Wolverines Salvage Split

Saturday, January 22, 2005
Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio

Continuing to follow their pattern of playing poorly on Friday, but well on Saturday the Wolverines rebounded from last nights disaster to send the Buckeyes packing. Using a five goal explosion in the second period the Wolverines coasted to six to three victory to secure the split and regain their five point lead in the CCHA race.

The first period was an up and down affair with both teams getting power play opportunities. Michigan had three and Ohio State had one, with neither team able to take advantage of the extra attacker. In the end the first period ended as it began with the score all tied at zero. Michigan held a slight seven to five advantage in shots on goal.

The second period was an entirely different affair than the first. With just over sixteen minutes yet to play in the period the Buckeyes picked up the periods first penalty putting Michigan back on the power play. Unlike the first period the Wolverines took full advantage of the extra attacker, scoring a power play goal just thirty seconds into the man advantage. Michigan was passing the puck well around the top of the zone when they suddenly sent a pass down low to Nystrom. As soon as the puck hit Nystroms stick he fired a pass over to Kolarik who tapped the puck into the net for the first goal of the game. Both Nystrom and Tambellini picked up assists on the goal.

The Wolverines would score their second goal of the game just fifteen seconds later, right off the face off following their first goal. Michigan won the face off and got the puck to Tambellini who flew down the left side of the ice. As he looped in and closed on the Ohio State goal he snapped a shot through the five hole that found its way to the back of the net giving Michigan a two to nothing lead. Both Porter and Ebbett picked up assists on the goal.

With just over ten minutes to play in the period Michigan would strike for their third straight goal, this time an even strength rebound goal courtesy of Ryznar. The Wolverines had the puck in the Buckeye zone and got a shot off from near the blue line. That shot was blocked, but the rebound was not covered, leaving it on the ice in front of the goal. Ryznar beat everyone else to the puck and flipped a pretty little back hand host over the goalie and into the net for the score. Assists went to Ebbett and Gajic.

With the clock just under the eight minute mark the Wolverines won a face off in their own zone. With control of the puck they flew out of their zone. As the puck reached the Michigan blue line a previous penalty was expiring and Kolarik popped out of the penalty box. A quick and on target pass to Kolarik suddenly had the puck at the Buckeye blue line with the Buckeye defense trying to catch up. Kolarik streaked into the Buckeye zone, made a slight left to right loop, and banged the puck into the net for his second goal of the period. Both Hensick and Ryznar picked up assists on the goal.

With just over three minutes left to play in the period one player from each team was sent to the penalty box. The Wolverines took advantage of the extra space on the ice to score their fifth goal of the period. Michigan was working hard down in the corner, cycling the puck, keeping Ohio State off balance. About thirty seconds into the matching penalties Werner received the puck and fired a big slap shot through a bunch of people and into the goal for Michigan's fifth and final goal of the period. Assists went to Ryznar and Nystrom, while the Buckeyes chose the stoppage in play to replace their goal tender.

The second period came to an end with Michigan leading by a score of five to nothing. Through two periods of play the Wolverines held a twenty-three to fourteen edge in shots on goal.

A number of penalties and game misconducts were handed out at the end of the second period, but both teams started five on five in the third period. With just over sixteen minutes to play in the game Michigan was whistled for another penalty, putting Ohio State on the power play. With the big lead going into this period the Wolverines weren't working as hard as they did in the first and second periods, consequently the Buckeyes controlled the puck in the Michigan zone pretty much constantly while on this power play. Finally, just over a minute into the man advantage the Buckeyes got the puck past Montoya for their first goal of the game.

With just over twelve minutes to play that laziness would once again catch up to the Wolverines. The Buckeyes had gotten off a shot that was blocked, but the rebound was not covered and neither Montoya nor the Michigan defense was quick enough to deal with it. Gathering up the rebound the Buckeyes quickly flipped it back toward and ultimately into the Michigan goal. In roughly three minutes time the Buckeyes had cut the Michigan lead to three, had some momentum building, was getting the fans back into the game, and still had plenty of time on the clock. With Michigan playing less focused hockey the Wolverine faithful started to get a little uneasy.

With just over nine minutes to play both teams sent players to the sin bin, but Ohio State ended up with one extra player in the box, putting Michigan on the power play. With just twelve seconds left in their power play the Wolverines were whistled for a penalty ending the power play and leaving each team with four players each. With just over seven minutes left to play and both teams still skating four on four the Buckeyes struck for their third straight goal, cutting the Michigan lead to two. On top of that since the goal was scored while the teams were at even strength the Buckeyes moved to the power play just eight seconds later. Michigan was able to kill off the Buckeye power play.

After seeing their five goal lead cut to two the Wolverines seemed to wake up out of their third period nap and started to work much harder through the final seven minutes of the period. With two and half minutes left in the period Ohio State pulled their goal tender to get an extra attacker on the ice. While the Wolverines were able to keep the Buckeyes at bay, they also couldn't seem to find a way to put the puck into the empty net. Finally, with just twelve seconds left in the game Nystrom lifted a puck from inside the Michigan zone and sent it down the ice. It looked like it was going to go into the Buckeye goal without any problems, but just to make sure Hensick gave it a little extra nudge to make sure it crossed the goal line. Hensick got the empty net goal, while Nystrom picked up the assist.

The game came to an end with Michigan winning by a score of six to three. The Wolverines ended the game with a thirty-five to twenty-nine advantage in shots on goal.

Michigan played a solid two and half periods of hockey, but was sloppy and lazy during the other ten minutes of the game. During that time they gave up three straight goals, gave the Buckeyes a bunch of momentum, until finally clamping back down and playing tough down the stretch. This team still has to figure out that it takes a full sixty minutes of good hockey to win big games. They got away with it this time because they had scored so many goals in the second period, but they cannot continue to rely on out scoring the opponent to win these types of games. That simply won't work when it comes to tournament play. Next weekend the Wolverines return to Yost arena for a pair of games against Northern Michigan, the third place team in the CCHA. Both games are important for both teams and can have a big impact on the final standings in the conference.