Wildcats Dispose of Listless Wolverines

Saturday, January 13, 2007
Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Given the nature of this years Michigan Hockey team it was only a matter of time before we once again saw the listless, uninvolved team we were once again treated to Saturday evening at Yost Arena. After playing a couple of solid games of hockey the Wolverines reverted back to the team that gets out hustled, out worked, and just plain out played for most of a game on their way to a two to one loss at the hands of the bottom dwelling Northern Michigan Wildcats.

Even though the Wolverines actually dominated play in the first period (the only period in which you can make that statement), it was the Wildcats that ended the period with the lead. With just under five minutes left to play the Wolverines turned the puck over right at their blue line, allowing a lone Wildcat player to break in on the Michigan goal uncontested. The streaking Wildcat player got between the circles before unleashing a shot that beat Sauer high over the stick for the score.

The first period ended with the Wildcats holding a one to nothing lead, while the Wolverines had a thirteen to four edge in shots on goal.

You would have thought following that first period that the Wolverines would have turned up the heat a notch, to finally turn those shots into goals, but that would be a mistaken belief as the Wolverines mailed the remainder of the game in, basically getting dominated for the final forty minutes of play by an energized Wildcat team.

With just under nine minutes to play in the second period the Wildcats scored their second and final goal of the game when they carried the puck end to end and fired it past Sauer, once again going top shelf for the score. What made this goal even more unbelievable is that at least three Wolverines had a chance to put a body on the Wildcat carrying the puck, but inexplicably they seemed to simply get out of his way as he skated right down the slot to score an easy goal.

The second period would come to an end with the Wildcats holding a two to nothing lead. The Wildcats out shot the Wolverines sixteen to eleven in the period, leaving Michigan with a slim twenty-three to twenty advantage in shots on goal after forty minutes.

Despite starting the final period with a minute of power play, getting three more power plays throughout the period, the Wolverines could mount no serious challenge in the final twenty minutes of play. One thing the Wildcats have done well this year is play defense and with a two goal lead going into the third they simply put the clamps on Michigan, allowing them nothing.

The Wildcats were whistled for another penalty with just 2:22 left to play and Michigan tried to get something started when they pulled Sauer with 1:21 to play, a face off coming in the Northern zone, and now a two man advantage. Even with two extra attackers they were unable to get the puck past the Northern goalie, only managing to score a single goal with just 6.5 seconds left in the game to avoid the shut out. The puck was bouncing around in front of the Wildcat goal in a large group of players when Cogliano was able to get his stick on the puck and punch it home for the score. Rohlfs and Kolarik each picked up assists on the goal.

This was just an inexcusable loss to a team that Michigan could have and should have beaten, especially on their home ice. It's exactly losses like this that have the Wolverines on the brink of losing a first round bye and home ice in the CCHA tournament for the first time in forever. It's also losses like these that have them on the brink of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in seventeen years. After playing two solid, sixty minute games of hockey, they simply mailed in the final forty minutes of this game, seemingly unconcerned that they were losing yet more ground in the CCHA race against a team that was sitting in tenth place in that same conference. Things certainly don't get any easier as the Wolverines head to Alaska next weekend for a pair of games against the Nanooks, a team and location that haven't been kind to Michigan the last couple of years.