Defense dominates in comeback

After Friday night's loss to Minnesota, the Wolverines third straight, Michigan coach Red Berenson told his players that if they took care of their own end of the ice things would start to turn around for them.

On Saturday night, the defense played outstanding, and, as the 16-year coach predicted, the Wolverines turned things around with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Badgers.

The Wolverines' defense suffocated a potent Wisconsin scoring attack, which came into the game averaging 34.08 shots on goal and 4 goals per contest. Michigan, which held the Badgers to just 14 shots on goal in the first two periods - one less than Minnesota had in the second period alone on Friday night - left the Badgers with little room to breathe in the game's final stanza.

When it counted, the Wolverines' blue line shut down the Badgers. The two teams entered the third period knotted at one, but after ten and a half minutes Michigan had tacked on two more scores, while the Badgers had yet to record a shot on goal.

Jeff Jillson led a stellar Michigan defensive effort limiting Wisconsin to only two shots in the third period.

The Wolverines seemed to do everything right defensively in the third - dumping the puck in the corners to set up the offense, diving on the ice to break up a would be breakaway opportunity, or slapping the puck out of the zone.

When it was all said and done the Badgers would leave the skate carved Yost Ice Arena surface with only two shots in the period.

"All year we've been a good third-period team," Michigan captain Sean Peach said. "It really shows the character of our team to play the way we did in the third. We know what we have to do when it counts. That's got to be the secret to success for this team is to be able to win the third period in a close game, and we definitely sucked it up when we had to."

But the Wolverines started tightening their belts well before the third period. Michigan defensemen Bob Gassoff and Kevin Magnuson were scratched before the game, which, after the addition of Brad Fraser, left the Wolverines with only five defensemen for the entire game.

"We only dressed five guys on defense tonight," Michigan forward Mark Mink said. "They were great tonight, but when you consider that they had a limited number of guys out there you'd have to say they played unreal."

But the Wolverines did just fine with the limited number of bodies. The 16 shots on goal is the lowest output for the Badgers this season.

"We played great defensively tonight," Peach said. "We worked really hard and that work paid off because we got some bounces to go our way. It's just like in any sport - defense wins. When we play tight defense it shows up in the scoreboard."

Michigan goalie L. J. Scarpace, who was making his second start of the season, credited the defense for helping him record his first career win.

"The defense really came out without a lot more determination tonight," Scarpace said. "They really helped me out tonight against a good offensive team."

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily

11-29-99