KALAMAZOO - Playing a Western Michigan squad that was torched by Ferris State the previous night, the Michigan hockey team had hopes of blitzing the Broncos right out of the gate Saturday and never looking back.
It didn't happen.
For the fourth time in as many games, the first goal scored did not belong to the Wolverines.
Michigan was forced to play catch-up hockey again after Western Michigan's Daryl Andrews beat Josh Blackburn to put the Wolverines in a 2-0 hole with 13:29 remaining in the second period.
The slow start almost cost them. If not for Mark Kosick's scrambling goal with 7.1 seconds left in the game, Michigan's trip to Kalamazoo would have been fruitless - and its losing skid would've hit four games.
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| SARA SCHENCK/Daily Sophomore Josh Langfeld scored the Wolverines' first goal on a breakaway, but had trouble getting by Western Michigan's Jeff Lukasak. |
"The last four games we've played the whole game from behind," said Michigan coach Red Berenson, whose team's last lead was a 3-2 advantage at Michigan State on Jan. 29. "We've got to score the first goal and get used to playing with the lead again."
For a team that hasn't been starting many games strong as of late, Michigan's play gave no indication that it emotionally had peaked for the contest.
Meanwhile, the Broncos were physical throughout the opening period, finishing their checks and making life tough for Michigan, which registered only four shots in the period.
The Wolverines began to manufacture their own opportunities in the second period, peppering Western Michigan goaltender Matt Barnes on several occasions.
"I thought we got better as the game went on," Berenson said. "Once we got the penalties out of the way, then I thought we had the momentum."
Still, the majority of Michigan's shots on goal - slapshots from the point, and wristers from in between the circles - weren't strong enough to cause problems for the 5-foot-4 Barnes.
Winger Josh Langfeld finally got the Wolverines on the board, slipping the puck past Barnes on an odd-man rush fueled by Western Michigan defenseman Jeff Lukasak's slip-and-fall - not by creating commotion in front of the Broncos' net - for Michigan's first goal, with 4:29 remaining in the second period.
"We had trouble getting it going offensively for most of the first two periods," Kosick said. "We just didn't get it done. Their goalie played well."
Most of the Wolverines' execution problems were caused by their nonexistent physical presence in front of the Western Michigan goal for most of the night.
Barnes saw pretty much everything that came his way, and very few of the 31 shots he faced came through traffic in front of the Broncos' net.
All problems aside, the Wolverines did execute when it counted most. Kosick's strike in the closing seconds sent the game into overtime, giving Michigan an extra five minutes to try and pull out the victory.
Last Saturday, down 3-2 at home to Ohio State, the Wolverines seemed to need just a few extra minutes to press for the tying goal. This time, Michigan got the lucky bounce in front and made no mistake with its golden opportunity.
"It was just one of those (goals) - maybe the kind of goals that have been going in against us," Berenson said. "We finally got a break. That seemed like the break that we needed."
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02-15-99
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