Friday October 22, 2004 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily. com PORTS 4 8 . . . .. ........ ........ . . - . ...... . ....... Stumbling out of the gate A Icers win opener despite poor start Penalties disrupt flow of offenses By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer SAULT STE. MARIE - With a minute and a half left in the third period and Michigan clinging to a 4- 3 lead, Lake Superior State forward Nathan Ward took a loose puck and -I skated towards Michigan goalie Al Montoya with an open path to the net. He juked left and shot for a chance to send the game into over- time. But Montoya kept the play in front of him and stoned the point- blank blast to preserve the win for the No. 4 Wolverines (1-0-0 CCHA, 3-1-1 overall). Just 15 minutes before, Michi- gan forward Milan Gajic scored the game winner to complete a come- from-behind victory in which the Wolverines had trailed 3-1 late in the second period. "You knew Lake Superior State would come out strong, but you hoped they wouldn't score," Michi- gan coach Red Berenson said. "But they did score two (in the first period), and everything was going in their direction. And I thought it was a great statement for our team to come back. In the end, we made our chance count, and that was the difference." Gajic's goal was a treat to watch. Senior Eric Nystrom tipped the puck away from a Lakers defenseman at the blue line, keeping the power play attack alive. Sophomore T.J. Hensick gathered the loose puck and fed Gajic, skating towards the net. With one swing, Gajic zipped the puck into the lower left corner of the goal. "I just saw T.J. with it, and I was cocked, ready to fire," Gajic said. "I was yelling, and he finally saw me. I shot it and kept my head down. When I brought my head up, it was already coming back out (of the net). I don't even know where it went." Lake Superior State's penalty kill 'had been busy all night, and finally made a lethal error in the final period. "They buried the last goal when one of our upperclass defensemen made a huge mistake," Lake Superi- or State coach Frank Anzalone said. "I don't know where he was going, but the puck was gone and all I heard was, 'poof.' (Gajic) didn't have to do anything - he just shot." Early on, it looked like the Lak- ers (0-1-0, 0-3-0) might upset the Wolverines. The Lakers - the more physical team - jumped out to an early lead on the power play when Derek Smith gathered the puck on the boards and spotted teammate Steve McJannet with some space between the circles. McJannet one- timed a shot between the legs of Montoya for the opening score of the game - just seven minutes after play began. The Lake Superior State struck again 35 seconds later. Senior cap- tain Bo Cheesman skated down the right side with defenseman Jason Dest battling him for the puck. Cheesman skated towards the near post of the Michigan goal, and sent the puck out in front of Montoya. After a scramble, junior Jon Booras gathered the puck and beat Montoya high glove side. At the end of the first period, Michigan - playing with a man advantage - almost cut into the Lakers' lead. Sophomore Matt Hun- By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Writer SAULT STE. MARIE - Sixty min- utes of hockey with 51 minutes worth of penalties. It may have been the CCHA enforcing the rules the way the league preached it would this season, or it may have just been two teams that came to play an extremely physical style of hockey. But one thing is certain - Michigan and Lake Superior State spent a lot of their time in the penalty box. "That wasn't hockey," said Lake Superior State coach Frank Anza- lone about the game's officiating. "I don't know what that was, but it wasn't hockey." Michigan expected to play physi- cal hockey when it made the trip to the Upper Peninsula. The Lakers are a very big team - with 12 players listed at more than 190 pounds. Anzalone, who led the Lakers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1980s, is known for his "blue collar," physi- cal teams. "These guys are always physical," senior captain Eric Nystrom said. "They pretty much brought the physical pres- ence to us, and we had to respond." Anzalone had a different view of how the game was played. "Everything was a penalty," Anza- lone said. "What was physical (about our play)? Because Michigan gets mad at us for going near their goalie? We weren't physical with Michigan." Michigan junior Brandon Kaleniecki definitely thought that the flow of the game was disrupted because neither team could play very long at full strength before getting called for a penalty. "Especially now, with the way that the refs are calling the game, we can't afford to do that," Berenson said. "There's so much special teams today. You couldn't even get a five-on-five shift going for more than three lines before you got another penalty and another one." At 14:06 in the second period, with the Lakers leading 3-1, Lake Superior State's Mike Adamek and Kaleniecki got into a scuffle in front of the Lakers' net. Adamek grabbed onto Kalenieki's face mask and used it to throw Kalen- iecki to the ice. The two started fight- ing, and both were given penalties. But Adamek's penalty was a five-minute major, and Michigan took advantage by scoring two goals - including one by Kaleniecki. That tied the game back up while Adamek was in the box. That scuffle was actually the second of two fights in yesterday's game. Seven of the night's 24 penalties came at one time. Just four minutes into the second period, Eric Werner and the Lakers' Alex Dunn stood in front of the Michi- gan net while Dunn tried to shove the puck past goalie Al Montoya. The two stayed physical, pushing and shoving, well after the whistle blew. When Dunn fell over - and knocked Montoya down in the process - everyone on the ice got involved. The referees did their best to break it up, giving roughing penalties to Michigan's Andrew Ebbett, Milan Gajic and Kevin Porter, and Lake Superior State's Jeffrey Rainville, Derek Smith and Dunn. Porter also got a second roughing penalty for the fight that was served by Chad Kolarik. "I don't want us to get involved after the whistle," Berenson said. "Once the whistle goes, it doesn't do us any good to get that extra push in. "I want our team to play with disci- pline and walk away from that stuff, but when the play is on, you have to play tough and physical." ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily Senior Milan Gajic scored the game-winning goal last night to secure the comeback win for Michigan. wick sent two bullets in from the point. The first slammed off the crossbar, and the second was turned away by Lakers goalie Jeff Jakaitis. "I thought our team played better after the 10-minute mark of the first period," Berenson said. "It didn't show up on the scoreboard until later in the game." The two teams traded goals in the second period, and the Wolver- ines found themselves in a 3-1 hole with five minutes remaining in the period. Then, freshman Kevin Porter cut the lead to one when his lightning- quick wrist shot from the top of the right circle froze Jakaitis. Just minutes later, Michigan got the equalizer from a familiar source during a five-minute major power play. Winger Brandon Kaleniecki, who led the Wolverines in goals last year but had been held scoreless so far this season, watched as center Andrew Ebbett skated around the Lakers' zone. Ebbett fed the puck into the mouth of the goal, and Kaleniecki hacked it into the net for his first goal of the season. "Kaleniecki is one of our hardest working players, night after night," Berenson said. "He hadn't scored yet, and he'd been fighting it, but he got a big goal tonight." Ground game key for victory By Gennaro Filice Daily Sports Editor Ranked No. 10 at the time, Purdue entered the Big House last year with hopes of its first win over then-No. 13 Michigan since a 32-31 victory in 2000. But the Wolverines came out and played their most complete game of the year. Not only did Michigan light up the scoreboard with 31 points, but it also held Purdue's vaunted spread offense to just three points. The Wol- verine 'D' terrorized Kyle Orton, who threw two interceptions and was sacked seven times. Once again, the No. 12 Boilermak- ers (2-1 Big Ten, 5-1 overall) come into tomorrow's game in West Lafayette as the higher-ranked team (Michigan is No. 13), but they're coming off of a heart-breaking, fourth-quarter loss to Wisconsin. MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. PURDUE PASSING DEFENSE: Last week, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne showed that he is still a true freshman. Henne strug- gled with heavy winds and a mediocre- at-best Illinois defense, throwing two interceptions and gaining just 114 yards through the air. It will be interesting to see how the young'un bounces back at a tough away venue. But, after Michi- gan's stellar showing on the ground last week, the Boilermakers won't have the luxury of employing extra defensive backs. So Braylon Edwards and Jason Avant - who's finally getting some balls thrown his way - will have their way with a Purdue secondary that's giving up a gargantuan 244 passing yards a game. Edge: Michigan Anthony Spencer serve as the corner- stones of Purdue's vaunted front seven. The duo has combined for 39 tackles, nine sacks and three forced fumbles. Edge: Push PURDUE PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHI- GAN PASSING DEFENSE: Orton lost major ground in the Heisman race with his fourth-quarter fumble against Wis- consin, but his numbers are still mind- boggling. The senior has completed 144 of 217 passes for 1,887 yards and 19 touchdowns, against just three inter- ceptions. Orton's main target is senior Taylor Stubblefield, who has 38 grabs for 608 yards and an astounding 11 touchdowns. Conventional thinking would be that Michigan coach Lloyd Carr would stick senior cornerback Marlin Jackson on Stubblefield for the entire game, but Carr hasn't singled out top receivers in the past. Orton's next favorite target is sophomore Kyle Ingra- ham - a 6-foot-9 wide receiver. This matchup will come down to how well Michigan's nickle and dime corners - Markus Curry, Darnell Hood and Grant Mason - can handle Purdue's quick-hitting spread offense. Edge: Purdue PURDUE RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHI- GAN RUSHING DEFENSE: The Wolverines' boast the No. 4 rushing defense in the country, and Purdue coach Joe Tiller's Boilermakers have never really fright- ened anyone with their running attack. Purdue's main ball carrier is junior Jerod Void (82 rushes for 396 yards and two touchdowns), but junior Bran- don Jones will also get some carries. Michigan's hefty line - spearheaded by nose tackle Gabe Watson - and speedy linebacking corps should com- pletely neutralize the Boilermaker duo. Edge: Michigan MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. PUR- DUE RUSHING DEFENSE: While the Wol- verines racked up 294 yards on the ground (including 234 from true fresh- man Mike Hart) against Illinois, it was still just Illinois - a team currently ranked No. 101 in rushing defense. The Boilermakers rank No. 7 in rushing defense and held Wisconsin's superstar running back Anthony Davis to just 66 yards on the ground last week. Sopho- more defensive ends Ray Edwards and Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton goes down in last year's rout. Romanotff'. SCATERIN GSERVlCE, IN C' Studn t Alert Large Haff availab(e for your parties Great foodl at reasonab(e prices BBQ on site grfling Parents' Weekend? special Callus 734-665-4967 SHOW YOUR SCHOOL PRIDE DURING THE BIG GAME COLLEGE RIVALRY T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE @ WWW.SUCKSHIRTS.COM $11.95 + S/H SPECIAL TEAMS: Purdue kick returner Jerome Brooks is averaging just under 30 yards a pop and, earlier in the year, he burned Notre Dame with a 100-yard touchdown return. Kicker Ben Jones has a solid leg and has hit eight of 11 field goals. Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas continues to struggle with extra points, but punter Adam Finley has a 42.5-yard average this season. Punt returner Steve Breaston is long over- due. Edge: Push INTANGIBLES: At Ross-Ade Stadium, the Boilermakers have won two of their last three games against Michi- gan. There will be a lot of pressure on Henne, who dropped his only tough road game thus far at Notre Dame. Edge: Purdue 4 PREDICTION: The Wolverines need to convincingly win the time of posses- sion battle to win this game because Purdue's offense is a ticking time bomb every time it's on the field. Look for the Wolverines to heavily ride Mike Hart - another 40 carries is a definite pos- sibility - to victory. Michigan 31, Purdue 24 JUMP TO SPORTS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM FOR FOOTBALL STAFF PICKS, PROCRASTINATION STATION AND ROWING COVERAGE.