4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 10, 2003
Chatting into the boards
"It does feel like a win."
- Michigan coach Red Berenson on Friday
night's 4-4 tie. Michigan overcame a two-
goal deficit in the third period and knotted
FRIDAY'S GAME
R...M ichigan 4
Ohio State 4
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3
Ohio State 3
Key play
0:01 of the third period
- With just one second remaining Friday
night, Michigan freshman Andrew Ebbett
scored the game-tying goal after Ohio
State goaltender Mike Betz stopped a
barrage of shots.
the game on
an Andrew Ebbett goal with
one second remaining.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan 4, Ohio State 4
Michigan
Ohio State
2 0
1202 -
4
4
First period -1, MICH, Eric Nystrom 12 (Jeff Tam-
bellini 13) 5:35 (pp); 2, MICH, Jason Ryznar 6 (David
Moss 16) 8:28; 3, OSU, Rod Pelley 7 (Lee Spector 2)
16:04. Penalties - RJ. Umberger, OSU (hit after
whistle) 1:34; Nick Martens, MICH (hit after whistle)
1:34; Scott Titus, OSU (checking from behind) 4:27;
Joe Kautz, MICH (hit after whistle) 8:41; Doug
Andress, OSU (slashing) 8:41; Mike Roemensky,
MICH (interference) 14:03; Brandon Kaleniecki,
MICH (slashing) 18:18; Daymen Bencharski, OSU
(holding) 18:42. Second period - 4, OSU, Rod Pel-
ley 8 (Scott Titus 5, JB Bittner 9) 8:33 (pp); 5,
OSU, Lee Spector 2 (T.J. Latorre 1, Chris Olsgard)
14:03. Penalties - Reed Whiting, OSU (roughing)
2:15; John Shouneyia, MICH (obstruction-hooking)
3:12; Nate Guenin, OSU (roughing) 3:48; Mark
Mink, MICH (roughing)3:48; Mark Mink, MICH
(checking from behind) 7:20; Paul Caponigri, OSU
(high sticking) 18:41. Third period - 6, OSU, Ryan
Kesler 9 (Paul Caponigri 19, JB Bittner 9) 7:53; 7,
MICH, Eric Nystrom 13 (Brandon Rogers 14) 9:30;
8, MICH, Andrew Ebbett 9 (Brandon Rogers 15)
19:59. Penalties - Ryan Kesler, OSUJ (ud) 3:10.
Shots on Goal: MICH 11-9-15-2 37; OSU 1014-5-2 31.
Power plays: MICH 1of 5; OSU 1of 4. Penalties: MICH
7 (14 min.); OSU 8 (16 min.). Saves- MICH, Mon-
toya (24-9-2) - 27; OSU, Mike Betz ()- 33. Referee:
Steve Piotrowski. At: Value City Arena, Columbus.
Attendance: 12,696.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3, Ohio State 3
'M stuns crowd
with late strike
By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer
COLUMBUS - The Ohio State faithful were elated.
As the clock ticked down towards zero on Friday night,
their Buckeyes held a 4-3 advantage over hated Michigan
and seemed poised to secure a big win in a big game.
The fans were on their feet, jackets in hand, ready to
leave the building with a victory.
But the Wolverines would have none of that.
Somehow, the team remained optimistic. And with
goalie Al Montoya pulled in favor of an extra attacker,
Michigan found some openings.
"For some reason, it felt like we were
going to get one there in the end,"
defenseman Brandon Rogers said. "For
the last minute, we had pretty good sus-
tained pressure in their zone, and we
kept getting the puck through to the net
and just missing."
A Jeff Tambellini shot even dribbled past Ohio State
goalie Mike Betz, missing the post by mere inches.
Most importantly, Michigan managed to keep the puck
in the Buckeyes' zone and away from its own empty
net. With 17.7 seconds left, the Wolverines earned a
faceoff to the left of Betz for what would probably be
their last chance to tie it.
"The faceoff was set up but there was a mistake
made," Ohio State coach John Markell said. "We actually
won the draw, but we had nobody going to it."
With Michigan controlling the puck off the faceoff, a
melee of players packed in front of the net. The Ohio
State fans held their breath and prayed for the final
buzzer to end the game.
Rogers' initial shot was blocked, but a rebound
bounced to forward Andrew Ebbett. Somehow the fresh-
man's shot found a seam and the top of the net.
Everyone in the building looked up to the scoreboard
to see if somehow it had gone in too late. But one second
still remained.
"You can play a good, solid game and all of a sudden a
bounce goes the other way, and they got it," Markell said.
With the tie, Michigan clinched a second seed in the
CCHA Tournament. But with Ferris State's win at Bowl-
ing Green on the same night, the Bulldogs locked down
the conference title.
THE BIG PICTURE: Both Markell and Michigan coach
Red Berenson were concerned about placing for the
CCHA Tournament this weekend. But getting into the
NCAA Tournament remained a concern and that played
a role in the way that they coached.
Football rivalry is
now getting ice time
Michigan
Ohio State
1 2 0
1 0 2
- 3
- 3
First period -1, OSU, R.J. Umberger 23 (Eric Skaug
8) 11:26; 2, MICH, Jeff Tambellini 25 (John
Shouneyia 24, Eric Nystrom 9) 16:21 (pp). Penalties
-Andy Burnes, MICH (hit after whistle) 2:32; Scott
May, OSU (hit after whistle) 2:32; Chris Olsgard,
OSU. (roughing) 10:50; Jed Ortmeyer, MICH (rough-
ing) 10:50; Brandon Rogers, MICH (ht) 13:31; Bran-
don Rogers, MICH (10-minute misconduct) 13:31;
Chris Olsgard, OSU (checking from behind) 15:54;
Rod Pelley, OSU (roughing) 17:23; Jason Ryznar,
MICH (tripping) 19:34. Second period - 3, MICH,
David Moss 13 (unassisted) 3:39; 4, MICH, Bran-
don Kaleniecki 13 (Andrew Ebbett 15, Danny Rich-
mond 18) 5:12 (pp). Penalties - Mike Roemensky,
MICH (tripping) 1:36; Chris Olsgard, OSU (cross.
checking) 3:51; Doug Andress, OSU (roughing)
10:02; Andy Burnes, MICH (holding) 13:31; Dwight
Helminen, MICH (roughing) 19:00; Ryan Kesler,
OSU (high sticking) 19:00.Third period - 5, OSU,
Paul Caponigri 14 (Pete Broccoli) 1:08; 6, OSU,
Daymen Bencharski 10 (R.J. Umberger 26, Doug
Andress 16) 11:45 (pp). Penalties - Michael
Woodford, MICH (kneeing) 6:24; Brandon Kaleniec-
ki, MICH (checking from behind) 10:32; Paul Capon-
igri, OSU (10-minute misconduct) 20:00. Shiots on
Goal: MICH 12-11-7-1 31; OSU 14-11-13-3 41. Power
plays: MICH 2 of 4; OSU 1 of6. Saves- MICH, Mon-
toya (24.9-3) - 20; OSU, Mike Betz () - 28. Refer-
ee: Steve Piotrowski At: Value City Arena,
Columbus. Attendance: 13,628.
HOW THEY FARED
No. 1 Colorado College (25-5-5) def. No.
14 Denver 4-2.
No. 2 Cornell (244-1) did not play.
No. 3 New Hampshire (23-76) def.
Mass.-Lowell 8-4, def. Mass.Lowell 8-4.
No. 4 Maine (24.8-5) lost to M assachu-
setts 4-2.
No. 5 Ferris State (27-8-1) def. Bowling
Green 4-2, def. Bowling Green 4-3.
No. 6 Boston College (239.4) def. Merri-
mack 4-1, def. Merrimack 2-1.
No. 7 Minnesota (20-8-9) def. St. Cloud
State 5-3, tied with St. Cloud State 1-1.
No. 8 Michigan (24-9-3) tied with No.
15 Ohio State 4-4, tied with Ohio State
3-3.
No. 9 Minnesota State-Mankato (17-8-
10) tied with Nebraska-Omaha 2-2.
No. 10 Boston University (23.12-3) def.
No. 13 Providence 5-4, def. Providence
7-1.
No. 11 North Dakota (24-9-5) def. Wis-
consin 5-2, def. Wisconsin 5-0.
No. 12 Harvard (1948-2) did not play.
No. 13 Providence (19-14-3) lost to No.
10 Boston University 5-4, lost to Boston
University 7-1.
No. 14 Denver (20-11-6) lost to No. 1
Colorado College 4-2.
No. 15 Ohio State (22-10-5) tied with
No. 8 Michigan 4-4, tied with Michigan
3-3.
CCHA. ROUNDUP
Fria's games:
Notre Dame 3, NORTHERN MICHIGAN 2
Michigan State 4, WESTERN MICHIGAN 0
OHIO STATE 4, Michigan 4
MIAMI 8, Lake Superior 1
ALAsKA FAIRBANKS 6, Alaska Anchorage 4
Ferris State 4, BOWUNG GREEN 2
Saturday's games:
ALASM FAIRBANKS 5, Alaska Anchorage 0
MIAMI 3, Lake Superior 0
MICHIGAN STATE 8, Western Michigan 5
Ferris State 4, BOWUNG GREEN 3
NEBRASKA-OMAHA 2, MSU-Mankato 2
NORTHERN MICHIGAN 4, Notre Dame 1
OHIO STATE 3, Michigan 3
CCHA STANDINGS
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Andrew Ebbett, right, celebrates his game-tying goal
Friday night with just one second left.
Late in Friday's overtime, Markell considered pulling
his goalie to go for the win. A tie would have ended his
team's hope of second place.
"I thought he would pull the goalie," Berenson said.
"It's a big game. That point is important to both teams."
But Markell's concern for what a loss would do to his
team in the rankings won out. He decided that pulling
Betz too early wasn't worth the risk, waiting until there
were three seconds left in overtime to make the move.
"I didn't think a loss would help us at all in the big pic-
ture," Markell said. "Obviously, we were trying to get sec-
ond place, but you have to look at the big picture as well."
No NErs: On March 16 of last year, a shot by Colum-
bus Blue Jackets forward Espen Knutsen struck and
killed 13-year-old fan Brittanie Cecil. The NHL respond-
ed by making nets above the boards behind the goal
mandatory in all league arenas.
Across town, at Ohio State's Value City Arena, nets are
not required by the NCAA and none have been raised.
An official with the school's athletic department did say
that the boards have been built two feet higher than is
required to provide safety.
On Saturday, a number of stray pucks did go flying
into the stands, including one sharp Ohio State slap shot
at 15:25 of the second period.
COURTNEY LEWIS
Full Court Press
COLUMBUS - To Michigan fans
who are used to games at a frenzied -
Yost Ice Arena, the crowd at Ohio
State's Value City Arena probably wouldn't
be particularly impressive, and when the
fans go around the rink yelling, "Ohio (with
each section shouting a letter)," it wouldn't
do much more than display the Buckeyes
fans' spelling ability.
But Ohio State forward Paul Caponigri
thought the crowd "was great. When they
started doing the O-H-I-O around, it felt like
I was at a football game. It was great. I
hadn't experienced that."
Clearly, Columbus isn't a hockey town.
And the Michigan-Ohio State matchup on
the ice isn't yet a rivalry comparable to the
one the two schools share on the gridiron.
But it's getting there.
While Michigan State is the premier
opponent for Michigan, and the one the
pla'yers relish most, this weekend went a
long way toward building an icy rivalry
between the Wolverines and Buckeyes.
Friday's game was full of momentum
swings and comebacks - each team saw a
two-goal lead disappear - complete with a
goal at literally the last possible second of
regulation. The final minute of the third
period was about as exciting as hockey gets
- total chaos in the Buckeyes' zone, as the
Wolverines made a mad scramble to sal-
vage the game. Saturday, the Buckeyes
seemingly clawed back from a two-goal
deficit in the third period, only to have the
tying goal waved off by the officials
because it was kicked in. Then they tied it
for real minutes later.
It was one of the most entertaining two-
game series of Michigan's season.
The games didn't quite have that extra
intensity and desperation of a meeting
between archrivals, and the focus was on
playoff positioning, not on the tradition of
Michigan vs. Ohio State.
By the time the Michigan and Ohio State
hockey teams started playing each other reg-
ularly, their football counterparts had reached
the height of their rivalry - the Woody
Hayes-Bo Schembechler era - and they
have not often been at equal talent levels.
But this weekend, the Buckeyes and
Wolverines were jostling for a No. 2 seed
in the CCHA Tournament, and signs of a
passionate rivalry waiting to develop
were evident.
The called-back Ohio State goal Saturday
that would have tied the game and Andrew
Ebbett's goal that stole away an impending
Ohio State victory at 19:59 of Friday's third
period are sure to linger in the Buckeyes'
memories. Without those two plays, Ohio
State likely would have swept Michigan and
bumped it to third place in the league.
Saturday's game featured a physical third
period, with bodies colliding in the neutral
zone. On one of those collisions, Caponigri
and Michigan sophomore Michael Wood-
ford met knee-to-knee, and the Buckeye was
left writhing in pain on the ice while the
Wolverine skated away. In an altercation at
the end of the game, both players earned a
10-minute misconduct.
But while a one-on-one matchup like that
might have produced bad blood had it hap-
pened in the football rivalry, Caponigri
didn't show much ire afterward. When a
reporter asked him if Woodford's hit was a
cheap shot, he declined to stir things up.
If the players haven't yet developed an
extreme distaste for each other, the fans have
started to. Although the Value City crowd
wasn't much for chants, the games did draw
more than 25,000 people combined on the
weekend, and the Buckeyes' fans showed
that familiar anti-Michigan hatred at times.
They harshly booed a young Michigan fan
who caught a stray puck on Friday and a
group of kids in Michigan garb who
appeared on the giant screen on Saturday.
Ohio State has played tough games
against Michigan in past seasons, only to fall
back into the bottom of the conference and
become an easy opponent the following
year. But the Buckeyes finished third in the
conference this year and if they can sustain
that level of play, the matchup could quickly
develop into a heated rivalry.
One worthy of Woody and Bo.
Courtney Lewis can be reached at
cmlewis@umich.edu.
With Michigan's tie on Friday, Ferris State clinched the No. 1 spot in the
CCHA Tournament beginning next weekend. The tie also guaranteed the
Wolverines second place in the conference, meaning they will face Bowling
Green at home in a three-game series. That matchpasiwel asithe other
five firstround series, is broken down by hockey writer Kyle ('Neill.
Page 8B
0
BUCKEYES
Continued from Page 1B
tie the game. The Buckeyes then had
numerous chances, but Montoya was
able to hold strong.
"Tonight he was as good of a player
as there was on the ice," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said.
After Andrew Ebbett tied Friday's
game with one second remaining and
after Saturday's Buckeye comeback,
Michigan and Ohio State could be set
for a classic duel in the semifinals of
the CCHA Tournament in two weeks.
Barring any upsets - which tend to
happen - the two will meet a week
from Friday with more at stake. If that
game comes to fruition and is as evenly
played as this weekend was, it's going
to be a wild ride.
"It was a whole weekend of breaks,
missed opportunities, and taking advan-
tage of opportunities," Berenson said.
"Neither of these teams are going to lie
down."
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan senior John Shouneyla takes a faceoff at Ohio State's Value City Arena Friday night. Shouneyia had one assist in
Michigan's 3-3 tie against the Buckeyes.
Bulldogs win CCHA Friday, avoid major letdown in series finale
By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Sports Editor
Team
Ferris State
Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan State
Northern Michigan
Miami
Notre Dame
Western Michigan
Alaska-Fairbanks
Nebraska-Omaha
Bowling Green
Lake Superior
w
2
m
1'
1
1-
1<
1C
9
5
3:
CCHA
NL
2 5
B 7
.6 8
.7 10
.4 13
3 12
3 12
3 14
0 11
3 17
20
3 24
T Pts
1 45
3 39
4 36
1 35
1 29
3 29
3 29
1 27
7 27
2 20
3 13
1 7
Overall
W L T
27 8 1
24 9 3
22 10 5
21 13 2
18 16 2
20 15 3
15 15 6
15 19 2
15 12 7
13 19 5
8 23 3
6 26 4
BOWLING GREEN - Ferris State is now 1-
0 as CCHA champions.
A night after clinching the regular season title
- thanks to a 4-2 Friday win over Bowling
Green - the Bulldogs showed no signs of slow-
ing down with a 4-3 win over the Falcons.
Unfortunately for Ferris State and Bowling
Green, the referees slowed down all momentum
either team had with the 28 penalties called dur-
ing the game.
"It was kind of an ugly game, there wasn't a
whole lot of flow to it," Ferris State coach Bob
Daniels said. "It was a disappointing game all
the way around I guess. I was concerned it
would be (a let down), but it wasn't. Both teams
came out and battled pretty hard. I was disap-
pointed with all the penalties with both teams
tonight."
With just three of the seven goals coming on
the powerplay, it was the nine penalties killed
apiece that was most impressive about the game.
"We had some good kills ... I thought we did
an excellent job," Bowling Green coach Scott
Paluch said. "What I really liked was the 4-on-3
(kill) in the second period, but the 5-on-3 in the
third period - that's the momentum type of kill
we needed and what a lift it gave us."
The first situation Paluch described was at the
18:20 mark of the second period with the score
tied at two. Bowling Green's Don Morrison was
called for goaltender interference, and Ferris
State defenseman Phil Meyer was called for hit-
ting after the whistle. One minute and five sec-
onds later, Bowling Green defenseman Kevin
Bieksa was called for roughing. Despite the Fal-
cons being down a man in the third period, they
had the best chance when defenseman Brian
Escobedo had a breakaway on Ferris State goalie
Matt Swanson - regular starter Mike Brown
was rested for the playoffs. Escobedo was
stopped by the leg pads of Swanson, who record-
ed 33 saves on the night.
But where Bowling Green didn't capitalize,
the Bulldogs did. At 8:40 in the third period, Fer-
ris State forward Derek Nesbitt recorded a short-
handed tally when he skated in from the left side
and wristed the puck over the glove of Bowling
Green senior Tyler Masters.
Less than two minutes later, the Falcons' prob-
lems multiplied when Steve Brudzewski jacked
the Bulldogs' Matt York in the face. While
Brudzewski used his glove to inflict the punish-
ment, the referee saw the injured York on the ice
and called a five-minute high sticking major. One
minute after that, Bowling Green's Jon Sitko was
called for slashing. But Bowling Green seemed,
to turn it on, instead of backpedalling.
"I thought it was very aggressive throughout
the whole zone," Paluch said. "We extended 200
feet pretty well, and probably the most important
thing tonight: We were able to stay up and not let
(Chris) Kunitz, Nesbitt and (Jeff) Legue gain a
line on us on the powerplay."
The Bulldogs did add one even-strengthed
goal with just 2:10 left. Kunitz drew two defend-
ers on a breakaway and then found a wide open
Nesbitt for a goal. After that, all hell broke
loose, as Kunitz was called for slashing at the
same time as the goal and had sent to the locker-
room with a 10-minute misconduct. It was an
interesting call that Kunitz, a Hobey Baker can-
didate, played in an essentially meaningless
game while Brown sat out to rest.
"(Kunitz) wants to play, and he wouldn't have
been happy about that at all," Daniels said. "Ht's
a player who wants to play, and I would have lost
more than I would have gained by sitting him."
At the 18:40 mark, that Bowling Green power-
play was negated when alternate captain Tyler
Knight was called for tripping. But the Falcons
regained the man advantage when York was
called for slashing. With a pulled goalie and a
two-man advantage, Bieksa scored from the
point for Bowling Green with just 16 seconds
remaining. Though the Falcons had the puck in
the Bulldogs zone for the remainder of the game,
they could not manage a shot for the equalizer.
Though the win was a positive, it was a
reminder to Daniels that March hockey brings
out the best in everyone.
"I gotta tell you, I wouldn't want to face
Bowling Green, and I don't really want to face
Lake State (the Bulldogs' opponent next week)
and I'd just assume get a bye right to the Joe -
but that's not going to happen," Daniels said.
"You always say, 'Well, jeez, we'd like to play
them or we'd like to play them.' The truth is I'd
rather have the free pass."
Daniels used the example of how Hockey
East's third-place team, Maine, had a good sea-
son, but still fell victim to being swept by sixth-
place Massachusetts.
"That could very well happen to us, so it's
hard to enjoy (the CCHA title) until after the
season," Daniels said.
60
0
CCHA LEADERS
Through March 9-- League games only
Player G A P
1. Chris Kunitz, FSU 24 27 51
2. R.J. Umberger, OSU 15 23 38
3. Brad Fast, MSU 10 27 37
4. John-Michael' les, MSU 14 22 36
I
:cw
Jiree stars of the weekend
1
Eric Nystrom
o-s---"--d
9
Andrew Ebbett
Freshman/forward
r
t
Brandon Rogers
Sophomore/defenseman
0
I koJIJI&JIItmft5IijI Wt$IUA