Michigan
Blue/White Intrasquad (ex)
Late Second-Period Goals Lift Blue to Intrasquad Victory
9/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University or Michigan ice hockey team made its 2003-04 debut in the annual Blue/White Intrasquad tonight (Friday, Sept. 26) at Yost Ice Arena, with the Blue team earning a 4-3 win. Freshman T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) led all scorers with three points and sophomore Brandon Kaleniecki (Livonia, Mich.) added two goals for the Blue team, while Jeff Tambellini (Port Moody, B.C.) tallied two points for the White squad.
Sophomore Andrew Ebbett (Vernon, B.C) clinched Blue's victory when he unknowingly deflected the game-winner into the net with only 30 seconds remaining in the second period. The puck caromed off Ebbett's skate after it deflected off the stick of a White defender in the slot on senior Andy Burnes' (Battle Creek, Mich.) shot from the point.
Scoring opened 3:53 into the first period when Blue team member Kaleniecki put the puck in the net following a pass from Hensick. Hensick broke in on the right side and slid the puck across the goal mouth to a wide-open Kaleniecki. The initial shot was stopped by a kick save by freshman Mike Mayhew (Owatonna, Minn.), but Kaleniecki recovered his own rebound and backhanded the puck into an open net. Junior Nick Martens (Ann Arbor, Mich.) also picked up an assist on the goal.
Kaleniecki tallied his second marker of the night 9:48 into the first period off a rebound from freshman David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.). Hensick initiated the play with a blue-line-to-blue-line pass to Rohlfs along the right boards. Rohlfs took the puck in stride and shot from atop the right circle. The shot caromed off the upper right crossbar and fell to Kaleneicki, who managed to slide the puck past Mayhew.
Mayhew kept the White team close midway through the first period with a save on a breakaway by junior Milan Gajic (Burnaby, B.C.). Two minutes later Mayhew once again denied the Blue team with a skate save on a shot by Rohlfs that resulted from a three-on-two break.
The White team started to build momentum early in the second period when junior Dwight Helminen (Brighton, Mich.) fired a shot off the right post 35 seconds into the new stanza.
The White team rode the swing in momentum to a power-play goal off the stick of Tambellini at the 12:08 mark. The sequence began when junior Eric Werner (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) intercepted Blue's clearing attempt and sent a slick pass though the crease to an open Tambellini, who slid the puck short side past an outstretched Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill.).
A minute later, the White team evened the score when freshman Mike Brown (Northbrook, Ill.) crept in behind Montoya and put away a pass from junior David Moss (Livonia, Mich.), however, the Blue team managed to regain the lead late in the second period with its two final goals just 18 seconds apart.
Tambellini made the contest close when notched his second goal of the night with only 10:06 left in the game. Moving in transition, Tambellini received a pass from Brown at mid-ice and broke in alone on Mayhew, who switched into a Blue jersey during the intermission. Tambellini faked left, then brought the puck back to the right before slotting it five-hole to cut the White deficit to 4-3.
After the White team pulled its goalie with 1:20 left in the final period, junior Michael Woodford Jr. (Westford, Mass.) nearly tied the game with only 17 seconds left when he ripped a slap shot past Mayhew and off the left post. The goal light went off, but the referee quickly waved off the goal.
The Wolverines will unite for their final exhibition tilt against York University Friday, Oct. 3, at Yost Ice Arena. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Blue | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| White | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
1st period
1, BLUE, Brandon Kaleniecki (T.J. Hensick, Nick Martens) 3:53
2, BLUE, Kaleniecki (David Rohlfs, Hensick) 9:48.
PENALTIESÂ - Kaleniecki, BLUE (obstruction-tripping) 15:40.
2nd period
3, WHITE, Jeff Tambellini (Eric Werner) 12:08 (sh).
4, WHITE, Mike Brown (David Moss) 13:10.
5, BLUE, Hensick (Martens) 19:12 (pp).
6, BLUE, Andrew Ebbett (Andy Burnes, Matt Hunwick) 19:54.
PENALTIESÂ - Eric Nystrom, WHITE (slashing) :36; David Wyzgowski, BLUE (hooking) 5:56; Mike Woodford Jr., WHITE (tripping) 7:08; Mike Perreira, WHITE (holding) 10:52; Wyzgowski, BLUE (interference) 14:07; Jason Dest, WHITE (hooking) 19:01.
3rd period
7, WHITE, Tambellini (Brown, Adam Zussman) 10:06.Â
PENALTIES - Wyzgowski, BLUE (unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:34; Woodford Jr., WHITE (unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:34.
Shots on goal: BLUE 16-15-2 33; WHITE 12-14-5 31. Power plays: BLUE 1 of 4; WHITE 0 of 3. Penalties: BLUE 4 (8 min); WHITE 5 (10 min). Goalies: BLUE, Mike Mayhew (20:00 minutes, 5 shots-4 saves), Al Montoya (40:00, 26-24); WHITE, Mike Mayhew (19:57, 16-14); Noah Ruden (38:40, 17-15); EMPTY NET (01:23, 0-0). Referee: Kevin Hall. Assistant Referees: T.J. Likens; John Philo. Attendence: 2,386. Time: 1:56.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Red Berenson
On getting ready for the season ... "I think we need to get everything down a little better. For instance, our passes could be a little sharper and our receiving of the puck could be better.We need to eliminate giveaways and turnovers that turned into good scoring chances tonight. We've got to make good decisions with the puck. That's why you play these games, to identify your mistakes and identify things you need to work on."
Â
On the Blue/White game ... "The point of this game is to get the freshmen into a game at Yost Arena, even though it does not count and is not a full-house environment."
On getting a feel for what lines are clicking ... "That is another one of the reasons for these scrimmages, to see how your lines click. That line (Brandon Kaleniecki, David Rohlfs and T.J. Hensick) definitely had a good game. We do have some options from last year, but we need to get a feel for who plays well with who to fit these young players in."
Sophomore Forward Jeff Tambellini
On the game ... "It was a good start, it gave us a chance to get out there with people in the building and a good atmosphere. We are able to get used to Yost Arena and playing with our linemates. It is a good way to start the year."
Freshman Forward T.J. Hensick
On the freshman class "I think it is a special group. We have skilled forwards, we have skilled defenseman, we have power forwards; we have pretty much a little bit of everything. They are all great guys, we all get along great. We love each other. We are a Michigan family now."
N O T E S
Freshman T.J. Hensick led all scorers with three points (1-2-3). Jeff Tambellini (2-0-2), freshman Mike Brown (1-1-2) and junior Nick Martens (0-2-2) were the Wolverines' other multi-point scorers.
 Goaltenders Noah Ruden, a sophomore, and Mike Mayhew, a freshman, made saves on breakaway attempts. Mayhew was one-of-two on breakaways in the game.
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
