The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 20, 2004 - 3B LINE OF THE WEEK Eric Werner Defenseman Saturday vs. St. Lawerence 1 Goal, 2 Assists, +1 +/- rating NOTABLE QUOTABLE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK "I've seen a lot of goals scored the last three games, and very few of them are real good goals." - Michigan coach Red Berenson Josh Ciocco (New Hampshire) Ciocco scored two goals in New Hampshire's 4-4 tie including one that put the Wildcat's up 4-3 with 13 minutes left. Jason Ryznar (Michigan) Ryznar was a man on a mission last weekend. Along with two goals and two assists, Ryznar threw his weight around and earned a plus-two rating. Ryznar keeps promise By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer No one likes a liar - and Jason Ryznar is not about to find out what his coach Red Berenson thinks of one. "Ryznar is one of the players, at the end of last year, that promised me he would come back a different player," Berenson said. "And so far, he's kept that promise. He's really working hard; he's playing physical, strong, two-way hockey. And that's what should happen --seniors should be stepping up." The senior forward notched two goals and two assists - includ- ing a penalty shot goal - in this weekend's action against No. 8 New Hampshire and St. Lawrence. Against New Hampshire on Fri- day night, Ryznar broke a 1-1 tie late in the first period. Just nine seconds after New Hampshire had scored the equalizer, sophomore David Rohlfs skated with the puck across the red line and hit a streaking Ryznar with a pass down the left side. From the top of the circle, with the defense skating back, Ryznar fired a wrist shot far side above the glove of New Hampshire goalie Jeff Pietrasiak. "Rohlfs made a great play," Ryznar said. "I was coming up the side, and I saw the defenseman there, and I tried to use him as a screen. I just tried to get a shot on net, and it went in." But he wasn't done. With the Wol- verines trailing 2-1 in the begin- ning of the third period, Ryznar found the puck behind the New Hampshire net. He wrapped around with a defender all over him, draw- ing the attention of the other Wild- cats defensemen and Pietrasiak. From the side, he spotted fellow senior Eric Nystrom and slid the puck across the mouth of the goal. Nystrom blasted the tying goal into the open net. "I was expecting the pass," Nys- trom said. "(Ryznar is) one of the stronger kids in college hockey, if not the strongest, and he's one of the best corner players. We've been working on a play where he just turns and fires it at the net. I knew he was going to do it." Ryznar and Nystrom played togeth- er on the Wolverines' first line in both games and did not disappoint. The senior duo was given the unenviable task of slowing New Hampshire's most explosive players. "I think Nystrom did a pretty good job (in his first game) at center," Berenson said. "He played against their top line just about every shift. I felt we had to put our best foot for- ward defensively with Nystrom and Ryznar." Along with another senior, Michael Woodford Jr., the Wolver- ine trio held New Hampshire's lead- ing scorers to just one goal. The experience of the first line could potentially help the entire Michigan squad heading into CCHA play. "I think we have the type of line that can set the tempo for the game," Nystrom said. "We're a good fore- checking line, and that's something that kind of gets the team going by putting the other team on its heels. If we get a good forecheck, the next line builds off that. I think that's something our line can bring to the table night in and night out." Ryznar added a goal and an assist against St. Lawrence on Saturday night. He scored a penalty shot goal and assisted on Nystrom's empty- net goal. ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily Senior forward Jason Ryznar has followed through on his promise to come back a better player. He has five points in four games. RYAN WEINER/Daily Junior Al Montoya was magnificent at times, but allowed two soft goals Saturday. WILDCATS Continued from page 1B third frame, eight seconds after Montoya was pegged with a slashing penalty, Saints defenseman Kyle Rank fired a shot from the point that ping-ponged off two St. Law- rence defenders before landing in the net. But Michigan defenseman Eric Wer- ner put the game away for the Wolver- ines when the senior slipped the puck between Mike McKenna's legs. The goal was Werner's third point of the day, a stark contrast from his abysmal game the night before. "Certainly, we expect a better game from Eric Werner than we saw last night," Berenson said after Saturday night's game. "I told him that in no uncertain terms, (that) he's a senior and he should be one of the best defenseman in this league." Werner struggled mightily in Friday's 4-4 tie with No. 7 New Hampshire. Despite having a plus/minus rating of just minus-one, Werner led Michigan's turn- over-laden defensive effort. "We started playing the puck more than the man and we started giving up the puck more," Berenson said. Michigan came out flying in the first period when junior Jeff Tambellini shelved a pass from sophomore David Rohlfs just 1:40 in. Sophomore Jason Dest and senior Michael Woodford helped Michigan estab- lish a physical style of play, as the Wolver- ines controlled the pace of the game. New Hampshire managed to tie it up in the last three minutes of the first period on the power play. Wildcats forward Sean Collins scored when he threw an errant pass from the corner that found a small hole between Montoya and the post. The tie was short-lived, as Ryznar took the lead right back just nine seconds later. "I thought we had a pretty good first period, we kept them on their heels," Berenson said. "After that, they took it to us pretty good. I feel fortunate that we got back in this game." In the second period, a flat Michigan team couldn't expand its lead against a focused New Hampshire squad. The Wolverines began struggling to clear the zone, a problem that plagued them in their first loss of the year against Northeastern. Three minutes into the second, a puck got caught in Werner's skates in the Michigan zone, New Hampshire sophomore Josh Ciocco took it and put a shot that snuck between Montoya's pads and slowly trick- led past the helpless goalie. "(Michigan) can blow you out of here," New Hampshire coach Richard Umile said. "After (Michigan's) second goal, our guys stayed with it and found a way to score a goal and come right back." In the third period, the Wildcats domi- nated play with the help of frequent Michi- gan turnovers. Luckily for the Wolverines, Montoya was solid in the third, keeping New Hampshire at bay. "We can't be happy playing 40-min- utes of hockey," senior captain Eric Nystrom said. "We can't have lulls like we did in the second period because that's when they came and took the game back from us." Despite the strong third, Berenson wasn't quick to hand out the praises to his junior goalie. Montoya looked shaky the first two periods, especially in a pair of incidents that nearly became disasters when he went to play a puck away from his crease. "It's tough to talk about a goalie who gave up a couple soft goals," Berenson said Friday. As regulation came to a close, Michi- gan felt lucky to have survived but also was determined to put up a goal in over- time for the win. "The onus was on us," Berenson said. "They might feel good about a tie, but we're trying to win the game." As the puck dropped on the overtime frame, the Michigan team from the first period returned. The pace picked up for the Wolverines as they outshot New Hampshire 4-1. But, as he had through- out the game, New Hampshire goalie Jeff Pietrasaik stood on his head and kept the game knotted at four. "We had some good chances and he made some big saves," Berenson said. "When there are loose pucks around the net you have to find a way to get them in." rmuz.)rm .. i o I. I-NiNi f mil m !