4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 8, 2003 J Friday's game MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS MICHIGAN WOLVERINES Saturday's game 0 2 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS 0 2 4 SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan State 2, Michigan 0 Michigan 0 0 0 - 0 Michigan State 1 0 1 - 2 First period -1, MSU, Mike Lalonde 12 (Corey Pot- ter) 16:33 (pp). Penalties - Jared Nightingale, MSU (slashing) 5:19; T.J. Hensick, MICH (slashing) 5:19; Jared Nightingale, MSU (slashing) 12:21; Brandon Rogers, MICH (holding the stick) 15:17; Matt Hun- wick, MICH (roughing after whistle) 18:14; Drew Miller, MSU (roughing after whistle) 18:14. Second period - No scoring. Penalties - Matt Hun- wick, MICH (obstruction-hooking) 3:28; Lee Falardeau, MSU (cross-checking) 10:43; Jim Slater, MSU (roughing) 11:57; Al Montoya, MICH (rough- ing) 11:57; Jared Nightingale, MSU (cross-checking) 12:40; Mike Brown, MICH (interference) 16:12. Third period -2, MSU, David Booth 3 (unassisted) 00:48. Penalties-- Brock Radunske, MSU (charg- ing) 9:35. Shots on goal: MICH 13-10.6 29; MSU 8-5-4 17. Power plays: MICH 0 of 4; MSU 1 of 3. Saves - MICH, Al Montoya (10-6) -15; MSU, Dominic Vicari (5-6) - 29. Referee: Brian Aaron. At: Munn Ice Arena Attendance: 6,591. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 2, Michigan State 0 Michigan State 0 0 0 - 0 Michigan 0 0 2 - 2 First period - No scoring. Penalties - Chris Snavely, MSU (hooking) 7:44; A.J. Thelen, MSU (hitting from behind) 11:17; David Rohlfs, MICH (slashing) 16:06. Second period - No scoring. Penalties - Jason Dest, MICH (interference) 3:18; Brock Radunske, MSU (roughing after whistle) 19:36.; Third period--1, MICH, Eric Nystrom 4 (Dwight Helminen) 18:33; 2, MICH, T.J. Hensick 6 (Brandon Kaleniecki) 19:59 (en). Penalties - David Booth, MSU (unsportsmanlike after whistle) 4:38; Andrew Ebbett, MICH (unsportsmanlike after whistle) 4:38. Shots on goal: MSU 7-6-10 23; MICH 13-10.15 38. Power plays: MSU 0 of 2; MICH 0 of 3. Saves - MSU, Dominic Vicari (4-6) - 36; MICH, Al Montoya (10-5) -23. Referee: Kevin Hall. At: Yost Ice Arena Attendance: 6,904. Montoya s game matches coaches' praise By Gennaro Filice Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - In Michigan's first 16 games, it has experienced a roller-coaster ride worthy of Cedar Point consid- eration. During this stretch, the Wolverines have been marred with inconsistencies: Offensive production has flickered between on and off as rapidly as Internet service, the powerplay has gone from dominant to dominated (0-for-23 the last six games) and Michigan's lines have been swapped more than a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. But one thing that has remained steady in the young season is the team's praise for goalie Al Montoya. Win or lose, no matter how many goals Michigan gives up, coaches and players alike have always been quick to commend the efforts of their sopho- more netminder. This weekend, Montoya turned out a performance deserving of the hype. The Glenview, Ill., native stopped 38-of-40 Michi- gan State shots and made many spectacular saves. Montoya was at his best on Friday, when he recorded his third shutout of the season and seventh of his career. "He made some good saves, and it wasn't an easy game for a goalie to play," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "It seemed like shots came in bunches. They weren't easy to see. There were a lot of screen shots, loose pucks and rebounds. Al was strong and he battled hard." A scoreless game until late in the third period, Friday was a night for the goaltenders. In Michigan's 2-0 win at Yost Ice Arena, Montoya - the game's first star - stuffed all 23 Spartan shots on goal. After 13 saves in the first two periods, Montoya really stood out in an intense third period, blocking 10 Michigan State attempts. "That's why you play goaltender - you know you're back there, and you have the last say on everything," Montoya said. Although Montoya produced numerous crowd-pleasing stops, one save seemed to trigger a celebration louder than the rest. In the second period, Michigan State defenseman Ethan Graham received the puck above the left faceoff circle and fired a heavy slapshot toward Montoya's left. Positioned above the right half of the crease, Montoya completely outstretched his left arm and snagged the puck. The save immediately set off a bowing "Al Montoya" chant from the student section. Werner welcomes weekend at wing By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - Junior Eric Werner has been the leading goal scorer among Michigan defensemen for the last three seasons, with three goals this season and 12 in his career. But this weekend, he got his chance to use his offensive skills at forward. With an injury to Michael Woodford and a coach's decision to keep Milan Gajic out of the lineup, Wern- er demonstrated his offense this weekend against Michigan State. Werner found himself on the right wing, along with Jeff Tambellini on the left wing and Andrew Ebbett at center. Werner had been practicing with his linemates all this week in practice and played his first-ever game at forward. "I've never played forward before," Werner said. "It was a little awk- ward, but I enjoyed it. We're not sure if we'll go with it. We're just giving it a shot." Werner said that he played forward last season during practice when he was on academic probation from the Big Ten. But in his career at Michigan, he has played all 77 games on defense. The adjustment between playing defense and offense wasn't too much of a shift for Werner, as he has been prone to attacking the net while pinch- ing on defense, or ripping shots from the blueline on powerplays. The learning curve consisted of offensive positioning and finding open space. "The biggest adjustment for me is the systems: Making sure I'm in the right spots in the breakouts, neutral zones and forecheck," Werner said. Werner's best chance to make an impact on offense came on Friday when he had a goal waved off by referee Kevin Hall. Late in the first period, Ebbett was sitting behind Michigan State goaltender Dominic Vicari looking for one of his linemates to cut toward the net. Werner skated to Vicari's left side, and Ebbett deflected a pass over the top of the net. Werner swung his stick at the puck, and it flew over Vicari's shoul- der, but the goal was waved off immediately. "I saw it flying over the net," Werner said. "I just got a stick on it, and it went off the goalies' back and went in. I wasn't sure if it's a highstick." Werner had a few chances to capitalize on some solid scoring chances, but didn't register a shot on goal in either game. Despite Werner's initial hesitancy with shooting the puck, Michigan coach Red Berenson was pleased with his play. "Werner was good, I thought, on the wing," Berenson said. "He was creative and dangerous." INJURY UPDATE: Junior forward David Moss went down hard in the sec- ond period of Friday night's game. Berenson said he had a high ankle sprain, and did not play in Saturday's game. He was seen on crutches and had a cast on his left ankle. Junior Michael Woodford, who sat out Fri- day's game with an injury himself, took Moss' place in the lineup Satur- day night. I 4 Player Hensick Tambellini Ebbett Rogers Kaleniecki Nystrom Werner Moss Gajic Helminen Rohlfs Brown Woodford Hunwick Henderson Ryznar Martens Dest Kautz Cook Burnes Wyzgowski Montoya TOTALS 'M' GP 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 13 14 16 16 14 16 9 9 12 15 3 12 12 1 16 STATS G A Pts +/-1 6 10 16 E 9 3 12 -4 4 7 11 3 2 8 10 -1 6 3 9 4 4 5 9 -3 3 5 8 -6 2 6 8 -5 2 4 6 E 3 3 6 -3 3 14 E 2 2 4 -1 0 4 4 -3 0 4 4 1 1 1 2 -2 0 2 2 E 0 112 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 - 50 72 122 -7 PIM Sht 10 51 10 83 12 36 28 32 14 51 10 36 12 25 6 31 14 35 0 40 8 27 14 47 8 20 24 18 4 14 6 4 12 12 11 8 2 3 14 9 4 10 0 2 10 0 235 591 CURTIS HILLER/Daily Goaltender Al Montoya received constant praise from players and coaches all season long, despite the outcome of the games. On Saturday, Montoya played well, but surrendered two diffi- cult goals. Michigan State's first score came on a first-period powerplay. Defenseman Corey Potter ripped a slapshot from between the faceoff circles. Montoya deflected the puck over the goal, but it bounced off the boards and dribbled back in front of the goal. Before Montoya could relocate the puck, Mike Lalonde buried the putback. The Spartans scored their second goal in the third period. David Booth found himself uncovered just in front of the blue line, skated forward and shot through a crowd of players screen- SPARTANS period, straight Continued from Page 1B could or Following a poor attempt by goal- "I th tender Al Montoya to clear the puck junior I from behind the net, Michigan State's back to Corey Potter stole the puck in front of were pr the blueline and fired a slapshot high had a ch and wide left of the goal. But the puck we'vef came right back in front of the net, and things t before a surprised Montoya could get to Buoy it, Mike Lalonde batted it in at 16:33. felt riva Michigan was still down just 1-0 ment g when it returned to the ice following the through second intermission ready to attack, but exceede another sloppy pass and a Michigan Friday n State goal sapped the energy out of the Matc Wolverines. top thre Michigan State's David Booth inter- his line cepted a poor cross-ice pass at the slot focus o in Michigan's zone. With plenty of line. time, Booth quickly fired a shot past But a Montoya. Down two, Michigan showed still sco little life the rest of the way. After regis- den ha tering 23 shots in the first two periods, decided the Wolverines took just six in the final On a period. Helmin DAVID TUMAN/Daily For No. 10 Michigan (6-4-0 CCHA, the bac but his goal 10-6-0 overall), opportunities came trom wa sporadically on Saturday. In the second and the 4 Player GP GA Avg Svs Pct Mins Montoya 16 38 2.56 379 .905 818:46 Ruden 2 2 5.50 7 .778 21:50 TOTALS 16 42 2.63 386 .902 962:48 CCHA STANDINGS Team Miami Ohio State Notre Dame Michigan State Michigan Alaska-Fairbanks Northern Michigan Western Michigan Ferris State Nebraska-Omaha Bowling Green Lake Superior CCHA 8 3 8 4 (0 7 5 7 4 : 6 4 0 6 4 ( 6 6 ( 5 5 : 4 7 : 3 8 : 2 7 : 2 6 2 Pts 17 16 16 15 12 12 12 11 9 7 7 6 Overall 10 6 2 11 7 0 8 5 2 9 8 1 10 6 0 7 7 0 7 7 0 9 8 2 6 8 2 4 10 2 3 8 6 4 6 4 , Michigan had nearly four minutes on the powerplay, but ly muster a single shot. ink it's back to square one," Dwight Helminen said. "Going (Friday) night, I think the guys etty positive and feeling like we Tance to turn it around, and now got to go back with a lot of o work on." ed by a crowd the Wolverines led last year's NCAA Tourna- games, Eric Nystrom came h with a performance that far ed what his coaches expected ight. hed up against Michigan State's e scorers, the junior forward and mates had had been asked to n shutting down the Spartans' after 58 minutes, the game was reless. While the offensive bur- d been placed on others, they to tackle that task on their own. faceoff in the Spartans' zone, en got the puck to Nystrom at k of the left faceoff circle. Nys- aited and waited with the puck, n finally fired it into traffic in front of the net. "The puck had eyes," Michigan State goaltender Dominic Vicari lamented. When his shot soared over Vicari's left shoulder and hit the net at 18:33, everyone in Yost Ice Arena exploded, including the players. After the game, Nystrom claimed that after his goal he tried to get his teammates to focus on closing the game out. But goaltender Al Montoya stopped him, telling Nystrom "you were the one doing it," and thenmimic- ked Nystrom by throwing his arms into the air. Nystrom laughed it off, saying he did it for the student section. "I'd been clutching my stick really tight lately," Nystrom said of his first goal since Oct. 26. "It feels good to get a goal, especially in this type of game in the last game before the break in front of the home crowd." Wolverines and Spartans alike felt they put together possibly their best weekend of the year, and it was little surprise it came against their longtime rivals. Nystrom said: "That's the way it is when we play these guys. It's a battle. It's about will." 4 CCHAROUNDUP Ferris State 2, BOWUNG GREEN 1 Northern Michigan 3, LAKE SUPERIOR 0 WESTERN MICHIGAN 8, Notre Dame 6 Miami 2, OHIO STATE 1 MCmmeAN 2, MichIgan State 0 ALAsKA FAIRBANKS 5, Nebraska-Omaha 2 ALASKA FAIRBANKS 4, Nebraska-Omaha 1 MIcluGAN STATE 2, Michigan 0 MIAMI 4, Ohio State 2 WESTERN MICHIGAN 6, Notre Dame 4 NORTHERN MICHIGAN 3, Lake Superior 0 BOWUNG GREEN 3, Ferris State 3 Offense wasn't expected from junior forward Eric Nystrom and his line,I with 1:27 left in Friday's game won Michigan the game. 4 New venue, same result: Icers' road woes continue By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer EAST LANSING - Every team says some- thing at the beginning of the season to the effect of, "It's going to be a long road to the national championship." For the Michigan hockey team, this statement couldn't be more true. In addition to the actual meaning of such a comment, there is a slightly hidden signifi- cance to it for the Wolverines. Put simply, Michigan has not fared well outside of Yost Ice Arena. Saturday's loss in East Lansing was one of four CCHA road defeats so far this season. "We're not the team that we were a year ago, or two years ago, on the road," Michigan coach Red Berenson said after the loss to the Spartans. In the previous two seasons, the Wolverines have gone a combined 13-6-6 at opposing CCHA arenas. Michigan outscored its oppo- nents by 19 goals in the same period of time. That span also included a streak of 11 games in the 2001-02 season without a defeat (nine wins and two ties). The Wolverines have nlaved six games at In similar fashion, Montoya also struggled in Michigan's game at Ferris State. The Wolverines took an early lead, but then gave up another five-goal period in the second and were not able to recover. At the time, the Wolverines were ranked fourth in the country while the Bulldogs were 2-5 in the CCHA and 3-6 overall. Michigan's 5-2 defeat to Ohio State in Columbus three weeks ago was also puzzling, but for a different reason. Instead of Montoya having an off night, the powerplay, which has been among the league's best, struggled mightily. The powerplay failed to score with a 5-on-3 advantage and squandered a five- minute advantage after Ohio State senior Chris Olsgard was given a game misconduct. What made this loss even more confusing was the fact that the Wolverines took the first game of the weekend by storm, blanking the Buckeyes 4-0. Then there was Saturday night's game in East Lansing. The Wolverines simply could not get good opportunities on net, and the few times that they did, Michigan State goalie Dominic Vicari was able to hold his ground. The Snartans were able to convert and came CHRIS MACHIAN/UNO Gateway The Mavericks have struggled so far. NEBRK'ASKA- O AL1 -rn Uhwiac.will nnnk t4ir hac a