PLAYOFF DREAMING:
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IAN HERBERT:
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FALL REPORT CARD:
Michigan's fall sports seasons are
over, and their final grades are in.
PAGE 6B
DAY
h( =.
r 28, 2005
1B
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Minnesota 6, MICHIGAN 3
MICHIGAN 2
No
show
at
Showcase
Sweep makes
* captain declare
time to own up
By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Sports Writer
As Wisconsin captain Adam Burish split the defense and fired the game-winning
goal past goaltender Noah Ruden, Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson probably
felt like weatherman Phil Connors from "Groundhog Day". That's because, for the
third year in a row, Michigan lost both games in the College Hockey Showcase.
The top-ranked Wolverines dropped Saturday night's game to the No. 2 Bad-
gers 3-2 after having lost to No. 7 Minnesota, 6-3, the night before.
"It's time for guys to take a peek in the mirror and start owning up," senior
captain Andrew Ebbett said. "They are not freshmen anymore, they have played
13 games, and even the upperclassmen need to take it upon ourselves and stop
* pointing fingers."
Despite their troubles all weekend, the Wolverines (5-1-1 CCHA, 9-3-1 over-
all) still had a chance to win Saturday's game. At 1:35 in the third period, Wis-
consin forward Ryan MacMurchy was whistled for elbowing. Just over a minute
later, freshman Brandon Naurato tied the score at two when he picked up a loose
rebound off defenseman Jack Johnson's shot and punched it past Badgers goalie
Brian Eliot for the team's only power play goal of the night.
After Naurato's goal, both teams had their chances to win the game. Naurato
almost scored a game-winner when fellow freshman Andrew Cogliano intercepted
the puck in the neutral zone, brought the puck up ice and sent a perfect pass across
ice. But Eliot was there to stonewall the Livonia native and keep the game tied.
"He's their best defense," Berenson said. "And the defense plays defense. They're
back, and you rarely get an odd-numbered rush - you rarely get a second shot."
While the offense struggled to score another goal, Ruden did his best to give his
teammates a chance to win. With just under four minutes left in the game, Bur-
ish came up the left side with the puck and then dropped it back to teammate Joe
Pavelski. Ruden didn't waver, stopping the point-blank shot to send the entire Yost
crowd into a "goalie-sieve" chant. But Burish got another chance two minutes later
and netted the game-winner.
Neither team seemed to have a distinct advantage in the first period, and the
players skated back to their locker rooms with the score tied at zero. But just
one minute into the second period the Badgers (8-0-2 WCHA, 11-1-2) drew first
blood.
After forward Jack Skille's shot was blocked by Ruden, the puck dropped
directly behind senior goaltender and in front of Wisconsin forward Robbie Earl,
who easily pushed it in, silencing the Yost crowd. Wisconsin benefited from the
lucky bounce on the first goal, but its second goal was a result of poor execution
by the Wolverines.
Defenseman David Rohlfs attempted to hit teammate Mark Mitera across ice in
the defensive zone, but Earl jumped between the two to intercept the pass and shot
a howitzer passed the outstretched leg of Ruden to take a 2-0 lead.
"Well, mistakes cost us, obviously," Berenson said. "Positioning on the last
goal, a giveaway on the second goal, and obviously we weren't matching the pace
of the game, the work ethic in the game."
Michigan's first goal of the game was a career-first for freshman Tim Mill-
er. The Davisburg native took the puck from the left faceoff circle and wrapped
around the net, flipping the puck back-handed past Eliot.
On Friday night the Wolverines got off on the right foot against the Gophers (6-
2-2 WCHA, 7-3-4) after alternate captain T.J. Hensick flipped a shot past the glove
side of Minnesota goaltender Kellen Briggs just 20 seconds into the contest.
But the Gophers came back strong, scoring four straight goals, capped by Mike
Howe's power play goal at 15 minutes. Playing back in a zone defense, Michigan
allowed forward Blake Wheeler to hold the puck just to the right side of the net
long enough for Howe to sneak in on the left side. Once the defense crashed, Howe
See SHOWCASE, page 4B
TOP-RANKED BLUE COMES UP SHORT
The past three years, a highly ranked Michigan team has dropped
both games to Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Showcase.
TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily
Senior Noah Ruden stopped 24 of 27 shots against Wisconsin, but it wasn't enough for the Wolverines to avoid another sweep in the Showcase.
Gophers power Icers into a big hole
2005-06* I
No. 7 Minnesota 6, No. 1 Michigan 3
................
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No. 2 Wisconsin 3, No. 1 Michigan 2
2004-05 No. 3 Minnesota 5, No 1. Michigan 1
No. 2 Wisconsin 3, No. 1 Michigan 1
2003-04* Wisconsin 3, No. 5 Michigan 1
Minnesota 4, No. 5 Michigan 2
*SHOWCASE AT HOME
By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer
Just like before the College Hockey Showcase, it
was almost to the point where a Michigan penalty
wasn't nerve-wracking anymore.
Before this weekend, Michigan special teams
killed off 91 percent of its opponent's power plays,
leaving its fans with few questions about the out-
come. During Friday night's 6-3 loss, there was
also little doubt surrounding special teams. But
this time, it was the Golden Gophers methodically
moving the puck around Michigan's defenders and
scoring on their first four and five of their nine total
power plays.
"I think the key was just puck movement," Min-
nesota coach Don Lucia said. "They want to go after
you, and we just did a good job of finding people.
The puck can move a lot faster than you can skate."
Lucia's squad used its speed and skill to its fullest
advantage in Friday night's contest, finding holes in
the Michigan penalty kill that no other opponent had
found to date. While watching film of the Wolver-
ines before this weekend's contest, Lucia knew the
Golden Gophers could take advantage when Michi-
gan's forwards pressured the opposing defensemen.
By using their forwards in such an aggressive
fashion, the Wolverines had previously prevented
defensemen from quarterbacking the power play at
the blue line and have pressured teams into numer-
ous mistakes and turnovers. But when Minnesota
slipped the puck around these forwards, Michigan's
penalty killers found themselves out of position.
"We knew they were going to be aggressive,"
Lucia said. "So we talked about where the puck had
to go, what the options were. It still comes down
to execution, and our guys did a really nice job of
executing."
Minnesota forward Ryan Potulny notched three
power play goals on Friday and gave full credit to
the Golden Gophers' pre-game study of Michigan's
See PENALTY KILL, page 4B
'M' squeaks by with comeback win
By Megan Kolodgy
Daily Sports Editor
After its third win of the season, the still-undefeated
Wolverines were throwing some heavy words around
th,. in- .j-,., n -mntc nhnnt mi.cidnn relemntion
In the final two minutes, Horton's offense
helped neutralize Butler guard A.J. Graves, whose
stellar performance from beyond the arc and late-
game intensity kept the Bulldogs afloat. The wan-
ing moments showcased these players' abilities on
hbth ends of the floor- a thev nore or less traded
5:15 remaining, he responded to a field goal from
Bulldogs forward Brandon Polk with a jumper of
his own, bringing the Wolverines within one point
of Butler. And although junior Dion Harris was out-
shone by Horton and Sims, he was part of a number
of kev nlavs inchuding sinking the go-ahead shot and
I