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. UP NEXT: