Michigan
17-6-1,11-4-1CCHA
Lake Superior State
4-18-4,1-16-1CCHA
Ortmeyer, Tambellini Post Three Points in Shutout of Lakers
1/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
DETROIT, Mich. -- For the second consecutive year, the University of Michigan ice hockey team shut out the Lake Superior State Lakers at Joe Louis Arena, during the annual "Home-and-Joe" series, this time 5-0 on Saturday (Jan. 25) in front of 8,912 fans. Behind freshman goaltender Al Montoya's (Glenview, Ill.) third shutout of the season and freshman forward Jeff Tambellini's (Port Moody, B.C.) two goals and one assist, the Wolverines ended a three-game road swing in which the club posted a 2-1-0 record.
| | Montoya shut out the Lakers for the second time in four meetings this season. |
The Wolverines opened the second period with a flourish, netting two goals in the first four minutes of action. Just under three minutes into the period at 17:06, sophomore forward Michael Woodford (Westford, Mass.) received a pass from fellow sophomore forward Dwight Helminen (Brighton, Mich.) just outside the Laker blue line. Woodford skated the puck into the zone and let loose a slap shot from just outside the top of the right faceoff circle. The puck found its way through LSSU goaltender Matt Violin's five-hole for the first goal of the game.
A minute later at the 16:02 mark, Tambellini put in senior forward Jed Ortmeyer's (Omaha, Neb.) rebound to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead. Ortmeyer received a pass on the right wing from freshman defenseman Danny Richmond (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and skated the puck through two Laker defensemen to put a backhand shot on goal in the low slot. Violin made the initial save but his rebound popped right back out to the rushing Tambellini, who buried the shot into the open net for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.
The Wolverines were far from done in the second period, however, when at the 5:45 mark of the period during a Wolverine power play, Ortmeyer blasted a slap shot on net through a sea of Michigan players camped in front of the goal. One of those players, sophomore forward Eric Nystrom (Syosset, N.Y.) was able to put his stick on the puck and redirect the shot past the Laker netminder. Ortmeyer, positioned at the right faceoff circle during the power play, received a pass from senior forward John Shouneyia (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) for the second assist on the goal.
On Michigan's next power-play opportunity with just under three minutes left in the period, Ortmeyer was finally able to net his own goal during the period. As the Wolverines worked the puck around the point, Ortmeyer, this time positioned on the left faceoff circle, one-timed a pass from sophomore defenseman Brandon Rogers (Rochester, N.H.) into an open left side of the net, as Violin was unable to shuffle across the crease quick enough. The Wolverines dominated the shots-on-goal category in the third period, tallying 18 shots to LSSU's six.
U-M opened the third period in much the same fashion as it did in the second, finding the back of the net under two minutes into the period when Tambellini scored his second goal of the game at 18:34 on Shouneyia's second assist of the night and 100th of his U-M career. On Michigan's fourth power play, Shouneyia hit a streaking Tambellini inside the right faceoff circle and Tambellini shot the puck past Violin low to the goaltender's blocker side for a 5-0 Michigan lead. Michigan outshot Lake Superior State once again in the third period, 15-4, for a three-period total of 42-19.
Although largely untested in the contest, Montoya made 19 saves in the game to earn his third shutout of his career. His finest save of the night came on a late two-on-one with under five minutes left in the game. Laker forward Adrian Kremblewski found himself with an open shot in the low slot, but Montoya was able to stop it as he slid across the goal mouth and made the pad save.
On the power play, Michigan finished 3-6, while Lake Superior State was 0-5. The Wolverines skate again next week vs. Ferris State, on Friday (Jan. 31) at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. The game, which is scheduled for a 7:35 start, will be televised on Fox Sports Net Detroit.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
