Michigan
1-1-0, 0-0-0CCHA
Alaska-Anchorage
1-1-0, 0-0-0WCHA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Wolverines Rout Seawolves for First Win of the Season
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Oct. 10, 2009
Site: Anchorage, Alaska (Sullivan Arena)
Score: #4 Michigan 6, Alaska Anchorage 1
Records: U-M (1-1-0), Alaska-Anchorage (1-1-0)
Attendance: 4,319
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Oct. 22 -- vs. Niagara (Yost Ice Arena), 7:35 p.m.
• Boxscore
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team (No. 4 USA Today/No. 3 USCHO.com) overwhelmed Alaska Anchorage on Saturday night (Oct. 10) by a count of 6-1 at the Kendall Hockey Classic at the Sullivan Arena. Michigan's line of left wing Carl Hagelin (Sodertalje, Sweden), center Matt Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and right wing Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas) racked up four goals and four assists to spearhead the U-M attack. Brown tallied two goals and an assist, Rust had a goal and two assists, and Hagelin had one goal and one assist.
The Wolverines took control of the game by opening up a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes. Right wing Ben Winnett (New Westminster, B.C.) scored the first goal of the season for Michigan just 1:39 into the game when he stole the puck from the UAA goalie along the end boards and sent a pass into the crease that deflected off of a defenseman and into the net.
Left winger Brian Lebler (Penticton, B.C.) upped the lead to 2-0 at 4:37 with a great deflection on the power play. Battling in front of the UAA goal, Lebler spun himself free and got his stick on a wrist shot by Chris Summers (Milan, Mich.) from the left point.
Hagelin gave U-M a commanding 3-0 lead with a power-play tally at 18:25 of the first frame when Hagelin scooped up a blocked shot to the left of the goal and chipped it over the prone netminder.
Brown then notched his first career goal and assist three minutes apart in the second stanza. Brown crashed the net and converted on a crossing pass from defenseman Tristin Llewellyn (Ann Arbor, Mich.) at 9:22. Rust scored off a perfectly run three-on-two rush at 12:56. Brown and defenseman Chad Langlais (Spokane, Wash.) had the first and second assists, respectively.
UAA's Kevin Clark spoiled Bryan Hogan's (Highland, Mich.) shutout bid with 18 seconds left in the second period. Hogan finished with 15 saves.
Meanwhile, Brown tacked on a goal late in the third period at 15:11 to wrap the scoring at 6-1.
The Wolverines are off next weekend before hosting Niagara for the Yost Ice Arena opener on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:35 p.m.
N O T E S
Series Notes
• Michigan is 3-0-1 all-time against the Seawolves, including a 2-0-0 mark in Anchorage.
Special Teams
• The Wolverines were 2-for-3 on the power play with goals coming from Brian Lebler and Carl Hagelin.
• U-M thwarted all four UAA power plays, giving it a flawless 9-for-9 mark on the penalty kill this weekend.
Player Notes
• Freshman Chris Brown tallied the first two goals and assist of his career. He scored at 9:22 of the second period and added an assist shortly after at 12:56. Brown added another goal in the third period
• Tristin Llewellyn tallied his first point in 22 games with an assist tonight.
• Rust tied his single-game highs for assists (2) and points (3). He had a 2-1-3 outing at Northern Michigan on Oct. 18, 2008. This was his third career multi-assist game. Rust was named the Player of the Game tonight and voted to the Kendall Hockey Classic All-Tournament Team.
• Chad Langlais posted two assists for his sixth career multi-assist game and eighth career multi-point game.
• Chris Summers joined Matt Rust on the Kendall Hockey Classic All-Tournament Team.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Red Berenson
On the changes from last night's shutout to tonight's six-goal outburst ... "I thought we played with a lot more bite. We played more physical. I thought we played harder on the puck. When you do that you get your breaks. Last night, we couldn't score. We really weren't paying the price to score. We had some isolated chances, but we were a different team tonight."
On the performance of linemates Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Chris Brown ... "I don't think we have a first line. I have a lot of confidence in Rust's line to play against any team's top line. On another night, it might be Louie [Caporusso's] line that plays against them. The home team has the matchups, but we got a lot of good matchups tonight. Rust's line loves that challenge, and they had a great night tonight."
On bouncing back from a shutout ... "When you think about it, we made a long trip up here and to come and play like we did last night is embarrassing for our team. They knew that. I knew that. It was easy for me to remind them of how we have to play to be a good team. Otherwise, we'll have the same result as we had last night. We were better defensively. We were better with the puck. I talk about intensity, or bite, in our game. We knew that [Alaska Anchorage] was a big, physical team, and we matched that pound for pound. That's what you have to do."
Junior Forward Matt Rust
On the four goals and four assists scored by his line (Carl Hagelin and Chris Brown) ... "I thought we started last night. We try to focus on how each player brings something to the lineup. [Chris] Brown is a big, powerful power forward. He gets in first, makes a hit and separates the player from the puck. From there, Carl [Hagelin] and I have been playing together for two-years plus now. Carl brings speed. You could see in tonight's game, Carl was using his speed wide, which made it easy for me to find him. We just each bring something different to the line and we were clicking today."
On the power play unit scoring twice ... "When we didn't have the puck, we were moving. That's one thing we focused on last game. Watching video after last night's loss, you could tell that when we passed the puck we weren't moving after that. We weren't getting open or making it easy to get the puck back. That's really important on the power play."
On getting the first win of the season with the next game 12 days off ... "Definitely, losing that first game is not the way you want to start the season. Coming back tonight to salvage the weekend is huge. Like our coaches said, we have two weeks off now. If we would have had to take those two weeks with two losses, it's a way different mindset than when you're 1-1. We have some confidence and we can build on this for the upcoming weekend."
Senior Defenseman Chris Summers
On the improvements from last night to tonight ... "I think just overall effort. Guys were taking care of their responsibilities and doing what they were supposed to do. That makes a huge difference when you have a guy on any given line that can go out there and give it their all and get back off the ice and wait for their turn again. We had quick shifts. We definitely shortened up our shifts and tightened up In the defensive zone, so I think it paid off."
On his power-play assist ... "A point of emphasis in the pregame skate was making sure that the forwards were getting in front and taking away the goalie's eyes. [Brian] Lebler is kind of notorious for doing that and he did a great job. He deserves that goal. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. Our job is to get the puck to him and he puts it away. All the players on that line cycled the puck well. I think the power play worked well this weekend."
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
