In the bag

Despite loss, icers secure league title and NCAA berth

By Geoff Gagnon

Daily Sports Writer

The announcement came with just under two minutes to play in Friday's game at Bowling Green.

The hardware came a day later.

Friday, as Michigan huddled near its bench during a Bowling Green timeout at 18:49 of the third period, news that Michigan had clinched its sixth CCHA crown in nine years gave the Wolverines faithful in attendance cause to celebrate. And for good measure, Michigan solidified its title claim by staving off the upset minded Falcons 3-1 in a game that proved to matter very little in the calculation of the CCHA race.

Saturday's rematch with the Falcons therefore, mattered even less - and unfortunately Michigan knew it.

"It's tough to get excited for a game that doesn't mean so much," Michigan forward Mike Comrie said. "We should have had a better game, but those things happen."

In dropping its first game to Bowling Green in Ann Arbor since 1992, forward Mike Cammalleri said the 6-3 loss saw the Wolverines fall victim to a temporary lack of focus - a problem that, according to Cammalleri, won't happen again.

"It's just a real letdown after we clinched first place the night before," Cammalleri said. "We're a team that plays better when we have something to prove and that's going to be the case next week."

That will be when CCHA Tournament action begins with Michigan hosting Western Michigan on Friday. Meanwhile, Bowling Green used its win Saturday to avoid a return to Ann Arbor next week by fighting its way to eighth place in the conference and a meeting with Lake Superior State by handing Michigan one of its worst conference losses of the year.

In a game defined from the outset as physical, Michigan and Bowling Green combined in the first period to tally 17 penalties - good for nine power plays on 34 minutes spent in the box.

Fittingly, Bowling Green struck first on a power play at 14:34 of the first period as Ryan Fultz capped off a wild frenzy in front of the Michigan net by knocking the puck past Michigan's Josh Blackburn. Moments later, on a rebound from behind the net, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead as Austin de Luis followed the errant shot of Michael Jones for a score at 15:14.

Outshooting Bowling Green 12-8 in the first period, the Falcons extended their lead as Marc Barlow beat Blackburn to his left from the right circle at 6:39 of the second period. Later in that frame, Scott Matzka did his best to ignite a Michigan comeback as he tallied his second goal of the weekend with a breakaway score.

Michigan continued to flirt with chances to claw its way back into the contest after Bowling Green's Greg Day scored to start the third period. On a strike nearly identical to Barlow's, Michigan's John Shouneyia notched his fourth score of the year with a goal at 4:31 from the right circle.

By the time Michigan scored again at 19:08 on a shorthanded goal from Matzka, Bowling Green had put the Wolverines away with goals by Scott Hewson and Craig Desjarlais. But Matzka's goal helped the junior complete a successful four-point weekend campaign with a goal and an assist in Friday'

day's game to complement a pair of goals Saturday.

"I started scoring a little bit this weekend and hopefully I can keep it going," Matzka said. "I've got a lot of confidence right now."

And so does Michigan, a team that rallied from setbacks early in the season to wrap up the conference crown - something that coach Red Berenson said means more in the big picture than Saturday's loss.

"Our goal this season was to win first place and there were a lot of obstacles to overcome and we did that," Berenson said. "I'm really proud of this team and one game does not make a season."

Michigan is also confident that one game won't break a season either, as the team looks to bury any lingering thoughts of Saturday's loss with the anticipation of the postseason.

"We were out of sync, we couldn't shoot or score. It was not a good game and I told our team just to forget the game," Berenson said. "This was just a stinker on our part and we're not going to let it bother us. From here on in, it's a new season and I like our team when there's something on the line."

For a Michigan team eager to put Saturday's setback behind it, much of what happened after the game helped erase the lingering pain of the loss. Presented with the conference trophy before a spotlight tribute to the team's graduating seniors, Michigan highlighted a season's worth of accomplishments in a move that more than placed the loss as a mere slip in an ongoing saga of success.

"We're excited to have won the title," Comrie said. "There are a lot of good teams in the CCHA and it's a goal that we set from day one. It represents not just a game or a few games, but the work of a whole season."

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily

Celebrating in Bowling Green wouldn't have been much fun for the Michigan hockey team, so the Wolverines saved the party for Yost Ice Arena.