Michigan
24-12-1, 18-9-1CCHA
Northern Michigan
15-23-2,10-17-1CCHA
Michigan's Three-Goal First Keys Victory Over Wildcats
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team took the first game of the best-of-three CCHA quarterfinal series over Northern Michigan 4-1 Friday (March 9) in Yost Ice Arena. T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) tallied his nation-leading 40th and 41st assists of the year, while Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) notched the first point of his career. In his first postseason appearance in net, Sauer made 21 saves for the victory.
Michigan drew the first penalty of the game 35 seconds into the contest when Pat Bateman was whistled for boarding. Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) had the best chance on the power play, but was unable to stuff the Brandon Naurato (Livonia, Mich.) feed home. The Wolverines registered three shots on goal but could not capitalize during the man advantage.
The Maize and Blue broke onto the scoreboard on its second power play of the game, taking the 1-0 lead at 8:43 of the first period. Hensick took the puck from behind his own net and skated into the neutral zone before relaying it to Matt Hunwick (Sterling Heights, Mich.) along the left boards. Hunwick carried the puck to the top of the circle, firing a laser shot that found the top of the net. The goal was the captain's sixth of the season.
U-M extended its lead on Chris Summers' (Milan, Mich.) fourth goal of the year at 17:24. Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.) won the faceoff, and the puck slid back to Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario). Cogliano's shot was blocked, but the rebound found Summers' stick in the slot. The freshman forward deked across the front of the net and deposited the puck between Brian Stewart's legs for the 2-0 lead.
As time ran down in the opening session, David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.) pushed the Wolverine lead to 3-0. Hensick circled through the NMU zone before wristing a shot in on goal. The shot hit a Wildcat defender in front of the net and caromed off Brian Lebler (Penticton, B.C.) and was finally slammed home by Rohlfs stationed at the far side of the net. The marker -- Rohlfs' 17th of the season -- lit the lamp at 19:13.
Despite outscoring the Wildcats 3-0, the Maize and Blue held only a slight shot advantage at 10-9.
Northern Michigan struck 1:20 into the middle frame, cutting Michigan's advantage to 3-1. Andrew Sarauer picked up a Bobby Selden feed and brought the puck in on Sauer. Sarauer's shot beat the U-M netminder high on the glove side.
Michigan was given another chance with the man advantage at 9:18 when Nick Sirota was called for tripping. The Wolverines kept constant pressure on the Northern Michigan goaltender but could only muster a single shot on goal in the two minutes.
With one minute to go in the second period, Sauer made back-to-back saves to keep U-M ahead 3-1. He made an initial save on Mike Santorelli's shot from the right circle, and followed up with a difficult split save by going post to post to kick away Andrew Sarauer's rebound attempt.
U-M outshot the Wildcats by a 14-7 margin in the second period.
Six minutes into the final stanza, Summers had a chance to extend Michigan's lead, but an untimely bounce off the post kept the U-M lead at 3-1.
The Wolverines were awarded a pair of power plays in the third period but were unable to add to their lead. Michigan did, however, keep the puck in the Northern Michigan zone for much of the time and tallied seven shots on goal, while not allowing the Wildcats an opportunity to get back into the contest.
Northern Michigan pulled Stewart with less than a minute to play, allowing Cogliano to add an insurance goal at 19:09. Cogliano grabbed a Jason Dest (Fraser, Mich.) pass and skated in alone on the empty net to tally his team-leading 21st goal of the year. Kolarik also notched a helper on the play.
Michigan looks to clinch the best-of-three series against the Wildcats on Saturday (March 10). The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:35 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on FSN Detroit.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
