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 .inyr .~.. - ~,. . I