The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com February 2, 2009
Ejection of
Harris ends
Michigan's
upset bid
By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE - Purdue guard Chris
Kramer lay motionless on the floor inside
Mackey Arena, a pool of blood expanding under
his head.
Standing over him, Michigan sophomore
forward Manny Harris looked around in shock,
trying to figure out what had just happened.
With the Michigan men's basketball team
clinging to a two-point lead with 18:28 left in
the second half, Harris received the ball on the
left wing, squared up to the basket to clear space
and sideswiped Kramer's nose with his elbow.
"That's the hardest I've ever been hit," Kram-
er, who played football in high school, said after
Purdue's 67-49 victory. "That was as square as
can be, right on the side of my nose.... I wouldn't
go there and say that was definitely a dirty play.
Anybody would be frustrated in a game like
that, but it was just a basketball play."
Kramer fell to the ground, and the official
called an offensive foul on Harris. As the Pur-
due faithful harassed Harris, erupting in boos
and "throw him out" chants, the head official,
Jim Burr, decided the hit was intentional and
ejected Harris.
"It wasn't intentional at all," Harris said in
the locker room following the game. "I was just
ripping through, and his face happened to be
in the way. ... I feel like it was unfair but, at the.
same time, things happen."
When Harris left the floor, so too did Michi-
gan's chances of victory. The Boilermakers
dominated the final 18 minutes and cruised to
a 67-49 victory. It was Michigan's fifth loss in
six games.
See BOILERMAKERS, Page 3B
AREL BOND/Daily
Junior acting captain Chris Summers, sophomore forward Aaron Palushaj and senior forward Travis Turnbull argued with the referees in the final minute of Saturday's 3-2 loss to Notre
Dame. The call in question was an apparent goal by junior defenseman Steve Kampfer, which would have tied the score and likely sent the game into overtime.
Inco)nsistency mars 'M' in split
Ieers snap Notre
Dame's 20-game
unbeaten streak Friday
By GJON JUNCAJ
Daily Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND - For the Michigan
hockey team, last weekend's home-and-
home series with top-ranked Notre
Dame provided two nights of high-
quality drama.
The Wolverines snapped Notre
Dame's 20-game unbeaten streak on
Friday. Saturday featured a penalty shot
goal, and another tally off a skate that
arguably should not have counted. That
was followed by a disallowed marker
in the waning moments that arguably
should have stood.
Players and coaches from both teams
admitted the
series split MICHIGAN 2
was a "nerve- NOTREDAME 1
racking"
experience. NOTRE DAME 3
After win- MICHIGAN 2
ning Friday's
nailbiter at
the Joyce Center, Michigan nearly
completed an improbable comeback
during Saturdays third period. Power-
play goals by sophomore Aaron Palush-
aj and freshman Robbie Czarnik cut
Notre Dame's lead to one. Palushaj and
Czarnik, both of whom scored their
first goals of the semester, revived the
deflated atmosphere at Yost Ice Arena
after the Irish took an early 3-0 lead.
The early deficits against the Irish
has become an annoying habit the
past two seasons. In last yea's Frozen
Four semifinals, the Wolverines rallied
from a three-goal deficit before los-
ing in overtime. Earlier that season in
January, Michigan fell behind Notre
Dame by two goals before scoring three
straight for a thrilling win at Yost.
But this time, when Michigan's
comeback bid reached its peak, a third
party changed the game's outcome.
With 31 seconds remaining in the
game, senior forward Tim Miller fired
a point-blank shot into Irish goaltender
Jordan Pearce's pads. A scrum ensued,
and the puck came loose from under-
neath Pierce. Junior defenseman Steve
Kampfer batted the puck into the net,
only to have it waved off.
"I think I just wanted to crash the
net, and I was kind of just looking and
hoping that the puck would hit me on
the stick," Kampfer said. "But I looked
down and it was right in front of me. I
think I shot at the net three times."
Referee Brian Aaron, who was posi-
tioned near the blue line, blew the play
dead because he apparently saw the
net come off its moorings, even though
a video replay.showedno evidence of
movement.
Fellow referee John Philo' was sta-
tioned next to the post to the right of
Pierce for the would-be tying goal, yet
never blew his whistle. Despite his per-
fect positioning on the play, Philo didn't
See FIGHTING IRISH, Page 2B
Play on the ice should decide outcome, not refs
SOUTH BEND -
hough it sat in sixth place in
the conference just over a week
ago, the Michigan hockey team
still had a shot at defending its CCHA
regular-season title.
Despite playing poorly for the first
two periods Saturday, the Wolverines
still gave themselves a chance to beat
No. 1 Notre Dame.
Even against the nation's best scor-
ing defense (just 1.59 goals per game
allowed), No. 8 Michigan still nearly
overcame a three-goal deficit in the
third period.
All of that makes Saturday's 3-2 loss
completely agonizing because it came
down to poor refereeing - plain and
simple.
And it's not difficult to decipher
what Michigan.
coach Red Beren-
son thought about
its effect on the
game.
"I'm not here to ;
discuss the officiat-
ing, but this was
a big series, and
obviously you want MICHAE1
top officials here," EISENST
Berenson said. EISENST__
The referees in
question: Brian
Aaron and John Philo.
Before this season, Aaron had a
questionable reputation in many peo-
ple's books.
"(Referee Brian Aaron) needs a big
red nose and floppy feet," Northern
Michigan play-by-play announcer Dave
Danis commented during a November
loss to Michigan State in 2005.
Philo is a first-year referee and was
promoted to the position in the offsea-
son when the CCHA switched from a
one-referee to a two-referee system.
The game could have easily been a
3-1 Michigan win if it weren't for two
blatantly botched calls that stood out
in a contest filled with questionable
ones.
The first was Notre Dame's goal
midway through the opening period.
Freshman Irish forward Billy Maday
redirected a puck with his left skate,
and pushed the puck past sophomore
goalie Bryan Hogan's right leg.
The play was illegal - and there's
really no room for debate.
"A goal shall not be allowed if the
puck has been kicked or directed
into the goal off an attacking player's
skate," the NCAA rule reads.
The problem: was that none of the
officials saw the obvious play, and
when it went to video review, the kick
took place outside of the frame of the
camera hanging over the net. And
that's the only angle that Aaron was
allowed to look at, due to.CCHA rules,
See EISENSTEIN, Page 2B
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Purdue guard Chris Kramer was elbowed in the nose
by sophomore forward Manny Harris during Michi-
gan's 67-49 loss Saturday. Harris was charged with a
flagrant foul and ejected from the game for the hit.
Blue ties Wildcats, beats Hoosiers in physical meet
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Writer
The battered Big Ten sign at
the scorers' table was a constant
reminder.
The physicality of this weekend's
conference meets started after
Michigan fifth-year senior Tyrel
Todd threw Northwestern's John
Schoen into the table Saturday.
And the dented sign foreshadowed
Michigan's grueling meet against
Indiana the next day.
The 18th-ranked Wolverines
salvaged a 17-17 tie against North-
western in a hard-hitting contest
Saturday before taking out Indiana
20-18 on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolverines were down by
six points or more heading into the
last five individual matches in both
meets.
Redshirt sophomore Eddie Phil-
lips (Heavyweight) pulled off a 3-2
win in double overtime in the final
match to tie Northwestern.
"We wrestled more confident
and with more intensity than IShave
seen all year," Michigan coach Joe
McFarland said. "It's a good time to
get into the Big Ten season."
Down six points against Indiana,
redshirt sophomore Aaron Hynes
(157 pounds) sparked the comeback
with a victory over 12th-ranked
Kurt Kinsler. Recovering from a
shoulder injury, it was Hynes' first-
ever win over a ranked opponent,
but he almost gave it away.
After going up 5-0 halfway
through the match, he gave up con-
secutive takedowns and the con-
test was eventually tied 6-6 when
time expired in the final period.
But because of his one-minute rid-
ing-time advantage, he earned the
extra point and victory.
"I used to have that problem
where I would let the momentum
of the (meet) carry into mine,"
Hynes said. "But then I was just
like, 'Hey it has nothing to do with'
me, I'm just gonna go out there and
wrestle."'
After losing to Northwestern
senior Jake Herbert on Friday, the
No. 1 wrestler in the country at his
weight, redshirt sophomore Antho-
ny Biondo (184 pounds) broke out
of his four-match losing streak and
beat Indiana redshirt sophomore
Nick Avery 10-0. During the match,
Avery gave the crowd a reason to
be upset. He repeatedly backed up
and failed to make moves, and the
fans at Cliff Keen Arena chanted
"staaaaaalling, staaaaaalling" for
much of the match.
The win gave Michigan a lead it
would never relinquish.
"I could've cut him and went
back up on my feet," Biondo said. "It
wouldn't have really made a differ-
ence, I would have just taken him
down a bunch of times. I wanted to
See HOOSIERS, Page 3B
WLI MOELLER/Daily
Sophomore Aaron Hynes upset the 12th-ranked wrestler in his weight class and
helped Michigan to a 20-18 win over Indiana.
FANS KNOW BEST BUCKEYES BLASTED
0 Why Nate Sandals thinks the Michigan 'UCheck www~michigandaiy.com for cover-
Athletic Department should let the Yost fans age of the men's swimming team's win over
monitor their own behavior. Page 2B. Ohio State and other events from this weekend.