992, the team had its first regular sea- son conference title since joining the CCHA in 1981. By 1996, the Wolver- ines had their first national title since 1964 - they added a second title two years later. Over 18 plus seasons, he has compiled a 500-240-50 overall record. After Saturday night's game, Beren- son didn't want to dwell on that history. "I think he was more relieved to get the two points in the standings, which is huge right now," Pearson said. "But there's no question I think he's relieved, that's behind him and there won't be any focus on that, and that's the way he likes it." SPARTANS Continued from Page 1B Goldie scored at 6:22. "We knew we had to bounce back and salvage the weekend," Shouneyia said. "We let State come into our house and for us that was embarrasing, so I think we had a lot of guys who were stepping up tonight." The game was especially sweet for the five Wolver- ines who had their Senior Night ruined Friday and may have played their last game against their biggest rivals. "Coach always said you're either a Michigan kid or a Michigan State kid, and us Michigan boys are really proud of our team and coach and the effort that we had tonight," Roemensky said. "It's the last time for us seniors that we're going to play these guys (in the) regu- lar season and I think it's really important for us to go out with a win and keep it rolling on throughout the rest of the regular season." The turnaround victory also kept Michigan's CCHA championship hopes alive, abate barely. A second loss to Michigan State would have mathematically eliminat- ed Michigan from the conference title race. The Wolver- ines, who remain four points behind Ferris State, still cling to the faint hope of tying for the title. For that to happen, Michigan would have to sweep Ohio State in Columbus next weekend, and Ferris State would have to fall twice to 11th-place Bowling Green. al C Team W Ferris State 20 Michigan 18 Ohio State 16 Michigan State 15: Northern Michigan 13: Western Michigan 13: Notre Dame 12: Alaska-Fairbanks . 10: Miami 11: Nebraska-Omaha 9: Bowling Green 5: Lake Superior 3 CCHA CHA L 5 7 8 10 12 12 11 11 12 17 18 22 T Pts 1 41 1 37 2 34 1 31 1 27 1 27 3 27 7 27 2 25 2 20 3 13 1 7 Overall W L T 25 8 1 24 9 1 22 10 3 19 13 2 17 15 2 15 17 2 14 14 6 13 12 7 18 15 3 13 19 4 8 21 3 6 24 4 LEADERS Through Mar. 2 - League games only Player G A P ___ s' a 1. Chris Kunitz, FSU 2. R.J. Umberger, OSU 3. Brad Fast, MSU 3. Jeff Legue- FSU 5. JohnMichael Liles, MSU 24 14 9 14 14 25 22 24 19 18 49 36 33 33 32 Th'iree stars of the weekendi John Shouneyia Senior/forward II Jed Ortmeyer Senior/forward Mike Roemensky Senior/defenseman I