Wolverines Dominate Mavericks

Friday, February 21, 2003
Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska

The Wolverines started this game in the same fashion they've started every game this year - at Yost; flying around the ice and putting lots of pressure on the opponents goalie early and often. The Mavericks didn't help their cause any by picking up a penalty just fifty seconds into the game, putting Michigan on the power play. With barely a second left in the power play Helminen found a way between two defensemen and got the puck into the net to give Michigan the early lead with the power play goal. Assists on the goal went to Burnes and Ryznar.

The Wolverines would be whistled for their one and only penalty of the first period shortly after scoring their first goal, but they would kill this penalty off without giving up any goals.

As the clock neared the midpoint of the period the Mavericks would once again head to the sin bin and once again it would cost them dearly. Once again the power play would be winding down before the Wolverines notched their goal, but in the end the extra attacker was to much for the Mavericks. This time it would be Tambellini who would receive the puck and punch it past the net minder for Michigans second goal of the game. The assists on this goal went to Shouneyia and Ortmeyer.

Wasting no time at all the Wolverines would score their third goal of the game just twelve seconds later. From the face off that followed their second goal Michigan would gain control of the puck and feed it to Helminen. Helminen would once again find a way to get the puck in the net and Michigan was up by three. Both Mink and Roemensky picked up assists on this goal.

It looked like the period would end with Michigan sitting on a three goal lead, but with just over two minutes left to play the Wolverines had one more play to make. This time Helminen would feed the puck to Nystrom who just blew past the defense, walking right in on the Maverick net, and punching the puck home. Helminen picked up the lone assist and Michigan was up by four.

The first period would come to an end with Michigan leading by a score of four to nothing. The Wolverines also held the edge in shots on goal as they end the first period with a twelve to seven advantage in this category.

To start the second period the Mavericks brought in another goaltender to try and slow down the Wolverine onslaught. The first ten minutes of this period were anything but smooth for Michigan as they started out by getting whistled for a penalty just thirty seconds into the period. The Wolverines would successfully kill this penalty off, but it wouldn't be long before they once again found themselves on the penalty kill.

With just over four minutes played Michigan would once again head to the penalty box. This time it was Gajic who picked up the minor penalty and an additional ten minutes for a game misconduct. Henderson served the extra two minutes for the minor penalty taking two men out of the line up for the one penalty. Barely thirty seconds into this penalty kill Burnes would be whistled for a penalty sending him to the sin bin. This was a marginal call, but none the less Michigan was now down two men for a very long period of time. Even with the two man advantage Nebraska was unable to mount any kind of offensive pressure and Michigan successfully killed off the penalties.

With just over seven minutes played in the period Nebraska would get whistled for a penalty to put Michigan on the power play for the first time in this period. While Michigan would come close on several occasions during this power play they would ultimately come up empty and the score remained four to nothing.

With about ten and half minutes to play in the period Michigan would once again be whistled for a penalty and once again the Wolverine penalty kill would be up to the challenge.

With just under five minutes left to play Ryznar would score Michigans lone goal in the second period. Getting the puck down low Ryznar would do a complete 360 degree spin, then fire the puck, which would beat the Maverick net minder for the Wolverines fifth goal of the game. The lone assist on this goal went to Woodford.

The second period would come to an end with Michigan leading by a score of five to nothing. Michigan stretched their lead in shots on goal holding a twenty-three to thirteen advantage in this category after two periods of play.

The Wolverines started the third period with a little more fire in their eyes than they did the second and that extra jump would lead to Michigans final goal of the game. Keeping the pressure on early in the period Nick Martens would end up with the puck with just over three minutes played. Winding up Martens sent a blistering shot to the Maverick net that beat the net minder and gave Michigan score number six for the game. The lone assist on this goal went to Ebbett.

Unfortunately Montoyas shut out bid would end barely a minute following Michigans final goal as the Mavericks got in close and got off a shot. Montoya blocked this shot, but lost track of the rebound which a waiting Maverick barely got back to the net, deflected the puck off the post.

Each team would lose a player to the sin bin with just over six minutes to play, but neither team could score a goal as they skated four on four. Ryznar would be sent to the penalty box with less than a minute to play in the period, but the Wolverine penalty kill kept any late scoring chances at bay. The game would come to an end with Michigan winning by a score of six to one. The Wolverines finished the game with a thirty-three to nineteen advantage in shots on goal.

A solid game of hockey by the Wolverines as they played tough and played hard for most of the game. They got a little sloppy in the early going of the second period, but they settled it down and finished strong. Tomorrow night the real test will come for the Wolverines as they have to come up with their second straight solid game while playing on the road - something they have struggled with all season. Alaska managed to knock of the Buckeyes tonight so Michigan is now in second place, just four points behind idle Ferris State. If all goes well the Wolverines will be just two points back with four games left to play after this weekends games. Only time will tell that story so stay tuned for game number two tomorrow.