Michigan
16-6-1,10-4-1CCHA
Lake Superior State
4-17-4,1-15-1CCHA
Wolverines Earn CCHA Road Win at Lake Superior State
1/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. -- The No. 9 University of Michigan ice hockey team came off its 12-day layoff and defeated Lake Superior State 4-1 on Thursday (Jan. 23) at Taffy Abel Arena. The Wolverines opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period en route to their second CCHA road victory of the season. Senior forward John Shouneyia (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and freshman forward Jeff Tambellini (Port Moody, B.C.) each had a goal and an assist in the win.
| | Tambellini's goal and assist give him a team-leading 20 points (13-7-20) this season. |
Following a successful penalty kill, the Wolverines notched their third goal of the period at 15:43 as sophomore forward Eric Nystrom (Syosset, N.Y.) dug the puck free from a scrum beside the net, brought it out in front and sent a backhander between the goalie's pads. In the first 20 minutes U-M outshot the Lakers 15-5.
Michigan earned a power-play chance nearly seven minutes into the second period, however, Lake Superior State prevented U-M from stretching its lead. The Lakers had a man advantage of their own midway through the stanza but mustered little pressure on the Michigan defense. The Wolverines again dominated the battle for puck possession but the best they could do was ring three shots off the post. Collectively, U-M had 10 shots to LSSU's four in the second period.
To start the third period, the Wolverines wasted little time in upping their lead to 4-0 as only 20 seconds had elapsed when Shouneyia corralled a blocked shot and flipped the puck into the open net. Lake Superior State elected to exchange goaltenders during a timeout with 14:33 remaining by inserting William Ciccone.
The Lakers ended the shutout bid at 8:08 when freshman goalie Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill.) had trouble with a shot from his left that banked off of his skate and into the net. LSSU had a chance to get back into the game when U-M took a penalty at the 8:45 mark but the Wolverines' penalty kill effectively stymied the Lakers' third power play of the night. Michigan managed to preserve its 4-1 lead for the remainder of the game by preventing any LSSU quality scoring chances.
Michigan will conclude its season series with Lake Superior State on Saturday (Jan. 25) when the teams play at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The scheduled start is 7:35 p.m.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
