Wolverines Tie Wildcats

Friday, October 15, 2004
Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan

After another poor Friday night second period the Wolverines fought back in the final period of play to tie the game and send it to overtime. With the extra five minutes of play neither team was able to come up with a score and this game between two of the nations top ten teams ended in a four to four tie.

The Wolverines hit the ice flying and would strike quickly in this game with a score just 1:40 in to the contest. Michigan moved the puck quickly out of their zone, with Rohlfs receiving a pass a center ice. Flying down the boards, Rohlfs made a great pass across the ice to a waiting Tambellini who banged the puck home before the Wildcat net minder could react. Both Rohlfs and Hensick picked up assists on the goal.

For the next fifteen to sixteen minutes both teams would kill off penalty after penalty, as the new enforcement rules wrecked havoc on the flow of the game. With just over two minutes left to play in the period Michigan would get hit with a penalty that would finally prove to be one penalty to much. Barely fifteen seconds into the power play the Wildcats got off a flat angle shot from Montoyas left. Montoya had the shot blocked, but it took a funny hop, seemed to ride up the face of his goalie stick, and trickled over the goal line for a score.

The tie game would not last long as Michigan scored their second goal of the game off the ensuing face off. Michigan won the draw, getting the puck back to Martens. Martens quickly got it up ice to Rohlfs, who just as quickly got it up ice to a streaking Ryznar. As he got to the top of the circle Ryznar let fly a rocket of a shot that beat the Wildcat goalie to put Michigan back on top by one. Rohlfs and Martens received the assists on this goal.

The Wildcats would get whistled for another penalty with just under two minutes to play in the period, but the Wolverines would be unable to take advantage of the extra attacker. The first period would come to an end with Michigan winning by a score of two to one. The Wolverines ended the first period of play with a commanding fifteen to three lead in shots on goal.

With just four seconds of power play time to start the second Michigan didn't come up with a score. In fact shortly after their power play ended they would get whistled for the first of several penalties in the middle stanza. The Wolverines would kill off this penalty, but with just over seventeen minutes to play Michigan would get whistled for a second straight penalty and this would prove deadly. Half way through the power play the Wildcats once again found themselves with the puck in close, with no one between them and Montoya. Once again a shot from in close appeared to have been blocked by Montoya, only to see the puck just squeeze through his pads and trickle ever so slowly over the goal line for the Wildcats second goal of the game.

With just over twelve minutes to play in the period Michigan would turn the puck over deep in their own zone, giving the Wildcats another great opportunity, an opportunity they did not waste. The Wildcats got off a big shot from Montoyas left which was blocked, but Montoya didn't cover the puck and he ended up laying on the ice. With Montoya down a Wildcat skater simply swept the puck around the prone net minder and easily slipped it into the open net to give New Hampshire their first lead of the game.

Through the final ten minutes of play in this period each team would kill off a penalty, but neither team would come up with a score. The second period would come to an end with the Wildcats leading by a score of three to two. In a complete reversal of the first period the Wildcats out shot the Wolverines fourteen to six in period two. However, the Wolverines still held a slight twenty-one to seventeen advantage in shots on goal.

With the game on the line the Wolverines started the third period with a lot more energy than they played with in the second. With just over fifteen minutes to play that extra effort would prove beneficial. Working hard down in the right corner the Wolverines Ryznar finally got the puck loose and skated along the end boards going behind the goal. As Ryznar got past the goal he skated back out front, spun around switching to his fore hand, and snapped off a pass to Nystrom who was all alone on the doorstep of the goal. As the puck hit his stick, Nystrom easily tucked it into the open net to once again tie the game. Both Ryznar and Woodford picked up assists on the goal.

It would take less than two minutes for the Wildcats to once again take the lead, once again setup by sloppy puck play by the Wolverines deep in their zone. Montoya went behind the net to play the puck, but didn't realize until to late that a couple of Wildcats were closing fast. In an attempt to get the puck out to a fellow Wolverine Montoya tried to pass it behind him, along the end board. However, a Wildcat player was right there to intercept the attempted pass. Before Montoya could really get back and get set the Wildcats had the puck in the net, retaking the lead.

Both teams would have to kill off penalties in the last ten minutes of this period, but it would be a penalty against New Hampshire with just under nine minutes to play that would lead to Michigan's game tying goal. As the Wolverines worked the puck around the Wildcat zone they applied great pressure, with several shots that came close to getting into the net. As the power play neared the half way point a pass into the high slot would go astray, but would end up on the stick of another Wolverine near the right circle. From there Tambellini got off a big shot that was blocked, but the rebound was not covered and the Wolverines Kevin Porter was right there to fight for the puck and tuck it into the net to once again tie the game. Both Tambellini and Hensick would pick up assists on this goal.

While there was a furious finish by both teams regulation time would come to an end with the score still tied at four goals each. The Wolverines would double the Wildcats in shots on goal in this period, ending regulation time with a forty-four to twenty-eight advantage in shots on goal.

The five minute overtime was essentially controlled by the Wolverines, but they would be unable to get the puck into the net. The game would come to an end with the score still tied at four goals each. The final tally for shots on goal was forty-eight for Michigan, to twenty-nine for New Hampshire.

Once again the Wolverines played a sluggish second period on Friday night and once again it cost them at least a chance for a big non-conference win. The Wildcats took the lead during the second period, putting them in the drivers seat for most of the rest of the game. Even when Michigan got back to even in the third period, the Wildcats quickly answered to retake the lead. While there are several players, playing hard through the entire game, Michigan is still not playing an entire game as a team. Until they start to do that they will continue to struggle for wins.