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4B -The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 1, 2003
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Friday's game
Saturday's game
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WISCONSIN BADGERS
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
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1
it
MINNESOTA GOPHERS
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES.
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2
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SATURDAY'S GAME
Minnesota 4, Michigan 2
Minnesota 1 1 2 - 4
Michigan 2 0 0 - 2
First period - 1, MINN, Gino Guyer 4 (Troy Riddle)
7:45; 2, MICH, Brandon Kaleniecki 6 (unassisted)
13:47 (sh); 3, MICH, Brandon Rogers (unassisted)
17:19. Penalties- Keith Ballard, MINN (double
minor roughing) 8:49; Jason Ryznar, MICH (roughing)
8:49; Mike Brown, MICH (hooking) 12:24.
Second period -4, MINN, Riddle 7 (Guyer) 19:10
(sh). Penalties - Thomas Vanek, MINN (roughing)
4:42; Matt Hunwick, MICH (roughing) 4:42; Kale-
niecki, MICH (charging) 6:34; Team, MINN (too
many men) 8:13; Chirs Harrington, MINN (holding)
18:52; Ballard, MINN (checking from behind, game
misconduct) 19:19.
Third period -5, MINN, Andy Sertich 2 (Chris Har-
rington, Barry Tallackson) 13:24; 6, MINN, Tallack-
son 3 (unassisted) 19:56 (en). Penalties - Ryznar,
MICH (hooking) 4:13; Jake Taylor, MINN (roughing)
13:02; Charlie Henderson, MICH (roughing) 13:02.
Shots on goal: MINN 15-7-10 32; MICH 11-6-15 32.
Power plays: MINN 0 of 3; MICH 0of4. Saves-
MINN, Kellen Briggs (5-4-1)--30; MICH, Al Mon-
toya (9-5) - 28.
Referee: MattShegos.
At: Yost Ice Arena
Attendance: 6,798.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Wisconsin 3, Michigan 1.
Wisconsin 1 0 2 - 3
Michigan 0 1 0 - 1
First period -1, WISC, Dan Boeser 3 (Robbie Earl)
17:47. Penalties -Milan Gajic, MICH (slashing)
2:29; Eric Nystrom, MICH (delay of game) 6:50, Ryan
MacMurchy, WISC (delay of game) 6:50, John Funk,
WISC (hooking) 10:43, Rene Bourque, WISC
(unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:28, Andy Burnes,
MICH (hit after whistle) 13:28, A.J. Degenhardt,
WISC (roughing) 17:55.
Second period-1, MICH, Jason Ryznar 1(unassist-
ed) 19:21 Penalties-Tom Gilbert, WISC (cross-
checking) 8:23, Ryan Suter, WISC (roughing) 11:17,
Rene Bourque, WISC (high sticking) 13:49, Nick
Martens, MICH (cross-checking) 13:49
Third period - 2, WISC, Ryan MacMurchy 8 (Andrew
Joudrey and Jeff Likens) 12:21, 3, WISC, Rene
Bourque 4 (Andy Wozniewski) 19:37
Penalties - Al Montoya, MICH (tripping) 3:16, Eric
Nystrom, MICH (boarding) 10:36
Shots on goal: WISC 5-14-7 26; MICH 12-8-4 24. Power
plays: WISC 1 of 3; MICH 0 of 4. Saves - W ISC Bruc k-
ler (12-7-4) - 23; MICH, Montoya (4-15-5) --23.
Referee: Steve Piotrowski.
At: Yost Ice Arena
Attendance: 6,776.
Mfter shoulder injunes,
Ryznar returns to form
I
By Michael Nisson
Daily Sports Writer
In a weekend during which noth-
ing seemed to go right for the
Michgan hockey
team, there was
one thing the
Wolverines could
take solace in:
Junior forward
Jason Rynzar is
healthy and looks like the imposing
scoring threat that fans expected to
see when the season began.
Ryznar, who sat out the first six
games of the season with a shoul-
der injury, scored Michigan's lone
goal in Friday's 3-1 loss to Wiscon-
sin. At the end of the second peri-
od, he stole the puck in the
Wisconsin zone and made a sensa-
tional move to beat Wisconsin
goalie Bernd Brickler. The score
was Ryznar's first of the season and
his second point overall.
"I was excited to get a goal,"
Ryznar said. "It came at an impor-
tant time in the game. It was really
good of my linemates to pressure
the defense and get a turnover, and
luckily I got a breakaway."
The contest against the Badgers
was not Ryznar's first game this
season, but it was definitely the
first time he looked to be in com-
plete control of his body. In his
prior performances, Ryznar had
trouble getting up and down the ice
and seemed a little tentative in the
offensive zone.
"I'm glad for Ryznar," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "He's
come back, and he's got a little
more confidence and a little more
momentum, and we need to see
more of that on our team."
Ryznar's injury at the beginning
of the season forced Berenson to
make line changes accordingly.
Michigan's trio of junior Eric Nys-
trom, sophomore Jeff Tambellini
and freshman T.J. Hensick provided
an offensive spark early on, but the
scales were not evenly balanced
among all four lines. Berenson
noted that the team was a little one-
dimensional.
With Ryznar back, Berenson has
been able to switch things up again
and provide the Wolverines with a
few fresh looks. Ryznar is currently
paired with junior David Moss and
freshman David Rohlfs. Each of the
three players are at least 6-foot-3,
making the line a bruising chal-
lenge to go up against. Berenson
has also put Ryznar on Michgan's
second powerplay unit.
"I like playing with Moss partic-
ularly," Ryznar said. "Last year we
had a really good second half, and I
just hope that can carry on this
year."
HOME NOT-So-SWEET HOME: The
Wolverines' two losses this week-
end were the team's first home
defeats this season. The pair of
losses also marked the first time
that the Wolverines were left out of
the win column in the 11-year his-
tory of the College Hockey Show-
case.
"It's always a wakeup call and a
gut check when you lose two games
in a weekend," Michigan alternate
captain Brandon Rogers said.
"We've got to work hard for the
week and prepare for the weekend
and get back on track."
Prior to this weekend's games,
Michgan had outscored its oppo-
nents 29-15 when skating at Yost
Ice Arena.
The Wolverines face Michigan
State in a home-and-home series
this weekend, with Friday's game in
Ann Arbor and Saturday's tilt in
East Lansing.
A
JASON cOOPER/Daily
Michigan has missed the physical presence that forward Jason Ryznar brings to the
ice. Now that he's healthy, he will add another dimension to the Michigan attack.
Player
Hensick
Tambellini
Ebbett
Rogers
Kaleniecki
Werner
Nystrom
Moss
Gajic
Helminen
Rohlfs
Brown
Woodford
Hunwick
Henderson
Ryznar
Martens
Dest
Kautz
Cook
Wyzgowski
Montoya
Burnes
TOTALS
Player
Montoya
Ruden
TOTALS
M'
GP
14
14
14
14
14
13
14
14
12
12
14
14
13
14
8
7
10
13
3
10
1
14
10
GP
14
2
14
STATS
G A Pts +/- PIM Sht
5 10 15 -1 8 40
9 3 12 -4 10 76
4 7 11 3 10 32
2 8 10 -2 26 30
6 2 8 3 14 46
3 5 8 -6 12 25
3 5 8 -3 10 31
2 6 8 -5 6 28
2 4 6 E 14 34
3 2 5 -3 0 35
3 1 4 E 6 23
2 2 4 -1 12 39
0 4 4 -3 8 19
0 4 4 1 20 17
2 1 3 1 4 14
1 1 2 -2 12 12
0 2 2 -1 11 6
0 1 1 4 14 7
0 0 0 -1 0 2
0 0 0 - 8 0
700 1 217 524
SHOWCASE
Continued from Page 18
Michigan's lone defender, Eric
Werner, deflected the pass. The
puck rolled right to Dan Boeser at
the top of the left faceoff circle.
Boeser fired a heavy wrister passed
Montoya's outstretched glove.
Junior Jason Ryznar evened the
count at one, scoring his first goal
of the season with just 39 seconds
left in the second period. Wisconsin
defenseman Andy Wozniewski sent
an errant pass toward defenseman
Jeff Likens, and Ryznar snatched
the puck and headed on a break-
away. Ryznar deked around the
Wisconsin crease and dribbled the
puck through Bernd Bruckler's five
hole. Ryznar's goal gave the
Wolverines momentum going into
the lockerroom for the second inter-
mission.
"A 1-1 game going into the third
period at home - that's the kind of
game you want to be in," Burnes
said. "A game that you should win."
The first half of the period played
even, but at 9:24, Michigan junior
Eric Nystrom earned a two-minute
stay in the sin bin for boarding. A
minute into the Badgers' powerplay,
Andrew Joudrey found Ryan Mac-
Murchy wide-open just outside the
crease, and MacMurchy buried the
game-winner.
Minnesota forward Rene
Bourque added an empty-net goal
with 23 seconds left to seal the deal.
"We could make excuses, but I
don't think there's any excuse,"
AI
Berenson said. "They just beat us at
our own game."
The Wolverines came out with a
much more aggressive playing style
on Saturday, but lost to Minnesota
3-1. Although Michigan fell short,
Berenson saluted the team's effort.
"That's the hardest our team has
played all year, and it's too bad it
took an embarrassing loss to Wis-
consin to get our team to realize the
kind of competition that's out
there," Berenson said.
The Wolverines employed a lot of
pressure on Minnesota in their own
zone, causing many early Gopher
turnovers. Michigan's defensemen
left the blueline regularly to attack
offensively. Although the Wolver-
ines assertive approach gave them
many opportunities early, it may
have cost them the game's first goal.
Keith Ballard stole a Michigan pass
and found Troy Riddle streaking
down the ice. Riddle received the
puck on the Wolverines' blueline
and led a 2-on-1 with teammate
Gino Guyer. With a defender draped
over him, Riddle dished to Guyer
for the one-time goal.
The Wolverines took the lead
with consecutive goals on hustle
plays from sophomore Brandon
Kaleniecki and junior Brandon
Rogers. With Michigan shorthand-
ed, Kaleniecki collected a loose
puck in front of the Minnesota goal
and beat goalie Kellen Briggs with
a no-look wrister from between the
faceoff circles. Rogers followed this
up three minutes later by intercept-
ing a Minnesota pass in front of the
net and flipping a backhand into the
net. The Wolverines took a 2-1 lead
into the intermission.
At the end of the second period,
the Wolverines' powerplay strug-
gles continued. Riddle intercepted a
Michigan pass and beat Montoya
five hole on the breakaway for a
shorthanded score. With just 40
seconds left in the period, Ballard
was ejected and handed a five-
minute major for checking Nys-
trom into the boards from behind.
"It was a bad play on our part,"
Minnesota coach Don Lucia said.
"I didn't see it from where I was,
but that's just something you can't
do. Nine out of 10 checks from
behind are unintentional."
This penalty gave the Wolverines
the four-minute powerplay at the
beginning of the third period,
including a minute of 5-on-3 hock-
ey. But Michigan hardly mustered
any offense and failed to score.
Minnesota scored the game-win-
ner with 6:36 left in the period
when Andy Sertich whipped a
wrister from just outside the crease
past Montoya.
On the weekend, the Wolverines
went 0-for-8 on the powerplay.
Berenson believes that the Wolver-
ines aren't comfortable on the pow-
erplay.
"I think it's players trying to
make plays that aren't there -
players misfiring on a pass or mis-
firing on a shot that maybe they do
in practice, but in the pressure of
the game they struggle with,"
Berenson said.
t
e
GA
38
2
40
Avg
2.78
5.50
2.86
Sys Pct Mins
341 .900 818:46
7 .778 21:50
348 .885 840:00
CCHA STANDINGS
Team
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Miami
Michigan State
Michigan
Alaska-Fairbanks
Northern Michigan
Western Michigan
Nebraska-Omaha
Ferris State
Lake Superior
Bowling Green
CCHA
W L 1
8 3 (
7 3 2
6 3 :1
6 3 :1
5 3 (C
4 4 (C
4 6 (C
3 5 :1
2 6 2
Pts
16
16
13
13
10
8
8
7
7
6
6
6
Overall
W L T
11 5 0
8 3 2
8 6 2
8 7 1
9 5 0
5 7 0
5 7 0
7 8 2
3 7 5
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan's Jeff Tambellini failed to make an impact during this weekend's games, as both
Wisconsin and Minnesota were able to hold him in check.
'M' players concerne
CCHA ROUNDUP
NOTRE DAME 5, Northern Michigan 1
Friday's games:
FERRIS STATE 2, Niagara 2
WESTERN MICHIGAN 4, Colgate 1
Wisconsin 3, MICHIGAN i
Minnesota 5, MICHIGAN STATE 1
NEBRASKA-OMAHA 7, Massachusetts 2
Saturday's games:
NOTRE DAME 4, Northern Michigan 2
Ohio State 7, BOWUNG GREEN O
Colgate 4, WESTERN MICHIGAN 1
Wisconsin 2, MICHIGAN STATE 1(OT)
Minnesota 4, MICHIGAN 2
Massachusetts 1, Nebraska-Omaha 1
FERRIS STATE 8, Niagara 3
POWERPLAY
Continued from Page 11B
obvious was the failure to
convert on a five-minute
major powerplay in the sec-
ond period. Down 3-1 late in
the second period, Michigan
had a great chance to cut into
that deficit. But rather than
capitalize on a great opportu-
nity, it couldn't convert. To
add insult to injury, the pow-
erplay unit gave up a short-
handed goal to increase the
deficit to 4-1.
A week off after the Ohio
State series didn't remedy the
problem. Another powerplay
on Saturday was eerily simi-
lar to the situation in Colum-
bus, when Michigan had
another five-minute power-
play, and even a 5-on-3
advantage for 1:32 at the end
of the second period. Again,
Michigan failed to convert,
and again, Michigan gave up
a shorthanded goal that took
all the wind out of its sails.
It's frustrating to see this
team struggling the way it is.
The talent level and depth is
perhaps the best since 1998,
the last time Michigan won a
national championship. It
seems easy to take a disap-
pointing loss on a Friday -
Michigan is 1-3 against
CCHA teams on Friday - to
ignite the team and play a
solid game Saturday night.
Berenson said as much Satur-
day night: "It's too bad it
took an embarrassing loss to
Wisconsin to get our team to
realize the kind of competi-
tion that's out there."
The pieces are in place for
another trip to the Frozen
Four. It's still too early to
panic, but judging from the
looks on the player's faces
Saturday night - blank as
the powerplay in the last four
games - they are definitely
concerned.
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