Wolverines wake up in third period

KALAMAZOO - The Michigan hockey team returned to its old, dominating self in the last two periods, especially near the end of regulation Saturday night against Western Michigan.

The Wolverines came out of the first intermission roaring, and notched five shots on goal in the first 47 seconds. But if the rush struck fear in the Broncos, then the third period sent them backing up even further.

With Michigan trailing 2-1 and six minutes left in the third period, the Wolverines from earlier in the season showed their faces, dominating Western Michigan's reeling defense and spraying shots on goaltender Matt Barnes.

"We had our chances to win the game. (Sean) Ritchlin had a few chances, (Mike) Comrie and (Josh) Langfeld had a couple too," Michigan center Mark Kosick said.

But instead, Michigan found time winding down, desperately needing the tying goal. The Broncos held off the Wolverines for over five minutes and 53 seconds before Kosick answered Michigan's prayers.

SARA SCHENCK/Daily Forward Geoff Koch tries to get by a Western Michigan defender in Saturday night's contest. The Wolverines had trouble all night getting the puck in deep.

"Bobby was taking the faceoff and he was trying to push it forward," Kosick said. "I was playing behind him like a defenseman.

"I think it went to Van Ryn, and the puck came square out in the crease and I shot it over the top of the goalie."

Kosick's shot up top with 7.1 seconds left resulted from Michigan getting a chance in deep near Barnes - something they tried to accomplish for most of the game against the smaller goaltender.

"You want to go down a little bit," senior Dale Rominski said describing the plan of attack against Barnes. "You usually want to freeze him, so you can get him down and then have an ocean to shoot for upstairs."

But with Western Michigan clogging up the area near the goal, most of Michigan's shots came from the point, and the referee's lack of whistling didn't help Michigan's chances either.

"Interference was brutal out there," Rominski said. "Guys were just hog-tying you before you even got close to the net. Whatever interference is now, it's completely arbitrary."

The Wolverines were able to get a last-second tally to send the game into overtime, but had no such luck in the extra stanza.

Although Western Michigan interim coach Jim Culhane said he instructed his team to play for the win, the Broncos' play in overtime, like the last minutes of regulation, included little more than icing the puck every time Michigan forwards neared it.

"They were dumping the puck out and they probably were happy with the tie," Berenson said. "We were pressing, and it's a lot harder when you're playing that way."

With a team like Western Michigan icing the puck, Michigan had extreme trouble keeping it in the zone.

"You have to just get it in deep and work a forecheck," Kosick said. "If we had a few more minutes and a couple more shifts we were going to get it done. That's something we are going to have to do the whole game."

Turning Point: One of the key points in Saturday night's contest was Michigan's key penalty-kill in a two-man disadvantage in the second period.

With Mike Comrie and Bobby Hayes committing two consecutive penalties, Scott Matzka, Bubba Berenzweig and Justin Clark held their own against the Western Michigan rush.

All three players blocked several shots, keeping most of the action away from Blackburn.

And when the puck did reach Blackburn, the goalie was solid, making sure the Broncos didn't increase their lead to three.

"After we killed off the penalties, I think we gained the momentum," Berenson said.

Western wonders: Lawson Arena gives Bronco fans some "different" forms of entertainment between periods.

During the first intermission, two lucky fans became human pucks by sitting on intertubes while ice officials put them in a slingshot. The "bungee pucks" were then flung down the ice trying to steer themselves in the opposite goal.

But the human-turned-puck excitement became more apparent when "puck boy" skated out onto the ice during the second intermission.

A boy, dressed up in a puck outfit, skated around the ice throwing souvenir pucks out to crazed fans.

Penalty box ushers also made the fans go wild by throwing little Tootsie Rolls into the stands.

- Comments about our hockey coverage can be sent via email to dailyhockey@umich.edu

02-15-99