Michigan
19-6-1, 14-4-1CCHA
Ohio State
8-15-3, 4-12-2CCHA
Wolverines and Buckeyes Battle to 1-1 Draw
1/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
With the Wolverines leading 1-0 after two periods of play, Ohio State (8-15-3, 4-12-2 CCHA) tied the game on a power-play goal from Eric Meloche just over six minutes into the third period. With Scott Matzka (Port Huron, Mich.) serving a two-minute roughing minor, Miguel Lafleche skated into the Wolverine zone and passed through the slot past a sliding Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to Meloche who was perched at the left post and flipped the puck past goalie Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.).
Michigan (19-6-1, 14-4-1 CCHA) opened the scoring at the 11:47 mark of the first period. Captain Sean Peach (Langley, B.C.) tallied his fifth goal of the year when Geoff Koch (Exeter, N.H.) fed him a pass to the left of the crease. Peach was able to slide the puck under Buckeye goalie Ray Aho to give Michigan a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Andy Hilbert (Howell, Mich.) also picked up an assist on the goal, extending his scoring streak to seven games. Hilbert now has six career points against the Buckeyes in just four games.
Both goalies made big saves, including stopping multiple breakaway attempts, to preserve the stalemate. Blackburn made 27 saves on the night and stayed unbeaten this season at 6-0-1. Ohio State's Aho stopped 31 Wolverine shots.
The tie extends the Wolverines' unbeaten streak over Ohio State to five games (4-0-1). It was Michigan's first tie since Feb. 19, 1999, when the Wolverines tied Western Michigan 5-5 on the road.
Next weekend the Wolverines play a home-and-home series with Ferris State University. Friday night (Feb. 4) the Wolverines travel to Big Rapids, Mich., to take on the Bulldogs at 7:05 p.m. On Saturday (Feb. 5), the Wolverines and Bulldogs will face off at Yost Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m.
N O T E S
Ohio State's Jason Selleke received an inch-long laceration to the back of his neck when he was accidentally stepped on by Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Neb.) in the first period. After receiving three stitches, Selleke returned to the game for the second period.
Michigan issued 2,500 maize shirts as part of a Maize-Out promotion in order to make the Yost Ice Arena stands a flood of maize for the much-anticipated game.
Former Michigan standout and current New York Islanders forward Bill Muckalt was in attendance at his first game in Yost Ice Arena since his playing days.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Red Berenson
On the team's play tonight ... "We came out strong, but we didn't put them away. In other words, we had our chances in the first period C- we had two breakaways and back-door open net -C and when you don't score on those, that gives the other team some confidence. We had to make our chances count, and it just didn't happen tonight."
On the enthusiasm of the crowd ... "It was great; I wish we could have given them more to cheer about. [The Maize-Out promotion] was a good idea, and it gave the rink a lot of color. We tried hard, but we couldn't give them what the crowd needed."
On the play of the goaltenders ... "It was a hard game for [Josh Blackburn] to play. He didn't get a lot of work in the first period; he got more in the second period. He was solid. You should win at home when you give up one goal against. (Ray) Aho played a better game for them. For him to walk out of here with one goal against, he's got to feel pretty good about his game."
Junior Forward Scott Matzka
On the success of tonight's Maize-Out ... "I think it was great. I think we should do it more often. The crowd was really into it tonight, right from the get-go. Even on the announcements, they were a little more raucous. Everybody was there early, and I think it was a big boost for us. We came out really hard and took it to them in at least the first period."
On the game ... "I truly think that we deserved to win that game, but we just didn't bury the chances we had. We like to play the five-on-five game. We had some power-play chances, and we didn't bury them. I think we're a better five-on-five team, but we didn't bury them tonight."
Sophomore Goaltender Josh Blackburn
On tonight's crowd ... "The crowd was great tonight. They were as loud as I've ever heard them. They kind of quieted down because we weren't scoring any goals. Even for warm-ups, there were a lot of people there; we could hear them all the way up the stairs. The crowd was awesome tonight."
On breaking his stick in half ... "It was brand new before the game. I taped it up before the game tonight. I just went to shoot the puck, and it ripped in half. I know I'm not that strong. I'm going to call [the company] and get some free sticks or something."
On playing the puck more ... "I'm trying to, and I feel that I'm a little better at it than last year. So, I kind of like playing it a little more, but then my stick rips in half. Maybe I'll just stay in the net."
Senior Defenseman Sean Peach
On scoring his fifth goal of the season ... "I just jumped up in the play. I noticed it was two-on-two, so I decided to jump up into the play to give it an odd-man rush. I saw (Geoff) Koch go wide, and I just put my stick on the ice. I don't know if it went five-hole or not, I just saw it trickle in."
On playing hard in overtime ... "It was exciting. We go into the overtime to win. We don't want to play passive, like they did. We want to go and get two points because we deserve two points."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
