Blue outshines Wildcats in third conference win WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 3B Herman: You can bet your bottom dollar SM COLUMN 2B S 0 Monday, February 5,2007 AL T HE MICHIGAN DAILY michigandaily.com 6 MICHIGAN 3, WESTERN MICHIGAN 1 Seniors avoid past missteps veryone attached to the Michigan hockey program has been trying to convince us all season: This is a different team than last year's. But when the Wolverines immediately fell into the same traps from the disappointing 2005-2006 season - weekend splits, underachieving, a falter- ing power play and countless AMBER defensive lapses - it was hard to COLV1N believe them. The second half of the season has been different. Michigan is A Touch of 8-1, moving away from those bad Dutch habits and toward the success that's been expected all along. Saturday night, as the seniors gathered in a circle to kiss the block 'M' at center ice, the Wolverines added an emphatic line to their argument with one last regular-season win at Yost Ice Arena. Senior Night was tarnished in 2006 when Michi- gan let a 3-0 lead over lowly Ferris State slip away in the final period. Bitter memories of that heartbreaking overtime loss were imprinted on every Wolverine mind Sat- urday night. Not again. This isn't last year. Though Western Michigan did its best to play spoiler, Michigan muscled its way to a close win on Senior Night - thanks to the outstanding play of goaltender Billy Sauer and, of course, the seniors. Following the emotional victory, Michigan coach Red Berenson strolled into the postgame press con- ference, sat down and began speaking, unprompted. "What a difference a year makes," Berenson said. "Senior Night a year ago was a long night for our seniors. But tonight will be more enjoyable for all these guys." Player after player spoke of the need to erase last year's final flop and get that last home victory, for the seniors and for the team. They did that. And in the process, they separated themselves further from one of the worst seasons in Michigan hockey in more than a decade. After starting 2007 sixth in the CCHA and mov- ing into second place by the first weekend of Feb- ruary, Michigan has demonstrated it is capable of positive change. The Wolverines seem to be improving every weekend. Confidence is blooming. A steady defense is buckling down. They're on their way - some- thing that could never really be said about last season's hot-and-cold (but mostly cold) team. That squad was lucky to finish third in the CCHA. "We're coming together," Berenson said. "The chemistry, and the mindset - it's like a family. You just get closer and closer as things get more impor- See SENIORS, Page 3B Michigan senior forward David Rohlfs is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the eventual game-winning goal in Saturday night's 3-1 victory over Western Michigan. Rohlfs ,and co. leave Yost on top By IAN ROBINSON" Daily Sports Writer On Senior Night last year, Michigan gave up a three-goal third-period lead and lost to Ferris State. For his senior night this year on Saturday, senior David Rohlfs made sure that disappointment wasn't repeated. Playing short-handed just more than five minutes into the third period, Rohlfs snapped a backhand shot from between the rings past Western Michigan goalie Riley Gill's glove. That goal broke a 1-1 tie and put Michigan ahead for good in its 3-1 win at Yost Ice Arena. The victory was the Wolverines' sixth straight, and their eighth in the past nine games. "It was definitely on a lot of people's minds how we felt last year," senior captain Matt Hunwick said. "We didn't want to go out that way." Hunwick tried to inspire a whatever-it-takes men- tality throughout the game. Rohlfs got the message on his third-period goal. Rohlfs battled a Bronco defender for the puck near the right boards and tipped it free to the middle of the ice, where he fired the shot on net for his 15th gdal of the year. But it wasn't just on the offensive end where Rohlfs showed his desperation. On a Bronco power play later in the third period, Michigan goalie Billy Sauer was caught out of posi- tion and without a stick, leaving Hunwick as the lone Wolverine protecting the other side of the net. The puck bounced out to the point where Western Michigan (9-12-1 CCHA, 12-15-1 overall) unleashed a shot toward the net. Rohlfs got down on the ice and blocked the puck before it reached the net, keeping his team up, 2-1. Sauer might have been caught out of position on that particular play, but he turned in what alter- nate captain T.J. Hensick called his best game of the season - quite a compliment considering Sauer's 8- 1-0 record and 2.11 goals against average since the beginning of the year. In one sequence in the second period, Western Michigan entered the Michigan zone on a 3-on-1 rush with the game knotted at one. Sauer lunged to his right to make a huge pad save on the right post. Then, he launched his body toward the left post to make a dramatic glove save on a wrap-around attempt. The Walworth, N.Y., native stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced. "He battled; he made a difference in the game," Berenson said. "To win this game, somebody had to make a big save, and he did." The solid goalkeeping at both ends of the ice kept the score low, but tough team defense also played a role. Both games this weekend featured big hits and physical play that kept the.Yost crowd entertained Saturday, despite the low goal count. The crowd was particularly entertained when freshman Antho- ny Ciraulo upended a Bronco defender along the boards. As the season heads toward the playoffs, Michi- gan (16-6-0,21-9-0) realizes the importance of being able to play in hard-fought, low-scoring affairs like Saturday. In the second half of the season, Berenson has harped on the importance of keeping goals against down. "It was good experience game for us because as See BRONCOS, Page 3B Blue drops No. 2 on road By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer STATE COLLEGE - Forget Oklahoma. One week after defeating the two-time national , MICHIGAN 216.75 champi- PENN STATE 215.8 on Soon- ers, the top-ranked Wolverines took on No. 2 Penn State. In its biggest triumph of the season, the Michigan men's gym- Michigan senior Andrew Elkind finished first on the parallel bars to help Michigan capture its second-straight win over a top-three opponent. nastics team pulled off a last-min- lege since 2001. ute win, 216.75-215.8. The victory Michiganmayhavebeenranked was the squad's first in State Col- See NITTANY LIONS, Page 3B -Manning super in win MIAMI (AP) - A wet and wild Super Bowl, the That's what it was for Tony Dungy, too. He became winning conditions forPeyton Manning and the Indi- the first black coach to win the championship, beating anapolis Colts. good friend and protege Lovie Smith in a game that A team built for indoors found its footing on a rain- featured two black coaches for the first time in Super soaked track and outplayed the Chicago Bears to win Bowl history. the NFL title 29-17 Sunday night. The Colts were far It was a game of firsts: the first rainy Super Bowl less sloppy, particularly their star quarterback, who and the first time an opening kickoff was run back for proved he can indeed win the big game - the biggest a touchdown when sensational Bears rookie Devin game. See SUPER BOWL, Page 3B A i