BOWLING GREEN - It had to be Madden-ing for Bowling Green.
The Falcons were in control of the game on their home ice Saturday night. They had been ever since the end of the second period, and they couldn't have thought they would wind up with a 3-3 tie. But that's what happened.
Even when Matt Herr's eighth goal of the season brought the Wolverines to within a goal, there was only 8:04 left in the game. And 40 seconds later, Herr's tripping penalty left Michigan shorthanded. The Falcons were in control.
But they forgot about John Madden.
Actually, they didn't forget about Michigan's Mr. Shorthanded. They knew he was there. They were thinking about him. But the Falcons couldn't stop him.
When Michigan's Bobby Hayes scooped up a loose puck and swept down the right side of the ice, Madden floated to the center of the Falcons' zone.
All Hayes had to do was make the pass. Madden took care of the rest, beating Bowling Green goaltender Bob Petrie high. It was Madden's fourth shorthanded goal of the young season, and it tied the game with 7:13 left to play.
The Wolverines managed to hang on and come away with a 3-3 tie, picking up a point in a game that, moments earlier, had appeared all but lost.
"I thought we finished the game well," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "They were a desperate team, and they're a better team than their record shows."
Bowling Green is 2-4-1 in the CCHA, 6-5-1 overall.
The tie, coupled with Friday's convincing 5-1 victory over Michigan State at Yost Ice Arena, allowed Michigan (6-1-1, 9-1-1) to pull into first place in the CCHA, a point ahead of second-place Miami (Ohio). The Wolverines' victory avenged their only loss of the season, a 5-4 loss to the Spartans on Nov. 2.
But the big victory didn't carry over into the early stages of Saturday's game.
"We were upset with the way we played in the first two periods," Michigan wing Mike Legg said after the tie. "But we came out strong in the third period. If the game was a little bit longer, I think we might've taken it to them."
On one hand, Michigan was happy to return home with a tie, after scrambling back from a two-goal deficit at hostile BGSU Ice Arena. But on the other hand, this was a game that the Wolverines could have won, against a reeling Bowling Green squad that had lost five in a row.
After two straight goals swung the momentum to the Wolverines' side, Michigan captain Brendan Morrison nearly delivered the knockout blow. The senior chipped a shot past Petrie, and replays appeared to show that it hit the back of the net, but there was no signal from the goal judge or the referee. More importantly, the scoreboard still read 3-3.
The game with Bowling Green was also expected to be the second round of last Saturday's Fight Night at Yost Ice Arena. Last weekend's bouts resulted in the suspensions of six players - three Falcons and three Wolverines, served during Friday night's games - and three injured players, none of whom played this weekend.
In addition, the fights gave rise to such revenge-minded comments as "(Bowling Green forward Dave) Faulkner's absolutely dead," and "It's war," by various Michigan skaters. As it played out, Faulkner lives - in fact, he was the game's No. 1 star on Saturday - and there were no major fights to speak of. CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan was on hand to keep track of things and both teams were, for the most part, well-behaved.
Friday's game, however, was another story. Playing without Jason Botterill, Bill Muckalt, Bubba Berenzweig and an injured Greg Crozier, the Wolverines came out charging against the Spartans.
And ultimately, the revenge factor - not to mention the Yost factor - outweighed the suspension factor, and the Wolverines came away with a surprisingly easy victory.
Legg took charge early on, scoring two goals in the first period on what he referred to as "short putts." Later, with Michigan leading, 4-1, sophomore Justin Clark was slammed from behind into the Michigan State net. The ensuing melee resulted in four suspensions, 66 penalty minutes, two angry goalies and two disappointed coaches.
"I'm not going to comment on the officiating," Berenson said.
When Spartans goaltender Chad Alban came out of his crease and joined in the fighting behind his own net, Michigan netminder Marty Turco skated all the way down the rink, past center-ice, and motioned for Alban to meet him halfway. Alban responded in much the same manner - lots of arm motions and yelling - but declined Turco's invitation to dance.
"I didn't like it, it's not part of the game," Michigan State coach Ron Mason said of the fighting. "No team needs that."
The already-thin Wolverines sure didn't, and the suspensions cost them Clark and defenseman Chris Frescoln for Saturday night's game.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Brendan Morrison put up with this clutch-and-grab style of hockey from opposing teams twice more this weekend, but he still managed to lead the Wolverines to a win and a tie. Michigan beat Michigan State, 5-1, on Friday night, but tied Bowling Green, 3-3, on Saturday.