Michigan
27-4-4, 20-3-4CCHA
Ferris State
14-14-5,11-12-4CCHA
Michigan Seals CCHA Title With Taming of Bulldogs
2/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #1 Michigan 5, Ferris State 3
Records: U-M (27-4-4, 20-3-3 CCHA), FSU (14-14-5, 11-12-4 CCHA)
Attendance: 6,519
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 1 -- at Ferris State (Big Rapids, Mich.), 7:05 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team captured the CCHA championship Friday evening (Feb. 29), defeating Ferris State 5-3 in its final regular-season home appearance at Yost Ice Arena. After a scoreless opening period, the two teams combined for eight goals over an 18-minute window in the second and third frames.
Senior forward Kevin Porter(Northville, Mich.) scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period to give his team its final advantage and added an assist on the eventual game-winner to claim his 50th career multi-point game. Junior defenseman Mark Mitera(Livonia, Mich.) also boasted a multi-point effort, tying a career high with three assists, including two in the third period.
Junior goaltender Billy Sauer(Walworth, N.Y.) recorded 28 saves on the Bulldogs' 31 shots on goal en route to his 24th win of the season. All three Ferris State goals came on the power play.
The Wolverines wasted little time in the second period before breaking up the scoreless contest, taking advantage of their pressure in the FSU zone following a failed power-play attempt to work the puck around -- and into -- the net and take the first lead at 3:20. After U-M zig-zagged a pair of hard passes across the slot, junior forward Brandon Naurato(Livonia, Mich.) stepped into one from the top right circle, ripping a slap shot high past Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle.
FSU kept pace, however, scoring a power-play tally at the 6:50 mark to even the score at one a piece. Bulldog defenseman Brendan Connelly received the puck on the left point and skated it to the middle of the ice before lifting a hard, rising wrist shot just underneath the crossbar.
Michigan responded immediately, winning the subsequent faceoff and storming back into the Bulldog zone to retake the lead just 21 seconds later -- at the 7:11 mark. Stealing the puck off of an errant FSU attempt to clear, sophomore forward Brian Lebler(Penticon, B.C.) fired a quick shot from the right faceoff circle and followed it to the net, corralling his own rebound when it kicked out into the slot and rifling it past a sprawled Nagle. It was Lebler's third goal of the season and first in more than three months.
Ferris State took advantage of a U-M miscue in front of the net to claim its second power-play goal of the period at the 11:43 mark and improve its man-advantage conversion to 2-for-3 in the contest. The goal came soon after a pair of U-M defenders, including Hagelin without a stick in hand, ran into each other high in the slot and, as a result, took themselves both out of the play. FSU defenseman Scott Wietecha fired a hard shot from the center point position and found Blair Riley in front, who redirected it past Sauer.
The Wolverines closed out the period with a power-play goal in the final two minutes, establishing a lead they would not relinquish. Only seconds after firing a hard slap shot wide of the FSU net, Porter made good on his next opportunity from the right circle at 18:07. Freshman forward Aaron Palushaj(Northville, Mich.) controlled the puck deep on the opposite side of the zone and dished a backhanded pass across the slot to a charging Porter, who one-timed a shot to the upper near corner.
Michigan rattled off back-to-back goals within the opening three minutes of the third period to pad its advantage to an insurmountable margin. The first came just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff. Freshman forward Max Pacioretty(New Canaan, Conn.), after receiving the puck on the far blueline, carried it deep into FSU territory along the left sideboard before wristing a shot into upper nearside corner. Freshman center Louie Caporusso(Woodbridge, Ontario) scored on a power play just a little more than two minutes later -- at 2:56 -- on a tip in front of the net. After U-M won a faceoff in the Ferris State zone, Mitera pushed the puck to sophomore defenseman Steve Kampfer(Jackson, Mich.), who quickly ripped a shot on net. The puck hit Caporusso's stick as the Wolverine rookie skated across the slot and redirected into the far bottom corner.
Ferris State narrowed the gap to a pair of goals with a marker at 5:20, but it would be the final tally for either team in the contest. Like its previous two, FSU's final goal came on the power play and followed a pair of long clears by the Wolverine defenders. Justin Lewnadowski carried the puck into the U-M zone on the left side and fed a cross-ice to a streaking Mike Fillinger, who one-timed it into the bottom left corner.
The Wolverines (27-4-4, 20-3-4 CCHA) complete its home-and-away series against Ferris State and wrap up CCHA play Saturday (March 1) in Big Rapids, Mich. The game is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start at Ewigleben Arena.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
