'Extra-curricular activities' leave 'M' fuming By Geoff Gagnon Daily Sports Writer COLUMBUS - They stood virtually alone near the Ohio State net, their arms bulging with the bundle they'd collected. As officials sorted out the details of Friday's third period fight, the captains sorted out the treasure trove of equipment that littered the ice. With care, Michigan captain Sean Peach and Ohio State captain Andre Signoretti traded a collection of gloves and sticks only moments after their teams were trading punches. In something that is becoming a bit of a trend, emotions boiled over midway through the third period as a game delaying skirmish erupted resulting in two ejections, two fans getting thrown out and two cups of Yoo Hoo tossed as well. As fists flew near the Ohio State net, the wild altercation on the ice aroused the NCAA-record crowd and the fans in the stands were soon involved in the melee, too. By the time Peach and Signoretti had gathered the sticks and gloves, arena officials were doing their own cleaning as Coke and chocolate milk stained the ice. Michigan players said, though, the real stain on the game was created by Ohio State after the Buckeyes threw a late hit that leveled Michigan forward Mike Comrie, igniting the brawl. "They were a dirty team tonight," Comrie said. "They didn't play like an NCAA team - they played classless at times. (Michigan coach Red Berenson) mentioned to us that they would probably loose their heads at certain times and they did." The night was bittersweet for Berenson, who was happy to see his team skate away with a 6-4 win, but upset about the circumstances surrounding the game. "I think it was pretty obvious when (Andy) Hilbert scored the goal that one of the Ohio State players cross-checked Comrie, who had nothing to do with the play, then hit him again, and pretty soon our players are in trying to protect Comrie, and you've got a real problem," Berenson said. That real problem, as Berenson and others see it, is something that the Wolverines have been forced to contend with as opponents trying their best to stop Comrie, draw him into the penalty box - or worse. "The referee's got a tough job, but it's still his responsibility to protect the players," Berenson said. "You've got a player like Mike Comrie who's a great player, maybe the best player in this league, one of the top players in the country, and we need the officials to protect him." Friday night, where the officials left off, Jeff Jillson filled in. Emotions flared when Ohio State's Ryan Jestadt cross-checked Comrie from behind after Hilbert's second goal. As Comrie rose, so did tensions as Ohio Sate's Jean-Francois Dufour held Comrie's head before Jillson separated the two. While other Buckeyes continued to assault Comrie as the Michigan forward skated to the bench, Jillson was trying to drive Dufour away from the confrontation. But Dufour ripped Jillson's helmet off and in an instant Michigan's 220-pound sophomore put his gloves to the ice and his fists to Dufour as officials concerned themselves with other action behind the net. While Jillson was successful in landing a series of blows before the two combatants mutually ceased fire, it seemed the Buckeyes were the real winners. For his part in the fight, Jillson will miss next weekend's rematch with Ohio State in Ann Arbor. But the 6-foot-3 defenseman makes no apologies for his efforts to protect his teammates. "It's disappointing that I won't be able to play next week, but you have to do what you have to do and if that means sticking up for teammates, so be it," Jillson said. And while Jillson reluctantly accepts his spectator status for Saturday's showdown, his teammates question the ruling that puts Jillson in the stands. "It's a real shame that we're forced to protect our best players like the way we were tonight," junior defenseman Bob Gassoff said. "People make decisions to go after top players and to try to draw our team into fighting and it's just unfortunate that a guy like Jillson, who was simply protecting a teammate is the one that is penalized." Gassoff said that far too often players recklessly play with a spirit of invincibility, knowing that they can virtually attack anyone on the ice with few repercussions. "We need to keep these people accountable, and it's a shame that it means loosing a guy like Jillson next week," Gassoff said. DANA LINNANE/Daily As Mike Comrie is leveled by Ohio State's Ryan Jestadt, a melee ensued resulting in two disqualifications. Originally on page 4B in the 1-24-2000 issue of the Daily.