Michigan
27-9-6, 19-6-3CCHA
Colgate
24-8-2, 14-4-2ECAC
Koch Lifts U-M Past Colgate in NCAA First Round
3/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
The Wolverines, seeded fifth in the East Regional, face top seed and defending national champion Maine at 3:30 p.m. Sunday (March 26), with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four April 6-8 in Providence, R.I.
So far, the road to the Frozen Four has been a rough one. Michigan took a three-goal lead in the first half of the game, but the Wolverines gave up three unanswered goals to Colgate, including the game-tying score with just 48 seconds remaining in regulation. Then, four minutes into the overtime period, Colgate's Mike O'Malley appeared to have scored the game winner, but the goal was disallowed because the refereee had blown his whistle before the puck crossed the goal line.
After several point-blank saves by both goaltenders, including a save on Josh Langfeld (Coon Rapids, Minn.) during a 2-on-1 breakaway, Koch scored his goal by deflecting a shot from Mike Comrie (Edmonton, Alberta). Comrie, one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, also scored Michigan's second goal of the game, giving him his team-leading 16th multi-point game.
Michigan (22-9-4) opened the scoring with Mike Roemensky's (White Lake, Mich.) first career goal, 6:41 into the first period. Langfeld pushed the puck across the ice to Roemensky, who slapped the puck over the left shoulder of Colgate's goaltender, Shep Harder. Michigan then took a two-goal lead on Comrie's power-play goal 10 minues later in the first period. On the play, Mike Cammalleri (Richmond Hill, Ontario) maneuvered the puck past a diving Colgate defender and passed it to Comrie, who wristed a shot into the upper-right corner of the net.
The Wolverines scored their third goal while on the power play 6:39 into the second period on Mark Mink's (Livonia, Mich.) eighth goal of the season. After Michigan had taken the 3-0 lead, Colgate's Andy McDonald, also a Hobey Baker finalist, scored the Red Raiders' first goal and assisted on their second in the latter half of the period. Colgate (24-9-2) tied the game with a goal by Darryl Campbell at the 19:12 mark of the third to send the game into overtime.
Michigan's Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) stopped 28 shots for the win, improving to 14-3-4 on the season and 8-2 in postseason play for his career. Colgate's Harder made 31 saves and fell to 21-7-2.
Despite the win, the Wolverines suffered yet another defensive blow when Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) suffered a sprained knee on his first shift of the game. While along the far boards, Huntzicker was checked from the side and his knee was smashed against the boards. He tried to return to the ice later in the period, but was unable to skate.
Sunday's game against Maine will be carried by FOX Sports Detroit, and can be heard on Ann Arbor radio station WTKA (1050 AM) as well as on the Internet via the Michigan hockey home page.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Colgate | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
1st period
1, MICH, Mike Roemensky 1 (Josh Langfeld, Mark Kosick) 06:41.
2, MICH, Mike Comrie 22 (Mike Cammalleri) 16:55 (pp).
2nd period
3, MICH, Mark Mink 8 (Mike Cammalleri, John Shouneyia) 06:39 (pp).
4, COLGATE, Andy McDonald 5 (Mike Marostega) 12:43 (pp).
5, COLGATE, Darryl Campbell 19 (Cory Murphy, Andy McDonald) 17:13 (pp).
3rd period
6, COLGATE, Darryl Campbell 20 (Sean Nolan, Andy McDonald) 00:49.
OT period
7, MICH, Geoff Koch 12 (Mike Comrie) 07:16.
Shots on goal: MICH 8-9-9-9-33; COLGATE 9-7-9-6-31. Power plays: MICH 2 of 7; COLGATE 2 of 7. Penalties: MICH 9 (18 min); COLGATE 9 (18 min). Goalies: MICH, Josh Blackburn 14-3-4 (72:42 minutes, 31 shots-28 saves) , EMPTY NET (00:02, 0-0); COLGATE, Shep Harder 21-7-2 (72:44, 35-31). Referee: Jim Fitzgerald. Assistant Referees: Randy Schmidt, Dan Carey. Attendance: 8,301. Time: NA.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Red Berenson
On tonight's game ... "We expected Colgate to come out hard, and we knew we needed a good first period to keep them off balance. I thought we did that, our power play connected. In the second period, penalties took their toll and their power play connected and got them back in the game. The third period, I thought our team played well with a one-goal lead, but we still gave up a late goal and obviously they had the momentum going into overtime. I like the way our team refocused, and we've been there (overtime) many times before. It can all be a matter of breaks. I think Josh (Blackburn) made a couple of key saves, and we eventually got the shot we needed. It was a little bit of luck, but I like the way our team competed all night."
On the start of the game ... "Well, I liked our start overall; although we took a penalty, we got by that. (Dave) Huntzicker's injury obviously is a key blow to our team. He will be lost for the weekend. I don't know to what extent after that. Colgate had a very good first-period record, and our team knew that. That is why it was important that we got the first goal."
On the freshman ... "The freshmen continue to play well. Obviously, they have scored some big goals and made some big plays. (Mike) Cammalleri, (Mark) Mink and (Jed) Ortmeyer played very well. Our freshman on defense (Mike Roemensky) also played very well. They played like a veteran players."
Sophomore Center Mike Comrie
On the game-winning goal ... "Andy (Hilbert) was doing pretty well on the draws, so I let him take it. The puck bounced back, and I got around the man. I knew I wanted to get it on net because coach said, 'You just need one shot, and it doesn't have to be pretty.' Geoff (Koch) made a great play to deflect it and that was the bounce we needed."
On the emotion after winning the game ... "It was a little bit of relief, but in the huddle, when we were celebrating, we knew that we have a game tomorrow. We know that Maine is going to be hard to beat. They are a pretty powerful team."
Sophomore Goaltender Josh Blackburn
On the disallowed goal in overtime ... "I made a blocker save. The puck went into the corner, the guy shot it out and it went underneath me. I was just waiting for the whistle to blow, but the guys kept packing into the crease. It ended up that the whistle blew before it went in the net."
On the mindset in overtime ... "I actually wasn't trying to think. I was just trying to concentrate on the puck, see it come off the stick, and I just wanted to watch it all the way into my pads. I wanted to always know who was around the goal, who was behind the net, who was in front of the net and just worry about stuff like that."
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
