4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 31, 2005
LINE OF THE WEEK
Kevin Porter
Forward
Saturday vs. Northern Mich.
1 Goal, 5 Shots
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
"(He was like) Wayne Gretzky over
here behind the net."
- Michigan senior Milan Gajic on
Andrew Ebbett's behind-the-net assist to
Eric Nystrom on Saturday.
Tuomas Tarkki
(Northern Michigan)
Tarkki stymied the Wolverines' few
attempts during his team's win on
Friday. He allowed three goals on
Saturday, but none were soft.
Milan Gajic
(Michigan)
Gajic extended his scoring streak to five
games with a goal in each game. Satur-
day, he set a career high when he scored
his 14th goal of the season.
FRIDAY'S GAME
N.Michigan Wildcats
Over, Murphy,
Santorelli, Bateman
Michigan Wolverines
Gajic
4
1
Shot-blocking sacrifices key in Blue victory.
SATURDAY'S GAME
N.Michigan Wildcats
Milam
Michigan Wolverines
Nystrom, Porter, Gajic
1
3
iw
Michigan 3, Northern Michigan 1
Michigan 2 0 1 - 3
Northern Mich. 0 0 1 - 1
First period-i1. MICH, Eric. Nystrom 6 (Andrew
Ebbett, Matt Hunwick) 4:24; 2. MICH, Kevin Por-
ter 8 (Milan Gajic, T.J. Hensick) 11:28. Penalties
- John Miller, NMU (high sticking) 2:37; Geoff
Waugh, NMU (obstruction-hooking) 9:39; Jeff
Tambellini, MICH (elbowing) 16:43; Pate Bate-
man, NMU (hooking) 19:49.
Second period - No scoring. Penalties
-Andrew Contois, NMU (obstruction-hooking)
3:29; Tim Cook, NMU (hit after whistle) 6:23;
Clayton Lainsbury, NMU (hit after whistle) 6:23;
Miller, NMU (hooking) 9:40; Waugh, NMU (slash-
ing) 16:26; Hensick, MICH (slashing) 16:26;
Bateman, NMU (charging) 16:53; Michael Wood-
ford Jr., MICH (roughing) 19:57; Matt Maunu,
NMU (roughing) 19:57.
Third period - 3. MICH, Gajic 14 (Jason Ryznar,
Nick Martens) 2:33; NMU, Jamie Milam 6 (Kevin
Gardner) 11:54. Penalties - Hunwick, MICH
(tripping) 8:29; Bateman, NMU (checking from
behind) 8:41; Tim Cook, MICH (checking from
behind) 13:27; Hunwick, MICH (cross-checking)
13:47; Milam, NMU (slashing) 18:34.
Shots on goal: MICH 13-108-31; NMU 3.4-13-20. Power
plays: MICH 2 of 8; NMU 0 of 4. Saves - MICH Al
Montoya (3-4-12) -19; NMU Tuomas Tarkki
(11-10-7) - 28.
Referee: Steve Piotrowski
At: Yost Ice Arena Attendance: 6,948.
'M' STATS
With less than 1:30 left in a game that
Michigan desperately needed, the
Wolverines had a two-goal lead. Hav-
ing just killed almost two minutes of 5-on-3 play,
Michigan looked to have the series split in hand.
Northern Michigan had a man advantage and
was firing away in desperation when sophomore
defenseman Jason Dest
dove head first across the
ice, hoping to be hit in.
the facemask or chest byh
a half-pound puck flyingg
at the net faster than 60
miles per hour.
Ever since I was a
young hockey fan watch- IAN HERBERT
ing the Washington Caught up in the Game
Capitals play at USAir
Arena, I have always
thought that blocking shots is what makes hockey
players special. Even when the game is all but
over, hockey players selflessly throw their bodies
in front of flying rubber, and many have the scars
or fake teeth to prove it. It shows how dedicated
the players are to stopping pucks from even get-
ting to their goalie.
"It's all mentality," senior captain Eric Nystrom
said after practice last week. "If you want to block
a shot, it's going to hit you. And I don't think
we've had that kind of attitude."
Coming into this weekend, the Michigan
hockey team had lost just two games in the CCHA
- at Ferris State and at Ohio State. But the team
had struggled against good programs - winning
only one of five games against a ranked team
- and it hadn't really been tested. And frankly,
while the Wolverines' conference record (16-2-0)
was certainly impressive, their play hadn't been.
There are plenty of examples, but a few, in par-
ticular, come to mind.
They didn't look impressive in the first game of
the year against Northeastern - a game in which
Michigan was whistled for nine penalties and gave
up two power play goals in the first period on its
way to a 4-2 season-opening loss.
Though their offense looked powerful, the Wol-
verines didn't look particularly impressive in a 5-4
victory over Michigan State at Yost in November.
Michigan gave up a goal 30 seconds into the game
and allowed the Spartans to score two others in
the first period.
And they certainly didn't look impressive in a
5-1 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota the fol-
lowing weekend. On the Golden Gophers' Olym-
pic-sized ice, the Wolverines got out-hustled and
outplayed for the full 60 minutes.
On Saturday, for the first time this season, I was
extremely impressed with the way the Wolverines
played. They hustled. They dove. They blocked
shots. They wanted to win - maybe because they
needed to win.
And nothing epitomized Michigan's effort bet-
ter than the last six minutes of the game. Four-
teen minutes into the third period, Michigan was
clinging to a 3-1 lead when they were whistled
for two penalties within 20 seconds of each other.
Having to kill off almost two minutes down two
skaters with just a two-goal lead, the Wolverines
from earlier in the year probably would have put
in the effort to win the game but may not have
made the same sacrifices.
Forty-five seconds into the penalty kill, alter-
nate captain Brandon Rogers slid across the ice
to block a shot. When the puck was then kicked
out to the point, Montoya went all out with a
great glove save. After the faceoff, senior Jason
Ryznar got down on a knee to block another slap
shot from the point. Ryznar hurt his hand on the
blocked shot but was able to clear the puck before
skating to the bench. Ryznar's effort showed
exactly how much the Wolverines wanted this
game. The senior came back for the last minute of
play before being taken to the hospital for X-rays
on his hand immediately following the game.
"Tonight, we played with more desperation,"
Michigan'coach Red Berenson admitted after
Michigan pulled out the victory. "There was more
urgency and second efforts all through the game."
Blocking shots is something that Michigan has
been working on all season. Berenson has empha-
sized the fact that blocking shots can change the
game, and the coaching staff has used pucks in
practice to make sure players are unafraid of get-
ting in front of that half-pound of rubber flying
at freeway speed. In previous seasons, they have
used tennis balls instead of pucks to simulate
shot-blocking. The new practice style paid off late
on Saturday, when the players saved the game by
sacrificing their bodies.
Earlier this week, Nystrom talked about need-
ing a wakeup call. He said that he didn't know
when it would come but knew that it had to
come. No one was sure if last week's loss to Ohio
State would be that wakeup call or not. But after
Friday's loss to the Wildcats, one thing was sure:
it wasn't. Even so, Saturday's Wolverines sure
looked like a new team.
So who knows? Maybe they've finally
woken up.
01
Ian Herbert can be reached at
iherbert@umich.edu.
Player
Hensick
Tambellini
Gajic
Moss
Kolarik
Ryznar
Ebbett
Nystrom
Hunwick
Porter
Werner
Rogers
Kaleniecki
Roh Ifs
Martens
Brown
Dest
Henderson
Woodford
Olson
Cook
Montoya
Ruden
Player
Montoya
Ruden
GP G
25 16
28 13
28 14
26 7
28 10
28 5
26 2
24 6
26 5
26 8
25 6
28 2
28 10
23 5
26 1
23 3
28 1
61
13 1
8 0
28 0
26 0
5 0
A Pts
20 36
19 32
16 30
17 24
11 21
15 20
17 19
12 18
13 18
8 16
10 16
14 16
5 15
3 8
7 8
3 6
2 3
1 2
1 2
1 1
0 0
0 0
0 0
+/- PIM Sht
+10 18 82
+21 20 135
+3 34 83
+10 20 52
+9 37 72
+3 42 41
+6 18 61
+12 25 32
+14 46 33
+4 28 38
+11 34 31
+19 58 55
+6 30 91
+8 8 31
+7 26 22
+9 62 46
+12 34 30
+1 4 5
+2 12 16
+2 6 2
+6 42 9
-- 20 0
--0 0
SEE THEDRAW
S" kating w/ puck """ Skating w/o puck . . . Pass - - Shot
How it happened: Looking to avenge the previous night's
loss, Michigan used its first power play to jump on Northern
Michigan. Andrew Ebbett spent about eight seconds deking
behind the net while looking for an open teammate. After trying
Jeff Tambellini, Chad Kolarik and Matt Hunwick, Ebbett found
Eric Nystrom charging the net between the circles. Ebbett fired
a bullet pass, and Nystrom one-timed the puck past Wildcat
netminder Tuomas Tarkki.
Analysis: In a sequence that senior Milan Gajic-likened to
one of Wayne Gretzky's, Ebbett skated back and forth behind
the net, sending the Northern Michigan defenders into disarray.
After his first three options were covered, Ebbett found Nys-
trom's stick to put the Wolverines on top in the early going. The
goal was the first of two in the first period for Michigan.
GP w
26 19
5 1
N L T GAA PCT
96 1 2.73 .894
1 0 1.54 .949
ANDINGS
CCHA Overall
CCHA ST
Team
Michigan
Ohio State
Northern Mich.
Nebraska-Omaha
Bowling Green
Alaska-Fairbanks
Lake Superior
Miami (OH)
Michigan State
Ferris State
Western Mich.
Notre Dame
17-3-0
15-4-1
11-6-3
10-8-2
9-7-2
7-10-3
6-7-5
7-10-3
8-9-1
4-13-3
5-12-1
3-13-4
20-7-1
18-7-3
13-8-5
14-10-2
12-9-3
8-11-3
7-13-6
11-13-4
13-12-2
9-16-3
10-13-1
5-18-5
Olson switches positions
By Ryan Sosin
Daily Sports Writer
For Michigan's 10 seniors, preparing for games has become
old hat. But for senior defenseman Reilly Olson, making his debut
as a forward posed a daunting task. Warming up before Friday's
game, Olson went through in his head what to do in every situ-
ation when on the ice. There was a lot to think about because he
was moving from his native defense to left wing.
"Before the game I was a little nervous," Olson said. "Once the
game starts, you just start flowing to the puck, and it all comes
pretty quickly."
Olson spent the week leading up to Michigan's match-
FRIDAY'S RESULTS:
Northern Michigan 4, MICHIGAN i
NEBRASKA-OMAHA 3, Wayne State 2
OHIo STATE 4, Western Michigan 3
BOWLING GREEN 4, Notre Dame 1
U.S. National Team 4, MICHIGAN STATE 3 (Ex)
Lake Superior 2, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 2
Miami (Ohio) 4, FERRIS STATE 3
SATURDAY'S RESULTS:
MICHIGAN 3, Northern Michigan 1
Bowling Green 6, NOTRE DAME 2
Lake Superior 1, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 1
Miami (Ohio) 5, FERRIS STATE 3
OHIO STATE 7, Western Michigan 0
NEBRASKA-OMAHA 4, Wayne State 2
up with Northern Michigan shaking off
the rust from the 10 years that separate
him from his last stint as a forward. After
breaking into the lineup for four games
at defenseman earlier this year - his
first games since March 2003 - Olson
was put back on the bench by coach Red
Berenson. But with three Michigan for-
\soO' .
wards out with injuries, Olson's opportunity landed in
his lap.
"I wasn't sure if (Berenson) was going to go with an extra
defenseman or try me at forward," Olson said. "I guess I wasn't
too surprised. I got a couple practices (at forward) to try and get
my feet wet."
With just 16 games of college hockey experience coming into
the weekend, Berenson wanted to see Olson get a little more
game-speed experience in the absence of the three injured for-
wards. Thanks to his puck handling skills and ability to fill in
at defense if the situation called for it, Berenson put him back in
the lineup.
"He's a pretty good hockey player," Berenson said. "But there's
a speed and intensity in these games, he needs to play more games
to get caught up to that."
Olson certainly isn't the first defenseman Berenson has
asked to move up front. Last season, then-junior defenseman
Eric Werner made four appearances at right wing before
returning to defense. Because Werner has become one of the
Wolverines' top defenseman, Berenson opted to move Olson
to forward instead.
"Why take one of your best defensemen and put him at for-
ward?" Berenson said. "It's a lot easier for someone to play the
odd shift on the fourth (forward) line than it is to play every sec-
ond or third shift on defense."
Paired with fellow seniors Charlie Henderson and
Michael Woodford, Olson didn't see a lot of minutes.
After the first period - in which he played a handful of
shifts to get comfortable - Olson saw sporadic ice time
both nights. He was held to one shift in the second period
on Saturday after nine penalties were called forcing spe-
cial teams to play most of the period. With the Wildcats
in striking distance near the end of the game, Berenson
again held back on using him.
"I didn't have too much ice time," Olson said jokingly. "So I
didn't have too many opportunities to screw up. I felt pretty good
once I got my feet wet, got a few shifts behind me."
Despite the limited opprotunities, Olson felt more at ease as
the game went on.
"Assuming I have to go (play forward next week), I'll be a little
bit more comfortable, and maybe I'll get a little bit more action,"
Olson said. "Hopefully, I'll play a little bit better."
INJURY UPDATE: Michigan isn't expecting to have any of its
three injured scratches back in the lineup and could lose yet
another forward to injury for next weekend's matchup with
Michigan State.
Senior Jason Ryznar was taken to the hospital for x-rays fol-
lowing Saturday night's game. Ryznar blocked a shot late in the
third period and then quickly skated to the Wolverine bench.
The puck struck the Michigan forward on his right hand, pos-
sibly breaking a finger. As of yesterday, there was no word on the
results of the X-ray.
Sophomore forwards Mike Brown and David Rohlfs, who
were sidelined with mononucleosis, will continue to be week-to-
week decisions. Both players are past the point of being infectious
to their teammates.
Senior forward David Moss remains sidelined with a groin
AMY DRUMM/Daily
Northern tripped up the Wolverines on Friday, 4-1, but they got right back up on their
skates and beat Northern 3-1 on Saturday.
WI LDCATS
Continued from page 1B
Berenson said. "We couldn't afford to
take another step backward.
"I thought we played with more of
an edge and more of a bite, and (with)
more urgency in the game. These
games, mentally, are games of des-
peration and confidence and there's a
balance between the two."
Michigan's offense looked strong
in the first period, with senior Eric
Nystrom and freshman Kevin Porter
each notching power play goals. At
4:24 of the opening frame, Nystrom
tapped in a pass from junior Andrew
Ebbett, who was positioned behind
the Northern Michigan net.
"We knew the first goal was going
to be important," Berenson said.
"(Northern Michigan) had a lot of
confidence coming off last night's
game. If we didn't bury one, they were
goals, we definitely did that. They
had to start opening it up. They had to
start taking some chances to get some
goals. We wanted to play our game,
not theirs."
Kyle acknowledged that the Wol-
verines did take his players out of
their element.
"Tonight was much more their kind
of game," Kyle said. "Their big gun-
ners played tonight and we had some
guys who, in my opinion, could have
done a better job."
The second period was marred by
penalties, with neither team manag-
ing to score or get into rhythm. But
the Wolverines' defense continued
to clamp down on the Wildcats, who
were held to just seven shots - com-
pared to Michigan's 23 - through the
first 40 minutes.
Gajic closed the Michigan scoring
2:33 into the third with a slapshot
from the right circle. The puck went
thriogh Tarkki's legs to rextend the
0'
TONY DING/Daily
The Spartans come to Yost Friday before
hosting the Wolverines at Joe Louis Arena.
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