U The Michigan Daily I michigandailycom I January31, 2011
State upsets
'M' at the Joe
By CASANDRA PAGNI close game," Michigan coach
Daily Sports Writer Red Berenson said Saturday.
"You knew how precious goals
DETROIT - The sixth- would be. We knew if Michi-
ranked Wolverines have gan State got the first goal, it
enjoyed continued success at could be a tough game ... We
Joe Louis Arena recently. had the chances, the pen-
Heading into Saturday's alty shot. We're disappointed
matchup MICHIGAN 1 with the outcome. We had our
with MSU 2 chances at the end, but when
Michigan you're playing from behind,
State, the Michigan hockey it's always tougher to score."
team saw its name adorned In each of the Wolverines'
twice atop the rafters at the and Spartans' previous three
Joe, as the 2010 Great Lakes matchups this season, one of
Invitational Champions ban- the teams had scored at least
ner hung next to the CCHA four goals. But Saturday's
Playoff Champions banner game featured strong goalten-
from last season. ding on both sides and missed
And coming off back-to- opportunities for the Michi-
back weekend sweeps, a trip to gan offense.
Joe Louis Arena for one game After a penalty-free and
appeared to be just what the scoreless first period, the Wol-
doctor ordered to keep things verines were awarded the first
rolling for Michigan (14-5-1 two power plays of the sec-
CCHA,17-7-4 overall). and period. The first Michi-
But two unsuccessful gan man-advantage went for
power play attempts - one naught, as the Wolverines had
with the Spartans' best difficulty even keeping the
defender Torey Krug in the puck in the Michigan State
box - and a missed penalty zone.
shot later forced the Wolver- But when Krug went to the
ines to drop their first Satur- box for a high-sticking call
day night game all season, 2-1. that tripped up senior forward
"You knew it would be a See MSU, Page 3B
.^
.,-
SALAM RDA/Daily
Sophomore A.J. Treais skates in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Spartans.
A wake-up
callfor Blue
DETROIT -
Awake-up call.
It's a clich6d
phrase that's used
all the time by collegiate and
professional athletes, but it's
one that hadn't been used by
any members of the Michigan
hockey team this season - at
least not
publicly.
But
following
the Wol-
verines'
2-1 loss to
Michigan
State on
Saturday, MARK
senior BURNS
Louie
Caporusso
described
Michigan's defeat as just
that. It might be surprising to
some, considering the Wol-
verines are one measly point
behind Notre Dame for first
place in the CCHA - they
even have two games in hand
to pick up some ground on
the Fighting Irish.
Maybe the conference
standings and Michigan's
recent five-game win streak
don't tell the entire story of a
team winninga few games it
has no right being in. Not to
mention, maybe the toughest
part of its schedule is still yet
to come-in the waning month
of the season.
"It's gut check time I
think," Caporusso said after
Saturday's loss. "I think we
were almost, a little, not
being true to ourselves. We
won games that maybe we
shouldn't have won, and
maybe we had this confidence
that maybe we shouldn't have
had. That can hurt you."
Two weeks ago, the Wol-
verines came back from a
two-goal deficit at Yost Ice
Arena against Ferris State.
Last weekend, they secured
a sweep of Alaska in which
senior netminder Shawn Hun-
wick earned a star-studded
performance, stopping 73-of-
76 shots in two home contests.
Michigan coach Red Berenson
See BURNS, Page 3B
*CHAMPS OUT WEST
The Michigan Water Polo team won all
six of its matches and knocked off five of
the nation's best teams during its West-
Coast trip. Page 4B
STREAK SNAPPED
Despite entering its contest against
Michigan as the last-place team in the Big
Ten, Minnesota took down the streaking
Wolverines. Page 4B