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I
4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 2, 2002
Chatting into the boards
"It's unreal, especialiv when you're
winning.
- Michigan goalie Al Montova on playing on the large
stage of the College Hockey Showcase. The Wolverines
played in front of two crowds of 10,000-plis for the
first time this season.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan 4
Wisconsin 1
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3
Minnesota 1
Key play
Sunday, 6:12 left in 2nd
- With the score nodded at one and
Michigan struggling to find offense, Mike
Roemensky (right) found Dwight Helminen
for a 2-on-2 shorthanded goal.
I
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan 4, Wisconsin 1
Michigan 2 2 0 - 4
Wisconsin 1 0 0 - 1
First period - 1, WIS, Mark Jackson 4 (Jake Heisler,
John Eichelberger) 8:47; 1, MICH Eric Werner (sh) 4
{Dwight Helminen, Mark Mink) 11:11; 2, John
Shouneyia (pp) 4 (Milan Gajic, Eric Nystrom) 19:59.
Penalties - Mark Jackson, WIS (qq) 4:21; Jason Ryz-
nar, MICH (,tripping) 1Q:28; Brandon Kaleniecki, MICH
(boarding) 13:51; Brian Fahey, WIS (elbowing) 17:39;
Jon Krall, WIS (hit after whistle) 19:57.
Second period - 3, MICH, Jeff Tambelini 7 (Mark
Mink, Nick Martens) 4:54; 4, MICH, David Moss 4
(Jason Ryznar, Danny Richmond) 15:00. Penalties
- Michael Woodford, MICH (hooking) 2:34; Adam
Burish, WIS (slashing) 11:08; Adam Burish, WIS
(diving) 13:33; Nick Martens, MICH (hooking)
13:33; Nick Martens, MICH (hooking)~18:24; Mike
Roemensky, MICH (interference) 20:00.
Third period - None. Penalties - Dwight Helminen,
MICH (slashing) :49; John Shouneyia, MICH (hook-
ing) 4:29; A.J. Degenhardt, WIS (holding the stick)
6:34; Adam Burish, WIS (10-minute misconduct)
6:34: Brendon Kaleniecki, MICH (interference) 8:29;
A.J. Degenhardt, WIS (roughing) 11:23; Joe Kautz,
MICH (roughing) 11:23; Brandon Rogers, MICH
(slashingl 13:52; Ryan MaMurchy. WIS (roughing)
13:52; David Moss, MICH (checking from behind)
14:44; David Moss, MICH (game misconduct).
Shots on goal: MICH 12-4-4 20; WIS 7-7-6 20. Power
plays: MICH 1 of 5; WIS 0 of 9. Saves - MICH, Mon-
toya 10-2-1 -19; WIS, Bruckler 3-4-0-16.
Referee: Don Adam.
At: Kohl Center, Madison. Attendance: 11,362.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Michigan 3, Minnesota
Michigan 1 1 1 - 3
Minnesota 0 1 0 - 1
First period-- 1, MICH, Danny Richmond 2(Andrew
Ebbett, Michael Woodford) 6:33. Penalties - David
Moss, MICH (hooking) 2:10: Matt Koalska. MINN
(boarding) 5:30; Danny Richmond. MICH (roughing)
10:23; Thomas Vanek, MINN (roughing) 10:23.
Second period-2, MINN, Keith Ballard 3 (Thomas
Vanek) 3:39; 3, MICH, Dwight Helminen 6 (Mike
Roemensky) 6:12 (sh). Penalties - Brandon
Rogers, MICH (hooking) 4:26; Mark Mink, MICH
(unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:05; Dan Welch, MINN
(unsportsanlike conduct) 5:05; Nick Martens, MICH
(interference) 6:45; Eric Werner, MICH (interfer-
ence) 8:34.
Third period - 4, MICH Brandon Rogers 2 (empty
net), 19:10. Penalties - Chris Harrington, MINN
(interference) 1:49: Keith Ballard, MINN (roughing)
12:13; Joe Kautz, MICH (roughing) 12:13.
Shots on goal: MICH 10-716 33; MINN 12-16-11 39.
Power plays: MICH 1 of 2; MINN Dof 4. Saves - MICH.
Montoya 11-2-1- 38; MINN, Weber 4-3-2 - 30.
Referee: Jon Campion.
At: Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis. Attendance: 10,036.
HOW THEY FARED
No. 1 Boston College (9-1-1) did not play.
No. 2 North Dakota (121) tied M SU-
Mankato 6-6, def. MSU-Mankato 5-4.
No. 3 New Hampshire (9-2-2) def. Con-
necticut 3-1.
No. 4 Maine (9-1-1) did not play.
No. 5 Denver (12-22) def. Mercyhurst 5-
1, def. Air Force 7-0.
No. 6 Colorado Collge (111-2) def. Air
Force 7-0, de Mercy hurst 10-2.
No. 7 Cornell (7-1-0 def. Boston Universi-
ty 4-1, def. Boston University 5-1.
No. 8 Michigan (11-2-1) def. Wisconsin
4-1, def. Minnesota 3-1
No. 9 Minnesota (7-3-4) tied Michigan
State 5-5, lost to Michigan 3-1.
No. 10 Ferris State (11-3-) did not play.
No. 11 Boston University (64-2) lost to
Cornell 4-1, lost to Cornell 5-1.
No. 12 Miami (12-3-1) did not play
No. 13 Harvard 7-2-0) def. Union 7-4,
def. Rensselaer -1.
No. 14 Providence (9-5-1) lost to Clark-
son 4-0, def. St. Lawrence 4-2.
No. 15 Ohio State (8-4-1) did not play.
CCHA ROUNDUP
Friday's games:
ALAsKA-FAIRBANKs 4, Notre Dame 3
WESTERN MICHIGAN 4, Lake Superior 2
Merrimack 3, NEBRASKA OMAHA 3
Michigan 4,WIScoNSIN 2
MINNESOTA 5, Michigan State 5
Saturday's games:
ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 5, Notre Dame 4
WESTERN MICHIGAN 3, Lake SuperiorO
Michigan State 2, WISCoNSIN 1
NEBRASKA OMAHA 5, Merrimack 3
Yesterday's games:,
Michigan 3, MINNESOTA
CCHA STANDINGS
Montoya,
Helminen
lead special
teams for M'
By Bob Hunt
Daly Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS - In the third period of yes-
terday's game against Minnesota, the Golden
Gophers' fans were getting frustrated. As Michi-
gan freshman goaltender Al Montoya kept mak-
ing save after save, one disgruntled Minnesota
fan shouted out, "You suck Montoya' for all of
an unusually quiet Mariucci Arena to hear.
It was sign that the 17-year-old had made a
name for himself in his first College Hockey
Showcase.
"You must be doing something right if the
crowd knows your name," Montoya said.
This weekend against Minnesota and Wis-
consin, Montoya stopped 57-of-59 shots,
helping propel the Wolverines to two of their
biggest victories of the season. The freshman
helped the Wolverines' penalty-kill stop 13
extra-man opportunities on the weekend.
Since this was the first time Montoya had
played well in front of such large crowds, he Sophomore Dwig
was turning heads. a powerplay go
"Michigan, for whatever reason, they just strap have compiled
one goalie and ride him for four years and every- .951 this seaso
one is outstanding and great," Minnesota coach up a goal dowi
Don Lucia said. ing Green.
Yesterday when Michigan was unable to create The penalty-
any pressure on the Gophers - getting just one after the Wolv
shot on goal in the period's opening 15 minutes goals this weel
- Montoya made a number of key saves to help more goals on
maintain Michigan's one-goal lead. nents have ont
Because of Montoya's efforts and a stellar Werner scoreds
defense, the Wolverines now haven't given up pass on a 2-on-
1 Former
Courtesy of The Minnesota Daily
ht Helminen was an offensive force for Michigan's aggressive penalty kill this weekend. The Wolverines notched two shorthanded on the weekend.
oal in the last seven games and
d a penalty-kill percentage of
n. The last time Michigan gave
n a skater was Nov. 8 at Bowl-
kill unit has been so good that
erines scored two short-handed
kend-Michigan is now scoring
the penalty-kill than its oppo-
the powerplay. On Friday, Eric
shorthanded, when he received a
1 break from Dwight Helminen
after Helminen intercepted a pass on Michigan's
blueline.
Then, in the second period against Minnesota
yesterday, Mike Roemensky cleared the puck
out to Helminen, creating a 2-on-i break that
resulted in the game-winning goal while the
Wolverines were a man down. These opportuni-
ties have been a reoccurring theme for Michigan
this season.
"A lot times we catch a team not paying atten-
tion, and we force them the right way and then
they have no where to go," Helminen said. "We
just try to keep our sticks in the lanes, and as
long as we keep them off balance we have a good
chance at killing penalties."
The Wolverines have now scored six short-
handed goals while giving up just four powerplay
goals. Montoya feels that if Michigan could
transfer the intensity the team has on the penalty
kill to other aspects of the game, the possibilities
for this year's Wolverines are endless.
"I think if we played with that kind of despera-
tion the whole game, we would be unstoppable,"
Montoya said.
*
Steel workers meet on opposite sides
By Courtney Lewis
Daily Sports Writer
MADISON - Like he had done so many times
before, defenseman Danny Richmond grabbed the
puck and sped up the ice with fellow defenseman Tom
Gilbert. But this time was a little different.
The former Chicago Steel teammates, both offen-
sive-minded blueliners, now play for Michigan and
Wisconsin, respectively. And on this rush the Wolver-
ine brought the puck into the zone one-on-one against
the Badger.
Richmond didn't score on the play, but he came out
on top in the end, as Michigan beat Wisconsin 4-1.
Both players said the game was a little strange
because they were so close last year as a potent defen-
sive pairing for Chicago's United States Hockey
League team. -
"I roomed with him on the road every night, and
I played with him every game last year," Richmond
said. "I went to Canada for a week and lived with
him up there. I played with him at the All-Star
game. So I played with him all year. It was pretty
weird playing against him."
The pair had looked forward to the game since last
year, and met up briefly during warm-ups.
"I just saw him and smiled," Gilbert said. "And we
just started teasing each other a little on the red line."
After that, they concentrated on their own teams,
but Richmond said that Gilbert "did stick out as one
of their better players."
Richmond and Gilbert both stood out for Chica-
go last year. Richmond led all USHL defensemen
in scoring with nine goals and 45 assists in 56
games, and Gilbert netted the most goals (13)
among blueliners.
And they didn't get those numbers by hanging back
in their own zone.
"Often times there would be a two-on-three and me
and him would be the two guys carrying the puck,"
Richmond said with a laugh. "So offensively we were
real good last year. Defensively we had our problems,
but we worked at it and we got better towards the end
of the year."
Both players are finding that they don't have quite
as much offensive freedom at the collegiate level.
"The coaches were telling me that before the season
started and I was like 'Yeah, okay,"' Richmond said.
"But you can't really tell until you get in the game.
You jump in a play and you're like, what am I'm
doing up here?"
While they focus on defense more this year, both
players still welcome the chance to join the rush and
have made an impact on the scoreboard.
Gilbert is tied as Wisconsin's leading scorer with 11
points (two goals and nine assists) and Richmond's
totals aren't far behind his old teammate's - nine
points on two goals and seven assists.
One of those assists came on David Moss's goal in
the second period Friday, and Gilbert expected Rich-
mond to "maybe brag a little" about that and Michi-
gan's victory. But Richmond said he would take it
easy on his friend.
"That stuff comes back to haunt you so you kind of
be happy with the win, but don't rub it in anyone's
face," Richmond said.
6 '
AP PHOTO
Michigan freshman Danny Richmond was reunited with his
former teammate, Wisconsin's Tom Gilbert, on Friday night.
Ten years and counting
College Hockey Showcase still running strong as more than 40,000 attend weekend events in Madison and Minneapolis
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS - Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota
and Wisconsin have a lot of hockey history together. The
schools have combined for 20 of 55 NCAA national champi-
onships, rank in the top seven for all-time wins and have rival-
ries in every other sport.
But 10 years ago, the multi-team rivalry was dying.
When Michigan and Michigan State left the WCHA to join
the more geographically compact CCHA in 1981, they left
decades of tradition in the process. Before Michigan left the
WCHA, the Wolverines had battled the Gophers multiple
times annually since 1923, but from '81-'91 they played them
just four times. Michigan had played Wisconsin annually since
it joined the WCHA in 1969, but played the Badgers just
twice.
Then in the early 1990s four coaches - Red Berenson of
Michigan, Ron Mason of Michigan State, Jeff Sauer of Wis-
consin and Doug Woog of Minnesota - got together to rekin-
dle the rivalries that used to be so prevalent in college hockey.
The four coaches developed the College Hockey Showcase,
an event that would take place every year during Thanksgiving
weekend to give these major programs an opportunity to play
each other every year. There would be no winner, all tourna-
ment team or MVP - just four schools showcasing the sport.
"It made sense at the time that the Big Ten schools should
compete, particularly with longtime rivals such as Minnesota
and Wisconsin," Berenson said. "It just made sense that we
should get them on our schedule and visa-versa."
Michigan hosted the first showcase in 1993 at the Palace of
Auburn Hills.
Since it was the first time the CCHA battled the WCHA in
such a high-profile event outside of the NCAA Tournament,
league pride was on the line. When Michigan beat Wisconsin
and Michigan State beat Minnesota the first night, everyone
was confident that the CCHA was better than the WCHA.
But the next night those questions were silenced when Min-
nesota beat Michigan and Wisconsin beat Michigan State.
For the next three years the schools rotated hosting the
venue in Milwaukee, St. Paul and in Detroit at the Joe Louis
Arena. But the coaches got together again and decided that a
neutral site was not where the tournament belonged; instead, it
belonged at the schools themselves.
"There are rinks and cities dying to bring in schools like
this for a tournament," Berenson said. "We think we could
bring this show to various venues around the country and it
would be successful. But that doesn't help the fans in Michi-
gan and in Minnesota. (On campus) is where it really
belongs."
So in its 10th year, the College Hockey Showcase was as
prominent as ever. While Berenson is the only coach left from
the event's founding fathers, all the teams involved treat it as
an important part of their schedule even though it does not
count in any league standings.
"Any time you get to play the best teams in other confer-
ences you always get up for the games," said Michigan fresh-
man Jeff Tambellini after scoring a goal against Wisconsin
Friday night in his first College Hockey Showcase game.
"And I love coming to different places, especially in big are-
nas like this, where it feels like a show here. So it's pretty spe-
cial for all of us."
Events like this make Wolverine players wish that they got
more opportunities to play against the top opponents from
outside the CCHA.
"It's tough to gauge yourself against the whole country
when you're playing in one league," sophomore forward
Dwight Helminen said.
There has been some chatter around the CCHA of limiting
the league games from 28 to 24 as Hockey East and the East
Coast Athletic Conference have done, but some schools that
are more strapped financially are against it because of their
inability to get teams to play games in their own building.
"I'd love to go out and play Harvard and (Boston Universi-
ty) on a weekend and the next year go out and play (Boston
College) and New Hampshire," Michigan assistant coach Billy
Powers said. "I think that'd be good for everybody. I personal-
ly would like to have an opportunity to have, not a lot more,
but just a little more leeway in terms of scheduling. I like see-
ing the different areas and different teams and different
styles.'
Berenson has also talked with Boston University coach Jack
Parker and Boston College coach Jerry York about having an
event similar to the one this past weekend, but because of the
number of league games the schools play, it is almost impossi-
ble to find a weekend when four major conference schools are
available. For example, Michigan went to play Minnesota in
Minneapolis for a two-game series in 1985 thinking that the
Gophers would come back to Yost in the next year or two.
But Minnesota's return visit didn't come until 1991.
However, Minnesota and Michigan were back at it again in
yesterday's 4-1 Michigan win, keeping alive one of the biggest
old rivalries in college hockey. For Berenson, there was noth-
ing better than winning against two Big Ten opponents at this
point of the season.
"To be able to play well in this environment and find a way
to win to win the game is good for all our young players,"
Berenson said. "That's why I'm glad were playing 'these games
this time of year."
Team
Ferris State
Miami
Michigan
Northern Michigan
Western Michigan
Ohio State
r
Alaska-Fairbanks
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Nebraska Omaha
Bowling Green
Lake Superior
w
9
7
6
6
6
5
4
4
3
3
1
4
CCHA
V L
3 1
7 2
6 1
3 4
3 6
> 2
4 6
3 4t
3 5
1 7
) 10
T
0
1
1
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
Pts
18
15
13
12
12
11
8
8
6
6
3
0
Overall
W L T
11 3 0
12 3 1
11 2 1
7 5 1
7 7 1
8 4 1
5 7 1
5 7 2
3 8 1
3 11 0
CCHA LEADERS
Through Dec. 1- League games only
Player G A P
1 ris VInit7 FSH I 9Q13 22
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