0
4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 31, 2003
Chatting into the boards
"We're all pretty excited. There's a lot
more emotion on the inside than there
is on the outside."
- Michigan coach Red Berenson, who
shed his poker face in favor of a smile and
a fistpump at the end of yesterday's game.
SATURDAY'S GAME
M Michigan 2
Maine 1
SUNDAY'S GAME
f Michigan 5
Colorado College 3
Key play
4:25 of the third period
- Michigan's Jason Ryznar beat Colorado
College goaltender Curtis McElhinney to
put Michigan up4-3.
"
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan 2, Maine:
Power
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Writer
out
Michigan
Maine
0 0 2 -
0 0 1 -
2
1
First period-- Penalties - Brandon Rogers, MICH
(obstruction-holding) 9:24; Prestin Ryan, MAINE
(checking from behind) 12:06. Second period -
Penaltles - Jed Ortmeyer, MICH (tripping) 8:12;
Travis Wight, MAINE (elbowing) 8:12; Prestin
Ryan, MAINE (cross-checking) 13:11; Brandon
Rogers, MICH (holding) 17:31. Third period -1,
MICH, Eric Nystrom 14 (Michael Woodford) 6:47;
2, MAINE, Colin Shields 14 (Martin Kariya, Lucas
Lawson) 18:29 (pp); 3, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer 17
(Jeff Tambellini, Eric Nystrom) 18:29 (pp). Penal-
ties - Brandon Rogers, MICH (tripping) 4:44;
Danny Richmond, MICH (obstruction-holding)
13:09; Travis Wight, MAINE (holding) 17:58;
Prestin Ryan, MAINE (cross-checking) 18:29; John
Shouneyia, MICH (cross-checking) 18:29.. Shots on
Goal: OSU 7-10-14 31; MICH 7-7-10 24. Power plays:
MICH 1lof 3; MAINE 0 of 4. Penalties: MICH 6(12
min); MAINE 5)(10 min) Saves- MICH, Al Mon-
toya (29-9-3-34; MAINE, Frank Doyle (10-4-5) -
25. Referee: Derek Shepherd. At:Yost Ice Arena,
Ann Arbor. Attendance: 6,798.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 5, Colorado College 3
x. What was once a cannon turned
into a broken pistol.
The Colorado College powerplay
started the game as a well-oiled
machine, scoring with the greatest
of ease on its first two shots on the
powerplay. The nation's best extra
man unit went to work during its
first opportunity, scoring 16 sec-
onds after Jed Ortmeyer received
an interference penalty. After win-
ning the faceoff, forward Noah
Clarke sent the puck from the point
to Peter Sejna, who found Brett
Sterling right in front of the net to
easily deflect the puck in to the
right side past goalie Al Montoya.
Just over two minutes later, Eric
Nystrom was called for checking
from behind, and Sejna tipped in a
pass from Clarke just over a minute
into a four-on-three. Montoya had
no chance of making a stop on
either of the two goals that made
the Michigan penalty kill look
nothing like the second-best unit in
the nation.
"They made it look easy," associ-
ate head coach Mel Pearson said.
"We were hoping we weren't going
to have to kill another one."
But the Tiger arsenal disappeared
in the second and third periods.
JASON COOPER/Daily While the Wolverines were finish-
Freshmen Andrew Ebbett (left), Brandon Kaleniecki (right) and sophomore Jason Ryznar ing off killing a Jeff Tambellini
celebrate Michigan's 5-3 win yesterday. cross-checking call transferred into
Mink breaks 30-game drought
"
age: Tigers
the start of the second period, Mark
Mink stole the puck from behind
the Tiger net and scored Michigan's
eighth short-handed goal of the
season.
. Colorado College would then fail
to get a shot off in its final three
powerplays. Michigan started to
anticipate the patterns of the Tiger
powerplay and put more pressure on.
"They knew where they were
going to move the puck before they
even got it," said defenseman Andy
Burnes, who was on the ice for
both Tiger powerplay goals. "In
order to combat that we had to
anticipate a little more. We had to
think a step ahead and know where
they were going. We really didn't
know what to expect."
After Mike Roemensky got an
obstruction-holding penalty at 5:11
of the second, the Wolverine penal-
ty kill cleared the puck four times
and never allowed the Tigers to get
any sort of offensive set going.
"They pressured us a little bit
better," Colorado College defense-
man Tom Pressing said. "They got
to us all over the ice. They didn't
just wait to get in to our zone. That
was definitely a factor at stopping
us near the end."
After Brandon Rogers was called
for hooking 3:31 into the third peri-
od, Colorado College was not even
able to get the puck into the Michi-
gan zone until Andrew Canzanello
was called for hooking 48 seconds
shut down
later. Then, in the final Tiger pow-
erplay after a Ortmeyer boarding
call, the puck spent the majority of
the two minutes in the Colorado
College end.
"It's easy to go out and make
adjustments, but you have to go out
and execute it on the ice," Pearson
said. "They did a fabulous job with
the adjustments."
Shutting down the Tiger power-
play effectively shut down the whole
offense. The only even strength Col-
orado College goal was off a Michi-
gan zone turnover, and the Tigers
had just five third period shots.
It was a hefty accomplishment for
the Wolverines to go up against a
unit that had scored on more than
30 percent of its powerplays going
into this weekend's regional. In Sat-
urday's opening round game against
Wayne State, Colorado College gen-
erated almost all of its scoring
chances on the powerplay and
scored three of its four goals on five
opportunities with an extra man.
The performance, will bode well
for the Wolverines' penalty kill as
it will go up against the nation's
fifth-best powerplay when they
play Minnesota - the Wolverines'
second-best penalty kill will be
tested once again in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Our penalty kill has been strong
all year," Burnes said. "We had a
couple breakdowns out there, but it
was just hard work is all it comes
down to."
Michigan
Ferris State
2
2
1
1
2
0
- 5
- 3
First period-1, MICH, Eric Nystrom 15 (Dwight
Helminen, Mark Mink) 2:22; 2, CC, Brett Sterling 26
(Peter Sejna, Noah Clarke) 8:10 (pp); 3, CC, Peter
Sejna 36 (Noah Clarke, Tom Preissing) 10:42 (pp); 4
MICH, Milan Gajic 11 (David Moss, Mike Roemen-
sky) 17:18. Penalties -Richard Petiot, CC
(obstruction-holding) 4:38; Tom Preissing, CC (cross-
checking) 5:54: Jed Ortmeyer, MICH (interference)
7:40; Brandon Kaleniecki, MICH (holding) 8:48; Joey
Crabb, CC (roughing) 8:48; Eric Nystrom, MICH
(checking from behind) 9:41; Scott Polaski, CC (trip-
ping) 13:56; Jeff Tambellini, MICH (cross-checking)
19:27. Second period -5, MICH, Mark Mink 6
(unassisted) 1:23 (sh); 6, CC, Brett Sterling 27
(Tyler Liebel) 11:57. Penalties - Joey Crabb, CC
(roughing) 2:14; Brandon Rogers, MICH (roughing)
2:14; Mike Roemensky, MICH (obstruction-holding)
5:11; Trevor Frischmon, CC (holding) 7:43; Joe
Cullen, CC (cross-checking) 9:48; Richard Petiot,
CC (obstruction-holding) 12:57. Third period - 7,
MICH, Jason Ryznar 7 (unassisted) 4:25; 8, MICH,
Mark Mink 7 (Eric Nystrom) 19:42 (empty net) (pp).
Penalties - Brandon Rogers, MICH (slashing) 3:31;
Andrew Canzanello, CC (hooking) 4:19; Jed Ortmey-
er, MICH (boarding) 10:08; Tyler Liebel, CC (hook-
ing) 17:47. Shots on Goal: MICH 11-13-832; CC8-11-5
24. Power plays: MICH 1 of 7; CC 2 of 6. Saves -
MICH, Al Montoya (3043) - 21; CC, Curtis McEl-
hinny (2565) -27. Referee: Dan Murphy. At: Yost
Ice Arena, Ann Arbor. Attendance: 6,781.
How THEY FARED
No. I Cornell (30-4-1) def. No. 11 Min-
nesota-State Mankato 5-2, def. No. 8
College 2-1.
No. 2 Colorado College (30-7-5) def.
Wayne State 4-2, lost to No. 7 Michi-
gan 5-3.
No. 3 New Hampshire (27-7.6) def. No.
15 St. Cloud State 5-2, def. No. 6
Boston University 3-0.
No. 4 Minnesota (26-8-9) def. Mercy-
hurst 9-2, def. No. 5 Ferris State 7-4.
No. 5 Ferris State (31-101) de. No. 12
North Dakota 5-2, lost to No. 4 Min-
nesota 7-4.
No. 6 Boston University (25-14-3) def.
No. 10 Harvard 6-4, lost to No. 3 New
Hampshire 3-0.
No. 7 Michigan (30-9-3) def. No. 9
Maine 2-1, def. No. 2 Colorado College
5-3.
No. 8 Boston College (24-114) def. No.
13 Ohio State 1-0, lost to No. 1 Cornell
2-1.
No. 9 Maine (24-10-5) lost to No. 7
Michigan 2-1.
No. 10 Harvard (22-10-2) lost to No. 6
Boston University 6-4.
No. 11 Minnesota-State Mankato (20-
11-10) lost to No. 1 Cornell 5-2.
No. 12 North Dakota (26-12-5) lost to
No. 5 Ferris State 5-2.
No. 13 Ohio State (25-13-5) lost to No.
8 Boston College 1-0.
No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth (22-16-5) did
not play.
No. 15 St. Cloud State (17-16-5) lost to
No. 3 New Hampshire 5-2.
NCAA ROUNDUP
Fra's ms:
Minnesota 9, Mercyhurst 2
New Hampshire 5, St. Cloud State 2
Boston University 6, Harvard 4
Ferris State 5, North Dakota 2
Saturday's games:
Cornell 5, MSU-Mankato 2
Boston College 1, Ohio State 0
New Hampshire 3, Boston University 0
Colorado College 4, Wayne State 2
Minnesota 7, Ferris State 4
Michiganu2, Maine1
Boston College 1, Cornell 2
Michigan 5, Colorado College 3
ALL-MIDWEST
REGIONAL TEAM
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Editor
Four months. Thirty games. Zero
goals.
To say Mark Mink was going
through a dry spell would be an under-
statement. After equaling his 2001-02
total of five goals in Michigan's first 11
games of this season, Mink hadn't
found the net since Nov. 22.
But he chose the perfect game to go
on a scoring binge. Mink tallied not
one, but two goals in the Wolverines'
5-3 victory over Colorado College in
the Midwest Regional Final yesterday.
Colorado College coach Scott
Owens called Mink's first goal a
"backbreaker." With the game tied 2-2
and Michigan killing a penalty in the
beginning of the second period, Mink
stole the puck behind the Tigers' net,
skated it out in front and jammed it
between the left goalpost and a scram-
bling Curtis McElhinney.
"I think any time you get a short-
handed goal it kind of knocks the
other team back, takes a little of their
momentum away," Michigan defense-
man Andy Burnes said. "It really
gives you the momentum, and it gives
you a lot of stuff to build on. So that
was definitely a big goal, not only for
Mark Mink, but for the team."
Mink threw his arms in the air in cel-
ebration after that goal, but he wasn't
done yet. As the final seconds of the
game ticked off, he skated the puck into
the Tigers' zone and flicked the puck
past a Colorado College defenseman
and into the empty net at 19:42. The
Wolverines on the ice mobbed Mink in
the corner after he scored.
"I barely got it through (the
defenseman) actually," Mink said of
his first career empty-net goal. "Time
was running out, and I've been wait-
ing four years to get that empty-netter.
I finally got it in my last game (at Yost
Ice Arena)."
The two-goal outburst gave Mink
seven goals to go along with his 13
assists this season.
But offensive production is not
what Mink, a scrappy two-way player,
focuses on.
"I was just trying to play hard every,
game and just try to lead the younger
guys in big games like this," Mink
said. "Work hard and good things are
going to happen no matter what."
Mink's teammates said his solid
play is often unnoticed, and they were
glad to see him receive some acco-
lades yesterday.
"What he does goes unrecognized,
but he is so effective," sophomore Eric
Nystrom said. "He works hard every
game, day in and day out and in prac-
tice. I think he was getting stoned a
little - he was snakebitten. And you
know what? It doesn't matter what
you do (in the regular season) because
this is the time of year when those
guys step up and score big goals."
"It's a storybook ending: In his last
game at Yost, he scores two goals and
sends us to the Frozen Four."
Storybook, sure. But it might not be
the ending for Mink. The Frozen Four
will be held in Buffalo's HSBC
Arena, where Michigan played in the
Xerox College Hockey Showcase in
October - and where Mink scored
two goals in two games.
POISE UNDER PRESSURE: Freshman
goaltender Al Montoya was named
the Midwest Regional's Most Out-
standing Player and was one of four
Wolverines on the All-Regional Team.
Montoya stopped 21 of Colorado Col-
lege's 24 shots, after denying all but
one of Maine's 35 shots Saturday.
"This is the time of year when you
can ride a goalie or the goalie can
lose it for you, and Monty has been
standing on his head, making huge
saves," Nystrom said of the 18-year
,ld netminder. "He should be in high
school, yet he has played so poised.
Even when he handles the puck, he's
really poised."
HOME, SWEET HOME: Michigan is
now 9-1 in NCAA Tournament games
at Yost and has advanced to the Frozen
Four every time it has hosted a region-
al. The home crowd easily drowned
out the Tigers fans yesterday, but Col-
orado College captain Tom Preissing
said it was not a big factor in the game.
"It affected us, but I don't think this
was the toughest place we've had to
play this year," Preissing said. "There
are other teams, like North Dakota or
Minnesota, that have as tough, if not
tougher, environments."
Nystrom was more impressed.
"You can't experience it unless
you're down there," Nystrom said. "It
was so loud, just adrenaline. And my
legs were shaking. I was standing on
the bench, and my legs were shaking
because the crowd was so loud. It was
unbelievable. Unfortunately, (the
Midwest Regional) can't be here
every year."
JASON COOPER/Daily
Michigan seniors Mike Roemensky, John Shouneyla and Jed Ortmeyer enjoy a curtain call
from the fans yesterday.
i
_ i
O'NEILL
Continued from Page 1.3
Bertin and runner Nate Brannen have
brought joy to the University with
individual national titles - a feat not
to be thought of lightly - with Ed
Martin's spirit still looming over the
basketball program, the surprising
and unfortunate "resignation" of Sue
Guevara and another season of
Pasadena-less football, there was not
much for those who reside between
Pierpont Commons and Crisler Arena
to be happy about.
That's why yesterday was needed.
Yesterday was needed so that Ort-
meyer, Shouneyia, Swistak, Mark Mink
and Mike Roemensky could leave no
doubt in anyone's mind that they were
still as good, if not better, than last
year's team with Cammalleri. Pictures
are worth a thousand words, and there
was no image more novel-esque than
watching Ortmeyer, Shouneyia and
Roemensky receive wave upon wave of
curtain calls from the stands.
"Our fans are arguably the best in
the country and to win our last game
at Yost is something special," Ort-
meyer said. "We didn't really want to
get off the ice. It's an amazing feel-
ing, and to have our fans celebrate
with us has been a great ride."
Yesterday was needed to free Gajic
from any failures he has had in the
past, as he scored an opportunistic
goal to tie Colorado College at two in
the second period. He said after the
game that even though he was two
feet away from the goal, when the
puck left his stick, it felt like "an
hour and a half" before it went in.
"When you're a team that doesn't
go through any hardships and you go
through the year nice and every-
thing's copasetic - and then some-
thing does happen, and you don't
know how to deal with it," Gajic said.
"With all our injuries and everything
else happening ... if something bad
happens, we're able to handle it
because we've been through it. It was
nice knowing that we could go
through all of that and still pull it
off."
Yesterday was needed to give the
defense an identity - other than the
one characterized by blowing third
period leads. There was hardly a hap-
pier man than Burnes after the game.
He and the rest of the defensemen
couldn't have played any tougher
down the stretch after giving up two
early, and somewhat easy, powerplay
goals. When a mistake was made,
Burnes was the one driving that mis-
take into the boards never to be seen
again. When a puck needed to be
cleared, it was players like Roemen-
sky - who had his problems against
Maine on Saturday doing so - mak-
ing sure that shorthanded opportuni-
ties were created, like the one Mink
took advantage of.
Most of all, the University lept up
into one collective cheer yesterday.
When the players mobbed each other
on the bench after Mink's empty-net-
ter, the fans were there with them.
"It was awesome, I just wanted to
get on the pile on the bench," sopho-
more Eric Nystrom said. "It's just the
best feeling ... I think I hurt (Bran-
don) Rogers after the goal was scored
- I came in and tackled him."
After that celebration and the game
was over, each Wolverine took turns
giving each other hugs. Mink hugged
Rogers, Nystrom and Richmond
embraced and the top line of Ortmey-
er, Shouneyia and Jeff Tambellini
mauled each other in celebration.
Michigan hockey became the Univer-
sity's best team yesterday and any
problem waiting to come down and
depress the Michigan athletic depart-
ment is now going to have to wait,
because this is a time to remember,
not to forget.
- Kyle is hoping Michigan's success
carries over to the Tigers of Detroit
today at 1:05 p.m. Please contact him
at kylero@umich.edu.
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan senior Mark Mink breaks toward the goal for his second tally of the day - an empty-netter. Yesterday was the first
time in 30 games Mink scored.
Mark Mink
Senior/forward
three stars of the weekend"
Al Montoya
Freshman/goaltender
'1
l)
Eric Nystrom
Sophomore/forward
A