4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 13, 2003
Chatting into the boards
Nothing.
- That's what the Michigan players had to say after
Saturday night's disappointing loss. None were
available for comment after the Broncos beat them 4-3.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Q0 Western Michigan 3
Michigan 10
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3
VZ Western Michigan 4
Key play
Saturday, 8:35 into the 3rd
- With the Wolverines up by two, Western
Michigan forward Vince Bellissimo shot
the puck from the blueline. The spin
caused it to drop right before it reached Al
Montoya, and it.went into the net.
0
T
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michgan 10, Westem Michigan 3
W.Michigan 0 2 1 - 2
Michigan 7 1 2 - 10
Firt period -1, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer 5 (Brandon
Rogers, John Shouneya) 0:52; 2, MICH, David Moss
7 (unassisted) 1:20; 3, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer 6 (unas-
sisted) 4:05; 4, MICH, Brandon Kaleniecki 10
(Andrew Ebbett, Brandon Rogers) 6:26 (pp); 5, MICH,
Nick Martens 2 (Brandon Kaleniecki, Andrew Ebbett)
12:22 (pp); 6, MICH, Milan Gajic 5 (Jeff Tambellini,
Jason Ryznar) 16:28 (pp); 7, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer 7
(John Shouneyia, Jeff Tambellini) 18:39. Penaltes -
Mat Pont, WMU (interference) 5:26; Brent Rumble,
WMU (checking from behind) 11:28; Dave Cousineau,
WMU (tripping) 14:44.
Second period -1, WMU, Jeff Campbell 8(Pat
Dwyer, Mike Jarmuth) 1:58 (sh); 2, WMU, Jeff
Campbell 9 (Brent Rumble) 7:02 8, MICH, Jed Ort-
meyer 8 (John Shouneyia, Jeff Tambellini) 14:03.
Penalties - Brian Pasko, WMU (checking from
behind) :32; TEAM, MICH (delaying the game) 4:43;
Jeff Tambellini, MICH (elbowing) 11:18.
Third period - 3, WMU, Dave Cousineau 4 (Shaun
Rose, Ben Gagnon) 0:29; 9, MICH, Andrew Ebbett 6
(Brandon Rogers, Mark Mink) 6:05 (pp); 10, MICH,
Eric Nystrom 6 (Dwight Helminen, Michael Woodford)
12:14. Penalties - Dave Cousineau, WMU (obstruc-
tion-holding) 4:37; Jason Ryznar, MICH (roughing
after the whistle) 5:15; Brian Pasko, WMU (roughing
after the whistle) 5:15; Milan Gajic, MICH (roughing
after the whistle) 5:15; Vince Bellissimo, WMU
(roughing after the whistle) 5:15; Michael Woodford,
MICH (roughing) 6:56; Dave Cousineau, WMU
(roughing) 6:56; Eric Nystrom, MICH (roughing)
6:56; Brent Rumble. WMU (hit after whistle) 6:56;
Dave Cousineau, WMU (cross-checking) 6:56; Lucas
Drake, WMU (hit after whistle) 12:52; Mark Mink,
MICH (hit after whistle) 12:52; Brian Pasko, WMU
hit after whistle) 12:52; Dwight Helminen, MICH hit
after whistle) 12:52; Brian Pasko, WMU (10-minute
misconduct) 12:52; Dwight Helminen, MICH (10-
minute misconduct) 12:52; Vince Bellissimo, WMU
(slashing) 14:52; Andrew Ebbett, MICH (cross-
checking) 17:43.
Shots on goal: WMU 5-7-8 20; MICH 18-10-1240.
Power plays: WMU 0 of 3; MICH 4 of 7. Saves -
WMU, Mike Mantua (5-8-0) --3, Scott Foster -
27; Mich, Noah Ruden -8, Al Montoya 15-5-1 - 9.
Referee: Mark Wilkins.
At: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor. Attendance: 6,917.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Westem Michigan 4, Michigan 3
Michigan 0 2 1 - 3
W.Michigan 1 0 3 - 4
First period -1, WMU, Jeff Campbell 10 (Brent Wal-
ton, Andy Townsend) 13:53. Penalties - Mike Jar
muth, WMU (boarding) 0:54; Brandon Rogers, MICH
(high sticking) 19:20.
Second period -1, MICH, Michael Woodford 3
(John Shouneyia) 1:28; 2, MICH, Andrew Ebbett 7
(David Moss) 11:25. Penalties - Reilly Olson. MICH
(oil 2:09; Dave Cousineau WMU (tripping) 2:34;
Trevor Cook, WMU (high sticking) 6:39; Mike Man-
tua, WMU (slashing) 9:08.
Third period - 3, MICH, Brandon Rogers 4 (John
Shouneyia, Dwight Helminen) 3:02 (pp); 2, WMU
Vince Bellissimo 8 (Dana Lattery, Mike Jarmuth)
8:35; 3, WMU, Vince Bellissimo,9(Jeremy Cheyne,
Josh Akright)12:12; 4, WMU, Dana Lattery 10
(Brent Walton) 16:07. Penalties - Lucas Drake,
WMU (charging) 2:11: Jed Ortmeyer, MICH (rough-
ing) 13:08; Jed Ortmeyer MICH (roughing) 13:08;
Andy Townsend, WMU (holding) 13:08.
Shots on goal: MICH &14-7 29; MIA 3-5-17 25. Power
plays: MICH 1 of 5; WMU of 3. Saves- MICH, Mon-
toya (156-1) - 21; MIA, Mantua (6-&0) -26.
Referee: Matt Shegos.
At: Lawon Arena, Kalamazoo. Attendance: 4,575.
HOW THEY FARED
No.1 North Dakota (18-1-3) def.
Minnestoa 4-2, lost to Minnesota 6-3.
No. 2 Colorado College (16-2-4) did not
play.
No. 3 Maine (16-2-2) def. Northeastern
7-1, def. Northeastern 3-1.
No. 4 Cornell (12-3-0) did not play.
No. 5 New Hampshire (134-2) def. Provi-
dence 6-3.
No. 6 Denver (14-5-3) lost to St. Cloud
State 5-4.
No. 7 Minnesota (11-5.5) lost to North
Dakota 42, def. North Dakota 6-3.
No. 8 Mchigan (14-61) def. Western
Michigan 10-3, lost to Western Michigan
4-3.
No. 9 Ohio State (1442) did not play
No. 10 Boston College (105.3) def.
Mass.Lowell 6-3, def. Mass.Lowell 7-1.
No.11Boston University (13-6-2) did
not play.
No. 12 Ferris State (15.50) def. Notre
Dame 6-3, tied Notre Dame 4-4.
No. 13 Harvard (11-5-1)def. Yale 6-2,
lost to Princeton 2-1.
No. 14 Dartmouth (940) lost to Clark-
son 75, lost to St. Lawrence 7-3
No.15 Massachusetts (12.7-1) def. Mer-
rimack 4-3, lost to Merrimack 4-3.
CCHA ROUNDUP
Friday's games:
MICHIGAN STATE 5, Alaska-Fairbanks 2
Mil~* 10, Western Michgn 3
FERRIS STATE 6, Notre Dame 3
MIAMI 3, Nebraska-Omaha 0
BoWUNG GREEN 3, Northern Michigan 2
LAKE SUPERIOR 2, CaniSiuS 2
Saturday'sga es:
Notre Dame 4, FERRIS STATE 4
WESTENMien iw4, Michlgwn3
Nebraska-Omaha 2, MIAMI 0
BOWUNG GREEN 5, Northern Michigan 3
MICHIGAN STATE 6, Alaska-Fairbanks 3
LAKE SUPERIOR 4, Canisus 4
CCHA STANDINGS
lCers' third-period lapse
is nothing new this year
By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer i
1
KALAMAZOO -The Michigan hockey u
players hung their heads as they left the ice Sat- a
urday. Just outside the lockerroom, coach Red v
Berenson talked about several third-period t
defensive lapses that had cost his team a win. a
It's a conversation that's been replayed a number t
of times this season.
In five of the Wolverines' six losses this year, t
they have been tied or held a lead entering the a
third period. Twice, including Saturday night's
4-3 stunner, they have seen a two-goal lead a
evaporate late in the game.
In the second game against Western Michigan t
this weekend, Michigan held a 3-1 lead with t
16:58 remaining. But after a pair of goals by
Vince Bellissimo and a scrappy tally in front of o
the net by Broncos captain Dana Lattery, the E
Wolverines were left with a frustratingly famil- 1
iar taste in their mouths. i
"We had chances to really take them out of t
the game and we really didn't convert," Beren- a
son said. "Sooner or later, the home team is
going to get going, you just hope time runs out t
before they do." 1
All Michigan players were unavailable for 2
comment after the game.
ROCKY
Continued from Page 1B
hits and slammed themselves into the boards and
even when they did make contact, the Wolverines
weren't falling. One could almost hear Paulie
screaming, "Michigan's not getting killed,
they're getting mad!"
And as Michigan's passing, bulls-eye shooting
and two goals became blows to the bodies of the
Broncos, Western Michigan students - who had
been filling Lawson Ice Arena with deafening
sounds from ThunderStix just a period earlier -
were left stunned to see that their "BlackOut"
wasn't doing the trick.
In the third round, Michigan seemingly land-
ed the knockout punch when defenseman Bran-
don Rogers scored his fourth goal of the season
to put the Wolverines up 3-1 with less than 17
minutes to go.
Adrian was jumping for joy.
But then, as the Broncos were stumbling
around, looking for a soft place to land, they did
the unthinkable and landed an uppercut to Michi-
gan's jaw with a Vince Bellissimo goal from
behind the blueline. For how slowly the puck
While it was a disappointing loss for the Wolver-
nes, it was not the fastest they have seen a sizeable
ead disappear this season. In just their second reg-
ular-season contest of the year, the Wolverines held
two-goal lead against then-No. 13 North Dakota
with 4:58 remaining. But the Fighting Sioux scored
wice in the last few minutes of regulation and
added a backhander past Michigan goalie Al Mon-
oya in overtime to win it.
Freshman Jeff Tambellini said after that game
hat the Wolverines had become overconfident
nd had lost focus in the defensive zone.
Sophomore Milan Gajic made a similar
assessment after three third-period goals by
Notre Dame buried Michigan Nov. 23. He said
hat the Wolverines had been unable to match
he Fighting Irish's intensity in the loss.
Against Boston University in the champi-
onship game of the Great Lakes Invitational
Dec. 29, the Wolverines had suffered another
apse. Sophomore David Moss put the Wolver-
nes ahead 3-2 at 1:24 of the final stanza. But
he Terriers scored three times down the stretch
nd won the tournament.
Even in their win last Saturday over Miami,
he Wolverines had trouble protecting the lead.
Two goals in the second period gave Michigan a
2-1 edge heading into the third. But Miami's
Matt Medvecz corralled a loose puck at center
traveled, one would have never thought the
would mount to any damage. But it hit hard
woke up the thunder in black shirts.
The silence that once cheered for Michi
was now beginning to fade. And when Wesi
Michigan evened the score at 12:12 of the p
od, Rocky was officially cut.
"We kept hitting them, kept doing what
making us successful," Cousineau said. "Thi
to-one? You know we're not by any means ou
the game. It was wild. You could feel
momentum shift: A couple big hits, that ct
goal and the students were just going craz
think Michigan sat back on their heels a
which a team of that quality can't do because
can pound goals just as well."
Then, like against Boston University,
Northern Michigan, the Wolverines buc<
under the pressure of a momentum-driven op
nent and were T.K.O.'ed before the final g
rang the victory bell.
The Wolverines now find themselves at a tur
point in the season. They have two sequels left
the remaining regular season and the CCHA F
offs. The sixth movie - the NCAA Tournamer
is either there for them to make or not.
*I
Alternate captain John Shouneyla fires a shot on Western Michigan's backup goalie, Scott Foster. Michigan
led 3-I in the third period Saturday before the Broncos scored three unanswered goals to win 4-3.
ice and wristed it past Montoya on a partial
breakaway to force overtime. Tambellini saved
the weekend with a slapshot from the blueline
for a 3-2 win.
"I think we held back in the offensive zone,"
Tambellini said after that game. "After losing
the game to BU, I think we're a little tentative
with the lead. And I think, next game we got to
make sure we put a little more pressure on them
and not just being happy with a one-goal lead,
and try to give it to them a little more."
But Saturday night, Berenson had a different
view of the team's third-period struggles.
"This is about playing better defensively. This
isn't about how many goals we score," Berenson
said. "We had a lead, we had enough goals, and
then we give up three goals. There's no way.
Can't happen."
Terrible threes
Saturday was not the first time this season that the
Wolverines have lost a game in the third period.
Here are a few of the most eye-popping losses.
The meltdowns
North Dakota
On Oct. 12, the Wolverines led 4-2 with with under five
minutes left in the game, but lost 5-4 in OT.
Boston University
Michigan made it 3-2 at 1:24 of the third on Dec. 29, but
Boston answered with three straight goals and won 5-4.
Western Michigan
A 3-1aWolverine lead evaporated in the final 12 minutes
on Saturday night and the Broncos triumphed 4-3.
A medium between the perfection of Friday
night's seven-goal first period and Saturday
night's third-period collapse must be found. That
middle ground is the type of play that may not
produce seven-goal wins every night, but will be,
enough to get Michigan into the starting blocks
for a serious run at a title.
But until consistency is achieved, "Rocky VI"
will never leave the studio lot.
Captains sharp for
M'in blowout win
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Writer
KALAMAZOO - Before Vince
Bellissimo knuckled the puck past
Al Montoya to begin a 12-minute
stretch in which Western Michigan
scored three
goals to defeat HOCKEY
the Wolverines, Notebook
it was looking _______
like a dream
weekend for Michigan's two star
seniors, Jed Ortmeyer and John
Shouneyia.
Their moments in the spotlight
gave a glimpse of what the Wolver-
ines are capable of doing on offense.
The first period of Friday night's
game had an offensive outburst like
nothing the Wolverines have seen
this season. As Michigan scored
seven early goals, Ortmeyer knotted
a hat trick with Shouneyia setting
him up on two of them.
In the second period, Ortmeyer's
fourth goal was also set up by
Shouneyia. The senior alternate
captain had three assists in the
game and five for the weekend.
Prior to Friday, Shouneyia had just
eight assists in 14 games.
"There have been other nights
where we've had more shots and
more chances, but the puck didn't
go in," Berenson said Friday night,
when the mood of the Michigan
program was still jubilant after
downing the Broncos.
The scoring blitz began in the
game's first minute, when
Shouneyia passed the puck from
behind the net to Ortmeyer, who
put it in above Western Michigan
goalie Mike Mantua. Then, minutes
later, Ortmeyer appeared to have
found Shouneyia in front of the net
as Mantua cheated over to the near
side. Shouneyia was credited for
the goal, but it was announced to
the crowd during the third period
that Shouneyia actually did not
touch the puck and the goal was
credited to Ortmeyer.
"Johnny and I talked about it and
he said that if I didn't get another
one, he would get it," Ortmeyer
said. "But I guess they reviewed it."
Shouneyia fed Ortmeyer on the
break for his third in the final two
minutes of the first period and fed
Ortmeyer again late in the second
period. Ortmeyer slipped the puck
under Western Michigan backup
goalie Scott Foster before jumping
over him into the net.
While Ortmeyer doubled his season
goal total in one evening, he attrib-
uted much of his success to how
Shouneyia was able to set him up.
"I didn't have to do a lot on any
of my goals," Ortmeyer said.
"(Shouneyia) made great plays, had
defensemen hanging off of him and
I just had to tap them in."
HOUSE OF HORRORS: With thou-
sands of crazy students wearing
black shirts, fans standing three or
four deep throughout the concours-
es and thousands of ThunderStix, it
was hard to tell which school was
known for a great hockey atmos-
phere on Saturday.
The home of the Broncos, Law-
son Arena, was rocking. The
Wolverines attracted Western
BRONCOS
Continued from Page 1B
Bellissimo struck again less than
four minutes after his flukey goal.
This time it was with a wrister from
the right faceoff circle, which put the
Wolverines on their heels for the final
eight minutes and sent the standing-
room-only crowd into a frenzy.
Montoya responded, snagging sev-
eral shots with his glovehand while
the Wolverines killed a Jed Ortmeyer
four-minute penalty. But the Bron-
cos' unrelenting pressure was too
much for the freshman, who was left
helpless when Michigan and West-
ern Michigan players crashed the left
side of the net with just under four
minutes left. Dana Lattery found the
puck near the crease and flipped it
into the wide-open right side for the
game-winner.
Western Michigan came out with
fire in the first period, looking like
a different team than the one that
Michigan had outscored 7-0 in the
first period the night before. The
Broncos took the lead at 13:53
when Jeff Campbell rifled in a shot
from the slot for his third tally of
the weekend.
The momentum swung Michi-
gan's way in the opening minutes of
the second period, when Michael
Woodford took a pretty feed from
John Shouneyia and beat Western
Michigan's Mike Mantua glove-
side. Falling down near the right
circle at 11:25, freshman Andrew
Ebbett put Michigan ahead 2-1.
The Wolverines looked like they
would leave Lawson Arena with the
sweep after Brandon Rogers gave
them a two-goal cushion early in
the third period. But it was all
Broncos from there.
"We started to play well in the
third period, and' it looked like the
game was not going to change, but
it did," Berenson said. "And when it
changed, it went completely the
other way. It was a battle in here,
and we just didn't finish the battle."
Montoya may be battling demons
after allowing three goals in the third.
"It's a challenge for him," Beren-
son said. "You can't blame the game
on him because he does more good
things than bad obviously, but (Bel-
lissimo's first marker) was a bad
goal. He's not the only goalie who's
going to be victimized by that, but
it's how you bounce back from that.
Bounce back, put it out of your
mind, it's done, and move on."
But Montoya and the Wolverines
will have to wait to rebound from the
stunning loss. Because of its required
bye week, Michigan won't see game
action again until a week from
Thursday at Lake Superior State.
If Montoya has nightmares about
his Osgood-esque mishap during all
of that free time, he can remember
that Osgood went on to win the
Stanley Cup two weeks after his
breakdown.
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan captain Jed Ortmeyer celebrates with freshman Jeff Tambellini after
Ortmeyer scored his fourth goal in Friday's 10-3 win over Western Michigan.
Michigan's first sellout crowd of
the season. Saturday was the first
time Lawson was sold out since the
last time Michigan visited there -
when the Wolverines won the
CCHA regular season title by
defeating the Broncos on Mar. 2,
2002.
The crowd of 4,575 - Lawson
has a listed capacity of 3,667 -
was only reached twice last season
- the other time being when the
Broncos played Michigan State.
From the opening draw, the Bron-
cos' fans, most of which were
wearing black, were crashing their
ThunderStix, which were given out
to everyone at the door as they
walked in. The invention that
became famous during the baseball
playoffs created one of the most
hostile atmospheres the Wolverines
have played in this season.
"You get those 1,500, 1,600 kids
ranting and raving with the Thun-
derStix, and it gets us going with a
shot of adrenaline that we needed,"
Western Michigan coach Jim Cul-
hane said. "To tell you the truth,
you know, that's the extra player on
our team right now."
Michigan is 1-1-3 in its last five
games at Lawson Arena.
Michigan players were unavail-
able for comment following Satur-
day's game.
Team
Ferris State 7
Ohio State
Michigan
Miami
Northern Michigan
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Western Michigan
Nebraska-Omaha
Aask a-Fairbanks
Bowling Green
Lake Superior
W
1
CCHA
NL
1 2
3 2
9 4
3 6
3 6
7 8
7 6
' 7
69
5 8
3 10
1 13
T Pts
1 23
1 19
1 19
2 18
0 16
1 15
0 14
0 14
1 13
3 13
2 8
0 2
Overall
W L T
16 5 1
15 4 2
15 6 1
14 8 2
10 9 1
9 9 4
11 9 1
9 12 1
8 11 3
5 13 2
4 15 3
Three stars of the weekend
CCHA LEADERS
Through Jan. 12 - League games only
Player G A P
A"
John Shouneyia
0
Jed Ortmeyer
02
Bra ndon Rogers
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