March 25, 2008

The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team pulled out a 6-4 victory over Northern Michigan on Friday (March 21) in the CCHA Championship semifinal round at Joe Louis Arena. Both teams held the lead at different points in the game, but goals by Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) and Ben Winnett (Westminster, B.C.) in the final five minutes of play gave the Wolverines the win. Miller's 2-1-3 line led the team on the night, while Travis Turnbull (Chesterfield, Mo.) tallied the first multi-goal game of his career.

With the win, the Maize and Blue advances to the CCHA Championship title game for the seventh time in eight years. U-M will face off against No. 3-ranked Miami at 7:35 p.m. Saturday (March 22), and the game will be televised by FSN Detroit.

Michigan broke onto the scoreboard with Chad Kolarik's (Abington, Pa.) 28th goal of the season. The alternate captain snagged a pass from Miller and faked a shot, causing netminder Brian Stewart to commit early. Kolarik then walked the puck around the back of the net and deposited it behind an out-of-position Stewart for the wraparound tally and the 1-0 lead.

Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.) boomed a shot from just inside the blue line, giving his team a chance to go up by a pair of goals. Stewart blocked the shot, but the rebound bounced up into the air. However, the NMU goalie backpedaled and caught the puck to negate the opportunity.

Northern Michigan leveled the score at a goal apiece at 15:05 of the first period. On a two-on-one breakaway, Gregor Hanson dropped a pass back to a trailing Matt Butcher. The sophomore wristed a shot from the slot and it found the space between Billy Sauer's (Walworth, N.Y.) legs for Butcher's eighth goal of the season.

Though Michigan carryied a 12-2 shot advantage after 20 minutes of play, the score remained knotted at 1-1 going into intermission.

With the man advantage in the second stanza, NMU center Mark Olver deked across the front of the net, pulling Sauer out of the crease and onto his back. But the freshman's shot skittered across the crease and out of harm's way to keep the score even.

The Wolverines pulled ahead once more with Turnbull's 14th marker of the 2007-08 campaign. Mitera chipped the puck up to Louie Caporusso (Woodbridge, Ontario). The center attempted to throw a shot on net, but the chance was blocked before it could reach Stewart. The deflection found the stick of Turnbull, however, and he shrugged off pressure from a Wildcat defender and roofed a shot for the 2-1 lead at 9:31.

A botched clearing attempt allowed Olver to knot the game at 2-2. The freshman gobbled up the loose puck in the left faceoff circle and drew the puck across the front of the net, backhanding it into the net for his 21st goal of the season and his sixth marker in the CCHA playoffs.

Matt Siddall gave Northern Michigan its first lead of the contest at 16:47. Nick Sirota pushed the puck up to Siddall, whose low-angle shot beat Sauer glove-side for the 3-2 advantage.

U-M evened the score at 1:11 of the final stanza with a marker by Miller. Chad Langlais (Spokane, Wash.) dished to Miller, and the left winger banked a shot off an NMU skate and into the net for his third goal of the season and the 3-3 tie.

The Wolverines gained a one-goal advantage for the third time in the game with Turnbull's second goal of the night. On the power play, Steve Kampfer (Jackson, Mich.) sent a cross-ice feed to Turnbull deep in the zone. Turnbull then relayed the puck to Mitera, and the alternate captain blasted a shot that was redirected in front of the crease by Turnbull for the 4-3 edge at 6:30.

The back-and-forth scoring continued when Northern Michigan tallied its fourth goal of the contest to knot the game once more. Siddall scooped up a loose puck behind the U-M net and threw a pass to Jared Brown, who lit the lamp for the Wildcats at 12:44 for his ninth marker of the campaign.

Miller's second goal of the night at 16:00 gave the Maize and Blue the 5-4 lead. In the left faceoff circle, Kolarik pushed a shot toward the net that was deflected by Miller and then off an NMU defenseman just outside the crease for his fourth goal of the season.

NMU pulled Stewart in an attempt to tie the score, but Winnett's sixth goal of the season put the game out of reach at 19:48. Winnett hacked at the puck in front of his own net, and the puck wobbled all the way down the ice to give Michigan the 6-4 victory.