4B - November 27, 2006
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
CONTACT TO THE HEAD
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"Obviously, they had the better
team right from the get-go. We had
a lot of guys play well, but that's
how much better Minnesota was
tonight than we were"
- Michigan coach RED BERENSON 's opening
remarks after an 8-2 thrashing of his team at
the hands of No.1 Minnesota.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jim O'Brien
MINNESOTA
On a team loaded with talented fresh-
men who lit up Michigan goalie Billy
Sauer, O'Brien managed to stand out.
The rookie's three-point night Saturday
included two goals, the first and second of
his career.
THE 'RED' LINE
Ina system named for legendary coach Red Berenson, the
Daily hockey writers rate the Wolverines on their perfor-
mance in each of four areas. (Rated out of 4 pucks)
OFFENSE
Itmasn iceto see the comeback
win against Wisconsin on Friday.
But the offense failed to capitalize
on crucial chances Saturday versus
h Minnesota. Consistency is the key.
Friday's Game Saturday's Game
MICHIGAN 4 -WISCONSIN 3 MINNESOTA 8 - MICHIGAN 2 *
Gopher holed
No.1Minnesota piles it on
Nate Sandals
Ian Robinson
James V. Dowd
DEFENSE
Even if it is the best team
country, letting anyone fir
shots your way is embarrz
The back line left Sauer al
with the Gophers far toor
GOALTEN DING
Over the past three week
Sauer's played some of th
hockey of his career - ex
for Saturday night's horre
dous five-goal third perio
SPECIAL TEAMS
The penalty kill didn't do r
to fight off Minnesota Sat
Instead, it was the Gophe
Michigan with three short
goals - two just 20 secor
By JAMES V. DOWD
Daily Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS - Having come
in the back from two separate two-goal def-
e 52 icits in Friday night's win, Michigan
assing. was far from out of Saturday night's
one contest against Minnesota while sit-
much. ting in Mariucci Arena's visitors'
locker room during the second inter-
mission.
The Wolverines trailed 3-1 and
had seized their first semblance of
momentum late in the middle frame.
Alternate captain T.J. Hensick outs-
s, kated Golden Gophers captain Mike
e best Vannelli and glided to a breakaway
cept marker with 6:54 remaining in the
'n- period.
d. But what transpired during the
final stanza of the Golden Gophers'
0 8-2 demolition was unprecedented
in recent years of Michigan hockey.
The Wolverines surrendered five
goals, includingtwo short-handed, in
much a matter of 20 seconds, and were left
urday. with heads hanging low for the 600-
rs killing mile trip home.
-handed "We just flat-out got beat," sopho-
nds apart. more defenseman Jack Johnson said.
"They beat us in pretty much every
aspect of the game. We played the
best team in the country right now,
and, obviously, we have a long way to
go to get there."
After Minnesota scored early in
the third, Hensick's linemate, junior
ci- Kevin Porter, helped keep Michigan's
add ice hopes alive with a goal three minutes
band later. But that was when the high-
i Arena. lights ended for the Wolverines.
The Golden Gophers scored just
lty one minute later, and again 20 sec-
onds after that. Both goals were the
h result of opportunistic Minnesota
the forwards being in the right place at
- the right time and deadly mistakes by
Michigan's defensemen.
"Minnesota worked hard for every-
thing that they got," Michigan coach
Red Berenson said. "But on our side
of the ledger, we have to play better.
We have to take care of the puck, and
we have to play better defensively."
Once the hosts had a four-goal
lead, Michigan's play slid further
downhill. Even when the Wolver-
ines generated shots on Minnesota
goaltender Kellen Briggs, the Golden
Gophers seemed to anticipate Michi-
gan's next move and forced turnovers
at the blue line.
The Michigan miscues resulted in
odd-man rushes that forced Wolver-
ines' goaltender Billy Sauer to make
a career-high 44 saves on the same
night that he gave up a career-high
eight goals.
A few flashes of brilliance by Hen- (
sick, Porter and Johnson in a last-
ditch effort couldn't help Michigan
find the back of the net, allowing the
game to get out of hand.
"We had a lot of guys play well,"
Berenson said. "That's how much bet-
ter Minnesota was tonight than we
were, and then the momentum just
took over the game. The puck started
to go in no matter what they did."
Saturday's abysmal third period
stood in stark contrast to the Wol-
verines' resilient Friday comeback
against Wisconsin. Instead of col-
lapsing under the pressure of a hos-
tile crowd, Michigan took the lead
during the final period with a pair of
goals by David Rohlfs and Andrew
Cogliano just 30 seconds apart.
Paired with the two-goal deficit
the Wolverinestovercame against
Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 10, come- -P POTO
backs were the trend for Michigan Minnesotaforward Ryan Flynn decks Michigan defenseman Chris Summers.
prior to Saturday's collapse.
"I think we have a pretty resilient up our defense, we'll have a chance to "We don't really want to erase this
team this season," said Michigan win." memory completely because we've
captain Matt Hunwick after the vic- According to Johnson, whether got to learn from it," Johnson said.
tory in Madison. "You've seen it in Saturday's game is the new trend or "We need to try and build on it. The
past games - against Omaha we were an anomaly will undoubtedly deter- Gophers are a hell of a team, and
down 2-0. I feel like we have the abil- mine the course of the Wolverines' we've got to try to become as good as
ity to score goals, so if we can tighten season. them by the end of the year."
IN THE STANDS
College football is the sport normally asso.
ated with marching bands. At Minnesota,a
hockey to the list. Before home games, the
marches around the concourse at Mariucc
The Gophers add another degree of difficu
to the responsibilities of cheerleaders. The
cheerleaders in Minneapolis skate around
ice rink getting the fans pumped up in addi
tion to the standard practice of walking up
and down the aisles riling up the crowd.
BY THE NUMBERSt
ThenumberofirstoundNHLdraftpicks Johnsons put a superstar touch on crucial matchup *
that layed in Saturday night's game
Michigan and Minnesota each have four,
SATURDAY'S SCORING
Minnesota 8, Michigan 2
Michigan............... 0 1 1 - 2
Minnesota .........................2 1 5 - 8
FIRST PERIOD
1. MINN Mike Carman 3 (Ryan Flynn, Mike Vannei) 11:12. 2. MINN Jim
O'Brien 1 (David Fischer, Erik Johnson) 18:40. Penalties - Chris Summers,
MICH (slashing) 4:26; Erik Johnson, MINN (tripping) 10:44.
SECOND PERIOD
3. MINN Kyle Okposo 10 (Erik Johnsion) 4:04. 4. MICH T.J. Hensick 713:06
Penalties - Ben Gordon, MINN (unsportsmanlike conduct) 8:08; Chris
Summers, MICH (hooking) 8:08; Jack Johnson, MICH (cross-checking)
11:43.
THIRD PERIOD
5. MINN Jim O'Brien 2 (Evan Kaufmann, Mike Vannlli) 3:32. 6. MICH Kevin
Porter 12 (T.J. Hensick, David Rohlfs)6:24.7. MINN Evan Kaufmann 3 (Erik
Johnson, Jim O'Brien) 7:25. 8. MINN Blake wheeler 9 (Ben Gordon) 7:48
9. MINN Mike Carman 4 (Brian Schack) 15:41. 10. MINNTony Lucia 2 (Blake
wheeler) 16:02. Penalties- Matt Hunwick, MICH (hooking)12:42; Erik
Johnson, MINN (roughing) 14:53; Mark Mitera, MICH (holding)16:32; Jim
O'Brien, MINN (cross-checking) 17:01; TravisTurnbull MICH (slashing)
19:57; Brian Lebler, MICH (unsportsmanlike conduct)19:57
Shots on goal: MICH 8-5-11-24; MINN 15-19-18-52 Power plays: MICH 0-for-3; MINN
S-for-6. saves- M- 5H Blly Sauer (13-18-13) - 44; MINN Kelen Briggs (8
4-10) - 22. Referee: Jon Campion. Attendance: 10,118
ByIANROBINSON
Daily Spurts Writer
MINNEAPOLIS - Earlier in the year, Michigan
forward Kevin Porter said he's supposed to get out of
the way when defenseman Jack Johnson puts a slap
shot on net in practice.
The top pick in last summer's NHL Entry Draft,
Minnesota defenseman Erik Johnson (no relation),
learned why the Wolverines do that the hard way.
In the beginning of third period Saturday, Erik
Johnson got on the ground to
block a Jack Johnson slap shot NOTEBOOK
and took a puck to the leg. He
stood up gingerly.
The Johnsons comprise the two highest draft picks
currently playing in the NCAA (Jack was selected
third overall in 2005).
The duo has a history together. Both were mem-
bers of the United States National Team Development
Program and played on the same defensive pairing at
the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
FIRE AWAY: Sophomore goalie Billy Sauer faced
52 shots on Saturday night. It was the first time in 11
years that a team has put more than 50 shots on goal
against Michigan andtied a Showcase record for most
shots ina game.
Despite the onslaught ofshotson Sauer, Michigan
trailed by just two goals and was still in the game at
the second intermission.
But the final period spelled disaster for Sauer, who
allowed five goals in the final frame.
"Billy had a pretty good game going, but then the
roof fell in," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.
Sauer stopped just 15 of the 20 shots he faced in the
third period.
YOUNG GUNS: Maybe you need plenty of fresh-
men to be the top-ranked team at the College Hockey
Showcase. Last season, Michigan entered the College
Hockey Showcase weekend as the No. 1 team - even
though it had 11 freshmen on the roster. The Wolver-
ines lost to No. 7 Minnesota 6-3 in the series-opening
night.
CCHA STANDINGS
<8iSt "' < "F _.. . S'F F e8 "FY8
.... ,.
' c 8 F,.. FI , ; 3 'd .
0
0
'M' STATS
GP G IAIPts
LEFT: Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson was one of eight NHL first round draft picks in Saturday night's game.
RIGHT: Michigan forward Brandon Naurato was on crutches after Saturday night's 8-2 loss to No.1 Minnesota.
Fast-forward a year. nia native was hit in leg when he dropped to the ice to
The Wolverines entered Mariucci Arena on Satur- block a shot from the point. He crawled on the ice back
day night as the No. 7 team, facing off against a top- to the Michigan bench and didn't return.
ranked Gopher squad that features nine freshmen. Sophomore defenseman Mark Mitera played with
Seven of the Gopher rookies have been drafted, and a cast on his right wrist.
one of them, Jim O'Brien, is not eligible for the NHL NOTES: Michigan's win 4-3 win at Wisconsin on
Draft until next year. Four Minnesota freshmen Friday night was the 1,400th win in program history
recorded six Gopher goals, including O'Brien's first in its 85th season as a varsity sport. ... The six-goal
two of his career. margin from Saturday night's game ties the College
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore forward Brandon Hockey Showcase record for largest margin of vic-
Naurato, a third-line left-winger, was on crutches tory. Michigan beat Minnesota 6-0 in the 1993 event
after Saturday's game. In the second period, the Livo- at Auburn Hills.
AROUND THE CCHA GOPHERS Apparently, the players under-
From page 1B stood Berenson's message. Mich-
Player
+/- I PIM ISht
a G I { I--;-
Hesick
Porter
Kolarik
Rohlfs
Cogliano
Johnson
Lebler
Naurato
Mitera
Miller
Hunwick
cook
nest
Ward
Kampfer
Turnbu I
Fardig
Summers
Baley
15
15
15
15
15
14
15
14
15
15
15
11
15
9
12
15
15
15
15
T
7
12
11
9
7
6
4
4
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
T
21
15
8
10
0
7
2
2
6
3
5
4
3
3
1
1
2
0
T
28
27
19
19
17
13
6
6
6
6
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
0
T
+9
+11
+8
+13
+3
+13
-1
0
+3
+6
+s
+2
+2
+3
+1
-3
+3
+4
-6
T
14
12
6
10
31
20
4
18
29
18
2
12
0
6
22
1-
34
22
T
31
54
61
37
28
43
23
34
22
22
25
4
7
6
9
28
17
13
12
Team
1, Miami
Michigan
3. Alaska
Notre Dame
5. Ohio State
6. Michigan State
Northern Michigan
Western Michigan
9. Lake Superior
Nebraska-Omaha
11. Ferris State
12. Bowling Green
CCHA
7-3-0
7-2-0
4-1-3
5-2-1
4-4-2
4-4-1
4-3-1
4-6-1
3-4-1
3-6-1
2-6-1
1-7-0
Overall
11-5-0
11-4-0
6-2-4
10-3-1
4-7-3
6-6-1
7-6-2
5-6-1
8-5-1
4-7-4
4-8-1
3-10-1
Pts
14
14
11
11
10
9
9
9
7
7
-
2
Friday's results:
Michigan 4, WIScONSIN 3
MINNESOTA 5, Michigan State 4
CoLGATE 4, Ohio State 2
Miami 4, ST. LAWRENCE 3
CLARKSoN 5, Bowling Greeno
ALASKA 2, Lake Superior 2
Notre Dame 4, Nebraska-Omaha 2
Saturday's results:
MINNESOTA8,Michigan 2
WIScONSIN 2, Michigan State 0
RENSSELAER 5, Ohio State 5
CLRKvSON 5, Miami 2
ST. LAWRENcE 4, Bowling Green 0
NEBRASKA OMAHA 3, Notre Dame 2
ALASKA3, Lake Superior 1
*Home teams in caps
_ igan got a quick goal from Miller
in the second shift of the second
But the sophomore gave up a period and a power-play goal on a
career-worst five goals in the Hensick one-timer to right of the
third period. After the game, goalie's skate.
Sauer declined to comment. Wisconsin went ahead a few
Michigan also trailed 2-0 after minutes later with a power-play
one period on Friday night at the goalthatgave the Badgers thelead
Kohl Center in Madison against heading into the final stanza. But
Wisconsin (3-6-1 WCHA, 5-9-1 two Michigan third-period goals
overall). But in that game, the - one by senior David Rohlfs
Wolverines overcame the deficit off a backhand pass across the
and won 4-3 for their first Show- crease from Hensick with 11:35
case win in three years. remaining and the game-winner
"Coach ripped into us (after by Cogliano to the goalie's stick
the first period)," Hensick said. side 30 seconds later - sealed the
"It was kind of embarrassing." victory.