4B - Monday, March 12, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com CONTACT TO THE HEAD 0 WILDCATS From page 1B and two assists. Hensick kicked off the Michigan scoring onslaught when he picked up a loose puck between the circles and flipped awrist shot from point-blank range past Northern Michigan goalie Bill Zaniboni. Hensick's other two goals came off rebounds. In the second period, senior captain Matt Hunwick put a shot on net from the blue line, and Hensick caught the fortuitous bounce on the opposite end of the net for the fifth goal of the game. After this tally, Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle decided to put in freshman goalie Brian Stewart, who started Friday night's game. With five minutes remaining in the third period, Hen- sick deposited the loose puck after Stewart stopped senior David Rohlfs's initial attempt. The marker put Michigan ahead by five and allowed Berenson to play senior goalie Mike Mayhew for the first time this season. When the Owatonna, Minn., native stepped between the pipes, the Yost crowd erupted. "I had goosebumps," sophomore Danny Fardig said. "It was awesome. I'll never forget that." The crowd had its loudest game of the season, and the building shook for the final five minutes of gametime. Prior to Mayhew's entrance, sophomore Billy Sauer continued to be solid in net but was not as spectacular as he was Friday. In the series' first game, the Walworth, N.Y., native was sharp and made some dramatic saves that kept Michigan ahead. Heading into Friday's game, Berenson's biggestconcern was how his team would adjust to the playoff intensity. Northern Michigan was coming off a big first-round win at Ohio State and Michigan had not played for two weeks. But after 20 minutes, most were thinking about the three goals Michigan had already scored. COLVIN From page 1B suck the fun out of the moment. A streaking Jack Johnson walloped Sarauer and his teammates, breaking up the goal celebration. Now that's stealingsomeone's thunder. Johnson may have been unable to stop from his speedy pursuit of Sarauer before the goal, and maybe a two-min- ute penalty for hitting after the whistle wasn't the best thing for the Wolverines and their lackluster penalty kill. But smart or not, the hit made Northern Michigan's shin- ing moment dim quickly. The Wildcats had to limp out of Yost Ice Arena Satur- day night with bruised bodies and egos - and that's how it should be. Everyone knew Michigan's top-rated offense could score goals. Lots and lots of goals. But now Northern Michigan can spread the word that the Wolverines aren't a squad that's all skill and no grit. "I don't think teams give us enough respect," senior T.J. Hensick said after notching a hat trick in his final game at Yost Saturday. "They think we can score goals, but I don't think they think we can play ahard-nosed, physical game. I think we can. I thought we showed tonight we're one of the most physical teams in our league." This is the time to finish that check, muck it out in the corners and battle through that scrum. And if there's a guy caught skating with his head down, you better believe someone is going to make him regret it. "That's how it's goingto be from here on out," sopho- more grinder Danny Fardig said. "Every game's going to get harder and every game is going to be more physical and more desperate." That's why you have to have the fire in the playoffs, especially when archrival Michigan State is sneering in the distance. There's no more room for wishy-washy hockey. And surprisingly enough, the inconsistent Wolverine group from the regular season is fully aware of that. "Consistency?" Hensick said with a laugh when asked about the subject. "You lose and you're pretty much done. We know that we don't have anything if we don't win." Hopefully for Michigan fans, that message hits the team hard. - Colvin can be reached at ambermco@umich.edu. Friday's game Saturday's game MICHIGAN 4- NORTHERN MICHIGAN 1 MICHIGAN 8- NORTHERN MICHIGAN 3 Overwhelming 'O' Mayhew makes last home game count 0 By JAMES V. DOWD Daily Sports Writer Michigan coach Red Berenson had a single regret from the Wolverines' 3- 1 Senior Night victory on Feb. 3. With just a one-goal lead before freshman Chris Summers added NOTEBOOK anempty-netgoal in the final min- ute, Berenson had no opportunity to thank an oft-overlooked team leader, senior goaltender Mike Mayhew, with a few minutes of playing time. For four years, Mayhew has toiled as Michigan's third-string netminder, skating with the team in practice each day. He spent games keeping track of hits and turnovers while standing behind the bench. But despite his leadership skills and selflessness, which have endeared him to his teammates and Michigan fans, the senior had compiled just 32 minutes of playing time over his first three years in Ann Arbor. And this season, with sophomore Billy Sauer maturing into an everyday goalten- der and freshman Steve Jakiel being groomed as the team's No. 2 goalie, Mayhew had yet to play a minute entering Saturday's CCHA quarterfi- nal contest. So when senior T.J. Hensick com- pleted his hat trick with the Wolver- ines' final goal in their 8-3 victory over Northern Michigan on Saturday, it was, much to the raucous crowd's delight, Mayhew's time to shine. Berenson substituted Mayhew for Sauer at the 14:33 mark of the third period, giving the senior one final chance to play. Even coming in cold, Mayhew was excited about the opportunity. "I've played enough hockey in my life so I wasn't nervous," Mayhew said. "It was more that I'm a little cold right now, not exactly feeling in top shape compared to if I had warmed up and started the game. So there's a little anxiety there, but I'm not really worried, not really nervous." Mayhew's lack of anxiety was apparent while on the ice, as the senior stopped both shots he faced. Mayhew has likely seen his last game action in maize and blue but knows he can continue to serve the team in other ways. "I've played for a winning program (in high school) and that was enough to make me want to be part of the program here knowing that playing time was going to be scarce," Mayhew said. "I was comfortable that I could help the team in other ways, and I'm around the best friends I could ever have." POWER PLAYED: There are many great moments to remember from Saturday's game, but one black mark is the performance of Michigan's pen- alty kill. Allthree ofthe Wildcats'goals came on the power play. Sauer's teammates left him out to dry on breakaways and allowed a screened shot. Cogliano knows that heading into a game against Michigan State, the Wolverines must improve on special teams to earn a championship-game berth. "There's going to be quite a few calls when we play Michigan State both ways," Cogliano said. "We'll be on the penalty kill a lot, and the guys who are on the penalty kill definitely need to do a good job. When we get on the penalty kill against Michigan State, they're obviously going to do a good job, and they're probably going to score. We've got to eliminate their chances and not take penalties." The Wolverines and Spartans have met five times this season, splitting the series 2-2-1. Michigan's penalty kill has been a telling factor in all five matchups, as Michigan State went 5- 0 FILE PHOTO Senior goalie Mike Mayhew saw his first action of the season in Saturday night's-third period, for-11 in its two victories, but just 1- for-13 in the two losses. HOME SWEET HOME: While Michi- gan fans were disappointed that their team couldn't catch Notre Dame in the CCHA regular-season title race, the Wolverines faithful came out in droves to take advantage of the home ice which comes with a top-four finish in the league. Berenson has always been compli- mentary of the hometown crowd, but took particular note Saturday night. "I said before the weekend, home ice is only as good as our team, but our fans get caught up in the game bet- ter than any fans," Berenson said. "I don't know about in the country, but certainly better than any we have seen lately. It's just terrific." The influence of the fans was also felt by the players on the ice. Sopho- more Andrew Cogliano, who scored two goals and notched two assists in the game, credited the crowd. After senior T.J. Hensick notched his third goal of the game, the crowd showered the ice with hats to salute the Howell native's achievement. "We knew it was going to be.a big crowd before the game started," Cogliano said. "In the game, it was nice for them to see (senior T.J. Hen- sick) get his hat trick. Throughout the game, they gave us a lot of inspiration and a jump." 6. Western Michigan 2007 CCHA Tournament 7. Ohio State Road to the Mason Cup Alaska Joe Louis Arena Northern Michig an 10. Alaska Detroit 10. Northern Michigan Notre Dame Michigan 1. Notre Dame 2. Michigan 8. Lake Su erior St. S. Nebraska-Omaha Lake Superior St. Nebraska-Omaha 9. Ferris State Lake Superior St. Michigan State 11. Bowling Green 3. Miami (Ohio) 4. Michigan State En~rcotL Sia Kaplanri nmpr4-haris-- +ccur.4 cptlcsr boy March 31 aad eot a $100a rebatea- c3taioirt yctiur rcg ra m irn Are±n arbzc~r rd firiit-i in yc) r bcm~ncatchwrl! ^,-s alodwtyt:-, nc traonr0±I;f r facts. "'T 1 ^-+Y. . .- +: Oi~ot