Michigan
1-0-0
Quinnipiac
0-1-0
Wolverines Start Season with Triumph Over Quinnipiac
10/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team opened up the 2005-06 campaign with a 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac on Friday (Oct. 7) at Yost Ice Arena. Three Wolverines tallied two points: Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.) had two goals, including the game-winner, and T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) and freshman Travis Turnbull (Chesterfield, Mo.) had two assists each. In net, freshman Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) made 25 saves in his debut.
Quinnipiac earned the first advantage of the game at 2:57 when U-M was penalized for interference. The Bobcats negated their power play shortly after, however, taking a penalty one minute later.
The Wolverines received their first full power play of the game at 6:44. Just over one minute after that QU was whistled for another infraction, giving U-M a two-man advantage. Both of Michigan's power-play units were able to set up in the Bobcat zone but neither squad could manage a clean shot on goalie Bud Fisher.
U-M was whistled for back-to-back penalties in the final five minutes, the second of which was assessed to Jason Dest (Fraser, Mich.) for checking from behind. Dest was given a five-minute major penalty along with a game misconduct. U-M killed off the first penalty and two minutes of the major to keep the game scoreless after the first period of play. Shots on goal in the opening frame were 9-7 in favor of the Wolverines.
With U-M still shorthanded at the start of the second period, Turnbull and Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) pressured the QU defense on a counterattack early on. Turnbull muscled his way to the net and for a shot and Miller followed up with a rebound in front. Another shot from Turnbull nearly ended up in the net. The Wolverines continued their strong defensive play and killed off the major penalty.
Buoyed by its penalty killers, Michigan scored the game's first goal at 3:41. The puck was centered from behind the net by Turnbull and bounced around in the slot. The puck deflected off Brandon Naurato (Livonia, Mich.) and went into the crease where Danny Fardig (Ann Arbor, Mich.) whacked at it and hit it high into the net for his first career goal.
Two minutes later U-M had two great chances go awry. Andrew Ebbett (Vernon, B.C.) had a rebound chance with a wide-open net from the lower left circle, but Fisher threw his leg across the crease to stop the shot. On the other side of the goal Brandon Kaleniecki (Livonia, Mich.) jammed the puck into the goalie's pads while waiting alone in front.
The Wolverines had a power play at 5:10, but the Bobcats had a breakaway chance midway through the penalty. Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.) tracked down the QU forward, however, and dove from behind to break up the shot in between the circles.
Porter cashed in for the Maize and Blue on perfectly executed backdoor feed from Hensick. Matt Hunwick (Sterling Heights, Mich.) passed to Hensick at the left half boards. Hensick then walked down to the lower circle and hit Porter at the right post for a slam dunk goal at 10:58.
Michigan continued to attack the Quinnipiac goal but could not add to its lead before the end of the period. The Wolverines outshot the Bobcats by an 18-7 margin in the middle frame.
The first half of the final period was fairly uneventful. U-M had a power play but was held scoreless. With nine minutes remaining in the third stanza Michigan gave Quinnipiac a power play. The Bobcats fired three shots at Sauer during the two-minute span but could not solve him.
With 2:50 remaining in the game the Bobcats received two fortuitous bounces off Michigan players to cut U-M's lead in half. Joe Dumais came down the right wing and threw the puck toward the U-M net. The puck first bounced off a defender's stick and then another Michigan player in the crease to find its way past Sauer.
The Wolverines sealed the contest with a strange goal of their own 44 seconds later. Porter carried the puck down the left wing and flipped it to the crease as Turnbull crashed the net. A Quinnipiac defenseman tried to bat down the puck with his hand but instead he redirected it down to the feet of his goalie and it trickled through his legs for a U-M goal.
Michigan will wrap up the weekend against the Bobcats on Saturday night (Oct. 8) at Yost. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
