Michigan
18-12-4, 13-9-4CCHA
Nebraska-Omaha
18-11-5, 12-9-5CCHA
Series Finale at Nebraska-Omaha Ends in 4-4 Deadlock
2/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team settled for a 4-4 tie at No. 15 Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday (Feb. 18) after it permitted leads of 2-0 and 4-2 to slip away. Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.) led all scorers with a goal and two assists. Andrew Ebbett (Vernon, B.C.) had a goal and an assist and David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.) had two assists.
Michigan remains in third place in the CCHA with 30 points. The Wolverines need one point out of their last series next weekend (Feb. 24-25) against Ferris State in order to clinch a top-four finish and a first-round bye in the CCHA playoffs.
The Maize and Blue scored on its first shot of the game at 5:43 when a sharp-angle shot from the left side by Kolarik snuck through the pads of goalie Jerad Kaufmann. Ebbett assisted on the play to earn the 100th helper of his career.
The Wolverines and Mavericks exchanged 30-second power plays as a result of penalties called at 10:46 and 11:16.
Ebbett increased the lead to 2-0 at 14:44 when he corralled a long rebound in the left circle and slapped it past Kaufmann, who was out of position due to Kolarik's shot from the opposite side.
The Mavericks went on the power play at 16:10 and capitalized at 17:37 when Brandon Scero banked the puck off goalie Noah Ruden (Bloomfield, Hills, Mich.) from the right side of the net. The tally ended U-M's season-best streak of 17 consecutive penalty kills.
With 32 seconds to go in the period UNO put the puck into the net again, but the referee waved off the tally after ruling that it was kicked in.
Shots were 12-11 in favor of Nebraska-Omaha after the first 20 minutes.
UNO tied the game at 2-2 when Bill Thomas scored on a wraparound at 3:50. The Michigan defense slowed down when an icing call seemed imminent. However, no whistle sounded and Thomas collected the puck behind the net and slid it inside the right post as Ruden dove in an attempt to recover.
T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) responded with a wraparound goal of his own at 5:11. Kaufmann lost track of the puck on a pass around the boards, which allowed Hensick to scoop it up and sneak it inside the left post before the goalie noticed.
Travis Turnbull (Chesterfield, Mo.) expanded the U-M lead to 4-2 at 9:36 when he smacked a rebound in the crease into a nearly open net. Kolarik and Rohlfs took the first two shots before Turnbull converted.
Michigan was penalized for infractions at 10:43 and 11:38 to give UNO a two-man advantage. The Maize and Blue killed the first penalty but could not stop the second as Alex Nikiforuk scored at 13:30 by jamming the puck in from the left edge of the crease to make it a 4-3 affair.
Ruden was instrumental in maintaining the one-goal lead inside the five-minute mark. Scott Parse, the nation's leading scorer, teed up a one-timer in the slot on a two-on-one but Ruden snagged the shot with his glove. Thirty seconds later, Ruden shut down Jason Krischuk's shot from atop the circles while UNO was on a three-on-one.
Tempers flared in the final two minutes of the period with Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) and Mike Lefley each earning four minutes for hitting after the whistle. Miller was also given a game misconduct.
After two frames the Wolverines held a 4-3 lead while being outshot 23-19.
Michigan killed off a penalty in the early portion of the third stanza before garnering its first full power play of the game at 6:49. The Wolverines were unable to use the man advantage to cushion their lead.
The Wolverines had multiple rushes into UNO territory over the next eight minutes, but they could not capitalize.
The Mavericks notched the game-tying goal with only 2:02 remaining in regulation on a point shot by Phil Angell that beat Ruden through his five-hole.
Fortunately, the Wolverines received a power play with 1:23 left on the clock when Dan Charleston was called for holding deep in the U-M defensive zone. Michigan did not score during the remaining time in regulation to force overtime.
Michigan was unsuccessful in the remaining 37 seconds of power-play time to start overtime. Neither team created any high-quality scoring opportunities during the rest of extra session to force a 4-4 stalemate.
Michigan plays the final two regular-season games of 2005-06 next weekend (Feb. 24-25) when it faces Ferris State in a home-and-home series. U-M travels to Big Rapids, Mich., for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff on Friday. Michigan will host on Saturday night with a 7:35 p.m. start time. U-M's three seniors will be honored in a postgame ceremony. The game will be broadcast by FSN Detroit.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
