Wolverines Outlast Falcons

Friday, November 8, 2002
BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio

Michigan got this game under way applying some great pressure to the Bowling Green goal. All of this pressure would see Michigan go on the power play with less than one minute gone in the game. The Wolverines were unable to score a goal on this power play and in fact just after the power play ended Bowling Green would turn the tables and score the games first goal. The Michigan defender slipped to the ice at the Michigan blue line allowing a Falcon player to come into the Michigan zone uncontested. Walking right in on Montoya he put the puck in the net for the games first score.

Barely a minute later Michigan would get whistled for a penalty putting Bowling Green on the power play. The Wolverines killed this penalty off and play continued until Bowling Green put Michigan on the power play with just under twelve minutes to play in the period. The Wolverines wasted little time on this power play as Moss slid a beautiful pass across in front of the net to Rogers who banged it home. Michigan needed just eighteen seconds of power play time to net this goal, with the assists going to Moss and Richmond.

Both teams would trade penalties and power plays over the next eight minutes or so of game time, but neither team was able to score another goal. Things got a little out of hand in the final two minutes of the period as the penalties came fast and furious. With just 2:36 left to play both teams lost a player to the sin bin and skated with four men each. With 1:08 left (thirty-two seconds left in the pair of penalties) Michigan was whistled for another penalty putting the Falcons on the power play (four on three). Both teams got a player back and it looked like the period would come to an end, but with just seventeen seconds left to play (1:09 in the Michigan penalty still on the board), the Wolverines would once again get whistled for a penalty giving the Falcons a two man advantage to finish the period. The period would come to an end with the score all tied up at one goal each. Michigan would hold a slight edge in shots on goal with a twelve to seven count.

Bowling Green would start the second period with a total of 1:43 of power play time, fifty-two seconds of that would be a two man advantage. The Wolverines killed off the two man advantage and were well on their way to killing off the remaining power play time when Helminen would strike for the Wolverines. With 18:36 to play in the period (nineteen seconds in the Falcon power play) Helminen would carry the puck the length of the ice, ending the rush by putting the puck in the net for a short handed goal. The lone assist on the goal would go to Mink.

With just two seconds left in the Bowling Green penalty the Falcons would get whistled for a penalty, setting the Wolverines up for what, for all intents and purposes, was a full power play. With just under eighteen minutes to play and 1:28 left in the Michigan power play it appeared the Wolverines had scored their third goal of the game. However, the goal was waved off with the referee indicating that the goal was off its moorings. The Falcons would end up killing the power play and action would continue.

Even though they missed that third goal chance the Wolverines would waste little time getting their third goal of the game. With 14:24 to play in the period Helminen was once again carrying the puck into the Falcon zone, this time slightly to the right of center ice. Showing great patience Helminen held the puck until Werner could catch up with the play. As Helminen drew even with the net and the goalie drawn all the way to his right, Helminen dropped a great pass back to Werner who banged it into the open net. Werner got the goal, Helminen got the assist.

Less than thirty seconds later Michigan was whistled for a penalty to put the Falcons back on the power play. It looked like the Wolverines would get this power play killed off, but with just ten seconds left in the power play Bowling Green scored a power play goal to once again get within one.

Michigan would end the period with a flurry and it would all get under way with just over four minutes to play when Shouneyia shook off the last of the rust and set up a fantastic goal. Shouneyia got control of the puck in the neutral zone and carried it into the Falcon zone. With Mink trailing along Shouneyia made a nice pass over to Mink as the two players crossed in front of the net. Now with the puck Mink got off a shot that just squeezed between the Falcon goalie and the post to the goalies far side. The assists on the goal went to Shouneyia and Kaleniecki.

It would be barely thirty seconds later, with just under four minutes to play, when Michigan would strike for their fourth goal of the period and fifth of the game. Again Michigan got control of the puck in the neutral zone, but this time it would be Werner who would fight and scrap to carry the puck into the Falcon zone, taking it deep and to the goalies left. Once Werner was down low he dropped a pass back to Nystrom who was positioned right in front of the net. Wasting no time Nystrom just blasted the puck into the net, bouncing it off the under side of the cross bar. Werner got the lone assist.

Michigan would get whistled for a penalty with just five seconds to play in the period but the Falcons could not take advantage. The second period came to an end with Michigan leading by a score of five to two. The Wolverines continued to lead in shots on goal with a twenty-two to seventeen count.

Like the second period, the Falcons would start the third period on the power play, this time with 1:55 of power play time. Michigan would kill this power play off, but would put the Falcons back on the power play with just under seventeen minutes to play when they were called for to many men on the ice. With thirty-five seconds left in this power play the Falcons would score their second power play goal of the game, cutting Michigans lead to two goals.

With just over ten minutes to play Bowling Green would be called for their own bench minor, also for to many men on the ice, and like the Falcons before them, the Wolverines would take advantage of the gift. Using just eighteen seconds of power play time Michigan scored their sixth goal of the game. Michigan was just pushing the puck to the net when the Falcon goalie let a rebound dribble out to his right. In the right place at the right time, Woodford just chipped the puck into the net for the score. Assists on the goal went to Kaleniecki and Richmond.

Bowling Green would get one final goal with just six seconds left in the game, but it was to little to late and the game ended with Michigan winning by a score of six to four. The Wolverines ended the game with a thirty-three to twenty-four advantage in shots on goal.

Playing in their first road game of the CCHA season the Wolverines put in an adequate performance, but were spotty at best. After applying all kinds of pressure in the opening minutes of play a defensive error led to Bowling Green scoring the first goal. They then spent the middle ten minutes of the first period playing a rather uncontrolled game of hockey. They settled down in the late going, but it was a so-so period for the Wolverines. After looking a bit nervous in the early going Montoya did settle down and played a solid game in net.

Michigans best period was probably the second and the early going of the third. They started the second period down two men and ended up getting a short-handed goal to take the wind right out of the Falcons. They then went on to score three more goals in the second period. The third period was a mixed bag. The Wolverines seemed to stop really fighting for the puck and at times one player seemed to be standing there, with the puck on the ice, waiting for someone else to make a play. Two cases in point are the last two Falcon goals. On the third goal Michigan had knocked the puck down in front of the net, but then they didn't go after it. Bowling Green did and ended up getting it past Montoya (when it could have easily been cleared by Michigan). Then they gave up that fourth goal with just six seconds to play as they once again got a little lazy on the defensive end of things. Obviously Michigans effort was adequate, they got the win, but they come out of this game with plenty of room for improvement.