Michigan
U.S. NTDP U-18 Team (ex)
Michigan Glides Past U.S. NTDP in Exhibition Play
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Score: #2 Michigan 4, U.S. NTDP Under-18 1
Records: U-M (0-0-0, 0-0-0 CCHA), U.S. NTDP U-18 (4-4-0, 1-2-0 NCAA)
Attendance: 5,817
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Oct. 5 -- vs. Waterloo (Yost Ice Arena), 4:05 p.m.
Boxscore | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team entertained the U.S. NTDP Under - 18 Team in its exhibition opener on Saturday night (Oct. 4), winning by a score of 4-1 at Yost Ice Arena. Matt Rust(Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) chipped in a pair of goals to lead the offensive output and Billy Sauer(Walworth, N.Y.) made 14 saves en route to the victory.
Ben Winnett(New Westminster, B.C.) put Michigan on the board 1-0 with an unassisted marker at 4:42 in the first period. Winnett gained control of the puck after a turnover and took a shot from the middle of the slot that took a high bounce into the net past USA goaltender Brandon Maxwell.
The Wolverines added to their lead nearly a minute later with a power-play goal from Rust at 5:43. Aaron Palushaj(Northville, Mich.) dished the puck to Chad Langlais(Spokane, Wash.) at the top of the slot, but Langlais' shot hit back boards. Rust picked up the rebound near the top of the crease and one-timed it into the corner of the net to put U-M up 2-0.
The Maize and Blue wasted no time in the second frame, increasing the score 3-0 at 0:38. Palushaj crossed to Langlais at the point where Langlais took a slapshot into traffic in front of the goal. Rust was in the low slot and redirected the puck past Maxwell for the power-play tally.
The tandem of Carl Hagelin(Sodertalje, Sweden) and Robbie Czarnik(Washington, Mich.) helped the Wolverines to a 4-0 lead with a marker at 10:46. Hagelin carried the puck around the opposition's net and slid the disc to an on-the-go Czarnik in between the circles. Czarnik then pushed the puck past Maxwell to cap off U-M's scoring in the middle frame.
Cam Fowler put USA on the board with a tally at 16:31 in the final period. Chris Brown passed to Fowler at the top of left faceoff circle, and Fowler beat Sauer glove side for the team's lone goal. The marker made the final score 4-1 in Michigan's favor.
Michigan will conclude its season's exhibition matches tomorrow (Oct. 5) at 4:05 p.m. vs. Waterloo at Yost Ice Arena. Following the close of the game, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the Wolverines and receive autographs.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson
On the two-referee system... "As you can tell, and I warned the players, there is always going to be a referee that can see what you're doing even though you can't see them. So you can't take any liberties. I thought they called some good penalties from behind the play. The players have to learn from that. I think it's a good start. I can't judge the referee in terms of whether they should have called the penalty, but you can see why it gives them better coverage of the game instead of trying to go back and forth. I think it will be fine once we get used to it."
On the penalty kill... "It was pretty good; we've been working on the penalty kill in practice. This is the time of year when you're penalty kill will probably be better than your power play. This was obviously our first game, but I thought our penalty kill was pretty good. Your goalie has to be a good penalty killer as well and Sauer did a good job. It's good to have a player like Chris Summers up front and to put him on PK with someone like Matt Rust or Carl Hagelin who are dangerous not only to kill the penalty but to attack and score shorthanded goals. I like where we're going with it."
On the freshmen... "I liked our freshmen. I thought [Brandon] Burlon and Greg Pateryn played defense and took care of the puck. They looked strong on their feet. And they should. They're playing against 17- year-old kids, but these are really good players. So I liked the play of those two. It's tougher to play defense than forward, but I thought [David] Wohlberg had a good game. I liked Robbie Czarnik; I really liked him not just because he scored a goal, but I thought he really dogged the puck and he was strong on his stick. Those kids are going to do really well here."
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
