Michigan
2-4-1, 2-3-1
Alaska Fairbanks
6-2-0, 2-3-0
Blackburn Sparkles as Wolverines Slip by Nanooks
11/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team snapped a two-game losing streak, as well as a two-game losing skid on the road, Friday night (Nov. 2), downing Alaska Fairbanks by a 2-1 margin in the opener of a two-game CCHA series at UAF's Carlson Center.
Behind the stellar play of senior goaltender Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.), who made a season-high 26 saves in the win, the Wolverines (3-4-1, 2-3-1 CCHA) built a 2-0 lead in the first 21 minutes of the game, then relied on Blackburn to seal the victory. The former Fairbanks resident stopped 23 shots in the final 40 minutes, including 12 in the third period.
The first period featured racehorse hockey as both teams has numerous scoring chances, but the Wolverines were the first to make their chances count, taking a 1-0 lead on the power play 17:16 when freshman forward Milan Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.) capitalized on a faceoff win in the Nanooks' zone. Taking the faceoff in the right faceoff circle, Gajic won the draw and sent the puck into the slot, where freshman forward Dwight Helminen (Brighton, Mich.) tipped it to Gajic, who back-handed a shot into the net, beating UAF netminder Lance Mayes for his first career marker.
Michigan wasted little time to expand its lead to 2-0, scoring 52 seconds into the second period on a blast by junior forward Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Neb.). Ortmeyer took the shot from the top of the left faceoff circle after receiving a pass from junior forward John Shouneyia (West Bloomfield, Mich.). Sophomore defenseman Andy Burnes (Battle Creek, Mich.) was also credited with an assist, as he began the Wolverines' rush into the Nanooks' zone.
Alaska Fairbanks made the contest interesting in the final two minutes after pressuring the Wolverines for the majority of the final 10 minutes of the game. With Mayes on the bench, Aaron Voros took a pass from Daniel Carriere and shelved it over senior goaltender Josh Blackburn's (Choctaw, Okla.) right shoulder to pull the Nanooks within one. Mayes was pulled again after the ensuing faceoff, but the U-M defense stood its ground to give the Wolverines the victory.
The Nanooks outshot the Wolverines 27-22, snapping a six-game string in which U-M had posted more shots on goal than its opponent. Michigan was 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Nanooks failed to convert on any of their five chances with the man advantage.
The two teams will close out the series on Saturday night (Nov. 3), with faceoff slated for 7:05 p.m. AST at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1st period
1, MICH, Milan Gajic/1 (Dwight Helminen, David Moss) 17:16 (pp).
PENALTIES - Tom Herman, UAF (tripping) 1:57; TEAM, MICH (too many on ice) 7:01; Mike Komisarek, MICH (roughing) 12:03; Aaron Voros, UAF (roughing) 12:03; Paul Austin, UAF (slashing) 17:13.
2nd period
2, MICH, Jed Ortmeyer/3 (John Shouneyia, Andy Burnes) 0:52.
PENALTIES - John Shouneyia, MICH (interference) 1:00; Cramer Hickey, UAF (tripping) 2:26; Mike Cammalleri, MICH (cross-checking) 4:26.
3rd period
3, UAF, Aaron Voros/4 (Daniel Carriere, Bobby Andrews) 18:59.
PENALTIES - Mike Komisarek, MICH (hooking) 3:08; Andy Burnes, MICH (cross-checking) 4:29.
Shots on goal: MICH 10-9-3 22; UAF 4-11-12 27. Power plays: MICH 1 of 3; UAF 0 of 5. Penalties: MICH 6 (12 min); UAF 4 (8 min). Goalies: MICH, Josh Blackburn 3-4-1 (60:00 minutes, 27 shots-26 saves); UAF, Lance Mayes 2-2-0 (58:37, 19-17) , EMPTY NET (01:23, 3-3). Referee: Kevin Hall. Assistant Referees: Jonathan Morrison, Todd Lacina. Attendance: 4076. Time: 2:15.
| Individual Player Statistics | |
## Michigan G A PIM Sh +/- --------------------------------------- 3 Eric Werner........ 0 0 0 1 0 4 Andy Burnes........ 0 1 2 0 +1 5 Brandon Rogers..... 0 0 0 0 0 7 Brad Fraser........ 0 0 0 0 0 8*Mike Komisarek..... 0 0 4 0 -1 9 Milan Gajic........ 1 0 0 2 0 10 Dwight Helminen.... 0 1 0 3 0 12 J.J. Swistak....... 0 0 0 2 0 13*Mike Cammalleri.... 0 0 2 2 0 15*Jay Vancik......... 0 0 0 0 -1 17 Michael Woodford... 0 0 0 0 0 18 David Moss......... 0 1 0 1 0 21 Eric Nystrom....... 0 0 0 0 0 22*Jason Ryznar....... 0 0 0 2 0 24 David Wyzgowski.... 0 0 0 2 0 25*Mark Mink.......... 0 0 0 2 0 26 Jed Ortmeyer....... 1 0 0 4 0 28 John Shouneyia..... 0 1 2 1 0 TM TEAM............... 0 0 2 0 0 Totals............. 2 3 12 22 -1 | ## Alaska Fairbanks G A PIM Sh +/- --------------------------------------- 4 David Keough....... 0 0 0 1 -1 7*Ryan Campbell...... 0 0 0 3 0 9*Bobby Andrews...... 0 1 0 5 +1 10 Jared Sylvestre.... 0 0 0 1 0 11*Daniel Carriere.... 0 1 0 0 +1 12 Cramer Hickey...... 0 0 2 1 0 13 Blaine Bablitz..... 0 0 0 0 0 14 Scott Vockeroth.... 0 0 0 0 0 15 Jason Grinevitch... 0 0 0 2 -1 16 Cam Keith.......... 0 0 0 1 0 18*Felipe Larranaga... 0 0 0 1 +1 20 Ryan Lang.......... 0 0 0 3 0 22 Scott Farrell...... 0 0 0 0 -1 27 Corbin Schmidt..... 0 0 0 0 0 29 Paul Austin........ 0 0 2 2 0 34*Aaron Voros........ 1 0 2 3 +1 37 Tom Herman......... 0 0 2 2 0 39 Cory Rask.......... 0 0 0 2 0 Totals............. 1 2 8 27 +1 |
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Red Berenson
On tonight's game ... "This was a huge game for us to bounce back after the last two games at home, and especially against this team, which is one of the hottest teams in the CCHA right now. I thought it was a good effort for a lot of our players, so overall it was a big win."
On the play of goalie Josh Blackburn ... "I thought he had to be a factor in the game, especially in the third period, and he made some great saves to keep us in the game. As much as we're disappointed we didn't get the shutout, you have to be thankful to get the win with some of the saves he made."
On winning the first game of a series for the first time this year ... "I think it's really important, and we obviously need to have a good game tomorrow night, and you don't want to waste this win. This gives us a chance to have a great weekend."
N O T E S
Michigan posted its first "road" win of the year with its 2-1 victory. Its only other win away from Yost Ice Arena this season was a 6-3 triumph over Providence in a neutral-site meeting at the Maverick Stampede in Omaha, Neb.
The Wolverines posted their first win of the season in the first game of a two-game weekend series, and have their first chance at a weekend sweep tomorrow night.
Josh Blackburn has allowed just one goal in each of his last two appearances on Friday nights. Entering the game, he was allowing an average of three goals per game for the season.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
