6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 6, 2004 DEC. 28 Michigan 6, Michigan Tech 2 Michigan 2 3 1. - 6 Michigan Tech 0 1 1 - 2 First period - 1, MICH, Brandon Rogers 3 (Dwight Helminen, Jason Ryznar) 4:12 (pp); 2, MICH, Eric Werner 4 (unassisted) 16:29 (pp). Penalties - Brad Sullivan, MTU (interference) 2:28; Andy Burnes, MICH (hooking) 4:45; Nick Martens, MICH (roughing) 8:14; Brett Engelhardt, MTU (roughing) 8:14; Jason Dest, MICH (tripping) 9:18; Nick Anderson, MTU (roughing) 14:49; Mike Brown, MICH (hooking) 17:30; Engelhardt, MTU (kneeing) 19:22. Second period -3, MICH, Milan Gajic 4 (Ryznar, Andrew Ebbett) 2:40; 4, MICH, David Rohlfs 4 (Helmi- nen, Joe Katuz) 6:59; 5, MTU, Chris Conner 15 (unas- sisted) 17:17 (sh); 6, MICH, Werner 5 (T.J. Hensick, Noah Ruden) 19:00. Penalties-Team, MICH (delay of game) 0:00; Colin Murphy, MTU (holding) 3:12; Taggart Desmet, MTU (hooking) 13:55; Brandon Kale- niecki, MICH (interference) 14:06; John Scott, MTU (roughing) 17:00. Third period -7,MICH, Werner 6 (Hensick, Kaleniec- ki) 3:04; 8, MTU, Desmet (unassisted) 17:27. Penal- ties-Justin Brown, MTU (roughing) 1:24; Ebbett, MICH (roughing) 1:24; Brown, MTU (highsticking) 4:48; Joe Kautz, MICH (boarding) 10:52; Engelhardt, MTU (roughing) 11:55; Werner, MICH (roughing) 11:55; Desmet, MTU (roughing) 11:55; Tim Cook, MICH (roughing, highsticking) 19:42; Brown, MTU (highsticking, roughing) 19:42; Charlie Henderson, MICH (highsticking, roughing) 19:42; Lars Helminen, MTU (highsticking, roughing) 19:42. Shots on goal: MICH 11-16-21 48; MTU 6-5-15 26. Power plays: MICH 2 of 9; MTU 0 of 7. Saves - MICH, Noah Ruden (1-1-0) - 12; MICH, Mike Mayhew - 12; MTU, Cam Ellsworth (1-5-1) - 42. Referee: Steve Mcincak. At: Joe Louis Arena. Attendance: 15,820 DEC. 27 Boston College 4, Michigan1 Boston College 1 0 3 - 4 Michigan 0 0 1 - 1 First period -1, BC, Andrew Alberts 3 (Ryan Shan- non) 19:20 (pp). Penalties - Justin Dziama, BC (roughing) 5:55; Milan Gajic, MICH (hooking) 12:21; John Adams, BC (slashing) 18:23; Michael Woodford, MIC (slashing) 18:23; Eric Nystrom, MICH (obstruc- tion) 18:47. Second period - No scoring. Penalties - Chris Collins, BC (obstruction) 1:37; Brandon Kaleniecki (slashing) 7:02; Ty Hennes, BC (checking from behind) 9:29; Kaleniecki, MICH (slashing) 12:40. Third period - 2, BC, Tony Voce 15 (J.D. Forrest, Ben Eaves) 12:42 (sh); 3, BC, Collins 7 (Dave Spina, Ryan Shannon) 15:29; 4, BC, Stephen Gionta 5 (Eaves) 18:01; 5, Joe Kautz 1 (Charlie Henderson) 19:16. Penalties - Adams, BC (highsticking) 11:38. Shots on goal: BC 12-12-14 38; MICH 7-12-16 35. Power plays: BC 1 of 4; MICH 0 of 4. Saves - BC, Joe Pearce (1-0-0) - 34; MICH, Noah Ruden (0-1-0) - 34. Referee: Brian Aaron. At: Joe Louis Arena. Attendance: 13,159 M' comes up short at GLI once again By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer DETROIT - Defenseman Eric Werner has always been known for his offensive ability and was given a chance to demonstrate it when coach Red Berenson moved him to forward for a few games. But after spending more than a month at forward for the Michigan hockey team, he hadn't scored a single point. Then on Dec. 28, in the third-place game of the Great Lakes Invitational against Michigan Tech, Werner moved back to defense and notched his first career hat trick as the Wolverines coasted to a 6-2 win. Michigan has struggled in recent years at the GLI, as players have left for the World Junior Tournament and the competition has become stiffer. The Wolverines haven't won the tournament since 1996 - when they won nine tournaments in a row - and this sea- son, goaltender Al Montoya, forward Jeff Tambellini and defense- man Matt Hunwick were all in Finland for the Under-20 World Junior Tournament. Even with its complete roster, the Wolverines would have had difficulty with No. 2 Boston College, Michigan's opponent in the first game of the tournament on Dec. 27. Sophomore goaltender Noah Ruden made his first career start and stopped 34 shots, but it wasn't enough to stop the Eagles, who won 4-1. Senior Joe Kautz scored the lone goal for the Wolverines. Michigan faced lowly Michigan Tech (1-7-2 WCHA, 3-11-4 overall) in the consolation game, but coach Red Berenson wasn't happy with his situation. "I thought it was a game of two disappointed teams and obvi- ously we knew we had to play better than we did (Saturday)," Berenson said. "I didn't look at it as a consolation game as much as a game that in the big picture can cost you down the road. If you have any thought of being an (NCAA) Tournament partici- pant, you can't lose a game like this." Werner and defender Brandon Rogers provided some much- needed help on the powerplay, which had struggled in recent months. For the first time since Nov. 8 against Ferris State, Michi- gan tallied two powerplay goals. Early in the first period, Michigan (7-4-1 CCHA, 12-7-1) received two powerplay opportunities and cashed in on both of them. Sophomore Andrew Ebbett fired a shot on Michigan Tech goaltender Cam Ellsworth that was blocked, but Werner crashed to the net and ripped a rebound shot right along the far post, begin- ning his three-goal day. Werner's other two goals came thanks to great passing from freshman T.J. Hensick. In the second period, Hensick delivered a perfect, Gretzky-esque pass from behind the net as Werner was making a cut to the goal parallel to the blueline. Werner buried the shot for goal No. 2. After intermission, Hensick again found Werner, who deked Ellsworth and ripped a shot through the five hole. "We were struggling to score in the first half (of the season), and hopefully now my teammates have some confidence in them- selves," Werner said. "On my goals, T.J. set me up twice in the slot. Most of the credit goes to him. He had his head on a swivel and was looking for me." With the offense slumping a bit, Berenson stressed the impor- tance of his defensemen's offensive contributions. "You need your defense to chip in goals, and you look at any of the games where we we've had a really good game, we'll always get one or two goals from our defensemen," Berenson said. "That's the way the game is played now - the forwards work hard down low to get the puck back to the defense, and the defense has to get it through." Werner has scored six goals this season - already the highest total of his career. After scoring just one goal against Boston Col- lege, Michigan's six-goal performance against the Huskies was the Wolverines' largest offensive output in 12 games (Nov. 1 against Niagara, 6-2). Boston College (6-0-2 Hockey East, 13-2-3) was the toughest team Michigan has played all season. The Michigan defense strug- gled to adjust to Ruden's style of play and gave up several unnec- essary scoring chances. Perhaps the most disappointing goal of the game came on Michigan's fourth powerplay of the game, already down 1-0 in the third period. The Wolverines were trying to get on the board, but thanks to careless passing, surrendered a shorthand- ed goal, sucking all life out of the team. Berenson felt that blaming the loss on a goaltender making his debut wasn't a good enough excuse - Boston College's netmin- der Joe Pearce started his first game as well, since the Eagles' reg- ular goalie was suspended for a violation of team rules. "I don't think there are any excuses," Berenson said. "We were FILE PHOTO After a 41 loss to Boston College, junior Eric Werner notched his first hat trick in Michigan's 6-2 win over Michigan Tech. in the game and had a chance to win it, but we didn't win it. Did we play well enough to win? Probably not. We'll have to play bet- ter to have a chance to beat a team like that. "In a 1-0 game in the third period, it is anyone's game. Special teams was obviously a factor in the game. We gave up a four-on- three goal and a shorthanded goal. They were a good team, and we couldn't quite reach the mark in the third period." 4 Ruden, Mayhew get firsts against Tech Player Hensick Ebbett Tambellini Nystrom Rogers Kaleniecki Werner Gajic Helminen Moss Rohfs Brown Ryznar Henderson Martens Hunwick Woodford Kautz Dest Cook Ruden Burnes Montoya Wyzgowski TOTALS Player Montoya Ruden Mayhew TOTALS 'M' GP 20 20 16 20 20 20 19 17 18 15 20 20 13 11 16 18 18 5 19 16 4 16 18 3 GP4 18 4 1 20 STATS G A Pts +/- PIM 7 13 20 E 12 4 11 15 3 16 9 3 12 -4 10 6 6 12 -4 12 3 9 12 -1 28 6 5 11 4 22 6 5 11 -8 14 4 4 8 -2 16 3 5 8 -3 0 2 6 8 -5 6 3 2 5 -2 16 224$ 28 1 4 5 3 6 2 2 4 2 8 1 3 4 E 18 0 4 4 2 26 0 4 4 -5 12 12344 0 2 2 E 15 0 1 1 6 20 0 1 1 - 0 0 0 0 4 10 0 0 0 - 10 0 0 0 -2 8 62 92 154 -8 301 Sht 63 48 83 41 40 68 33 45 54 31 32 54 14 17 18 20 27 8 8 11 0 11 0 2 728 By BrianSchick Daily Sports Writer DETROIT - Sophomore Noah Ruden knew when he joined the Michigan hockey team two years ago that he could have a backup role at goaltender for his entire collegiate career. Coach Red Berenson likes to have four-year starters in net, and his plan for fellow sophomore Al Mon- toya was no different. But with Montoya at the World Junior Tourna- ment, Ruden had a weekend full of firsts. He started his first career game on Dec. 27 against Boston College, and won his first collegiate game against Michigan Tech on Dec. 28. Ruden had made three relief appearances last year and two this season. Ruden's first game couldn't have come against a tougher opponent than No. 2 Boston College. In addition, he played in front of a large crowd at an NHL arena and a large audience on regional television. "It's always a good experience to play against top competition like Boston College and in Joe Louis;' Ruden said. "But it is always a better experience when you can win. Individually, what it was like for me wasn't as good because we couldn't pull it out." It seemed that the Michigan defense had trou- ble adjusting to Ruden's style of play against the Eagles. Montoya tends to roam out of the net and play the puck more than Ruden, who stays home in the crease. As a result, the defense had a learn- ing curve getting used to the different styles of play, and it led to several early breakdowns at the Michigan end. In the third period, Boston College forward Dave Spina chased a loose puck behind Ruden and two Michigan defenders followed him to the back of the net. As a result, the Wolverines left the Eagles' Chris Collins in front. He flipped an easy shot over Ruden to make the score 3-0. Forward Eric Nystrom felt that regardless of who was in net, Michigan didn't play well enough to beat Boston College. "We were trying our best to play good defens- es and the goals they scored were on defensive breakdowns," Nystrom said. "The plays (the defense) made were from somebody missing their man or someone not picked up in the crease. The way Noah played, I don't think any- one else in net could have saved their chances either." The next day against Michigan Tech in the consolation game, Ruden notched his first career victory making 12 saves through two periods of play. Granted, his opposition wasn't as tough as the day before, but Ruden seemed to take his game to the next level. He faced the top goal scorer in the NCAA in the Huskies' Chris Con- ner and made several tough saves. "We were a little upset with how we played (Dec. 27), so we made sure that this was the way we were going to come out the rest of the season," Ruden said. "When you have a 4-0 cushion it makes the goalie's job a lot easier because you feel more relaxed. Getting that first win was fun." Freshman goalie Mike Mayhew also got a chance to play in his first career game. He made a relief appearance against Michigan Tech four minutes into the third period. Despite coming in when Michigan held a comfortable 6-1 lead, Mayhew faced some of the toughest shots of the game. He faced 12 shots during Michigan Tech's comeback attempt. "Noah had been playing so well I didn't expect to go in," Mayhew said. "As soon as I got in, they started shooting the puck from e-ery- where knowing that I was coming in cold. I thought I got a lot of experience. It was a great crowd, and it was a lot of fun. " GA Avg Svs Pct Mns 44 2.48 423 .906 1063:43 7 3.36 53 .883 124:54 1 3.54 12 .923 16:56 54 2.68 488 .9041207:48 TONY DING/Daily Sophomore Noah Ruden started his first career game and picked up his first career win at the GLI over break. Retail Half.com Natural selection. r r timete,first-time buyers1 How smart is this: All the textbooks you need for un to 50% off retail prices. New or IimmL4 Irr i I