4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 8, 2004

Friday's game
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Saturday's game

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MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

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SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan State l., Michigan 0
Michigan State 0 0 1 - 1
Michigan 0 0 0 - 0
First period - No scoring. Penalties - Ethan Graham
MSU, (hooking) 6:59; Brock Radunske, MSU (rough-
ing) 10:11; Jason Dest, MICH (roughing) 10:11.
Second period - No scoring. Penalties - Brandon
Rogers, MICH (interference) 1:53; MSU Mike
Lalonde, MSU (cross-checking); Nick Martens, MICH
(hooking) 3:32; Radunske, MSU (charging) 9:20;
Chris Snavely, MSU (tripping) 12:02; Tommy Goebel,
MSU (interference) 17:23.
Third period -1. MSU, Lalonde 21 (Goebel, Jim
Slater) 14:24. Penalties - None.
Shots on Goal: MSU &9-9 26; MICH 10-14-10 34. Power
plays: MSU 0-2; MICH 0-4. Saves: MSU, Dominic Vicari
(13-11-1)--34; MICH, Al Montoya (22-9-2) - 25
Referee: Steve Piotrowski.
At: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Attendance: 20,066
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan State 4, Michigan 4
Michigan 0 3 1 - 4
Michigan State 0 2 2 - 4
First period - No scoring. Penalties - David Rohlfs,
MICH (hooking) 8:46: A.J. Thelen, MSU (holding)
8:52; David Booth, MSU (interference) 9:25; Brandon
Kaleniecki (charging) 19:57.
Second period -1, MICH, Jeff Tambellini 12 (Dwight
Helminen) 5:01; 2, MSU, Booth 8 (Colton Fretter,
Jared Nightingale) 16:53; 3, MICH, Helminen 14
(Eric Nystrom, Nick Martens) 18:41; 4, MICH,
Andrew Ebbett 8 (Eric Werner, Jason Ryznar) 18:55;
5, MSU Brock Radunske (Chris Snavley) 19:06.
Penalties - Martens, MICH (holding) 7:03; Eric Nys-
trom, MICH (slashing) 8:11; Thelen, MSU (roughing)
8:11.
Third period -6, MSU Thelen 11 (Booth, Fretter)
9:04; 7 MSU Mike Lalonde (Tommy Goebel, Nightin-
gale) 11:50; 8, MICH Ryznar (Jason Dest, Michael
Woodford) 18:42 (sh). Penalties - Nightingale, MSU
(interference) 4:42; Mike Brown, MICH (holding)
17:23.
Shots on goal: MICH 9-16-4-2 31; MSU 6-14-12-3 35.
Power plays: MICH 0-3; MSU 0-4. Saves: MICH, Al
Montoya (22-8-2) - 31; MSU, Dominic Vicari (12-11-
1) -27
Referee: Matt Shegos
At: Munn Ice Arena
Attendance: 6,812
'M' STATS

SPARTANS
Continued from Page 1B
season-series with Michigan
came with just over five mini
in the game. After tryinga
around, junior Mike L
pounced on a loose puck an
handed it into the air. It took
gan goaltender Al Mont
surprise, and he was unable t
out with his right arm in time
Michigan State (17-9-21
21-15-2 overall), fighting
NCAA Tournament spot, ho
win can generate confidence.
"We've had so many tougi
this year; it's been a frus
year," Michigan State coac
Comley said. "But when yoi
tough game here, 1-0, that do
for your psyche."
Even Berenson looked
game in a positive light.
n-I Li n' "(Saturday's) game was ac
step in the right direction,"
son said. "We played hard
played well and we did a lotc
things. I think our team sen
that's the kind of game we'r
to be in from here on. Do we
play better? Absolutely. F
played a good team and we l
RYAN WEINER/Daily fluky goal-against. It's sin
ird period while that"
CCHA title. The Wolverines' (18-8-2, 2
tle outward emotion.
Earning just one point in the regular season's
final two weeks, the now-CCHA regular season
champion Wolverines lucked out. They escaped
the relative disaster of blowing a four-point CCHA
lead in two weeks by relying on the actions of oth-
ers. They didn't get the job done themselves,
something true contenders usually accomplish.
Something Michigan usually accomplishes.
"Hopefully we just get (the losses) out of our
system; I don't know what else to say besides that,"
said Burnes, responding to his team's skid.
There was nothing else to say. They better get
every blemish out of their system, 'cause it's play-

4-4 tie with the Spartans on Friday
earned Michigan just one point in its
last two weekends of the regular sea-
(2-1 -1) son. And the Wolverines were fortu-
utes left nate to even come away with that.
a wrap- After allowing three straight goals
alonde and seeing a 3-1 lead evaporate into
d back- a 4-3 deficit, it appeared as though
Michi- the Wolverines had lost any chance
oya by of evening the score when freshman
o reach Mike Brown was called for a penal-
ty away from the puck with just 2:37
CCHA, left in the third period.
for an When the Wolverines finally got
pes the the puck in the Michigan State zone
for a faceoff, Ryznar pounced on a
h losses loose puck right in front of the net.
trating He flipped the puck over Vicari and
h Rick into the net.
u win a "The scouting report said (Vicari)
es a lot was going down on everything near
the net," Ryznar said. "I thought
at the 'Just fire it top shelf.' "
In overtime, Michigan State for-
tually a ward Lee Falardeau batted in the
Beren- puck for a goal, but his stick was
and we too high in the air and the goal was
of good negated.
ses that The Wolverines dodged a major
e going bullet when Michigan State had a 3-
have to on-i, but the Spartans' spacing was
But we poor and they were unable to get a
ost on a shot off.
nple as "We're a faceoff away from shar-
ing that championship, to be hon-
3-11-2) est," Comley said.
off time, and they're on their own. If Michigan fal-
ters in again, it won't be able to receive any
postgame assistance from their newfound friends
down south.
As Burnes said, "It's do-or-die time." This is
usually the time of year when Michigan quits putz-
ing around, 'turns on the switch' and returns to the
Frozen Four. But if the Wolverines continue to
approach some games half-heartedly with any-
thing resembling a "we can pass this one on atti-
tude," the power source will come up dead.
Gennaro Filice can be reached at gfilice@umich.edu

Juniors Jason Ryznar, left, and Michael Woodford celebrate Ryznar's game-tying goal with 1:18 left in the th
Michigan was on the penalty kill. The one point from the 4-4 tie was the difference in Michigan winning theI

Player GP
Hensick 36
Ebbett 36
Gajic 36
Kaleniecki 36
Helminen 34
Rogers 36
Tambellini 32
Werner 35
Moss 31
Nystrom 36
Ryznar 29
Hunwick 34
Brown 35
Rohlfs 36
Martens 27
Woodford 33
Dest 35
Henderson 12
Kautz 6
Burnes 32
Cook 21
Ruden 8
Wyzgowski 3
Montoya 33
TOTALS 361
Player GP
Montoya 33
Ruden 8
Mayhew 1
TOTALS 36
CCHA

G A Pts +/- PIM Sht
11 30 41 5 24 110
8 25 33 10 52 86
12 16 28 0 28 97
16 11 27 5 36 113
11 12 26 6 4 97
6 15 21 1 42 61
12 9 21 2 16 150
7 13 20 4 36 55
7 11 18 -4 18 63
10 8 18 -3 44 74
6 10 16 8 18 44
1 12 13 13 54 39
6 4 10 9 43 83
6 3 9 7 23 48
3 4 7 1 36 24
1 5 6 -2 47 43
1 5 6 10 27 20
2 2 4 2 8 18
0 2 2 12 22 24
0 2 2 5 24 12
011-00
0 0 0 -2 4 2
0 0 0 - 32 0
130 202 332 92 5451271
GA Avg Svs Pct Mins
74 2.24 727 .9141913:40
12 3.01 86 .878 230:29
1 3.54 12 .923 16:56
87 2.93 825 .905 214509
STANDINGS

FILICE
Continued from Page 1B
so, left the door wide open for the surprising Red-
Hawks.
Michigan was relying on the Buckeyes to deliv-
er an eighth CCHA title to Red Berenson - kind
of like John Kerry asking President Bush for the
keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
With their fate in the hands of Brutus and Co., a
feeling of regret began to set in on the Wolverines.
"We had four chances to clinch a championship,
a ring for us, that's something you dream of-- to
have so many chances," Tambellini said. "I think it
might have hurt us knowing that (prior to the week-
end series against Notre Dame) we had four
chances because it's, 'Okay, we can pass this on and
pass the next one on,' and it came back and got us."
A few minutes after Tambellini's pro-Bucknut
pronouncement, a media member received a game
update via cell phone.
"Ohio State 4" ... Tambellini's ears perked up
"Miami 4."
Tambellini's face quickly morphed from com-
fortable to concerned.

Other Wolverines made their way to the bus.
There was no big team gathering around a radio or
computer in the lockerroom where everyone could
follow the events occurring in Columbus. Players
were upset with their stretch run in the conference
season and seemed as though they were ready to
accept whatever fate awaited them.
"We had it on a silver platter," alternate captain
Eric Nystrom remorsefully said. "There's still a
chance we might win the championship, but when
you control your own destiny, you want to make
sure you do things right, and the last few weeks,
we haven't really been bearing down."
A few minutes later, the final score in Value
City exponentially spread through the hall.
5-4. Ohio State won.
It was nothing like the typical title festivity.
There was no raucous celebration, no champi-
onship T-shirt and hat distribution and definitely
no CCHA trophy hoisting (although the prize was
present at the Joe, which would have posed a prob-
lem had Miami prevailed). It was a scene of relief,
not triumph.
The last few players, including senior captain
Andy Burnes, scurried toward the bus, showing lit-

CCHA

Team
Michigan
Miami
Michigan State
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Alaska-Fairbanks
Northern Michigan
Western Michigan
Bowling Green
Ferris State
Lake Superior
Nebraska-Omaha

w
18
17
17
16
14
14
13
12
9
10
7
5

L
8
8
9
12
11
13
13
13
13
17
16
19

T
2
3
2
0
3
1
2
3
6
1
5
4

Pts
38
37
36
32
31
29
28
27
24
21
19
14

Overall
w L 1
2311 2
2012 4
2115 :
2115 C
1812 4
1617 1
1814 4
1616 4
1116 9
1518 3
9 18 7
7 24 E

Saturday's results:
Michigan State 1, Michigan 0
OHIO STATE 5, Miami 4
Notre Dame 2, LAKE SUPERIOR 1
NORTHERN MICHIGAN 2, Ferris State 1
Alaska-Fairbanks 6, ALASKA-ANCHORAGE 4
MINN. ST. MANKATO 9, Nebraska-Omaha 1.
Friday's results:
MICHIGAN STATE 4, Michigan 4
MIAMI 4, Ohio State 3
NORTHERN 3, Ferris State 2
LAKE SUPERIOR 3, Notre Dame 0
ALASKA-ANCHORAGE 5, Alaska-Fairbanks 4
Thursday's result:
Bowling Green 6, WESTERN MICHIGAN 4
UP NEXT

ontoa Vicari remain
close after World Juniors
By Michael Nisson have grown to be friends. Both of them are con-
Daily Sports Writer sidered to be among the top goalies in the
CCHA, despite the fact that they are still
DETROIT - It's not often that a Spartan feels teenagers. They've both been young journeymen,
sympathetic for a Wolverine. But after Saturday's playing hockey in multiple states for multiple
1-0 Michigan State victory at Joe Louis Arena, teams.
Michigan State goaltender Dominic Vicari could Both goalies possess something else that all
relate to his counterpart - Michigan goaltender goaltenders need to have: guts.
Al Montoya. Vicari played part of a period with dull skates.
After denying the Michigan State attack for This can be a particular problem for goalies who
more than 54 minutes of Saturday's game, the shift back and forth when the puck changes sides
Spartans finally struck gold. Forward Mike of the zone. It can also lead to injury if the player
Lalonde fired a backhand over Montoya's right looses his footing. Vicari didn't care about these
shoulder and into the net. The goal proved to be factors.
the game winner for the Spartans. "I wanted to call a timeout so they could sharp-
"You've got to sympathize because, you know, en his skate, but he didn't want to," Comley said.
you've played the position so long," Vicari said. "He's a courageous goalie."
"You just know he'd like to have that one back, Montoya's bravery was on full display on Sat-
and I know that's what he's thinking." urday, particularly on one play. Late in the second
Vicari is the one person on Michigan State's period, with the score knotted at zero, Montoya
team who may have known what was going rushed out of his net to get a loose puck. He
through Montoya's mind after the goal. Vicari has ended up going nearly all the way to the blueline,
developed a friendship with Montoya that dates and then slipped and had to make a soccer-style
back a few years. kick to keep a Michigan State player from getting
"They've known each other for a while now, the puck.
because they both worked for me in the summer "Al's a risk-taker, and there's nothing wrong
time (at goaltending camps)," Michigan goaltend- with that," Matwijiw said. "That's the way he
ing coach Stan Matwijiw said. plays. After a while, you get to a point where you
Both players also shared a unique experience come to expect it from him."
in December when they played together on the For Matwijiw, Saturday's game provided him
gold-medal-winning World Junior team for the with mixed emotions - both goalies played
United States. Those nights spent together extremely well, and yet his team lost. But recog-
brought their friendship to another level. nizing that Vicari, who Matwijiw's known since
"I think being in the same room for three the age of 11, was the winning goalie helped ease
weeks (with the World Junior team), and both things a little bit.
being goalies - we just hit it off," Vicari said. "They both played well, and obviously as a
"We celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve coach, to me the wrong team comes out on top,"
(together). You can't do that with many people." Matwijiw said. "But that's the kind of score I
When you look at some of the similarities that want to see - a 1-0 game when my two guys are
the goaltenders share, it's no wonder that the two playing like that."

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Looking over the past two weekends, junior Eric Nystrom and teammates haven't been pleased with the
way the team has played down the stretch run.

CHRIS MACHIAN/UNO Gateway
The Mavercks had a tough season.

: . .k . I. I

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