4B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 12, 2005

HITTING AFTER THE WHISTLE

0

ICE HOCKEY

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Ebbett
Michigan
The senior captain took it upon himself to right
the ship for the Wolverines. Over the weekend he
notched two goals and two assists and played
a key role in keeping the top line of Nebraska-
Omaha at bay.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"(Freshman Andrew) Cogliano
was on my other hand. But I'm not
much of a passer, so I shot it."
- Michigan senior Brandon Kaleniecki on his
first-period goal in Saturday's game.
BY THE NUMBERS

Friday's Game
MICHIGAN 4 - NEBRASKA-OMAHA 2

Saturday's Game
MICHIGAN 7 - NEBRASKA-OMAHA 3

Seniors lasso Mavencks

41

The total number of penalty min-
utes Michigan received in the
third period of Saturday's game

I7 Consecutive games in which Michigan
has scored a power play goal
SCORING SUMMARY
Michigan 7, Nebraska-Omaha 3
Nebraska-Omaha.............................. 2 0 1 - 3
Michigan ........................3 4 0-7
FIRST PERIOD
1. UNO Scott Parse 1Q(Brandon Scero) 1:54.2. MICH Brandon
Kaleniecki 5 (Mark Mitera) 6:14. 3. Bill Thomas 13 (unassisted)
7:09. 4. MICH Kevin Porter 10 (T. J. Hensick, David Rohlfs) 8:16. 5.
MICH Jason Bailey 2 (Brandon Kaleniecki, Andrew Ebbett) 19:32.
Penalties - Brandon Scero, UNO (holding) 4:18; Matt Hunwick,
MICH (slashing) 12:52; Dan Charleston, UNO (obstruction-tripping)
15:40; Travis Turnbull, MICH (obstruction-tripping) 19:51.
SECOND PERIOD
6. MICH Andrew Cogliano 8 (unassisted) 1:20. 7. MICH Andrew
Ebbett 6 (Jason Bailey, Matt Hunwick) 13:40. 8. MICH Jack Johnson
5 (T. J. Hensick, Kevin Porter) 19:08. 9. MICH Jason Bailey 3 (Jason
Dest, David Rohlfs) 19:42. Penalties - Brandon Scero, UNO (slash-
ing) 4:52; Jack Johnson, MICH (slashing) 5:15; Kaleb Betts, UNO
(checking from behind) 16:05; Kaleb Betts, UNO (game misconduct)
16:05; Kaleb Betts, UNO (cross-checking ATW) 16:05.
THIRD PERIOD
10. UNO Bill Thomas 14 (Scott Parse, Dan Knapp) 17:45. Penal-
ties - Jason Bailey, MICH (charging) 9:46; Jack Johnson, MICH
(hitting ATW) 15:15; Jack Johnson, MICH (high-sticking) 15:15;
Jack Johnson, MICH (game misconduct) 15:15; Tim Miller, MICH
(hooking) 16:22; Danny Fardig, MICH (roughing) 18:08; David
Rohlfs, MICH (fighting) 18:08; David Rohlfs, MICH (disqualifica-
tion) 18:08; Scott Parse, UNO (roughing) 18:08; Dan Knapp, UNO
(fighting) 18:08; Dan Knapp, UNO (disqualification) 18:08; Mark
Mitera, MICH (slashing) 19:27; Mark Mitera, MICH (roughing)
19:27; Chad Kolarik, MICH (roughing) 19:27; Mick Lawrence, UNO
(roughing) 19:27.
Shots on goal: UNO 8-18-16-32; MICH 13-12-4-29. Power plays: UNO 1-of-8; MICH
3-of-7. Saves - UNO Jerad Kaufmann (10-4-0) - 14; UNO Greg Bar-
rett (0-4-4) --8; MICH Billy Sauer (6-8-0) - 14; MICH Noah Ruden
'M' STATS

CAITLIN KLEIBOER/Daily
Seniors Andrew Ebbett (left) and Brandon Kaleniecki (right) combined to
score 10 points this weekend. Both talked all week about stepping up to
stop the team's losing streak.

line leads Blue to victory

By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer

Player

GP

G

Al Pts I+j-

PIM

Sht

Hensick 17 9 18 27 +5 12 57
Johnson 17 5 16 21 +9 83 39
cogliano 17 8 11 19 -2 16 55
Ebbett 17 6 13 19 0 19 39
Hunwick 17 5 13 18 +5 24 40
Porter 17 10 6 16 -1 10 41
Kolarik 17 4 7 11 -4 22 29
Turnbull 17 4 6 10 +5 33 28
Kaleniecki 16 5 4 9 +2 29 42
Naurato 14 5 2 7 0 2 26
Miller 17 1 5 6 +5 12 19
Mitera 17 0 5 5 -1 31 23
Bailey 16 3 2 5 -3 37 18
Rohlfs 17 0 3 3 +1 23 13

Dest
Swystun
Fardig
Cook
Dunlap

17
16
14
16

1
1

2
1

3
2

-4
-11

31
10

12
18

f ~---4 + 4 4

1
0

0
0

1
0

+1
-3

20
19

11
12

- i i -- i i-4 i *

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

THE 'RED' LINE
In a system named for legendary coach Red Beren-
son, the Daily hockey writers grade the Wolverines on
their performance in each of four areas.
(Graded out of 4 pucks)

Over the past three and a half years,
seniors Andrew Ebbett and Brandon Kale-
niecki have formed a seemingly inseparable
bond on the ice. Over the past weekend, the
pair proved just how powerful that bond
could be.
Coming into the game, all eyes were on
Nebraska-Omaha's Scott Parse, Bill Thomas
and Bryan Marshall, one of the nation's top
scoring lines. But it was Ebbett, Kaleniecki
and freshman Jason Bailey who stole the
show. While the Mavericks' aces managed
to net three goals on Saturday night after
being kept off the score sheet on Friday, the
Wolverines' checking line knocked in two
apiece over the weekend, combining for six
total goals.
Ebbett and Kaleniecki have never been
particularly heralded, and neither has been
drafted by an NHL team. But they have qui-
etly provided the Wolverines with a serious
threat - a checking line that can score.
"Since we got here freshman year, they
have put (Ebbett and me) on a line together,"
Kaleniecki said. "And things kind of worked
well from the beginning. He's a smart player,
so he knows what to do, and I like to think of
myself as a smart player. So we know what's
going on out on the ice and we're kind of on
the same page, so it works well."
Bailey was a perfect final piece for the
line, completing a trio of scrappy work-
horses.
"Bailey brings a great work ethic," Kale-
niecki said. "He works hard, he finishes his
AROUND THE CCHA
Friday's results:
MICHIGAN 4, Neb.-Omaha 2
Lake Superior 2, BEMIDJI STATE 1
FERRIS STATE 5, Northern Mich. 3
Michigan State 4, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 4
MIAMI (OHIO) 1, St. Lawrence 1
Clarkson 6, BOWLING GREEN 4
Saturday's results:
MICHIGAN 7, Nebraska-Omaha 3
Lake Superior 2, BEMIDJI STATE 2
Northern Mich. 2, FERRIS STATE 1
Minn. State 2, NOTRE DAME 1
OHIO STATE 2, Union 1
Michigan State 3, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS O
BOWLING GREEN 6, St. Lawrence 4
MIAMI (OHIO) 2, Clarkson 1
*Home teams in caps

checks, and he's strong. He brings a lot of
things. When he's on the ice, you know he's
going to do these things, so it gives us a
chance to get something going.".
While Ebbett and Kaleniecki have flown
under the NHL radar, Bailey was a fifth-
round selection of the Mighty Ducks of
Anaheim in the 2005 draft. He has been
praised for his speed and his ability to throw
his weight around to win battles in the cor-
ner. This weekend, Bailey managed to find
the back of the net twice and was able to
create numerous other chances for his team-
mates. He credits Ebbett and Kaleniecki for
helping to raise his level of play.
"These are two of the guys that everyone
looks up to on this team," Bailey said. "I
have to play at a higher level when I'm play-
ing with these guys. You always have to be
going with (Kaleniecki) at practice, or he'll
let you know. They are good guys and good
leaders, so it worked out with us."
Kaleniecki also felt the benefits of the new
line and knocked in two goals, including an
impressive top-shelf blast to tie Saturday's
game at one. While suffering through a
laundry list of nagging injuries, Kaleniecki
has struggled to make his way onto the score
sheet so far this season. Many of his goals
have been redirections and rebounds, so he
was pleased to score on a well-placed shot.
"It feels really good to score one like
that," Kaleniecki said. "Especially since
all of my other ones were kind of just like
yesterday's tip, and the one before that
was a deflection. They were all kind of
right around the net, so it was nice to get
a nice shot."
MAVERICKS
Continued from page 11B
Michigan freshman Jason Bailey said. "And
just went in for us tonight."
But the goal that proved to be the gam
winner was anything but luck. While Mich
gan was killing a penalty, forward Andre
Cogliano picked up a loose puck in the neutr
zone and skated off alone toward the net. Ma
ericks defenseman Juha Uotila raced towa
his own zone, turning his back toward t
goalie in an attempt to cut off Cogliano.
The freshman juked left but shot to his rig
as he was moving, creating enough space fi

Mark Giannotto

OFFENSE
Eleven goals in two games was
just what the doctor ordered.
The offense was spearheaded
by six goals from the Ebbett-
Kaleniecki-Bailey line, and the
defense even chipped in with
a key goal on Friday night.
DEFENSE
The defense looked solid,
holding the Mavericks' top
line scoreless on Friday.
There were mistakes lead-
ing to odd-man rushes,
but they did a better job
of covering their backs.
GOALTENDING
Nebraska-Omaha had the
nation's top scoring line
coming into the weekend.
And Michiganhas the top
non drafted collegiate goal-
ie. Billy Sauer 2, Mavericks

As his injuries continue to heal, Kalen-1
iecki hopes to make the most of the secondI
half of his senior season.1
"It's coming along," Kaleniecki said. "I've
had some injuries that were kind of lengthy,
and it kind of got to the point against Wis-l
consin where I couldn't play, Last week, I
felt a little better, and this week I felt the bestf
I have felt in a long time."t
As Kaleniecki's health improves and the
the puck to go sailing over Kaufmann's out-
stretched glove into the top-right corner of the
net. For the third time in four goals, the quick-
est indicator of a score was a green Gatorade
it bottle jumping on the top of the net. That made
the score 4-2 and essentially put the game
e- away - even though Michigan would score
hi- three more goals that night.
w On Friday night, the Wolverines got the job
al done mostly without luck and won, 4-2.
v- Kaleniecki scored the team's first goal
rd at 11:48 in the first period - around five
he minutes after Nebraska-Omaha scored
- when he deflected an Ebbett shot over
ht the goaltender's right shoulder. Then junior
or Jason Dest gave Michigan a lead it would
DAILY POWER RANKINGS
on Saturday night. The Catamounts
defeated the U.S. Under-18 team 8-4
in an exhibition game on Saturday.

line continues to gel in the coming weeks,
Ebbett believes coach Red Berenson will
keep the group together after shuffling lines
several times in the past few weeks.
"I think they will keep us together,"
Ebbett said. "Especially with guys like (for-
wards Marty) Sertich and (Brett) Sterling
from Colorado College. We are playing well
together, so I don't think they'll break us up
for a while. Hopefully, it just keeps going."
never relinquish with a short-handed goal
at 17:31 in the second period.
Ebbett brought the puck up the right side of
the offensive zone and then left it off for Dest,
who just flipped it over the goalie's glove to
make it 2-1.
"Obviously, the power play goal got us back
in the game, and the short-handed goal by Dest
was a big goal," Berenson said. "The goals
came at the right time, and we needed them.'
Michigan will now have a few weeks
off before heading to Joe Louis Arena for
the Great Lakes Invitational at the end
of the month. There, it will face a tough
opponent, No. 4 Colorado College, to open
up the first round.

James V. Dowd

CCHA STANDINGS

1. Wisconsin (14-2-2)
The Badgers maintain their hold on
Pts the top spot despite earning just a

6. Michigan (11-5-1)
The Wolverines finally snapped their
four-game losing streak with a sweep

Team

CCHA

Overall

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