Michigan
27-9-3,18-7-3CCHA
Ohio State
25-11-5,16-8-4CCHA
Helminen's Hat Trick Powers Wolverines Past Ohio State
3/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Site: Detroit, Mich. (Joe Louis Arena)
Event: CCHA Super 6 Championship
Score: #8 Michigan 3, #13 Ohio State 0
Records: U-M (27-9-3), OSU (25-11-5)
Attendance: 12,967
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 22 -- vs. Ferris State at CCHA Super 6 Championship (Detroit, Mich.), 7:35 p.m.
DETROIT, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team advanced to the CCHA Tournament final for the third straight year, beating Ohio State 3-0 on Friday (March 21) in Joe Louis Arena. Freshman goaltender Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill.) made 30 saves in the shutout performance and sophomore forward Dwight Helminen (Brighton, Mich.) notched a natural hat trick for Michigan, which will be looking to win its sixth CCHA Tournament championship Saturday night at 7:35.
A scoreless first period saw each team enjoy multiple power-play opportunities, but neither team was able to capitalize as scoring chances were rare in the first 20 minutes of play.
Opportunities remained few and far between during the initial stages of the second frame. Eight minutes in, however, a chance presented itself in the form of freshman defenseman Danny Richmond's (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) outlet pass from behind his own blue line. The pass hit streaking sophomore forward Eric Nystrom (Syosset N.Y), who then carried the puck into the OSU zone. Drawing two defenders, Nystrom flipped the puck to the far side of the slot to a charging Helminen. Helminen brought the puck to his backhand, opened Ohio State goaltender Mike Betz's legs, and beat the goaltender through the five-hole to open the scoring.
Just 3:37 later, the Wolverines capitalized on another opportunity. A simple dump-in pass from converted senior defenseman J.J Swistak (West Bloomfield, Mich.) took a funny bounce off the back boards and richocheted to the near post where Helminen jammed in the puck for his second goal to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Through two periods, Montoya had stopped all 17 Buckeye shots.
Helminen used a Buckeye power play in the third period to score the final goal of his hat trick. Halfway through the period, with the Buckeyes pressing for their first goal on their fifth power-play chance, Helminen picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried it accross the Buckeye blue line, waiting for support in the form of senior forward Mark Mink (Livonia, Mich.). Using Mink as a screen, Helminen cut across the high slot and wristed a shot over Betz's glove, off the inside corner post and in to complete the hat trick and give Michigan a 3-0 lead.
Montoya looked solid through out the contest, as the Michigan defenders played a stingy game in front and limited Ohio State's second chances. Montoya turned aside a number of power-play shots and was able to utilize his puck-handling skills to help the Wolverines keep OSU scoreless on their five power-play opportunities.
Both teams finished the games without capitalizing on the power play, with the Wolverines going 0-7 and the Buckeyes struggling with 0-5 totals. Michigan finished the contest with 24 shots on goal, while the Buckeyes totaled 30 shots.
Michigan skates on the Joe Louis Arena ice again Saturday evening (March 22) at 7:35 in the CCHA Tournament final vs. No. 4-ranked Ferris State, the CCHA regular-season champion and the tournament's top seed. The winner of the game, which will be televised by Fox Sports Net Detroit, will earn the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
