PLAYOFF DREAMING: Not a fan of the bowls? The Daily's got you covered. PAGE 2B IAN HERBERT: DC's Turkey Bowl provides great entertainment for true football fans. PAGE 3B FALL REPORT CARD: Michigan's fall sports seasons are over, and their final grades are in. PAGE 6B DAY h( =. r 28, 2005 1B - --------- ghie Sidiipwu 194v 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 ................ ................. .................. ................ :!, .1. :! ! . !l,+: !,! r: ! r! ! ! :! 1! r!l !' , +&' :& !: & !: : I I +! : + 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