Michigan
27-10-6, 19-6-3CCHA
Maine
27-7-5, 13-7-4HE
Wolverines Denied NCAA Frozen Four Berth by Maine
3/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
After sitting through a three-and-a-half-hour delay because the first quarterfinal game between Boston University and St. Lawrence went four overtimes, the Wolverines and the Black Bears finally hit the ice. Compounding the Wolverines' situation was the absence of Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) due to a sprained left knee suffered in the previous night's game against Colgate.
Despite the situation, Michigan took the first lead with a short-handed goal by Hobey Baker Award finalist Mike Comrie (Edmonton, Alberta) midway through the second period. After Sean Peach (Langley, B.C.) caused a turnover in the neutral zone, Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Neb.) tipped the puck ahead to Comrie, who raced down the right side and buried the puck through Matt Yeats' five-hole.
After Michigan carried the 1-0 lead into the third period, Maine (27-7-5) tied the game on a power-play goal five minutes into the period. The Wolverines returned the favor when Comrie scored his second goal of the evening. While on a power play, Mike Cammalleri (Richmond Hill, Ontario) fired a shot to the left side of the net, and Comrie tipped the puck behind Yeats, who had drifted out in front of the goal mouth.
The Black Bears tied the game again just over a minute later, and then finished out the game with three more goals, including a empty-net goal with just under a minute remaining.
In net, Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) stopped a career-high 40 shots, while Yeats stopped 26 of Michigan's 28 shots on goal.
This is the second consecutive season Michigan has ended its season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Wolverines fell to eventual runner-up New Hampshire 2-1 in overtime at the Centrum Centre in Worcester, Mass.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Maine | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
1st period
No scoring
2nd period
1, MICH, Mike Comrie 23 (Jed Ortmeyer, Sean Peach) 12:22 (sh).
3rd period
2, MAINE, Ben Guite 21 (Niko Dimitrakos, Tom Reimann) 05:14 (pp).
3, MICH, Mike Comrie 24 (Mike Cammalleri, Jed Ortmeyer) 06:52 (pp).
4, MAINE, Ben Guite 22 (Cory Larose, Cliff Loya) 08:01.
5, MAINE, Chris Heisten 12 (Barrett Heisten) 14:29.
6, MAINE, Matthias Trattnig 8 (Tom Reimann) 15:01.
7, MAINE, Brendan Walsh 9 (unassisted) 19:09 (empty net) (sh).
Shots on goal: MICH 28; MAINE 45. Power plays: MICH 1 of 6; MAINE 1 of 6. Penalties: MICH 8 (16 min); MAINE 9 (29 min). Goalies: MICH, Josh Blackburn 14-4-4 (59:35 minutes, 44 shots-40 saves) , EMPTY NET (00:25, 1-0); MAINE, Matt Yeats 20-5-4 (60:00, 28-26). Referee: Mike Schmitt. Assistant Referees: Tom Carpento, John Jones. Attendance: 9,094. Time: 2:38.
N O T E S
Michigan has a record of 3-3 against Maine. All three losses have come in the NCAA Tournament.
Mike Comrie recorded his 17th multi-point game of the season with two goals tonight.
This is the only game of the season Michigan lost when taking fewer than 29 shots.
Michigan allowed a season-high 18 shots and five goals in the third period.
The St. Lawrence-Boston University four-overtime game lasted 123 minutes and 57 seconds, supplanting the March 30, 1995 Michigan-Maine game (triple overtime, 100:28) as the longest in NCAA Tournament history.
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
