Saturday, October 20, 2007
Berry Events Center, Marquette, Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines finished off a successful weekend by sweeping the hosting Northern Michigan Wildcats to pick up four very important CCHA points. Both teams battled hard, with a lot of special teams play once again in the game. The Wolverines survived a five minute major penalty called with just two minutes to play. This led to the Wildcats tying the game with forty seconds to go and then Michigan scoring a short handed goal with less than twenty seconds to go to squeak out the win. So far the one constant you can associate with this young Michigan hockey team is that they work hard and keep working until the game is done.

With about twelve minutes to play the Wildcats were whistled for a penalty to put Michigan on the power play. It looked like they would kill off the penalty, but with exactly ten minutes to play and just seconds in the man advantage Mitera would blast a rocket of a shot through a screen to score the power play goal. Caparusso and Kampfer would each pick up assists.

Late in the first period the Wildcats were on the power play, passing the puck crisply around the Michigan zone. They worked it from the blue line, down low, around the zone, finally getting it to the left face off circle. From there a Wildcat player unleashed a laser of a shot that beat Sauer to tie the game.

The first period would come to an end with the score all tied up at one goal each. The Wildcats also held an edge in shots on goal with an eight to four count.

With roughly seven minutes to play in the second period the Wolverines would take the lead when Porter slid the puck into the Wildcat net. The Wildcats had just been turned away after a three on one break away into the Michigan zone and the Wolverines turned the tables and broke out into the Michigan zone. With the Wildcat goalie screened Porter just rolled the puck to the net and it slid into the net before the goalie could react. Porter with the goal, Palushaj and Kolarik with assists.

The second period would come to an end with Michigan holding a two to one lead. The Wildcats out shot the Wolverines five to three in the period to end forty minutes of play with a thirteen to seven advantage in shots on goal.

Early in the third period the Wildcats got back to even when they jumped on a rebound and punched it past Sauer. Sauer had the initial shot blocked, but the puck dropped to the ice right in front of the goal where a Wildcat player quickly poked it home before Sauer or any Michigan defender could react.

With the clock just under five minutes the puck was laying at center ice with nobody around it. Winnett got to the puck skated in over the Northern blue line and fired off a shot that beat the Northern net minder to once again put the Wolverines in the lead. Winnett got the score, while Rust and Hagelin picked up assists.

With almost exactly two minutes to play the Wolverines were whistled for a five minute major penalty to give Northern an extended man advantage. With fifty-five seconds to play Northern pulled their goalie to put two extra skaters in the Michigan zone. With just forty seconds to play and Sauer screened, the Wildcats slid a quick pass to the wide side of the net, where the puck was redirected into the net behind Sauer. The Wildcats sent a new goalie onto the ice once they had tied the game.

With just over twenty seconds to play the Wildcats misplayed the puck at the Michigan blue line allowing Kolarik to scoop up the puck and break out into the Wildcat zone. Kolarik carried the puck into the zone, closed on the net, and fired almost a floater of a shot that beat the Wildcat goalie to score a short handed goal. The winning goal was scored as unassisted.

The game would come to an end with the Wolverines winning by a score of four to three. Michigan out shot the Wildcats twelve to eight for the period, but the Wildcats ended the game with a twenty-one to nineteen advantage in shots on goal.

There seemed to be a little bit of everything in this game, power play goals, short handed goals, minor penalties, major penalties, empty nets, and two man advantages. Through it all the Wolverines would never quit, squeaking out another hard fought win on the road to complete the weekend sweep. Next week the Wolverines return to Yost Arena for a pair of rare first half home games.