4B - March 14, 2011, #1 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4B - March14, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Leave your mark, class of 2011, and get an NCAA title BIS One of the largest incom- ing classes in Michigan hockey history came to Ann Arbor four years ago. Twelve freshmen became Wol- verines back in the fall of 2007, and since then, the class size has dwindled to just seven. Following the class's first year, it saw the early exit of power forward Max: Pacioretty to the Hamilton Bulldogs, the' MARK minor league BURNS affiliate of the Montreal Canadians. After its second sea- son, Aaron Palushaj left Michigan and is still toiling around in the American Hockey League (maybe that wasn't the best choice, eh?). The Wolverines also said, "Bye, bye," to Kevin Quick and Tris- tin Llewellyn for violating team expectations. After all of that, the seven still standing (senior netminder Shawn Hunwick is projected to return for a fifth year) have "I can't tell you I'm happy with the legacy or the program." won practically everything: two CCHA regular-season titles, two conference tournament champi- onships and three Great Lakes Invitational titles. It's been to the NCAA Tourney all four years, but the Frozen Four only once. With that being said, it's time for this senior class to leave its mark at Michigan and check the one box that has eluded this pro- gram for over a decade: an NCAA title. And the run to St. Paul, Minn. begins next Friday in the CCHA Tournament semifinals. The Wolverines have won games this year in every imagin- able way, which is certainly key come playoff time and especially in the NCAAs. They have shellacked teams like Michigan State with a 5-0 win in The Big Chill at the Big House in front of a world-record crowd. Hunwick stole the show on a few occasions - just ask- Alaska and New Hampshire about the netminder. The Nanooks fired 76 shots on Hunwick in a two-game series back in January, and the Sterling Heights, Mich. native stopped all but three to preserve the sweep. Against the Wildcats, he stopped 45 of 48 shots in a 3-3 tie during mid-October. Not to mention, Michigan won 10 of its 25 contests by just one goal. The list goes on and on about the ways in which this team won hockey games this season. This past weekend against Bowling Green - in the class's final game at Yost Ice Arena - was a perfect example. In Saturday night's 4-1 win, three sophomores tallied lamp- lighters, with defenseman Lee Moffie notching two goals in the process. Michigan's three leading scor- ers who were actually in the lineup - Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Chris Brown - didn't register a single point. The Wolverines dominated an inferior team up-and-down the ice all night long - they sent the Falcons back to that state down south and propelled themselves to Joe Louis Arena once again. So here we are. It's mid-March and Michigan is back at the Joe contending for another CCHA Tournament championship. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if Wolverine nation was cheering for an NCAA title contender this year? Don't worry, it is. "I can't tell you if I'm happy with the legacy or the program," Michigan coach Red Berenson said to FoxSportsDetroit in an article last week. "I don't think we've done as well as we should have." But this class has done as well as it "should have" - almost. When Michigan grabs a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tour- nament in two weeks, there won't be lofty expectations that can't be reached. There's just going to be one slight dilemma. Will the seven members of 2011 become a memorable class by bringing home the program's 10th title, or will they become a class lost in the memory of a program that has fallen short on other occasions on the biggest stage? We'll find out soon enough. -Burns can be reached at burnmark@umich.edu SAMMI TRAUBEN/Daily Senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick surrendered one goal in Michigan's two-game sweep of Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday. Blue executes to perfection t insee fBowling Green By MICHAEL FLOREK Daily Sports Editor You've heard it all before. They just need to get to the play- offs, and then anything can hap- pen. But BOWLING GREEN 1 this MICHIGAN 5 week- end, the BOWLING GREEN 1 any- MICHIGAN 4 thing wasg expected., INegrly everything went as planned for the No. 5 Michigan hockey team in its CCHA quar- terfinal series. The Wolverines swept Bowl- ing Green by rattling off a 5-1 win on Friday and a 4-1 win on Saturday like they were check- ing items off their shopping list. The next item on the list: the Mason Cup, awarded to the winner of the CCHA Tourna- ment. "We're a confident team," sophomore defenseman Lee Moffie said. "We came into this weekend wanting two wins, and anything short of that would have been disappointing. We came here and got the two wins. "We were confident in that happening, and we made it hap- pen." The Falcons are living proof, of the unpredictable nature of the playoffs; they were the last seed in the conference tourna- ment, winning just three games in the CCHA all year. They then beat No. 6 seed Northern Michigan in the first round. Friday's game started with Bowling Green believing they could do it again. Early in the game, the Wol- verines blocked a shot, and the rebound bounced to a Falcon in the slot. With senior goalie Shawn Hunwick on the other side of the net, freshman for- ward Luke Moffatt tied up the stick and left the game score- less. "They're playing a smart game, and they're looking to create turnovers and they did get one," Michigan coach Red Berenson said after Friday's game. "They got a good chance on it. They can score goals.... They scored enough goals last weekend." That would be the best chance the Falcons would have for the first two periods. Michi- gan woke up, scoring two goals in the first and added another in the second - senior forward Scooter Vaughan's toe-drag-to- top-shelf highlight reel goal - to put the Wolverines up three and the game out of reach. Bowling Green had scored three goals just one time in their last 17 games. It was more of the same Sat- urday, wiAt Michigan using the first two periods to reach the magical three-goal mark in the second period. This time it was Moffie's see- ing-eye wrist shot from the left point that squeaked through Falcon goalie Andrew Ham- mond late in the second period that put the game away. "It was just a decent release, and I don't think he was ready for it," Moffie said. "He prob- ably should have made the save, but luckily it went in." Perhaps the only thing Mich- igan didp't check off the to-do list wasstay healthy. Late in the third period of Friday's game, junior forward David Wohlberg was sand- wiched by two Falcon play- ers - according to Berenson, Wohlberg broke his collarbone on the play, and he will miss the rest of the season. Senior forward Ben Winnett filled in for Wohlberg on the top line. The offense didn't slow down. A day after outshooting Bowling Green 41-24, the Wol- verines had 15 more shots than the Falcons in game two. The plus-32, shot differen- tial on the weekend is the big- gest difference Michigan has recorded all season. "It's a tough series when you're playing against a last -place team," Berenson said. "Sometimes you might think you can take liberties; or you can take shortcuts. Well, there's no way." Friday will be Michigan's next opportunity to round out their shopping list as it will face No. 4 seed Western Michigan in the semifinals, and the finals will be on Saturday. As the top seed, the Wolverines are the obvious favorite. But you know what they say. Sophomores pace 'M' offensive attack SAMMI TRAUBEN/daily Forward Matt Rust and the rest of the senior class has something to prove in this season's NCAA Tournament. Log on to michigandaily.com later this week for CCHA tourney coverage and 'QUICK HITS' WITH BRANDON BURLON By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer Following a season-ending collarbone injury to the Wol- verines' second-leading scorer, junior forward David Wohlberg, in game one of the best-of- three CCHA quarterfinal series against Bowling Green on Fri- day, the Michigan bench was depleted on Saturday, to say the least. In fact, freshman defenseman Kevin Clare was the only healthy game-time scratch for the Wol- verines.. In losing Wohlberg and senior forward Louie Caporusso - who suffered alower-body injury two weekends ago against Northern Michigan - the fifth-ranked Wolverines lost leadership and two top-tier forwards. But in the seniors' last series in Yost.Ice Arena - a 5-1 Friday victory and a 4-1 win on Satur- day it was the sophomores who shined. "Obviously, when guys go down, all the guys have to step up," senior forward Carl Hage- lin said after Saturday's win. "Today, (sophomore defenseman Lee Moffie) stepped up with a great game, great performance, two goals and one assist. (Sopho- more forward Lindsay Sparks) had a really good game as well and so did (sophomore forward A.J. Treais). That is what you need and those guys are ready to play. They're obviously very skilled guys and they showed up today." Sparks, who has had a consis- tent spot in the lineup since the series in Marquette, sawhis hard work pay off in both games this past weekend. Sparks scored his first goal of the series just 42 seconds into the third period against the Fal- cons on Friday. Michigan was up 3-0 on Bowling Green, but Sparks's goal set the tempo for a dominant third period for the Wolverines. "I'm glad (Sparks) scored a goal," Berenson said on Friday. "Lindsay had a chance to have a real good game, and I can't tell you he didn't have a good game, but he misfired on one of his best chances. You'd like to see him finish that one. But neverthe- less he's playing, getting some experience, hopefully some con- fidence." Sparks flashed that confidence on Saturday, scoring Michigan's second goal of the game six min- utes into the second period. He took a cross-ice pass from fresh- man defenseman Mac Bennett, beat the Falcon defenders and buried the puck for his third tally of his sophomore season. Treais, the center on Sparks's line, scored the Wolverines' sec- ond power-play goal of the game on Saturday. While senior forward Ben Winnett played with Treais and Sparks on Friday, freshman for- ward Luke Moffatt joined the C RE ucesfuTm IAMM R tay Sophomnore forward Llndsay Sparks celebrates a toai in the Wolverines' win over the Falcons on Friday. line on Saturday. Regardless of fie was huge," Berenson said. the third member of that line, "Our top guns don't alwys score, Sparks and Tresis showed some but we got the goals we needed." chemistry on the ice against Moffie's two goals on Satur- Bowling Green. day marked the 24th and 25th Moffie got the Wolverines goals of the season by Michigan rolling on Saturday. Junior for- defensemen - a unit the Wol- ward Luke Glendening picked up verines will continue to rely on the puck in the neutral zone and offensively as the postseason passed it to Moffie, who slapped progresses. a rocket from the left side for "Rveryone got a chance to a shorthanded tally in the first play more than enough," Beren- period. son said. "And we did get some Moffie also added a power- balance. That's what we need. play tally in the second period We've gutsa team that has scored and finished the series with enoughgoalsbutmaybe we don't three points, have a 20-goal scorer on our * "Getting two goals from Mof- team."