Michigan
17-11-3,12-8-3CCHA
Lake Superior
15-8-6, 11-8-4CCHA
Michigan on Wrong End of Overtime Tussle With Lakers
2/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team lost in overtime, 3-2, to Lake Superior State on Friday (Feb. 10) at Yost Ice Arena. LSSU's Steve McJannet scored his second of two goals on the night 3:01 into the extra period. Michigan's goals were scored by Jason Dest (Fraser, Mich.) and T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.). Noah Ruden (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) made 34 saves and his counterpart, Jeff Jakaitis, had 36.
A tie would have put the Wolverines in a tie for second place in the CCHA with idle Michigan State, while a win would have given them sole possession of the second position. Instead, U-M remains in third place, now just a point ahead of the fourth-place Lakers.
The initial six minutes were played at quick pace but with few true scoring chances as defense prevailed. The Lakers caught the first break of the game of the game at 6:28 when Steve McJannet jammed the puck past Ruden at the left post for a 1-0 lead.
After a fruitless power play the Wolverines regrouped and tied the game at 10:40 when Dest floated a point shot past goalie Jakaitis. Danny Fardig (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Tyler Swystun (Cochrane, Alberta) drew the assists.
U-M took a 2-1 lead at 12:52 when Hensick hit the back of the net. An LSSU defenseman broke his stick on a shot in the U-M zone, thus turning the puck over to Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.). With a three-on-two advantage, Hensick took Porter's pass in the middle, skirted a defenseman and fired a shot beyond the goalie's trapper.
After the first period, U-M held a 2-1 lead while outshooting the Lakers 17-12.
As a result of a Lake Superior State penalty late in the first period, Michigan started the second stanza with a power play. Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario) had the best chance when his shot from the right circle hit the crossbar and went out of play.
LSSU and U-M exchanged scoreless power plays at 2:45 and 5:45, respectively, but Lake Superior State's Trent Campbell tied the game at 2-2 at the 9:19 mark. Campbell got free on the left wing, received a crossing pass from Troy Schwab, and wrapped the puck around Ruden at the far post.
Michigan found itself stuck in its own zone for more than a minute with six minutes to play in the second period. After finally clearing the zone and getting into Laker territory the Wolverines took a slashing penalty to leave momentum with LSSU. Fortunately for U-M, the latter half of the penalty was wiped out by a Laker infraction.
Neither team scored in the final minutes of the second period. U-M held a 12-11 shots advantage in the frame.
Michigan had the best opportunities of the third period with shots from David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.) and Brandon Kaleniecki (Livonia, Mich.) in the slot minutes apart. Jakaitis stopped Rohlfs' shot and Kaleniecki's attempt went too high. The strong defensive play continued with shots just 6-6 at the midpoint of the third period.
With under six minutes remaining Porter had a great chance when he received a feed between the circles. The shot was aimed for the lower right corner, but Jakaitis kicked out his pad to deny Porter. Ruden made two clutch saves in the final minutes of the third period to send the game into overtime.
Cogliano had a chance near the crease just inside the four-minute mark of OT, but his shot went wide. At 3:01 the Lakers won the game when McJannet's shot beat Ruden high glove side while coming down one-on-one against a defenseman.
Michigan and Lake Superior State will finish the weekend series on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 7:35 p.m. The game will be televised by FSN Detroit.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
