4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 21, 2005
LINE OF THE WEEK
Jeff Tambellini
Forward
Saturday vs. Notre Dame
2 Goals and 2 assists
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
"7 talked to some of my friends on
Nebraska-Omaha, and they said, 'We
can't match up against you because you
can't pick a line (to key on).'"
- Michigan forward Jeff Tambellini.
Cory McLean
(Notre Dame)
McLean led Notre Dame with three
points - all assists. His scoring
chance during Saturday's 5-on-3
power play nearly turned the tide.
Andrew Ebbett
(Michigan)
Ebbett had a breakout weekend on the
offensive end. The junior scored two of his
four goals on the season against Notre
Dame, including Saturday's game-winner.
01
FRIDAY'S GAME
Michigan Wolverines 9
Porter, Gajic, Kolarik (2), Nystrom,
Ebbett, Woodford, Hensick (2)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2
Paige, Amado
SATURDAY'S GAME
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 3
Jindra, Oreskovich, Amado
Ebbett heats up after benching
Michigan Wolverines
Porter, Tambellini (2),
Moss (2), Ebbett
6
Michigan 6, Notre Dame 3
Notre Dame 0 2 1 -
Michigan 2 1 3 -
3
6
Firstaperbod-1. MICH, KevinPorter10 (T.J. Hen-
sick, Jeff Tambellini) 4:55; 2. MICH, Jeff Tambellini
15 (Eric Werner, Eric Nystrom) 12:24. Penalties
-Brandon Rogers, MICH (hooking) 2:10; Brock
Sheahan, ND (contact to the head-high sticking)
10:31; T.J. Jindra, ND (tripping) 13:32; Jason Paige,
ND (kneeing) 14:19; Tim Cook. MCH (hitting after
the whistle) 17:13; Victor Oreskovich, ND(hitting
after the whistle) 17:13; Tim Cook, MICH (hitting
from behind) 19:34; Jason Paige, ND (hitting after
the whistle) 19:34.
Second period -3. ND, T.J. Jindra 4 (Cory McLean,
Wes O'Neill) 0:33; 4. MICH, David Moss 9 (David
Rohlfs, Michael Woodford) 14:37; 5. ND, Victor
Oreskovich 1(unassisted) 19:41. Penalties- Mike
Brown, MICH (obstruction-tripping) 8:47; Brock
Sheahan, ND (hooking) 11:40; Tim Cook, MICH
(cross-checking) 15:08.
Third period - 6. M ICH, Andrew Ebbett 4 (Jeff Tam-
bellini, Eric Werner) 12:59; 7. MICH, Jeff Tambellini
16 (Chad Kolarik, Al Montoya) 18:10; 8. ND, Matt
Amado 5 (Cory McLean) 18:29; 9. MICH, David
Moss 10 (Brandon Rogers, Chad Kolarik) 19:44.
Penalties- Kevin Porter, MICH (checking from
behind) 1:01; Kevin Porter, MICH (game miscon-
duct) 1:01; Tim Cook, MICH (contact to the head-
roughing) 4:06; Victor Oreskovich, ND (high sticking)
7:41; Chris Trick, ND (holding) 12:34; Mike Brown,
MICH (holding the stick) 14:18.
Shots on goal: ND 4-4-6-14; MICH 12-10-16-38. Power plays:
ND 0 of 6; MICH 2 of 6. Saves - ND David Brown (10-9-
13) --32; MICH Al Montoya (4-2-5) - 11.
Referee: Stephen Mclnchak
At: Yost Ice Arena Attendance: 6,938.
'M' STATS
By Ryan Sosin
Daily Sports Writer
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Riding the pine is a place no Michi-
gan hockey player wants to find himself. Since Michigan for-
ward Andrew Ebbett found himself in that very position five
weeks ago, he has been a player on a mission.
"I don't ever want to sit in the stands like that again," Ebbett
said. "That kind of shook me and woke me up a little bit."
After sitting for the two games against
Alaska-Fairbanks, Ebbett has found his way
onto the scoresheet with some regularity. With
a goal in each game this weekend - plus an
assist on Friday - Ebbett has 11 points since
he found himself practicing in a black jersey
before the Nanooks came to town. His goal on
Friday was his first since Oct. 23.
"It feels real good to help the team put some pucks in the net,"
Ebbett said. "I know I've had a lot of assists lately. I've been
playing well. But it's a load off my shoulders, I know that."
His teammates are taking notice, too. Snatching the rebound
off a Jeff Tambellini shot, Ebbett drilled home a power play goal
to give Michigan a 4-2 lead. With the way his teammates reacted
- piling on top of Ebbett against the glass - the Yost crowd
might have thought that it was a tournament-sealing tally.
"When you're playing hard, the puck finds you," senior cap-
tain Eric Nystrom said following the Michigan State series two
weeks ago when Ebbett notched his 20th multi-point game.
"And that's what he was doing. He was moving his feet, he was
finishing his checks, he was awesome on faceoffs."
Berenson is happier not only with Ebbett's play in the offen-
sive zone, but also the more consistent defensive showing he's
gotten from the junior. During Notre Dame's 5-on-3 advantage
Saturday, Ebbett made a diving poke check on Brock Sheahan
to clear the zone after he and Nystrom were trapped out on the
ice and forced to kill during an extended shift.
"That was a good effort," Berenson said. "Hockey is a game
of sprints, but, when you have to stay out there for a minute and
you're stopping and starting and working hard, the other team
has the advantage. We got through that and finally got the puck
out. That was a big part of the game."
PLUCKY FRESHMEN: Michigan freshmen Chad Kolarik and
Kevin Porter have had a special touch against the Fighting Irish
in their rookie season.
Last time the two teams met, Porter earned CCHA Rookie of
the Week honors when he posted two goals and a trio of assists
for the Wolverines. He continued where he left off this week-
end, netting the first goal in each of the two matchups.
"It's just one of those things," Berenson said. "Both Kolarik
and Porter, whether they have that bit of luck going for them
against the Irish, I don't know, but so far, so good."
For Kolarik, this weekend was the tale of two games. On Friday,
the freshman notched a pair of goals, one coming with the extra
attacker. The following night, Kolarik reverted to a playmaker
role, setting up the Wolverines final two goals of the game.
"Coach Berenson plays us like we're not freshmen," Kolarik
said. "We still are freshmen, but we're playing as if we're not.
So we're playing with a lot more confidence."
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOu: By playing all 60 minutes
Saturday, Notre Dame goalie David Brown became the only
of the three Irish goalies to start and finish a game against
the Wolverines. Brown and Morgan Cey both started a game
apiece in the first series, and both were relieved as Michigan
piled on the goals.
During Friday's 9-2 Michigan win, Cey was replaced by Rory
Walsh midway through the third period after giving up nine goals.
"(Changing goalies is) not a science," Notre Dame coach
Dave Poulin said after Friday's game. "I normally wouldn't
TONY DING/Daily
Junior forward Andrew Ebbett, right, scored two goals over the
weekend. Ebbett has scored U1 points since being benched.
leave my starter in for that long. I was contemplating taking
him out and then it happened - bang, bang - before I could
get him out."
Michigan combined for 29 goals on Notre Dame netminders
during the four-game season series.
Player
Hensick
Tambellini
Gajic
Kolarik
Moss
Ebbett
Nystrom
Werner
Hunwick
Porter
Ryznar
Rogers
Kaleniecki
Rohlfs
Martens
Brown
Dest
Woodford
Henderson
Montoya
Olson
Cook
Ruden
Player
Montoya
Ruden
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Sht
31 21 24 45 +13 22 105
34 16 26 42 +24 20 164
34 15 17 32 +3 38 93
34 13 16 29 +8 39 91
32 10 18 28 +9 24 69
32 4 23 27 +9 22 73
30 10 15 25 +14 27 44
31 7 15 22 +1440 39
32 6 16 22 +11 48 45
32 10 11 21 +9 43 52
28 5 15 20 +3 42 41
34 2 18 20 +19 62 68
34 11 6 17 +7 38 111
27 5 5 10 +8 14 39
30 1 8 9 +7 28 25
27 3 4 7 +9 86 48
34 1 4 5 +1846 33
18 2 2 4 +1 24 24
9 2 1 3 +1 4 9
32 0 3 3 -- 20 0
12 0 1 1 +4 6 4
34 0 0 0 +6 50 14
6 0 0 0 -- 0 0
5FFTHEEDRAW
1~cHIG P'LAY S Q" ri .
3 Exlener
15 - Jeff Tambellini
19 - Andrew Ebbett °*
NOTRE ME PLAYER
3Y =David"rown
- Skating W/ puck Skating w/o puck ". .. Pass - - Shot
How it happened: With Michigan holding a 3-2 lead after killing
off a 5-on-3 Notre Dame power play, Fighting Irish defenseman Chris
Trick was sent to the penalty box for holding. Just 25 seconds into the,
man-advantage, the Wolverines' power play capitalized. At 12:59 in
the third period, defenseman Eric Werner slid the puck over to for-
ward Jeff Tambellini. From the left point, Tambellini fired a shot that
was stopped by Notre Dame goalie David Brown, but the rebound
popped out to forward Andrew Ebbett, who tapped it into the right
side of the net for the score.
Analysis: Ebbett's goal would stand up as the game-winner,
and it marked a definitive momentum shift in Michigan's favor. After
Notre Dame's 5-on-3 power play failed, the onus was on the Fighting
Irish penalty kill to keep the game close. But Michigan scored, and the
Wolverines had two of the game's three goals afterward.
GP W
32 23
6 1
L
6
1
T GAA
3 2.69
0 1.46
PCT
.891
.951
CCHA STANDINGS
Team
Michigan
Ohio State
Northern Mich.
Nebraska-Omaha
Bowling Green
Miami (OH)
Alaska-Fairbanks
Michigan State
Lake Superior
Ferris State
Western Michigan
Notre Dame
CCHA Overall
21-3-2
20-5-1
13-7-4
12-10-4
12-9-3
11-12-3
10-13-3
9-12-3
7-11-6
6-14-4
6-16-2
3-18-5
24-7-3
23-8-3
16-9-7
16-12-4
15-11-4
15-15-4
11-14-3
14-14-4
8-17-7
11-17-4
11-17-2
5-23-6
THURSDAY'S RESULT:
Michigan Tech 3, NORTHERN MICH. 3 (OT)
FRIDAY'S RESULTS:
Michigan 9, NOTRE DAME 2
BOWLING GREEN 4, Western Michigan 1
Miami (Ohio) 5, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 1
MICHIGAN STATE 6, Ohio State 3
Nebraska-Omaha 5, LAKE SUPERIOR 2
SATURDAY'S RESULTS:
MICHIGAN 6, Notre Dame 3
BOWLING GREEN 5, Western Michigan 1
Miami (Ohio) 5, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 4
Ohio State 5, MICHIGAN STATE 1
Nebraska-Omaha 3, LAKE SUPERIOR 3 (OT)
HERBERT
Continued from page1B
Berenson took over a struggling Wolver-
ines team. And, over the last 14 years,
Berenson has been the winningest coach
in the NCAA. Michigan's 14 consecutive
NCAA Tournament appearances over
that period is an NCAA record. He has
two national titles and nine Frozen Four
appearances. And Michigan has been first
or second in the CCHA in each of the last
15 seasons, including this one.
Those are some impressive numbers,
but what makes Berenson such a good
coach?
Talent is certainly part of it. Michigan
has 14 players who have already been
drafted by NHL teams, including three
first-round picks.
"I've been really fortunate when you
think'about it," Berenson admitted after
Friday's dismantling of Notre Dame.
"Look at all the good players we have at
Michigan."
But part of it is the coaching of Beren-
son - along with his two stellar assistant
coaches Mel Pearson and Billy Powers.
Michigan is the most disciplined team
I have seen this year. They seem to do
all of the little things right, like change
lines without a problem. I know it doesn't
sound like much, but the team is flawless
on line changes. It's a simple thing to get
right, but other teams that aren't coached
as well occasionally mess it up. Twice this
season, other teams have been hit with
"too many men on the ice" penalties, and
I can't even count how many times Al
Montoya has thrown a pass up the ice on
a power play to catch the other team in the
middle of a line change. Just last week in
Omaha, sophomore T.J. Hensick helped
push Michigan past Nebraska-Omaha by
getting behind the Mavericks defense.
Another example of Berenson's ability
Dominic Vicari. If Vicari hadn't made
a fantastic play, Dest could have given
Michigan an insurmountable lead. Dest's
heads-up play is a perfect example of good
coaching, but the defensive lapse by the
Spartans is something that doesn't happen
with a Berenson-coached Michigan team.
On Saturday, Michigan's Kevin Porter
got hit with a five-minute major. And
three minutes in, defenseman Tim Cook
picked up another two-minute penalty.
So Michigan was faced with killing off
two whole minutes of 5-on-3 play. They
did it perfectly. A lot of the credit has to
go to the intensity of the penalty killers;
they didn't want to lose this game. But the
three guys rotated perfectly, and Notre
Dame - which had scored on each of its
last four 5-on-3's - could barely get shots
off - that's coaching.
Most of the special teams drills are run
by Pearson and Powers, but it's the little
things that Berenson does that make him a
special coach. A few weeks ago, the former
NHL center took aside all of the forwards
to talk about faceoffs. The next week, he
took Montoya aside just to talk goalie talk.
I've seen him take aside just about every
player on the team. He's in touch with his
team. When Hensick was struggling earlier
this year, Berenson sat him for a game
against then-No. 2 Wisconsin. Now, Hen-
sick is a Hobey Baker finalist. A few weeks
ago, Berenson sat junior Andrew Ebbett
because he wasn't pleased with Ebbett's
effort. Ebbett responded by bringing his
game to a new level since he came back.
He had two goals this weekend, which is
as many as he'd had all season. This week
the coach decided to sit senior defenseman
Nick Martens because of inconsistent play.
We'll have to wait to see how Martens
responds, but I trust Berenson's decision.
As a team, Saturday's performance
was lackluster at best. Notre Dame was
more physical and seemed to out-hustle
IRISH
Continued from page1B
killing was spectacular. Two shorthanded rushes -
one by junior Andrew Ebbett and another by Moss and
sophomore Mike Brown - kept the pressure off the
defense, while Montoya made an excellent split-legged,
right-pad save on senior right wing Cory McLean and
corralled the rebound midway through the 5-on-3.
Michigan came back to full strength just as Montoya
gloved another shot out of the air to stymie the Fight-
ing Irish.
"When it came down to a big save that could poten-
tially win the game, (Montoya) made it," Notre Dame
coach Dave Poulin said.
Berenson wasn't entirely satisfied with his team's
play throughout the game, but the third-period penalty
kill was a bright spot.
"To kill a five-minute major is a big deal," Berenson
said. "Even though their power play may not be that
strong, they had the puck in the zone most of the time.
Our penalty killers did a good job of rotating, hav-
ing sticks in the passing lanes, denying shots, block-
ing shots and discouraging them from shooting. They
worked hard in the corner, on loose pucks, trying to get
it out. That was a good effort."
Ebbett's power play goal with seven minutes left
would be the eventual game-winner. Tambellini's shot
from the left point was stopped by Brown, but the
rebound popped out to Ebbett on the right side of the
net. The junior tapped it home for his second goal of
the weekend.
"Not scoring on the 5-on-3 and them coming back and
getting one on the power play (were turning points),"
Poulin said. "And there's the game right there."
On Friday, Ebbett scored his first goal since Oct. 23.
The weekend's output of two goals doubled his goal
total for the season, pushing it to four.
Tambellini's second score on Saturday put the game
out of reach at 18:10 of the third period. The junior's
wide-angle shot from the low right circle beat Brown
top shelf to make the score 5-2 in favor of Michigan.
Notre Dame forward Matt Amado's goal 19 seconds
later was too little, too late. Moss ended the scoring
with an empty net goal to give the Wolverines the 6-3
win and a spot in the driver's seat to finish the race for
the CCHA crown.
"We control our own destiny the whole way," Tam-
bellini said. "It's up to us. We just have to keep playing.
We're not worried about what (Ohio State is) doing. As
long as we play well (against Bowling Green in two
weeks), everything should be fine."
JE--LHNET/Uaiy
A handful of future Wolverines head to
Yost for an exhibition on Saturday.
UP NEXT:
*I
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