The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 10, 2003 - 3B BULLDOGS Continued from Page 1B moved the puck from behind the Bull- dogs' net to the left faceoff circle and then out to Eric Werner at the point. The defenseman fired the puck to the top right corner past goaltender Mike Brown with 56 seconds left, tying the score at five. The Wolverines had all the momen- tum entering overtime, but a rare over- time penalty quickly shifted it Ferris State's way. Jason Dest's cross-checking call gave the Bulldogs the man advan- tage, and Brett Smith scored the win- ning goal from the right point at 2:52. Back at home Saturday, No. 4 Michigan (4-2 CCHA, 8-2 overall) never trailed and Montoya bounced back to stop 21-of-23 shots. In the first and second periods, Milan Gajic and Brandon Rogers scored power- play goals early in each respective period, only to see Ferris State bounce back later in the period with goals of its own. Ferris State's Carter Thomson com- mitted a penalty at 19:57 of the second period, and Michigan spent the inter- mission getting ready for its opportu- nity. When the Wolverines got back on ice, they moved the puck around to Jeff Tambellini at the right faceoff cir- cle. The sophomore forward fired a wrister into traffic, and it hit off Brown's leg pad through the five-hole into the net. All three of Michigan's goals Satur- day and six of eight for the weekend came off the powerplay. Michigan's powerplay success has been key to the team's success so far in the season. "Luckily, it's been clicking," Tam- bellini said. "We've got a lot of guys battling in front of that net. If the goalie can't see it, a lot of those pucks are going to go in." Michigan's defense was much Pankratz's 'master plan pays offforfield hockey JASON COOPER/Daily Michigan forward Milan Gajic slips down to the ice during Saturday night's 3-2 win over Ferris State. Gajic scored his second goal of the season in the first period. improved Saturday. Ferris State was left with far fewer chances and didn't have the same clear looks at the net they had Friday. "Our defensemen were more aware, and our weakside forwards were com- ing back and supporting them, where (Friday night) they were left alone," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. Ferris State (2-6, 3-7), last year's CCHA regular season champ, is slowly returning to form after its 8-0 loss at Michigan State on Halloween. The Bulldogs have lost two of three since then, but have shown Ferris State coach Bob Daniels they have a lot of bite left. "It didn't really matter who we were playing, we just needel to improve," Daniels said. "Our play was sub-par, and we had lost a lot of confidence. We always play pretty well against Michigan, but the reality is we need to do a little bit of soul- searching and find out if we're going to be a pretty good team or if we're just going to roll over." Michigan has the week to try and figure out what is plaguing the team on the road. The Wolverines hope that their search is fruitful, as they travel to face the CCHA's first-place team, No. 14 Ohio State (6-2, 7-4), this weekend. "We're not playing the kind of hock- ey we might have thought we were playing a week or two ago. We felt for- tunate to win this game," Berenson said. "I think there's a lot of soul- searching in this lockerroom. Guys know they really have to pick it up." Powerplay keeps M' alive with Burnes out J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH The SportsMonday Column t was the end of last week's "Terri- ble Tuesday" practice at Ocker Field, and the No. 5 Michigan field hockey team was exhausted. Coach Marcia Pankratz could hear her players collectively gasping for air, but she wasn't finished with them yet - there was a Big Ten Tournament championship and a national title on the line. Pankratz gathered the team around its penalty strokers, who have a job similar to penalty shooters in soccer. "If she misses, everybody runs except the shooter!" Pankratz yelled. Senior April Fronzoni missed. Everybody ran, and Fronzoni tried to follow her teammates out of the gate. "I was ready to go, but (Pankratz) was like, 'No, no,' " Fronzoni said. Fronzoni was forced to watch the others run because she didn't execute in a pressure-packed situation. "It's a team game," Pankratz explained. "If somebody misses class, the whole team goes to study hall. You keep each other accountable. In a match and in your program, you're accountable to something bigger than yourself. "I think that, especially for women, making everyone else run except you (because of your mistake) puts more pressure on you."~ Throughout every "Terrible Tues- day," the 39-year-old Pankratz drills these ideals into the girls' heads. "It's overtime! Everybody's tired! Execute when you're tired! Learn how to finish under pressure!" she yells incessantly. Watching a practice at Ocker Field - "terrible" or not - told me all I needed to know about why Pankratz's program is the only one in my four years at Michigan to win a team national championship. Pankratz, who took over the pro- gram in August of 1996, is a master motivator. By creating a close-knit family atmosphere, she develops a trusting relationship with the girls. She has admittedly high expectations for her players, and, in turn, the players expect the same from her. Pankratz relates her coaching philos- ophy to one of her favorite anecdotes: "There's a guy playing the piano, and a little boy looks at him and says, 'I'd give my life to play the piano like that.' And the guy is like, I did.' He gave his life to get there. These girls aren't champions and great students by snapping their fingers." Pankratz's teams at Michigan have been champions often. The Wolverines won the national title in 2001, the first women's team national title in Univer- sity history. They've won the Big Ten regular season title four times and the tournament title twice. Michigan had never even made the NCAA Tourna- ment before 1999. Since then, Pankratz has guided the Wolverines to four straight tournament bids (by all appearances, it will be five after tomorrow's NCAA Tournament selec- tion is completed). Pankratz was a star player at Iowa in the mid-'80s and a crucial member of the U.S. field hockey team from 1985- to-96. She knew her arrival in Ann Arbor would bring success to Michi- gan, which she previously considered a "diamond in the rough" in the sport. Without hesitation, Pankratz will tell you it was her "master plan" to turn Michigan into a national powerhouse in a few short years - even though recruiting was at a "complete stand- still" after the departure of coach Patti Smith after the 1995 season. Then living in Atlanta as a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Pankratz vividly remembers finding out the Michigan job was available. "When the job opened, I was in Aus- tralia, and (North Carolina coach) Karen (Shelton) called me and said, 'Your job opened,' " Pankratz recalled. "I knew it. I was going to get it, and we were going to be great." As much as the players deserve credit for how "great" they've become, even they see how Pankratz's personal- ity infuses itself into the way they per- form. "The name Marcia Pankratz goes along with Michigan and the mentality of the practices and games that we play," freshman Jill Civic said. "She feeds the energy into this team, and it's seen in our practices on a 'Terrible Tuesday.' The Wolverines' travel schedule for this past weekend's Big Ten Tourna- ment was posted on Pankratz's door Wednesday. One of yesterday's sched- uled events caught my eye. Sunday, 1p.m. - Win the Big Ten Tournament. It's that "get out of our way" mental- ity that has propelled Pankratz's pro- gram to the top of the Big Ten year in and year out. It's because of that men- tality that I was shocked to hear about the team's 1-0 overtime loss to No. 7 Penn State Friday in the Big Ten Tour- nament semifinal. Just three minutes into overtime, Penn State's Timarie Legel beat fresh- man goalie Beth Riley. Legel took advantage of a red card issued to Michigan defender Stephanie Johnson, which forced the top-seeded Wolver- ines to play one woman down for the final 24 minutes of the game. Only Pankratz knows what tomor- row's "Terrible Tuesday" will hold for the Wolverines, but if I had to bet, the Wolverines will hear something like this: "It's overtime! You're undermanned! Everybody's tired! Execute when you're tired! Learn how to finish under pressure!" J. Brady McCollough can be reached at bmdymcc@umich.edu. By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer The Michigan powerplay was called in for major duty this weekend in the Wolverines series against Ferris State, and it was up to the chal- lenge. Of the eight goals the Wolverines scored in the two games this weekend, five of them came when the team had a man advantage. ,- "The powerplay has been our O salvation, really," Michigan V0 coach Red Berenson said. "The" best part of our offense, maybe the only part of our offense, has been our power- play." The statistics back Berenson up. The Wolver- ines have scored 39 goals so far this season, with 19 of them coming on the powerplay. Overall the Wolverines are 16-for-67 when playing a man up. In addition, Michigan has netted at least one pow- erplay goal in every game this season, and Satur- day's three-powerplay-goal performance marks the third time that has happened this season. Michigan's ace powerplay line, which is made up of alternate captains Eric Nystrom and Bran- don Rogers, junior forward David Moss, sopho- more forward Jeff Tambellini, and freshman center T.J. Hensick, has also been a force. These players have accounted for 12 of the 19 power- play goals so far. BURNES GOES DOWN TO INJURY: Michigan will be missing one of its leaders next weekend when it faces Ohio State. Senior defender Andy Burnes separated his collarbone from his sternum during the last shift of Friday's 6-5 overtime loss against Ferris State. The ailment is somewhat rare, and it caused Berenson to say he's "never heard of that injury." Burnes, a Battle Creek native, has been a con- sistent starter throughout the season and will be missed. He has been one of Michigan's most solid defenders, both when the Wolverines are at even strength and when they are short-handed. In addition to his solid play, he has also been the leader of this year's team. "Obviously that's a big loss, losing a top defenseman and captain and leader on the team," Rogers said. The loss will probably mean more playing time for younger players. Michigan has three freshmen defenders this season in Matt Hunwick, Tim Cook and Jason Dest. Junior Nick Martens, who has played sporadically so far, should see extend- ed playing time. DOING OVERTIME: Michigan's overtime loss on Friday was its first extra-session game of the sea- son. Last year, the Wolverines competed in six overtime contests, going 1-2-3. Michigan's two losses last season came against national powers - North Dakota (in the College Hockey Showcase) and Minnesota. The Min- nesota game came in the Frozen Four semifinal 3-2 loss and marked the second time in a row that the Gophers ousted the Wolverines from the Frozen Four. Stickers bounced from BTT by Penn State By Waldemar Centeno Daily Sports Writer After sitting out five minutes of the game due to a yellow card, senior tri- captain Stephanie Johnson ran on to the field with fire in r1 her eyes. But her M____GAN ___ intensity got the best of her on Saturday as the fifth- ranked Wolverines were knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament 1-0 in overtime by No. 4-seed Penn State. "Without question it is a disappoint- ing loss" coach Marcia Pankratz said. "We did have our opportunities to score, but we had to handle a lot of adversity. I am just so proud of how our players handled that adversity. We played with confidence and a lot of poise, and we outplayed Penn State. But we have to be able to finish. It was just one of those games that it just didn't go our way." Top-seed Michigan was down a play- er for the final 24:19 of the game, as Johnson was given a red card for an aggressive tackle late in the second half. "The umpire called her for a hard tackle," Pankratz said. "He ejected her from the game for that hard tackle. The people that were watching the game can consider it a hard tackle or not. I think it was very unfortunate, and we just had to accept the umpire call and move on. We tried to do the best we can and those kind of things are just out of our control." Johnson was crowned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year this sea- son, so Michigan had a lot to overcome. "Stephanie played a great game," Pankratz said. "She had wonderful clean tackles all game, and she's an all- American defender. So for her to be taken off the field really hurts our team. That was just some adversity that our team had to overcome, and I think we did that." Despite convincingly beating the sev- enth-ranked Nittany Lions (3-3 Big Ten, 18-5 overall) a week ago to close out the regular season, the Wolverines' (5-1, 15-6) offense couldn't find a way to penetrate Penn State's defense. In this overtime matchup, Michigan outshot Penn State 18-7, including 9-2 in the second half alone. Michigan also outcornered the Nittany Lions, 10-5, with seven of those corners coming in the second half. Penn State's Timarie Legel beat Michigan freshman goaltender Beth Riley just a little more than three min- utes into overtime for the game-win- ning goal. "To go into overtime and play down a player is really difficult," Pankratz said. "Cause the way things went, I am just so impressed of how our players responded. They played hard and really dominated the overtime, and it was just one of those things that a ball just bounced a couple wrong ways for us. I thought we played really well." Penn State goaltender Annie Kinkavich, who surrendered five goals in the last matchup between the two clubs, had seven saves in the win. Kinkavich fought off efforts from senior tri-captain April Fronzoni and sophomore Lori Hillman. Fronzoni led the Wolverines with four shots on goal. Hillman tallied two shots. Michigan HUSKIES Continued from Page 1B Michigan's turnaround came thanks, in no small part, to the play of freshman Dion Harris. In the start- ing lineup because of the injury to Robinson, Harris responded by dis- playing a potent mix of offensive and defensive abilities, posting 17 points and forcing numerous turnovers, leading the team with three steals. "He was the player of the game," Amaker said. "I thought his poise and his defense were really the dif- ference in how he helped our team. He showed the signs that he could be a great player in the Big Ten." Michigan Tech coach Kevin Luke was also impressed with what Harris brings to the table. "He came out and banged a couple shots, got a little confidence going, was shutout for the first time since the first game of the season against North Carolina. With no one scoring in the matchup until the overtime, defense was the key to the game. "I think Kristi Gannon played a great defensive game as always," Pankratz said. "She just played really well. She took a lot of beatings and got up. She had a strong game and every- body did. We did everything we could to win it, and it just didn't turn out that way for reasons that are out of our control" Michigan will now await the NCAA's selections for the 2003 NCAA Tourna- ment. The tournament will consist of the top 16 teams in the nation. The selection will be announced tomorrow at 8 p.m. Despite the loss, Michigan will most likely be a part of the national tourna- ment and has a message to send to their opponents. "Just wait," Pankratz said. "We are going to blow through NCAA. These are great kids and just look out." on-one with any of our kids, if we didn't have proper help, he'd shoot right over top, and he made a lot of baskets." While Harris and Horton carried the scoring load for the Wolverines, the injuries to Brown, Robinson and Petway allowed Amaker to explore some other options on his bench. Freshman Courtney Sims pitched in 10 points and seven rebounds, while Sherrod Harrell and Dani Wohl each saw time spelling Horton at point guard. But Amaker was most impressed by redshirt freshman Amadou Ba, who made his first appearance in a Michigan uniform, finishing with three rebounds in 13 minutes of action. "I want to give credit to Amadou Ba," Amaker said. "He was a spark for our team. I think Amadou is FILE PHOTO Michigan field hockey coach Marcia Pankratz has established a new level of toughness with the Wolverines since her arrival in 1996. $ OEvery Tuesday I ColleOeNight! ... .-O -01 -m am I I I I I I a One Hour Soak for TWO Sunday-Thursday Not valid on holidays or weekends. Not valid with any other offer. Coupon required. Expires 12-15-03. Must be 18 with ID. 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