Michigan Splits at McFadden

by Matt Mackinder

Friday...The No. 1 ranked Michigan Wolverines opened the season getting upset, 4-2, by Northeastern in the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio on Friday night.

Seniors David Moss and Milan Gajic scored for Michigan while junior goalie Al Montoya made 30 saves.

"It disappointed me," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "We're not any better than anyone else. We have to prove that we might be better. Certainly tonight's game is not a step in the right direction. We looked slow. I don't know if we were tired, but this was a game you need. You need to get a benchmark game against a real, honest team. Obviously, we're not happy with where we are."

Michigan lost its first game of the season for the first time since the 1991-92 campaign, when it lost 5-3 to Michigan State on Oct. 25, 1991.

Michigan plays Boston University Saturday at 4:30pm.

Saturday...The No. 1-ranked Michigan hockey team earned its first win of the season as a result of a 7-2 triumph over Boston University on Saturday at the Lefty McFadden Invitational at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Thirteen U-M players recorded at least one point in the effort, including 10 of the 12 forwards.Milan Gajic tied a career high with two goals, Jeff Tambellini equaled a career high with three assists, and Al Montoya stopped 30 shots for the win.

"For everybody, it's good to have a game like this where a lot of guys got on the board," Tambellini said. "It can carry over all week, otherwise, where guys are clutching their sticks the second week of the year. We're all pretty excited about it."

Freshman Chad Kolarik scored his first collegiate goal for the Wolverines to give Michigan a 1-0 lead just 1:54 into the game. Matt Hunwick, Tambellini, Brandon Rogers and David Rohlfs also scored for Michigan (1-1-0). Pete MacArthur scored two late third-period goals for BU.

"I think we tightened up in a lot of areas tonight and we competed harder," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "We played better without the puck and the result of doing that is the puck goes in more for you and you get more scoring chances. We weren't doing that last night."

The Wolverines host New Hampshire (Friday at 8:05pm, CSTV) and St. Lawrence (Saturday at 7:35pm) next weekend at Yost Ice Arena.