4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 9, 2004
Friday's game
Saturday's game
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
4
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
*|. ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANOKS
3
5
1
ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANooKS
SATURDAY'S GAME
AlaskaFaibanks 5, Michigan 3
Michigan 1 2 0 - 3
Alaska-Fairbanks 1 2 2 - 5
First period -1, MICH, Andrew Ebbett 6 (T.J. Hen-
sick, Milan Gajic) 9:57; 2, UAF, Ryan Campbell 10
(Jared Sylvestre) 12:26. Penalties - Ebbett, MICH
(holding the stick) 5:49; Cam Keith, UAF (holding)
9:28; Aaron Voros, UAF (charging) 10:42; Jason Dest,
MICH (cross-checking) 14:20; Gajic, MICH (roughing)
20:00.
Second period - 3, UAF, Campbell 11 (Ryan Lang,
Voros) 1:22; 4, MICH, Gajic 9 (Jeff Tambellini) 9:11;
5, MICH, Nick Martens 3 (Ebbett, David Rohlfs)
9:57; 6, UAF, Jason Grinevitch 3 (Campbell, Voros)
14:51. Penalties - Team, UAF (bench minor) 3:41;
Hensick, MICH (elbowing) 5:54; Eric Nystrom, MICH
(interference) 14:04; Kelly Czuy, UAF (interference)
15:40.
Third period - 7, UAF, Kelly Czuy 12 (Voros, Cramer
Hickey) 6:46: 8, UAF, Tom Heman 7 (unassisted)
15:47. Penalties- Brandon Rogers, MICH (roughing
after the whistle) 6:46; Voros, UAF (roughing after
the whistle) 6:46; Martens, MICH (roughing after the
whistle) 6:46; Voros, UAF (holding the stick) 19:59;
Ebbett, MICH (holding the stick) 19:59.
Shots on goal: MICH 10-13-8 31; UAF 14-9-10 33. Power
plays: MICH 1 of 4; UAF 2 of 6. Saves: MICH, Al Mon-
toya (18-7-1) -28; UAF, Keith Bartusch (7-6-0) -
28.
Referee: Steve Mcinchak.
At: Carlson Center
Attendance: 4,504.
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan 4, AlaskaFairbanks
Michigan 0 1 3 - 4
Alaska-Fairbanks 0 1 0 - 1
First period -none. Penalties - Matt Hunwick,
MICH (hooking) 7:26; Curtis Fraser, UAF (goaltender
interference) 7:45; Nick Martens, MICH (obstruction)
11:41; Kelly Czuy, UAF (checking from behind) 12:14;
Andrew Ebbett, MICH (roughing) 12:34; Jordan
Hendry, UAF (holding) 12:34; Tom Herman, UAF (trip-
ping) 16:25
Second period -1, MICH, Jason Ryznar 3 (Ebbett,
David Moss) 10:24; 2, UAF, Czuy 11 (Hendry, Nathan
Fornataro) 14:09. Penalties - Andy Burnes, MICH
(high sticking) 00:36; Aaron Voros, UAF (charging)
1:51; Michael Woodford, MICH (holding) 12:14.
Third period - 3, MICH, Eric Werner 7 (Milan Gajic,
T.J. Hensick) 12:20; 4, MICH, Brandon Rogers 4 (Hen-
sick, Gajic) 13:43; 5, MICH, Ryznar 5 (Ebbett, Moss)
19:05. Penalties- Fraser, UAF (charging) 11:00;
Mike Brown, MICH (high sticking) 16:07; Werner,
MICH (roughing after the whistle) 17:54; Ryan Camp-
bell, UAF (roughing after the whistle) 17:54; Jared
Sylvestre, UAF (10-minute misconduct) 17:54.
Shots on goal: MICH 88-18 34; UAF 19-10-8 37. Power
plays: MICH 2 of 5; UAF 1 of 5. Saves: MICH, Al Mon-
toya (18-6-1) - 36; UAF, Preson McKay (6-8-1) -
30.
Referee: Steve Mclnchak
At: Carlson Center
Attendance: 4,246.
'M' STATS
NANOOKS
Continued from Page 1B
Michigan paid for it, as the puck squirt-
ed out to center ice and Alaska-Fair-
banks center Jared Sylvestre gobbled it
up. With just Ebbett back for the
Wolverines, Sylvestre executed a perfect
give-and-go with winger Chad Camp-
bell, who scored the equalizer on the
penalty kill.
"We got the puck out and it hit the
defenseman's skate," Ebbett said. "He
(then) takes a floater and it goes in top
shelf. Those things happen and there's
nothing we can do about it."
The third period saw some of the
most wide-open hockey of the weekend,
as both teams began to realize that one
mistake would lead to a victory. Goal-
tender Al Montoya, who had been on
the receiving end of numerous colli-
sions all weekend, could do little to stop
the Alaska-Fairbanks attack in the final
frame.
The Nanooks took advantage of a
screen in front of Montoya as Nanooks
winger Kelly Czuy deflected a shot past
the unsuspecting netminder for a 4-3
lead. Desperate at this point, Michigan
began to push its defensemen forward to
create more offensive pressure. It back-
fired, as the Nanooks had several two-
on-one rushes, with Alaska-Fairbanks
winger Tom Herman burying his break
against Burnes, who could do little to
slow down the hungry forwards.
"As the game wore on, we had to take
more chances," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "We got trapped and
they got two-on-ones. (Czuy's) goal was
a huge goal, and our third period - I
can't tell you we played poorly, but we
didn't play as well as we needed to."
In Friday night's game, Alaska-Fair-
banks dominated the first two periods,
outshooting the Wolverines 29-16. But
all night long, the Nanooks kept going
out of their way to knock Montoya to
the ice. After each serious collision, ref-
%S
eree Steve Mclnchak responded with a
penalty.
Withynine minutes to go in the third
period of a 1-1 game, Montoya again hit
the deck after a collision with Alaska-
Fairbanks winger Cam Keith. Not sur-
prisingly, McInchak issued a penalty,
but since it was the fourth collision with
Montoya - who was lying on the ice
for several minutes without moving -
Keith was issued a five-minute major
penalty.
"If there hadn't been previous contact
with the goalie, I don't think (the refer-
ee) would have (called a major)," Beren-
son said. "But I think because it was the
fourth time, and before he explained to
the captains that (goaltender interfer-
ence) was one thing he was concerned
about. So after the third time, what are
you going to do?"
That was the window of opportunity
the Wolverines needed to seal the deal.
Center T.J. Hensick tried to set up
winger Milan Gajic along the post, but
decided to pass to Eric Werner, who met
no challenge from the penalty killers
and fired a shot from the top of the
faceoff circle that beat Alaska-Fairbanks
goaltender Preston McKay.
"We work on spreading their penalty
kill out and opening up lanes," Werner
said. "That lane opens up and our for-
wards would find the lane. It was a big
momentum change."
Not to be outdone, Rogers scored
another powerplay goal on nearly the
exact same play - pinching in from the
blueline to beat McKay with a shot from
the faceoff circle.
"The game was on the line, (and) to
get a chance like that ... you make them
pay for it," Berenson said. "It was
unfortunate to be taking penalties with
contacting the goalie, and the ref had to
make that call. (Montoya) showed a lot
of discipline and composure."
Next weekend, Michigan will host
CCHA Miami (Ohio) Friday and Satur-
day night.
0I
CURTIS HILLER/Daily
Midway through the third period with the Wolverines and Nanooks knotted up at one, Michigan went on the powerplay for five
minutes when Curtis Fraser charged Al Montoya. Defenseman Eric Werner capitalized, netting the game-winner at 12:20.
Olympic-sZe iCe opens up lan
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
Player GP
Hensick 28
Ebbett 28
Gajic 25
Kaleniecki 28
Tambellini 24
Rogers 28
Helminen 26
Werner 27
Moss 23
Nystrom 28
Ryznar 21
Brown 27
Hunwick 26
Rohlfs 28
Martens 21
Henderson 12
Dest 27
Woodford 25
Kautz 6
Burnes 24
Cook 19
Wyzgowski 3
Montoya 26
TOTALS 28
Player GP
Montoya 26
Ruden 5
Mayhew 1
TOTALS 28
CCHA
Team
Miami
Micigan
Michigan State
Alaska Fairbanks
Ohio State
Western Michigan'
Northern Michigan
Notre Dame
Ferris State
Bowling Green
Nebraska-Omaha
Lake Superior
G A Pts +/-"PIM Sht
9 24 33 8 16 92
6 21 27 10 36 65
9 13 22 5 22 69
13 7 20 9 30 94
9 8 17 -1 10 110
4 12 16 3 32 51
7 8 15-1 0 76
7 8 15 1 28 42
5 9 14 -1 10 50
8 6 14 -3 42 58
4 8 12 8 12 31
6 3 9 6 37 67
0 9 9 11 46 30
5 2 7 4 20 39
3 3 6 2 28 23
2 2 4 2 8 18
1 3 4 6 21 14
0 4 4 -4 33 32
1 23348
O 1 1 9 20 16
0 1 1 7 22 12
0 0 0 -2 4 2
0 0 0 - 16 0
99 155 254 82 507 998
GA Avg Svs Pct Mins
55 2.15 606 .917 1532:32
7 3.09 57 .891 136:08
1 3.54 12 .923 16:56
65 2.316756.9152887x18
STANDINGS
FAIRBANKS - Year-in and year-out, Alaska-Fair-
banks typically has the most success at home of any
team in the CCHA. This season is no different.
Although the Nanooks are under .500 (12-11-1
CCHA, 13-14-1 overall), they were 10-2 at home
heading into the weekend, with just one loss against a
conference foe. Any number of factors can combine to
this great home ice advantage, but the physical dimen-
sions of the Carlson Center play a large role in Fair-
banks' success.
The Nanooks enjoy playing on an Olympic-sized
rink, which is 200 feet long and 100 feet wide. Most
CCHA rinks are 200 feet by 85 feet, the same size
used by the NHL. While the extra 15 feet may not
seem like much of an advantage, it opens up more
passing lanes and increase the opportunity to play a
more wide-open, run-and-gun style of hockey.
"(The rink size) definitely is a factor," coach Red
Berenson said. "The puck seems to change hands and
there's more space and players are skating into it."
On Friday night, it appeared to take some time for
Michigan to adjust to the extra space, as several pass
attempts went awry. While the Wolverines were trying
to find the right spacing on offense, the Nanooks
received several early scoring chances. Just 20 sec-
onds into the game, goaltender Al Montoya faced an
odd-man rush.
"I thought we adjusted as the games went on,"
Berenson said. "It made for an exciting game for both
teams."
Powerplays in the series proved exciting. The key to
a successful powerplay is to make quick passes and
catch the penalty killers out of position. With the
larger rink, the penalty killers fatigue much faster.
Both sides were able to cash in multiple times with
the man advantage this weekend, as penalty killers
had to work extra hard to close down the bigger pass-
ing lanes.
Michigan took advantage of the extra space on its
powerplays this weekend and scored three powerplay
goals in very similar fashion - working the puck
behind the goal and waiting for the defenders to crash
the net to fire a quick pass up to a pinching point man.
Alaska-Fairbanks did have an advantage in team
speed. Moving laterally creates better scoring chances
because defenders have a shorter time to react once a
player is moving at full speed.
"It's a lot harder to penalty kill because there's so
much room," forward Jason Ryznar said. "I think it's
an advantage to their team because they're fast.
They'll use the speed to widen the defense."
Forward Milan Gajic felt that Michigan was at an
early disadvantage as Alaska-Fairbanks was more
familiar with its rink and could take advantage of it.
"If you're playing against a team that's not from
Olympic-sized ice then maybe (there's an advan-
tage), but these guys practice on this every day so
they're quick and know how far the boards are
away," Gajic said.
CCHA
w L
15 5
14 5
13 8
12 11
12 10
11 10
11 11
9 10
9 12
6 11
4 14
4 13
Pts
32
29
27
25
24
24
22
21
19
16
12
11
Overall
w L T
18 9 3
19 8 1
1714 1
1314 1
1713 0
15 13 3
1412 2
13 11 4
1413 3
8 14 7
6 17 5
6 15 5
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
A wider ice surface resulted in a fast-paced, up-anddown series. Goaltender Al Montoya
faced a whopping 70 shots in the two games, and many came on odd-man opportunities.
0Y
Alaska trp gives alers a
chance to work and play
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
Saturday's results:
ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 5, Michigan 3
MIAMI 2, Notre Dame O
Western Michigan 6, NORTHERN MICHIGAN 2
Bowling Green 3, NEBRASKA-OMAHA 1
Ohio State 6, FERRIS STATE O
Michigan State 2, Lake Superior 1
Friday's results:
Michigan 4, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 1.
FERRIS STATE 5, Ohio State 2
NEBRASKA-OMAHA 3, Bowling Green 3
NORTHERN MICHIGAN 3, Western Michigan 2
MIAMI 5, Notre Dame 2
UP NEXT
FAIRBANKS - Long before the season started,
several Wolverines circled this weekend's trip to
Fairbanks as one of the highlights of the season. The
longest road trip of the year -just short of 3,000
miles - gave players a chance
to enjoy some extended time
together.
The last time Michigan trav-
eled to Fairbanks was two years
ago, in a season when Alaska-
Fairbanks was part of Michi-
gan's schedule cluster and the
off" .
$ ° t'''
the side.
"We didn't (just) come up here to have a good
time; we came up here to win two hockey games;'
Burnes said. "You spend five days on the road with
22 of your best friends. It's always a good time and
we had some fun."
ALASKAN HOMECOMING: Anchorage native Jason
Ryznar knew there would be extra pressure to per-
form this weekend, and he didn't disappoint. The
junior had about 10 family members travel the 300
miles to Fairbanks for Friday night's game.
Ryznar opened the Michigan scoring Friday on
an odd-man rush with Ebbett. Ebbett fed Ryznar
and Alaska-Fairbanks goaltender Preston McKay
couldn't slide over fast enough to stop the puck
from sailing over his shoulder.
Ryznar also got to tip his hat to his fellow
Alaskans by scoring an empty netter with under a
minute left in the game to assure the Michigan vic-
tory. The two goals matched Ryznar's goal total for
the season prior to the game. He also scored a goal
at the Carlson Center two years ago.
"It's always good to come home to play a little
hockey," Ryznar said. "You only get so many
chances to play in Alaska; it was pretty gratifying
to get a couple of goals in front of my parents."
PENALTY KILLED: The Michigan penalty kill unit
has been fairly successful this season, but when it
two teams played four times. As a result, the fresh-
men and sophomores on this year's roster had not
yet traveled to the Last Frontier.
"A lot of guys had never been here, so it was a
good experience (for them)," Andy Burnes said.
"We took advantage of what Alaska had to offer.",
The 49th state offered a chance to play another
ice sport - curling. The basic premise is to push a
large stone down a sheet of ice and attempt to
make it stop on a target on the other end.
"Curling was a lot of fun; the boys had a blast,"
sophomore Andrew Ebbett said. "Coach (Red
Berenson) was out there watching us. We were out
*I
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