The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 4, 2004 - 7B Powerplay key for'M' In victory By Ryan Sosin Daily Sports Writer For the first few weeks of the season, special teams will play a huge role for the Michi- gan hockey team. With new rule changes that call for more stringent enforcement of open-ice hits, the penalty numbers on both sides of ,a the rink will be inflated until players acclimate. Michigan's special teams domi- nated Saturday's 12-1 win over Windsor. The power- play tallied four goals and the penalty kill was perfect, putting up three shorthanded goals. The penalty kill consistently leaned on the Windsor powerplay unit, forcing them to play more conserva- tively and creating offensive chances for Michigan. c "I liked to see the penalty-killing pressure on the other team's powerplay," Berenson said. "And when we capitalize (on shorthanded chances), those are huge goals"t The penalty kill spent a lot of time on the ice, with the Wolverines drawing nine penalties. Michiganl alternate captain Brandon Rogers said his team needst to focus on adapting to the new rules to keep its pen-r alty minutes to a minimum. While they were able to keep the Lancers off the board in shorthanded situations, a majority of Al Montoya's work came when the Wolverines weref down a man.E "I think we could have done a better job overall in1 terms of killing penalties," Rogers said. "With thatc said, we didn't let anything in." Despite scoring four goals, Michigan's powerplayt failed to capitalize on numerous chances. The Wolver-1 ines took 23 shots with the man advantage and often found themselves stymied. Controversy ignites stickers TONY DING/Daily T.J. Hensick had a goal and two assists in Michigan's opening exhibition against Windsor on Saturday. "You're not going to see that many chances against a quality team," forward Brandon Kaleniecki said. "When we get chances like that, we have to bury them." Michigan's two freshmen saw significant time on special teams. Chad Kolarik got the Michigan pow- erplay started when he took the puck off a Wind- sor defender's skate and then fired it past goalie Jay Ewasiuk. Kevin Porter spent considerable time on the penalty kill, scoring his first goal as a Wolverine shorthanded. BLUE/WHITE SCRIMMAGE: Yesterday's annual Blue/ White scrimmage ended with Blue on top, 7-2. The scrimmage pitted the White team - which featured first and third defensive tandems paired with the second forward line - against a Blue team stocked by the first and third forward lines with the second defense pair. Sophomore T.J. Hensick gave Blue the lead early in the second when he blasted a shot from the point that beat junior goalie Noah Ruden through the legs. The goal turned out to be the game winner. Hensick led the way with a hat trick, and junior Jeff Tambellini and senior David Moss picked up two points each for the Blue team. Seniors Milan Gajic and Michael Woodford netted the White team's only goals. Despite lacking the intensity of a normal game, the match-up gave the Wolverines another chance to get their game legs. The Wolverines will likely add two of the 12 non- roster players - comprised mostly of club team play- ers - that participated in yesterday's game to fill out their roster before next week's regular-season opener. Senior Justin Kozik was the only nonroster player to score. He put one past Ruden for a shorthanded goal late in the second period. INJURY UPDATE: Senior captain Eric Nystrom is doubtful for next weekend's games in the Lefty McFadden Tournament. The Michigan captain hasn't been skating with the team while he recovers from bruised ribs. Senior defenseman Jason Ryznar, who had been sidelined after surgery on a blood vessel in his head, is expected to be in Friday's line-up. By Matt Venegoni Daily Sports Writer A rare coach ejection proved to be the turning point for the Michigan field hockey team in yesterday's 4- 2 victory over No. 17 Harvard (6-3 overall). Crimson coach Sue Caples got an early exit, prompting the team to scream, "Do this for Harvard, do it for pride." But Michigan took advantage of Harvard's emotion by grabbing control of the game and finishing off the infuriated team. Michigan (2-0 Big Ten, 9-3 over- all) came out and got an early, albeit yAnvaRD 2 controversial goal MIHIA 4 just two minutes into the half. The play seemed to be similar to a disallowed goal Michigan had suffered earlier in the first half. This time, Michigan was rewarded with the goal and the lead. But Caples would not accept ref- eree Alan Martens' explanation and harassed him as the game started up. Martens had enough and ejected Caples, sending her to the visitor's parking area. "I think it was the turning point of the game." senior tri-captain Adri- enne Hortillosa said. "They seemed real emotional after that, and we knew that they were going to play the game for the coach." Michigan took control and never looked back, scoring another goal less than a minute after Caples left the sideline. "Any time you go up 3-2, you gain momentum, but you still have to keep playing hard and we did that," Pankratz said. After Michigan got its fourth goal. the game became a defensive affair. Michigan controlled the tempo, get- ting more penalty corners and shots on goal than Harvard. Michigan had taken control early in the first half with a quick goal 6:54 into the game. The score came off a penalty corner when Hortillosa flicked the ball high and right into the Crimson net. "I just saw an opening on the right side out of the scrum and just tried to put it on the net," Hortillosa said. But Michigan's early momentum soon dissipated as sloppy passing and lackadaisical play led to Har- vard's first goal. Then, just a minute and a half after Michigan scored, Harvard took the lead off a tap-in from a penalty corner. Michigan came back, as Katic Morris took advantage of a redirect- ed pass to tie the game, 2-2. Then Michigan looked like it had taken the lead with 11:23 left in the haif after a penalty corner, but the goal was disallowed. "We just had a difference of opin- ion in terms of the rule," Michipn coach Marcia Pankratz said. "You have to hit the board on the corner, and we didn't. but the defense had touched it three times to put it back in play." After the disappointment of the dis- allowed goal, the Wolverines finished the half extremely flat, giving Har %,rd a couple of good scoring chances. At the start of the second half, Michigan played like a different team, exh&6- iting much more emotion and fire Pankratz rallied the team during the intermission by trying to get the team refocused on its tactics and what each person had to do. "It was not an easy match - we didn't have our 'A' game." Pankratz said. "We fought hard and we have to win the games, even when we doni't play our best." Great keeping can't save Blue By Seth Gordon Daily Sports Writer The women's soccer team had an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the Big Ten standings this weekend with games against fellow contenders No. 5 Penn State and No. 21 Ohio State. But the No. 16 Wolverines (4-1-1 Big Ten, 7-3-2 overall) were unable to cash in on their scoring chances and now must fight an uphill battle for the conference crown. After a heart- breaking 1-0 double overtime loss on Friday to the Nitta- ny Lions, Michigan tied the Buckeyes 1-1 yesterday at Michi- gan Soccer Field. Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher was especially disappointed because the missed opportunities on offense squan- dered a phenomenal performance by sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Tuura. "She was huge," Rademacher said. "She held on to the ball and didn't give up any rebounds. She did a great job." Tuura stopped 20 of 22 shots on the weekend, including a career-high 11 against Ohio State. Michigan was outshot 14-9 in the first half against the Buckeyes, but 'Ibura kept the Wolverines in the game until fresh- man defender Kandice McLaughlin scored her second goal of the season with 10:07 remaining in the half. With Michigan work- ing off a corner kick, McLaughlin found herself in the right place at the right time and fired the ball into the back of the net. "It was crossed in and (junior for- ward Therese) Heaton went up to chal- lenge it, and it just got flicked off so I just volleyed it," McLaughlin said. "We all made our runs, and we were where we needed to be." Ohio State continued to bring pressure in the second half, passing through Mich- igan's midfield to create scoring chances. But Tuura was up to the challenge, often making spectacular saves. In the 63rd minute, Ohio State's Laura Dickenmann finally broke through with the tying goal. Following a Buckeye's scoring chance, the Wolverine defense was unable to clear the ball. Ohio State centered the ball, where again the Michigan defense failed to clear it, and eventually, Dickenmann knocked it in. "It was bouncing around and no one could get a cleat on it, and they just knocked it in," Tuura said. "It was right in front of the goal, so there's not a whole lot you can do." The two teams traded scoring chances for the rest of the second half, but neither team was able to capitalize, and the game went to overtime. It was more of the same in both over- 1 1 mm. Friday's game undefeated, and the winner was set to take the driver's seat in the Big Ten race. Michigan's best chance to score came in the second half when freshman for- ward Melissa Dobbyn's shot sailed just over the cross-bar. Despite Michigan's scoring chances, Penn State controlled the action in the second half, but was stymied time after time by Michigan's defenders and 'Ibura. On several occasions Nittany Lion attack- ers had the ball tackled away at the last second, and if they managed a shot, Tuura was in the right spot to make the save. Michigan made a furious effort to take the game in the final minutes of regula- tion, but both chances ended without a goal. In the first overtime, Michigan contin- ued where it left off, but was only able to muster one shot on goal. With the game in double overtime and fatigue setting in, the Wolverines were again and again saved by Tuura. She made two diving saves in the period - one off a Penn State corner and another to stop a wide-open shot by All-American Tiffany Weimer. With 4:31 remaining in the second over- time period, Penn State caught Michigan in a poor clearing attempt and served the ball to Weimer as the Wolverine defense was heading up the field. Weimer received the ball with space between her and Tuura and was able to dribble around the Michi- gan keeper and find the empty net. "It's a tough loss, but we stuck with them," Tuura said. "They're ranked fifth in the country, and we didn't even play that well. We stuck with them. If we had played better, we could have beaten them. We had chances, but we have to look at that more than the loss." Coming out of the weekend with only a draw set Michigan back in its quest for a Big Ten title, but the team knows the race isn't over. "We just have to take care of the rest of our Big Ten games," Rademacher said. "Penn State, obviously, is sitting on top, but they haven't played Ohio State. There are a lot of games to be played, so we're not out of the picture by any means." The path for the Wolverines won't get any easier as they will set out on a five- game road swing, beginning with a game at Purdue on Friday. Adrienne Hortillossa scored twice to lead Michigan past Harvard 4-2. RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan goalie Meghan Tuura, right, had 20 saves this weekend. time periods as both teams came close, but couldn't put the game away. "They have one of the premier play- ers in the Big Ten in Kate Linehan and she's hard to handle," Rademacher said. "We certainly had to take someone like Jamie Artsis out of our attack in order to keep her at bay. We needed to make bet- ter decisions attacking wise and maybe be a little more aggressive on the attack, and maybe that would have helped us. But they are a good team, and they put us under a lot of pressure." Both Michigan and Penn State entered I Commitment. It sets us apart. School of Information master's students serve communities in Ann Arbor, in other states, and on other continents. More than 50 of our students participated in Alternative Spring Break in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Others have organized community information centers on Native American lands and in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Be part of it. Connect with SI. SCHLQOFIIORMAT1QN- UNIVERSITY OF MRIHIGAN Before SI: BA, Sociology and Anthropology At SI: Information Economics, Management and Policy After SI: Operations Manager, Community Information Corps si.unich.edu/admissions i I iry. lqk KM Vkl&fl