Friday, January 19, 2001

Friday, January 19, 2001, Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan

David Huntzicker did dress for and play in this game, Brad Fraser was the defenseman who was scratched, while senior Mark Kosick returned to the lineup. Western picked up the first penalty of this game less than two minutes into the first period giving the Wolverines first crack at the power play. While Michigan was able to get a couple of good shots off; they were unable to get the puck past the Bronco netminder in the early going. Just like last Friday against Ohio State the early success of the goalie against the Wolverines seemed to take a little bit of the fire out of the team. With less than half of the power play gone Michigan picked up a penalty of their own ending their power play and setting the Bronco’s up for a power play of their own. Michigan picked up a second penalty about a minute later which led to a two-man advantage for the Bronco’s. With just over four minutes gone in the period Western scored a power play goal to take the early lead. This seemed to add to the Wolverines doldrums as they proceeded to skate without much energy for the next several minutes.

The next ten minutes of play saw each team pick up penalties and have to kill off power plays. The bad blood that seems to exist between these two teams was certainly evident in the early going of this contest. As the game moved past the midpoint the Wolverines started to get back on track and began to attack the Western goal with more energy. It looked like Michigan had tied the game with just over six minutes remaining, but the apparent goal was waved off as the referee ruled that the whistle had blown prior to the puck making it into the net. The resulting face off came to the right of the Western goal with Michigan winning the draw. The puck was dropped back to Jillson who let a shot fly from just outside the face off circle. This shot was partially screened and made it into the Western net tying the game at one goal apiece. Craig Murray picked up the lone assist on this goal.

Both teams traded penalties and power plays in the final minutes of the period with the Wolverines coming the closest to scoring another goal when Jillson was all alone in front of the net with the puck, but simply couldn’t convert. The first period came to an end with things all tied up at one goal apiece. Michigan held a slight edge in shots on goal with a 15 to 11 count.

It wouldn’t take much of the second period for the deadlock to be broken. In the early going of the period there was another face off to the right of the Western goalie. Both teams were knocking the puck around, but neither team could really get a handle on it. Suddenly out of nowhere Hilbert was all alone in front of the net with the puck. He put a little deke move on the goalie and flipped the puck into the net giving Michigan the lead just 20 seconds into the second period. Assists went to Koch and Cammalleri.

The teams again spent most of the remainder of the period trading penalties and power plays. Michigan came close to scoring their third goal of the night about midway through the period when Matzka got free on a clean break, but he was unable to get the puck past the Western netminder. It would take another five minutes, but Michigan would finally get that third goal. With just under six minutes remaining in the period both teams were called for penalties leaving both teams with four men apiece. About 40 seconds later Western picked up a second penalty giving Michigan a 4 on 3 power play. The Wolverines worked the puck around the Western zone quite well on this power play and the hard work finally paid off as Andy Hilbert picked up his second goal of the game. Hilbert put this shot into the net by going to the top shelf with the assists going to Cammalleri and Jillson. The second period came to an end with Michigan leading by a score of 3 to 1. Michigan took a commanding lead in shots on goal during this period as they held a 31 to 18 shot advantage after two.

Western started the third period on the power play after Michigan picked up a penalty in the final seconds of the second period. With 35 seconds left in this second period penalty Matzka picked up a second Michigan penalty to give Western a two-man advantage. While the Bronco’s were able to score their lone goal of the game early in the second period with a two-man advantage, this time the Wolverines were able to hold the Bronco’s at bay. With just six seconds remaining in the second period Michigan penalty Western was hit with two minor penalties ending their power play. This also put Michigan on the power play six seconds later. Because of the timing of these penalties Michigan had a two-man advantage of their own for 29 seconds. While again working the puck extremely well around the Western zone the Wolverines notched their fourth goal of the game when Shouneyia made a great pass to Mink who buried the puck in a wide open net. Both Shouneyia and Ortmeyer picked up assists on the goal, which came with just eight seconds left in the Michigan two-man advantage.

The final goal of the game would come just a couple of minutes later with Western on the power play. The Bronco’s had the puck in the Michigan zone when Mike Roemensky got control of the puck. He cleared the puck out of the zone toward the Western goal. The Western netminder came out of the net to play the puck, reaching out with his stick. The puck hit his stick, took a strange little hop, and deflected into the open Bronco goal. Michigan gets their fifth goal of the game, short-handed, with an assist going to the Bronco goalie (not recorded of course). It was not your average, every day goal, but brought the crowd to their feet. It goes without saying that the normally goalie unfriendly student section let the Bronco goalie know he did wrong for the final twelve minutes of the game.

Both teams spent the remainder of the game trading penalties, but neither team would score another goal. The game came to an end with Michigan winning by a score of 5 to 1. Michigan ended the game with a 44 to 22 advantage in shots on goal.

After a little bit of a slow start Michigan really dominated the play in this game. They played solid team defense and waited for the scoring opportunities to come. They got the first of the two wins they need this weekend, however, you can be sure that tomorrow’s game in Kalamazoo will not be easy. The Bronco’s have taken it on the chin for three straight games and the pressure will be on them tomorrow to keep pace in the conference. Michigan will have to play just as well on the road as they did at home tonight if they want to complete the season sweep of the Bronco’s and move into position to challenge the Spartans.

Week in Review

Michigan finished another week of hockey with mixed results as they dropped the weekend opener against the Buckeyes, but put things together enough to come away with a win on Saturday. That was just another in a series of losses that the Wolverines should not have and cannot afford. This weekend they take on the Western Michigan Broncos in a pair of games that will go a long way toward deciding which of these teams challenges Michigan State for the conference championship.

Michigan slipped a spot in the Pairwise rankings this week after their split with Ohio State last weekend; going from number seven to number eight. Michigan State continues to hold the top spot in the power rankings, but Western Michigan dropped from number two to number three after taking a loss and a tie against Notre Dame last weekend.

Some current and future Wolverines have been catching the eye of pro scouts as NHL teams start preparing for the June draft. Two current Wolverines have gained mention in the NHL’s central scouting bureau. They are Mike Komisarek and Mike Cammalleri. Komisarek is rated the ninth best North American skater while Cammalleri is ranked 41^st. The high rating for Komisarek has him as the third highest college player mentioned by the central scouting bureau. No fewer than seven of Michigan’s nine recruits have also made this list. They are Jason Bacashihua (11^th best North American goalie), Eric Nystrom (32^nd best skater), Jason Ryznar (62^nd), Mike Woodford (83^rd), Brandon Rogers (87^th), Dwight Helminen (138^th), and Milan Gajic (224^th). That’s pretty impressive for a group of players that have yet to play a single college game; and they are all coming to Michigan.

It looks like Michigan may finally have some good news on the defensive front, as David Huntzicker appears ready to return to the ice for this weekends games against Western Michigan. Jay Vancik has been practicing, but his return for this weekend is questionable. If Huntzicker does return to the lineup either Bob Gassoff or Brad Fraser will not play. Getting some help on the blue line should boost the Wolverines as they prepare to take on the countries most prolific offense.

The only player from Michigan to get any mention after last weekends mixed results at Ohio State was Junior Jeff Jillson. Jeff was named a notable performer for his defensive efforts over the weekend. He assisted on a goal Friday, while scoring one on Saturday. Jeff also finished +4 for the weekend and helped Michigan kill 10 of 12 Buckeye power plays.

After last weekends games Andy Hilbert has now scored a point in his last twelve games. Even with Hilbert’s continued strong play it was the seniors who finally made their presence known on Saturday night. The goal scored by Josh Langfeld on Saturday was his 58^th career goal for Michigan, the most of any active Wolverine, while Geoff Koch recorded his first three-point night of the season on Saturday. Michigan was out shot Saturday night, but still came away with the win; only the second time they have been out shot this year (both were victories). Friday’s loss was the first Michigan defeat in the CCHA since November 18 and the first time in six games that the Buckeyes have managed to beat Michigan.

The Wolverines go into this weekend in tied for second place with the Western Michigan Bronco’s. Both of these teams have 21 points in the conference, a full four points ahead of their nearest challenger (four teams tied at 17 points). While both of these teams are four points ahead of their closest challenger, they are both four points behind the team everyone is chasing; the Michigan State Spartans. The outcome of this weekends games will go a long way toward determining the team that will challenge the Spartans for the conference championship. A sweep by either team would give that team a distinct advantage over the other and put them in position to make a run at the Spartans.

The first game of the weekend will be played in Ann Arbor where Michigan holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with a record of 44-22-9. This weekend’s second game will be played Saturday night in Kalamazoo and the all-time record between these two teams in Kalamazoo is quite different. Michigan still holds the lead, but it is much closer with a record of 16-11-7. The Bronco’s have been flying pretty high this year after being picked in most pre-season polls to finish at or near the bottom of the conference. They have played steady, solid hockey all year long and have spent the last couple of months ranked among the countries top ten. They go into this weekend ranked two spots higher than the Wolverines, Western is ranked seventh, while the Wolverines are ranked ninth. The last few meetings between these two teams have been very physical, penalty filled affairs. The last time these two teams met was last year in the first round of the CCHA tournament in Ann Arbor. Michigan swept the Bronco’s to end their year in those games and the Bronco’s have used those games as motivation for their season; obviously to good effect.

Michigan will need to play a solid weekend of hockey if they wish to beat the Bronco’s. If they want to repeat as CCHA regular season champions a sweep of the Bronco’s is a necessity. The outcome of the first of these two contests will be known shortly, until then C-ya.