Season sweep of Ohio State falls short By Geoff Gagnon Daily Sports Writer Thousands showed up early to Saturday's CCHA battle between Michigan and Ohio State expecting a free shirt - and maybe something more from the game. Aside from the shirt, few could have expected what they got. With a Yost Ice Arena record 6,738 fans on hand, No. 3 Michigan battled a struggling Ohio State team to a 1-1 tie in a game that bore little resemblance to the previous three meetings between these teams. Hyped as a high-energy showdown between a pair of teams that combined for nearly 30 goals in three previous meetings and more than 100 penalty minutes a week ago, fans expected an explosive finale to a season series fueled by the tension of game-delaying melees in its last two meetings. In a break from the trend, they were treated to a game without much scoring and a meager 20 minutes of penalties. "I expected the game to be a cleaner game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We made a special point of having our team play focused and mentally tough in terms of walking away from stuff, not looking for trouble. I know the referee was instructed by the league to make sure that this game had no problems. As a result, you saw a good game and both teams played hard." And unlike the previous three meetings where Berenson's squad outscored the Buckeyes 20-9 in a trio of wins, neither team was able to mount a serious charge to put the game away - though Michigan had its chances in the early going. "We came out strong, but we didn't put them away," Berenson said. "We had our chances in the first period: We had two breakaways and a back-door open net. When you don't score on those, it gives the other team confidence." Michigan's lone goal, a poke from defenseman Sean Peach on a break led by Andy Hilbert at 11:47 of the first period, put the Buckeyes on their heels and Michigan in control early. "I jumped up in the play," Peach said. "I noticed it was a two-on-two and I wanted to give it an odd-man rush. I went to the net, and I saw [Geoff] Koch go wide. He made a great pass across the ice, and I put my stick on it." Michigan maintained its pressure on Ohio State netminder Ray Aho, peppering the Buckeye with 14 first-period shots but failing to connect again. "We had our chances to score in the first period," Peach said, "and we have to bury a team like that when they're ready to give in - it was like, next goal and they're done. We just didn't capitalize on our opportunities." Peach's fifth goal of the season kept Michigan, which boasted a 14-0 mark when leading after two frames, in charge as it entered the third period. After Michigan's Scott Matzka was whistled for roughing at 5:38, the Buckeyes netted their only score as Miguel Lafleche found Eric Meloche. Moving to Michigan goalie Josh Blackburn's left, Lafleche, on a give from Ryan Jestadt, pushed the play deep into the Michigan zone before sending a streak though the crease to a waiting Meloche. The power-play goal came on only Michigan's fourth penalty of the game. "Those are penalties that you have to kill off," Berenson said. "They scored a nice goal on the power play." As the third period wound down, Michigan did its best to unknot the contest - despite poor ice conditions in the attacking zone that made for some difficult puck handling. "The ice seemed really rough in that zone," Berenson said. "The pucks were bouncing, and you can't complain about getting bad bounces, but we sure didn't get any good ones." As chances slipped away, so did regulation as Michigan skated to its third overtime of the season. Once there, Michigan employed the aggressive, attacking system that has kept the squad undefeated in the extra stanza this season, while a content Ohio State squad seemed reluctant to mount a charge. "The overtime was exciting," Peach said. "We go into overtime to win; we don't want to play passive like they did." Making things exciting, Hilbert broke free for one of Michigan's best scoring chances with 3:38 left. But he failed to connect, and Michigan settled for its first tie this season. "I think we played hard. It's just unfortunate we came out on the downside of the scoreboard," defenseman Bob Gassoff said. "Well, not the downside, but not the upside, either." Is there an upside to Saturday's downside? Gassoff said maybe it's realizing the importance of putting an opponent away early. "We had a lot of grade-A scoring chances that we just didn't capitalize on," Gassoff said. "We know we have to score more and make our chances count." And while fans found that t-shirts were free, on Saturday, Ohio State made sure that league wins came at a much higher cost. attacking zone that made for some difficult puck handling. "The ice seemed really rough in that zone," Berenson said. "The pucks were bouncing, and you can't complain about getting bad bounces, but we sure didn't get any good ones." As chances slipped away, so did regulation as Michigan skated to its third overtime of the season. Once there, Michigan employed the aggressive, attacking system that has kept the squad undefeated in the extra stanza this season, while a content Ohio State squad seemed reluctant to mount a charge. "The overtime was exciting," Peach said. "We go into overtime to win; we don't want to play passive like they did." Making things exciting, Hilbert broke free for one of Michigan's best scoring chances with 3:38 left. But he failed to connect, and Michigan settled for its first tie this season. "I think we played hard. It's just unfortunate we came out on the downside of the scoreboard," defenseman Bob Gassoff said. "Well, not the downside, but not the upside, either." Is there an upside to Saturday's downside? Gassoff said maybe it's realizing the importance of putting an opponent away early. "We had a lot of grade-A scoring chances that we just didn't capitalize on," Gassoff said. "We know we have to score more and make our chances count." And while fans found that t-shirts were free, on Saturday, Ohio State made sure that league wins came at a much higher cost. SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily Michigan forward Geoff Koch dumped a pass off to Sean Peach for the Wolverines only goal. Originally on page 1B in the 1-31-2000 issue of the Daily.