4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 1, 2004 Friday's game MICHIGAN WOLVERINES NoTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 1 Saturday's game MICHIGAN WOLVERINES NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH *1 2 5 4 p * SATURDAY'S GAME Notre Dame 5, MichIgan 2 Michigan 0 2 0 - 2 Notre Dame 1 2 2 - 5 First period -1. ND, Mike Walsh 11 (Rob Globke, Brett Lebda) 8:44. Penalties - David Moss, MICH (interference) 0:41; Joe Zurenko, ND (obstruction- holding) 4:45; Moss, MICH (slashing) 6:47; Globke, ND (obstruction-holding) 8:53; Milan Gajic, MICH (hooking) 16:52; Matt Hunwick, MICH (roughing after the whistle) 19:10; Walsh, ND (roughing after the whistle) Second period -2. MICH, Jeff Tambellini 11 (Dwight Helminen, Eric Werner) 0:20; 3. MICH, Andrew Ebbett (Jason Ryznar) 2:19, 4. ND, Neil Komadoski 5 (Tom Galvin, Michael Barlett) 15:43; 5. ND, Matt Amado 4 (T.J. Jindra) 16:00. Penalties - Aaron Gill, ND (elbowing) 4:03; O'Neill, ND(high sticking) 7:31; Lebda, ND(roughing after the whistle). Third period - 6. ND, Rob Globke 17 (Jason Paige, Brad Wanchulak) 7:10; 7. N, Corey McLean 9 (unas- sisted) 17:25. Penalties-Werner, MICH (obstruc- tion hooking) 3:40; Team, MICH (too many men on the ice) 9:03; Ebbett, MICH (10-minute misconduct) 11:28; Zurenko, ND (hooking) 12:02. Shots on goal: MICH 12-18-11 41; ND 3-5-8 16. Power plays: MICH 0-6; ND1-5. Saves: MICH, Noah Ruden (1- 2) -11; ND, David Brown (13-5-3) - 39 Referee: Dan Brown. Ruden fills in for ailing Montoya By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer SOUTH BEND - Spring Break proved to be an interesting week for Michigan's goaltenders. Sopho- more Al Montoya was forced to leave in the first game of both series over break, forcing Noah Ruden to come in mid-game. But last weekend, he came in under unusual situations. Late in the second period of Fri-' day night's game, Montoya stopped a shot from Notre Dame's Wes O'Neill, but couldn't control the puck. He allowed the puck to come loose, and attempted to dive for- ward and cover up for a faceoff. The puck was still loose as Mon- toya was on the ground, and the Irish's Jason Paige slammed home an easy powerplay tally to extend Notre Dame's lead to 3-0. To make matters worse, Montoya had pulled his left hamstring and was helped off the ice. Sophomore Noah Ruden came into the game to relieve Montoya; and then started in his place on Sat- urday. The normally resilient Mon- toya had played in all 43 games last season, and missed just two games this year to play in the World Junior Tournament. "I'm not worried," said Michigan coach Red Berenson after Friday's game. "(Ruden) can come in and play. He played in big games, and it will be a good challenge for our team." It was definitely a challenge on Saturday, as Ruden was making just his third career start and his first in the CCHA. Junior David Moss didn't help Ruden, taking two penalties in the first seven minutes of the game. On the second Notre Dame pow- erplay, Notre Dame forward Mike Walsh scored on a deflection off of freshman Jason Dest to give the Irish an early 1-0 lead. Notre Dame finished with just 15 shots on Ruden, and he made 11 saves. "Most of the guys showed (more effort than Friday), and I didn't show (up)," said Ruden following Saturday's 5-2 loss. "It was a big opportunity for me, and we came out playing, and I didn't get into a rhythm. I allowed some goals I shouldn't have. It just wasn't a good effort today." The week before, Ruden also saw some playing time as a result of an unusual call by referee Mark Wilkins. Last Friday against Bowl- ing Green, with Michigan up 6-2, the Falcons' Brian Escobedo took advantage of a scrum of players in the Michigan net, and scored a goal with Montoya out of position. Montoya was clearly upset that a penalty for interference on Bowling Green wasn't called. As a result, Montoya skated over to Wilkins for an explanation and after some dis- cussion, was whistled for a 10- minute misconduct. At most levels, when a goal- tender is called for a penalty, the bench designates a player to serve the penalty. But in college hockey, when a goaltender is called for a major, he must do the time him- self. "I had no idea that was a rule in college hockey," Montoya said. "I didn't think I did anything different than I had all year. I guess (I said something I shouldn't have), but you just get caught up in the emo- tions." Berenson indicated that he intend- ed to put Ruden into the game before the penalty was called if Montoya allowed another goal. After Montoya left the box, Ruden continued to play the rest of the game in relief. "That's my job," Ruden said. "I've been doing it for the past two years now. It's not always the easiest thing, but it's part of being ready at all times." At: Joyce Center Attendance: 2,763 FRIDAY'S GAME Notre Dame 4, Michigan1 Michigan 0 0 1 - Notre-Dame 0 3 1 - 1 4 0 First period - None. Penalties -Michael Bartlett, ND (holding the stick) 7:42. Second period -1. ND, T.J. Jindra 3 (Matt Amado, Brett Lebda) 1:17; 2. ND, Corey McLean 8 (Aaron Gill) 10:41; 3. N, Jason Paige 7 (Wes O'Neill, Lebda) 14:35. Penalties - Chris Trick, ND (roughing after the whistle) 10:41; Dwight Helminen, MICH (interference) 12:56; Gill, ND (hooking) 15:56; Helminen, MICH (roughing after the whistle) 18:51; Rob Globke, ND (roughing afterrthe whistle) 18:51. Third period - 4.MICH, Eric Nystrom 10 (Brandon Rogers, Matt Hunwick) 3:15; 5. ND, Paige 8 (Josh Sciba, Lebda) 4:27. Penalties - Lebda, ND (cross- checking) 1:31; Nick Martens, MICH (tripping) 4:03; T.J. Hensick, MICH (slashing) 13:44; Tom Galvin, ND (roughing) 13:44; T.J. Hensick, MICH (roughing) 13:44; Brad Wanchulak, ND (high sticking) 19:03. Shots on goal: MICH 11-7-9 27; MIA 9-8-8 25. Power plays: MICH 1-5; MIA 0-4. Saves: MICH, Al Montoya (22-8-1) -14, Noah Ruden -8; ND, David Brown (12-5-3) - 23 Referee: Dan Brown TONY DING/Daily Michigan goaltender Al Montoya is helped off the ice during Friday's 4-1loss. Player Hensick Ebbett Gajic Kaleniecki Helminen Rogers Tambellini Werner Moss Nystrom Ryznar Huwick Brown Rohlfs Martens Woodford Dest Henderson Kautz Burnes Cook Ruden Wyzgowski Montoya TOTALS Player Montoya Ruden Mayhew TOTALS At: Joyce Center Attendance: 2,763 'M' STATS GP G A Pts +/- 34 11 30 41 7 34 7 25 32 10 31 12 16 28 2 34 16 11 27 7 32 13 11 24 5 34 6 15 21 2 30 11 9 20 1 33 7 12 19 4 29 7 11 18 -4 34 10 7 17 -4 27 5 9 14 7 32 1 12 13 14 33 6 4 10 10 34 6 3 9 8 25 3 3 6 1 31 1 4 5 -2 33 1 4 5 9 12 2 2 4 2 30 0 2 2 13 21 0 -2 2 5 8 0 1 1 - 3 0 0 0 -2 31 0 0 0 - 34 126195321 98 GP GA Avg Svs Pc 31 69 2.31 727 .91 8 12 3.01 86 .87E 1 1 3.54 12 .92 34 82 2.41825 .91 PIM Sht 24 107 52 83 28 90 34 108 4 95 40 60 16 143 36 51 18 60 42 68 18 42 54 36 41 77 20 46 32 24 47 39 25 16 8 18 4 8 22 21 24 12 0 0 4 2 32 0 529 1206 t MIn 131789:26 8 230:29 3 16:56 0 2020:55 FILICE Continued from Page 1B I've never been one to doubt a person's face-to-face word. Hell, I trusted Big Bill and that was TV-to-face. So how can I call shenanigans on Michigan captain Andy Burnes? But, if being on the road doesn't play a factor in Michigan's ran- dom series breakdowns (that all do ironically take place away from Yost), what does? Put on your checkered deerstalker cap - that's Sherlock Holmes's headpiece of choice for you young'uns - and let the detective work begin. Many times in sports, a lackluster showing can be attrib- uted to poor preparation. Could this be the answer? Did the Wolverines fail to put in a solid week of work prior to each one of these substandard weekends? No chance. I've been to most of this season's practices, and trying to differentiate between a week's work that led to a win and a week's work that led to a loss is like attempting to distin- guish the differences in two Steven Seagal movies: It's all the same. Michigan approaches every day of practice with the same focused, intense demeanor. And each week has basically the same routine. So, these haphazard breakdowns don't come as a result of inadequate preparation. Perhaps the white sweaters that Michigan has worn in most of these blemishes are to blame. In the maize and blue sweaters, the Wolverines' are 5-2 and 10-2, respectively, while they hold just an 8-6-1 mark in the whites. I never did like the whites - they're so bland. I've always abided by a simple philosophy: "If you look good, you play good." But, if this presumption were true, what was the deal with Anna Kournikova? Also, the Wolverines didn't don white once in last weekend's debacle. Don't think the sweaters have much bearing. Possibly, it's something a little more diminutive. There's one thing that has definitely caught my attention. In every CCHA game that the Wolverines have dropped, Michigan goalie coach Stan Matwijiw's name has been spelled wrong ("Matijiw") on the line chart. Bear with me now, a spelling blunder can have more impact than you'd think. Just ask Dan Quayle. This is espe- cially significant considering what letter's missing from Matwijiw's name in each of these losses? The "W." Coinci- dence?!? I THINK N- ... so. The Matwijiw spelling miscue has occurred on every line chart this year, not just the losses. I've got it. It's got to have something to do with the audio synchronization (or lack thereof) in the Keith Hafner Karate commercial. Because I've noticed that in weeks when the voices actually follow the mouths, Michigan- TONY DING/Daily The Wolverines have been broadsided several times when they have ventured outside the friendly confines of Yost Ice Arena- Alright. This is getting kind of ridiculous. I agree. Every- one needs to just face the fact that Michigan struggles on the road. None of my resolutions are legit. There are no two ways about it. The Wolverines become an average team out- side of Yost. I know it. You know it. And, truth be told, they know it. The Wolverines don't want to accept their inabilities out- side of Yost because, besides a first round CCHA playoff series, that's the only place they'll be the rest of the way. Michigan has two remaining regular season games against Michigan State. Friday, the teams will face off in East Lans- ing and Saturday's season finale will take place in Joe Louis Arena. The Joe will also play host to all CCHA playoff games after the first round. Barring total collapse, the Wolverines will move on to the NCAA tournament. But, unlike the last two years, Michigan will not host the Mid- west Regional, which will be held in Grand Rapids. Michigan's road denial has to stop. The Wolverines acknowledge the obvious. They need to accept that they have copious shortcomings outside ofYost, and do whatever they need to do to kick the obstruction. If they refuse, the denial will finish them - kind of like what it did to Big Bill's integrity. Gennaro Filice can be reached at gfilice@umich.edu IRISH Continued from Page 1B that would never be relinquished. At the 15:43 mark of the period, Notre Dame forward Neil Komados- ki fired a shot from just inside the blueline at Michigan goalie Noah Ruden, who was screened on the play and could not get to the the puck in time. Ruden was playing in place of normal starter Al Montoya, who was injured when he slipped trying to handle a puck during Fri- day's game. "That goal from the point - it was just a backbreaker," Ruden said. "We were dominating. If you give up a goal like that, they get some life, and before you know it, you're look- ing up instead of looking down." The Irish struck again before the public-address announcer was done noting Komadoski's goal. Sopho- more forward Matt Amado slashed to the net and was not picked up by the Michigan defense. Amado received a pass from senior Tom Galvin and punched it into the net. Michigan's collapse in the latter portion of the game was preceded by nearly 36 minutes of dominat- ing play. The Wolverines, who spent much of the first period camped out in the Notre Dame zone, capitalized on their first opportunity of the second period. With only 20 seconds gone in the second stanza, Michigan for- wards Jeff Tambellini and Dwight Helminen skated into the Notre Dame zone on a 2-on-1 break. Helminen fed the puck to Tambelli- ni, who then flipped it over Brown's right shoulder to tie the game at one. Tambellini's goal seemed to ignite a flame in the Wolverines, who con- tinued to press hard. They were rewarded for their efforts nearly two minutes later when junior forward Jason Ryznar grabbed a loose puck from the left corner of the Notre Dame zone and pulled a quick 180 to position himself in front of the net. He then punched the puck at the goal, where it was initially stopped by Brown. But the goalie lost sight of the puck because of a mass pile- up in front of the net, and junior center Andrew Ebbett finally mus- cled it into the net. "They came at us and really played it tough," Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin said. "They got us out of our game in the second period and got the two goals." After the Wolverines' second goal, Poulin took a timeout to regroup. The Wolverines did not let up at all, in spite of the time stoppage. On one powerplay following the timeout, {Michigan fired shot after -shot- on Brown making the Joyce Center seem like a shooting range. Remark- ably, Brown held strong and kept the puck out of the net for the remainder of the period. The game was put out of reach a little over seven minutes into the third period. Notre Dame freshman forward Jason Paige shot the puck into traffic in front of the Michigan net. Senior Rob Globke got a stick on the puck and redirected it past Ruden, making the score 4-2. The Fighting Irish added an empty-netter with 2:35 remaining. Berenson noted that the week- end may not have been a complete disaster. "I think it's a wakeup call for our team," Michigan coach Red Beren- son said. "If they're going to have a good season from here on in, they really have to take heart at what we're trying to do together and not just look at our statistics and say what we've done is good enough." CCHA STANDINGS Team Michigan Miami Michigan State Ohio State Alaska-Fairbanks Notre Dame Western Michigan Northern Michigan Bowling Green Ferris State Lake Superior Nebraska-Omaha CCHA W L T 18 7 1. 16 7 3 16 9 1 15 11 0 14 13 1 13 10 3 12 12 3 11 13 2 8 13 6 10 15 1 6 15 5 5 19 4 Pts 37 35 33 30 29 29 27 24 22 21 17 14 Overall W L T 2310 1 1911 4 2015 1 2014 0 15 16 1 17 11 4 16 15 4 1614 4 1016 9 15 16 3 8 17 7 7 22 5 0 Fighting Irish show they can beat the nation's top teams, once again Saturday's results: NOTRE DAME 5, Michigan 2 MIAMI 5, Western Michigan 2 Lake Superior 4, FERRIS STATE 2 BOWLING GREEN 2, Northern Michigan 2 NEBRASKA-OMAHA 7, Alaska-Fairbanks 4 Saturday's results: NOTRE DAME 4, Michigan 1 Western Michigan 2, MIAMI 2 FERRIS STATE 2, Lake Superior 1. BOWLING GREEN 2, Northern Michigan 1 Alaska-Fairbanks 1, NEBRASKA-OMAHA 0 UP NEXT By Sharad Mattu Daily Sports Writer SOUTH BEND - Notre Dame's record - now 13-10-3 in the CCHA and 17-11-4 overall - may not stand out, but its sweep of Michi- gan was hardly a fluke. All season long the Fighting Irish played their best against the nation's top teams. The Irish have already won at No. 1 Boston College and pulled out a win and a tie at No. 6 Wisconsin. Both of these teams have beaten the Wolverines. This weekend, Notre Dame was ready to make one more statement against college hock- ey's elite. "We talk about every weekend being the exact same -- every game is worth two points - but there are usually points where you can look back and say that's where we took the next step," Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin said. "I think this was a very, very big weekend - not only in the micro look at it but the macro look at it as well." It has been the defense and goaltending that has led the Irish's emergence. Notre Dame's "The defense was able to let me to see the puck, and they also blocked a lot of shots and took care of the rebounds." And anything the defensemen weren't able to handle, Brown could. The freshman leads the CCHA with a 2.03 goals against average and a .933 save percent- age. Brown was at his best Saturday, and he needed to be. Notre Dame was expecting a Michigan onslaught after the Wolverines' lackluster effort Friday, and that's exactly what happened. The Irish were outshot 12-3 and 18-5 in the first two periods, but came away from each period with a one-goal lead. "Especially after last night, we thought they were going to be mad about the loss and come out with a lot more intensity," said forward Rob Globke, who clinched Saturday's win with a powerplay goal early in the third period. "We thought the first t10 minutes were going to be important. As long as they didn't have a great start, we liked our chances." The weekend's series with the Wolverines was huge for all the Irish, but especially Brown. "I was really looking forward to playing I w I ' ::