Michigan
22-2-0/15-1-0
Notre Dame
18-9-1/11-6-1
Sauer Backstops Wolverines to Sweep of No. 8 Fighting Irish
1/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Site: Auburn Hills, Mich. (The Palace of Auburn Hills)
Score: #1 Michigan 5, #8 Notre Dame 1
Records: U-M (22-2-0, 15-1-0 CCHA), ND (18-9-1, 11-6-1 CCHA)
Attendance: 10,831
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 25 -- vs. Michigan State (Yost Ice Arena), 7:35 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan hockey team completed a weekend sweep of No. 8 Notre Dame by a 5-1 count at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The victory extends U-M's winning streak to nine games and gives the Wolverines their best-ever record through 24 games (22-2-0). Billy Sauer(Walworth, N.Y.) stopped 32 shots for the victory, while five forwards tallied a goal apiece. Kevin Porter(Northville, Mich.) earned his third game-winning goal of the season with a tally late in the first period.
While Notre Dame received the first power play of the game, it was the Wolverines who struck first on a shorthanded blast by Chad Kolarik(Abington, Pa.). Skating in two-on-two, Kolarik wound up and fired from the top of the right circle. The puck trickled through goalie Brad Phillips' legs and over the goal line for Kolarik's third shorthanded goal of the season.
At 14:38 -- exactly one minute after an ND goal had been disallowed -- the Fighting Irish tied the game on a perfect shot from Ben Ryan. Dan Kissel retrieved a puck behind U-M's net and slipped a blind pass into the low slot for Ryan to roof over Sauer's glove.
Kevin Porter gave U-M the lead for good at 17:54. With a faceoff in the right side of Notre Dame's zone, Porter tipped the puck through the legs of his opposing centerman. Tim Miller(Davisburg, Mich.) promptly tracked the puck down and slid it back into the near right slot where Porter was waiting to beat the goalie low to his stick side.
Michigan opened a 3-1 lead on Louie Caporusso's (Woodbridge, Ontario) second goal in as many games. Stationed at the center point, Caporusso took a pass from Kevin Quick(Buffalo, N.Y.) and wristed a shot on goal that got past the goalie due in part to a screen in the slot set up by Brandon Naurato(Livonia, Mich.).
Following the U-M goal, Notre Dame turned up the pressure and forced Sauer to make five quality saves in just over three minutes. Sauer and the Michigan defense continued to hold the two-goal lead through an ND power play that started at 9:25.
The Wolverines upped their lead to 4-1 on a Matt Rust(Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) blast at 15:16. Carl Hagelin(Sodertalje, Sweden) outworked an Irish defender in the left corner, spun and spotted Rust wide open in the left circle. From there, Rust ripped a shot that beat the goalie inside the right post. Notre Dame elected to replace Phillips with Jordan Pearce following the tally.
Five and a half minutes into the final frame Sauer came up huge with two saves while facing a two-on-one. He stopped the initial slapshot by Brock Sheahan and then dove to deny Christian Hanson in the crease.
Travis Turnbull(Chesterfield, Mo.) wrapped up the scoring with an empty-net tally at 17:00.
The Wolverines play a home-and-home series against Michigan State Friday and Saturday (Jan. 25-26). U-M hosts the Spartans in the Friday opener at Yost Ice Arena for a 7:35 p.m. start. Saturday's game moves to East Lansing and will also begin at 7:35 pm. Both contests will be televised by FSN Detroit.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
