Michigan
2-2-1, 1-1-1CCHA
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Western Michigan
2-2-0, 2-2-0CCHA
Wolverines Snap Two-Game Skid with Berenson's 450th
10/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team opened the home portion of its 2001-02 campaign in fine fashion on Saturday night (Oct. 20), skating to a 5-3 victory over Western Michigan. The win, which snapped a two-game skid for the fifth-ranked Wolverines, earned U-M a split in the weekend home-and-home series while also giving head coach Red Berenson his 450th win behind the Michigan bench.
For the fourth straight game, Michigan opened the scoring, netting a marker midway through the first period when sophomore blueliner Mike Komisarek (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) scored on a wrist shot to beat Western Michigan goaltender Mike Mantua high on his glove side. Komisarek started the play, dumping the puck deep into the left corner where freshman forward Milan Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.) picked it up and skated into the slot area. His shot was deflected off a Western defender's skate to Komisarek, who banged it home for the Michigan's first tally.
Western tied up the score four minutes later during four-on-four action after sophomore Dana Lattery stole the puck inside the Michigan zone and skated it into the slot. He shoveled a pass across to freshman Pat Dwyer, who beat Michigan goaltender Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) through his five-hole.
In the second period, three goals by the Wolverines, including a pair of markers just under two minutes apart, put U-M up by a 4-2 margin. Michigan regained the lead at 2-1 when junior forward Mike Cammalleri (Richmond Hill, Ontario) collected a rebound from his own shot and sent the puck past Mantua. Western again tied things up four minutes later when senior Anthony Battaglia collected the puck from a scrum in front the Michigan net and lifted it over a sprawling Blackburn.
The Wolverines took the lead for good at 14:50, with Komisarek scoring moments after finishing a power play advantage. Komisarek took a shot from the point that was blocked by a Western defender, but the puck bounced back to Komisarek, who wristed it high into the right corner of the net, beating Mantua on his glove side. Less than two minutes later, junior forward John Shouneyia (West Bloomfield, Mich.) tallied his second goal of the season. After taking a pass across the slot from junior captain Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Neb.), Shouneyia collected the puck on his backhand and put a shot through the legs of Mantua.
Western pulled within one goal at 13:47 of the third period when Paul Davies tipped in a shot, but the Wolverines regained the two-goal margin when Ortmeyer tallied an empty-net marker with 29 seconds remaining.
Blackburn stopped 18 of Western Michigan's 21 shots in the win, while Mantua made 21 saves for the Broncos, as Michigan outshot Western by a 26-21 margin
The Wolverines will remain home next weekend, hosting Northern Michigan in a two-game CCHA series on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26-27. Opening faceoff for both nights is slated for 7:35 p.m. at Yost Ice Arena.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Michigan | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
1st period
1, MICH, Mike Komisarek/1 (Milan Gajic) 8:08.
2, WMU, Pat Dwyer/3 (Dana Lattery) 12:08.
PENALTIES - Mark Mink, MICH (high sticking) 8:12; Pat Dwyer, WMU (hooking) 8:26; Lucas Drake, WMU (hooking) 11:50; Dwight Helminen, MICH (hooking) 12:00; Dana Lattery, WMU (roughing) 14:54; Mike Komisarek, MICH (delaying the game) 15:46.
2nd period
3, MICH, Mike Cammalleri/4 (Mike Komisarek) 5:58.
4, WMU, Anthony Battaglia/1 (Ryan Crane) 9:47.
5, MICH, Mike Komisarek/2 (John Shouneyia, Mark Mink) 14:50.
6, MICH, John Shouneyia/2 (Mark Mink, Eric Nystrom) 16:30.
PENALTIES - Josh Blackburn, MICH (roughing) 1:44; Jay Vancik, MICH (roughing) 5:49; Paul Davies, WMU (roughing) 5:49; Jay Vancik, MICH (roughing) 10:28; Chad Kline, WMU (roughing) 10:28; Dave Cousineau, WMU (obstruction-tripping) 11:36; Ryan Crane, WMU (cross-checking) 12:48; Mike Komisarek, MICH (tripping) 17:40.
3rd period
7, WMU, Paul Davies/1 (Chad Kline, Anthony Battaglia) 13:47.
8, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer/2 (unassisted) 19:31 (empty net).
PENALTIES - Andy Burnes, MICH (high sticking) 3:49; Pat Dwyer, WMU (elbowing) 5:18; Brent Rumble, WMU (boarding) 8:22; Mark Mink, MICH (roughing) 11:01; Dave Cousineau, WMU (cross-checking) 16:22.
Shots on goal: WMU 5-8-8 21; MICH 8-14-4 26. Power plays: WMU 0 of 7; MICH 0 of 8. Penalties: WMU 10 (20 min); MICH 9 (18 min). Goalies: WMU, Mike Mantua 2-1-0 (59:39 minutes, 25 shots-21 saves) , EMPTY NET (00:21, 0-0); MICH, Josh Blackburn 2-2-1 (60:00, 21-18). Referee: Kevin Hall. Assistant Referees: Craig Lisko, Paul Tunison. Attendance: 6597. Time: 2:13.
| Individual Player Statistics | |
## Western Michigan G A PIM Sh +/- --------------------------------------- 2 Mike Jarmuth....... 0 0 0 1 0 5 Austin Miller...... 0 0 0 0 +1 6 Brent Rumble....... 0 0 2 1 -1 7 Ryan Crane......... 0 1 2 1 -1 8*Mike Bishai........ 0 0 0 1 -3 12 Anthony Battaglia.. 1 1 0 1 0 14 Chad Kline......... 1 0 2 2 +1 15 Paul Davies........ 0 1 2 2 0 16 Dana Lattery....... 0 1 2 0 0 17*Andy Townsend...... 0 0 0 0 -1 18 Nic Boileau........ 0 0 0 2 -1 19 Lucas Drake........ 0 0 2 0 0 20 Ben Gagnon......... 0 0 0 1 0 21*Pat Dwyer.......... 1 0 4 1 0 22*Dave Cousineau..... 0 0 4 5 -3 24*Jeff Campbell...... 0 0 0 2 -2 25 Shaun Rose......... 0 0 0 0 0 27 Mat Ponto.......... 0 0 0 1 -1 Totals............. 3 4 20 21 -11 | ## Michigan G A PIM Sh +/- --------------------------------------- 3 Eric Werner........ 0 0 0 1 -2 4 Andy Burnes........ 0 0 2 0 0 5*Brandon Rogers..... 0 0 0 1 +2 8*Mike Komisarek..... 2 1 4 3 +4 9 Milan Gajic........ 0 1 0 0 -1 10 Dwight Helminen.... 0 0 2 0 -1 11 Joe Kautz.......... 0 0 0 1 0 12 J.J. Swistak....... 0 0 0 0 0 13*Mike Cammalleri.... 1 0 0 6 +2 14 Craig Murray....... 0 0 0 1 0 15 Jay Vancik......... 0 0 4 1 +1 18 David Moss......... 0 0 0 1 -1 21 Eric Nystrom....... 0 1 0 0 +1 22*Jason Ryznar....... 0 0 0 1 0 23 Mike Roemensky..... 0 0 0 1 -1 25 Mark Mink.......... 0 2 4 4 +4 26*Jed Ortmeyer....... 1 0 0 4 +1 28 John Shouneyia..... 1 1 0 1 +1 29*Josh Blackburn..... 0 0 2 0 0 Totals............. 5 6 18 26 +10 |
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Red Berenson
On what got the team going ... "I think the goals from (Mike) Cammalleri, the 4-4, and the power-play goal gave us a big lift because we were really stumbling at that point in the game. It was a close game and we really needed the lift and Cammalleri and (Jed) Ortmeyer played 4-4 well, pretty much played him head on against (Mike) Bishai. I thought they did a good job tonight."
On Mike Komisarek's goal ... "It was a big opportunity for us and that's where we haven't been capitalizing, on our power play and that was a huge goal. He's got a rocket of a wrist shot, it's just a matter of getting it through. The first one he shot, they blocked, and then he took a step which is what we're asking him to do, to get some space because he can shoot it and he had a good screen in front. It was a good goal for us."
On Komisarek's role ... "Komisarek is a sophomore this year; he got some power play time last year and he played along with Jeff Jillson. I think he's capable of being one of the top defensemen in this league and I want him to be a two-way defenseman. He can add some offense and yet he's got to be smart defensive and a physical defensive person, so that's what he's working on. You saw that tonight. He jumped in the hole and (Milan) Gajic made a nice play to him in the first period and he jumped in and had a good shot. Now, we're not counting on him to lead our team in scoring, but I want our defense to be able to help out with the offense."
On Milan Gajic and the freshmen ... "Gajic missed last night's game and (Mike) Woodford had a bit of a shoulder from last night and so we put Gajic back in and I thought he played better. He's just learning, like other freshmen, that this is a big change. This tough hockey, it's physical hockey, it's intense hockey, it's hard-working hockey, it's two-way hockey, and that's a big adjustment for some of these freshmen who are used to playing in a much slower pace, more casual environment. Some of them had jumped right in and played with the kind of intensity we need and some are a little slower to do that."
Junior forward John Shouneyia
On the weekend ... "Obviously we didn't put our best foot forward. ... If you lose the first one you have to salvage the weekend. ... We put ourselves in a huge hole right off the bat."
On this weekend's turnaround ... "We regrouped and prepared a little better, we came out right off the bat with a little more intensity. ... The bench was hopping a little bit and the boys were a little more ready to play."
Sophomore Defenseman Mike Komisarek
On his offensive prowess ... "My job out there is pretty simple: I just get the puck and my number one priority is not getting it blocked. I just have to get it through and get it to the net."
On the power play ... "We're trying to find chemistry out there. ... There are 10 different guys and different (line) combinations. It's something that we've been working on in practice and it's obviously a huge part of the game."
On his defensive leadership ... "We have a bunch of good leaders on our team. ... Jay Vancik is a great defenseman and last night, even though we didn't have a great game as a team, he stepped it up and led the defense out there and even tonight you see him banging in the corners and throwing guys around. ... It gets you motivated. Since we have so many freshmen on this team, all of the older guys have stepped up and led by example and shown them the way, showed them the ropes.
N O T E S
Head coach Red Berenson picked up his 450th career win in his 718th game behind the Michigan bench. Berenson owns a 450-222-46 mark in 17-plus seasons with the Wolverines.
Michigan is unbeaten in its last 14 home-opening contests and has a record of 12-0-2 during that time. Michigan's last loss in a home opener was on Oct. 9, 1987, with a 7-6 decision to Bowling Green.
Mike Komisarek posted his first career multi-goal game and recorded a career-high three points with two goals and an assist.
Michigan extended its winning streak against Western at Yost Ice Arena to 10 games. The Wolverines have not lost to the Broncos at home since Oct. 20, 1995.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
