Michigan
24-10-6, 17-8-5CCHA
Northern Michigan
22-14-5, 14-11-5CCHA
Michigan Captures CCHA Tourney Title, NCAA Berth
3/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Pacing the way for the Wolverines was sophomore center Mark Kosick (Victoria, B.C.), who was named the CCHA Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Kosick led all players in the tournament with three goals and four assists for seven points, including back-to-back multiple-point games this weekend (2-1-3 on Friday, 1-1-2 on Saturday). Kosick was also named to the CCHA All-Tournament team along with teammates Sean Ritchlin (Conseco, N.Y.) on offense, Mike Van Ryn (London, Ontario) on defense and Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) in goal.
Michigan (24-10-6) opened the scoring 12 minutes into the first period when Van Ryn passed the puck ahead to Scott Matzka (Port Huron, Mich.), who was waiting at the offensive blue line. Matzka took the puck up the middle and shed his defender as he crossed in front of the net before he firing a shot which beat Northern Michigan's Dan Ragusett on the glove side.
A little over two minutes later, the Wolverines then made it a two-goal lead heading into the intermission when Van Ryn earned a second assist after driving behind the net and then dumping the puck in front to a waiting Dale Rominski (Farmington Hills, Mich.). Rominski netted the pass for his 14th goal of the season and his seventh game-winning goal of the year.
Northern Michigan (22-14-5) cut the lead in half 3:16 into the second period when J.P. Vigier's pass the from the back of the net to the front of the crease hit Van Ryn's skate and slid past Blackburn for the Wildcats' only goal.
With the game still in question, the Wolverines scored three unanswered goals in a span of seven minutes. The first came at the 4:52 mark when Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) fired a shot from the neutral zone which slipped between Ragusett's glove and stick for Michigan's third goal. Greg Crozier (Williamsville, N.Y.) netted the fourth goal of the game 8:16 into the period when he received a pass from Kosick and fed the puck through Ragusett's five-hole. Kosick then finished the scoring at 11:43 of the second with another goal on Ragusett's glove side.
Blackburn was solid in net, making 29 saves and allowing only the lone deflected goal. Northern's Ragusett stopped 21 of Michigan's 26 shots. It is the second consecutive game in which the Wolverines have been outshot.
The pairings for the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship will be announced Sunday (March 21) at 12:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2 and ESPNews. The East Regional is scheduled for Friday and Saturday (March 26-27) at Worcester, Mass., and the West Regional will be Saturday and Sunday (March 27-28) at Madison, Wis.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Northern Michigan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
1st period
1, MICH, Scott Matzka 7 (Mike Van Ryn, Sean Peach) 11:59.
2, MICH, Dale Rominski 14 (Mike Van Ryn) 14:11.
PENALTIES - None
2nd period
3, NMU, J.P. Vigier 21 (unassisted) 03:16.
4, MICH, Dave Huntzicker 4 (unassisted) 04:52.
5, MICH, Greg Crozier 6 (Mark Kosick, Mike Van Ryn) 08:16.
6, MICH, Mark Kosick 12 (Greg Crozier, Sean Ritchlin) 11:43.
PENALTIES - Geoff Koch, MICH (INTERFERENCE) 15:22; Buddy Smith, NMU (BOARDING) 16:02; Tyler Barabonoff, NMU (CROSS-CHECKING) 16:58.
3rd period
PENALTIES - Jeff Jillson, MICH (SLASHING) 02:02; Bryan Phillips, NMU (SLASHING) 02:02; Mike Van Ryn, MICH (ROUGHING) 02:44; Kevin Schmidt, NMU (ROUGHING) 02:44; Bobby Hayes, MICH (CROSS-CHECKING) 02:44; Tyson Holly, NMU (ROUGHING) 06:20; Sean Ritchlin, MICH (HITTING AFT WHISTLE) 06:20; Tyson Holly, NMU (HIGH STICKING) 06:20; Dale Rominski, MICH (TRIPPING) 09:31; Scott Crawford, MICH (ROUGHING) 14:19; Tyson Holly, NMU (ROUGHING) 14:19.
Shots on goal: NMU 14-9-7-30; MICH 8-12-6-26.
Power plays: NMU 0 of 3; MICH 0 of 3.
Goalies: NMU, Dan Ragusett 16-10-5 (26 shots-21 saves); MICH, Josh Blackburn 24-9-6 (30-29).
Referee: Steve Piotrowski
Linesmen: John Pierson, John LaDuke
Attendance: 16,115
Time: 2:36
NOTES
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
