Adrian tops USNTDP Tuesday night

The U.S. National Under-18 Team scored three power-play goals, including two from Jeremy Morin, but Shawn Skelly's third goal of the evening 47 seconds into overtime lifted Adrian College to a 6-5 victory at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Tuesday night.

Team USA jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:29 into the game when Colin Moore netted his fourth goal of the season, thanks to assists from Justin Florek (Northern Michigan recruit) and Nick Pryor. Pryor took a shot from the left point that Florek tipped off Adrian goaltender Brad Fogal onto the stick of Moore. Moore then slid the puck past Fogal low on the stick side.

The Bulldogs answered with a power-play at the 4:51 mark of the opening frame, as Skelly sent a one-timer right in front of the Team USA net by Michael Clemente on the glove side.

Morin put Team USA ahead again less than a minute later with a power-play goal off helpers from David Warsofsky and Ryan Bourque. Morin took a perfect one-timer feed at the left point from Warsofsky, and connected with a shot that beat Fogal up high on the stick side.

The lead was short-lived for Team USA, however, as Brad Houston scored for Adrian off a rebound at 9:02 of the period.

During the final six minutes of the period the Bulldogs were given a two-man advantage, but Team USA was able to preserve a 2-2 tie heading into into the first intermission.

Team USA made it a 3-2 game after Vinny Saponari buried his eighth goal of the season at the six-minute mark of the second stanza. The play was made possible as a result of a timely pass by Florek from the bottom of the right circle across the slot to Saponari, who put a wrist shot inside the left post.

Jordan Schroeder gave Team USA a two-goal advantage with his eighth marker of the 2007-08 slate during a 5-on-3 power play at 12:20 of the period. He unleashed a quick shot from the slot through traffic that ended up in the back of the net.

Adrian responded with two quick goals in the final 1:32 of the middle session. Drew Satterley notched an even-strength marker at 18:28 and Eric Miller added a power-play tally at the 18:59 mark.

The Bulldogs went ahead again at 7:08 of the third period when Skelly tallied his second marker of the evening.

In wake of an Adrian penalty, Morin unleashed a powerful slap shot from the left point that ended up in the upper righthand corner of the Bulldogs' net, tying the score at 5-5 for Team USA with 2:33 left in regulation. Saponari handed out the lone assist on the goal.

Skelly notched the game-winner with a shot from the bottom of the right circle that trickled through Clemente's legs.

Clemente finished with 20 saves for Team USA, while Adrian's set of three goalies (Fogal, Bryan Scott and Jeremy Cross) combined to stop 38 shots.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team travels to Marquette for a matchup with Northern Michigan at the Berry Events Center this Saturday at 7:35 p.m. Adrian hosts MCHA foe Northland this weekend for two at the Arrington Ice Arena. Friday's game starts at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday's is a 3:00 p.m. matinee.

MSU dominates in OSU sweep

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan State Beat Writer

Only allowing one goal all weekend gave Michigan State an easy sweep at Ohio State.

Winning by scores of 4-1 and 4-0, goalie Jeff Lerg was nearly perfect.

"I thought that Jeff Lerg was great tonight and we really responded well with a strong third period," noted MSU head coach Rick Comley after the victory Saturday. "Jeff probably deserved to have two or three shutouts before this, but had a couple of bad bounces. He's very modest. He's really an outstanding player who is the backbone of our team."

Friday night, Lerg stopped 27 shots and the Spartans got goals from Tim Crowder, Bryan Lerg, Nick Sucharski and Justin Abdelkader.

"It was a good road win," said Comley. "Nothing comes easy in this league. There are no easy games. You have to fight for everything. We're happy to come out with a victory."

Saturday night, Michigan State extended their CCHA unbeaten streak to 10 games as Lerg kicked out all 23 Buckeye shots for his first shutout of the year.

With a 1-0 lead at the second intermission, Abdelkader scored twice in a three-goal final period, Tim Kennedy had a pair of helpers and Chris Mueller potted a shorthanded goal for the Spartans, who are 4-0-2 since their last-place GLI showing last month.

Matt Schepke also scored for Michigan State.

MSU (16-5-4, 12-2-2 CCHA) has a home-and-home series with Michigan, starting Friday at Yost Ice Arena and concluding Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena. FSN Detroit will carry both games of the series, with the puck dropping both nights at 7:35 p.m.

'Dogs and 'Cats split series

by Tom Balog / Ferris State Beat Writer

The Ferris State Bulldogs and Northern Michigan Wildcats both needed to start turning things around as they faced off over the weekend.

The Bulldogs were coming off a disappointing home weekend where they gained only a point against Alaska. The Wildcats were just plain shocked after being swept at home by Wayne State.

Each team left the weekend series in Big Rapids with a little something to be happy about after they split a two-game CCHA set.

Blair Riley, Adam Miller, and Brendan Connolly all scored second period goals for the Bulldogs on Friday night as FSU squeaked out a 3-2 win over the Wildcats.

Matt Siddall and Phil Fox scored in the loss for NMU, their fourth in a row.

Mitch O'Keefe stopped 16 shots in net for FSU while Brian Stewart turned away 35 for the visitors.

The win also moved FSU coach Bob Daniels on step closer to a giant milestone as the victory was #249 in his coaching career.

The milestone would have to wait though as Northern halted their losing skid with a dominating 4-1 win at the Ewigleben Ice Arena on Saturday night.

For the second straight game Riley opened the scoring for FSU, but from then on it was all ‘Cats.

Mike Maltese, Ray Kaunisto, Tim Hartung, and Fox scored in succession and Stewart made 38 saves in net to give NMU their first win since upsetting Notre Dame on Jan. 4.

O’Keefe was tested more in the finale and gave up all 4 goals on 34 shots.

The Bulldogs (10-10-2, 7-8-1 CCHA) sit in seventh place in the CCHA with 15 points and twelve games remaining on the regular season schedule. Next up will be a home and home series with the Western Michigan Broncos, beginning on Friday night at the Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo.

The Wildcats (10-15-1, 7-11-0 CCHA) are just a point behind the Bulldogs in the conference standings and will host the US Under-18 Team back in Marquette on Saturday night.

Bowling Green stymies Broncos

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

Western Michigan had a great opportunity to end their five-game losing streak against Bowling Green State over the weekend, but instead added to it.

The Broncos traveled to their opponents’ barn for the first game and the Falcons fans were behind their team from the opening face-off.

Derek Whitmore of Bowling Green produced a hat trick, scoring his first goal midway through the first period. Teammates Dan Sexton and Kevin Schmidt were credited with the assists.

Three minutes into the following period, Whitmore tallied another, with Sexton and Schmidt helping out on the play once again.

Western Michigan broke their scoring drought at the halfway point, as Whitmore sat in the penalty box on a boarding call. Junior forward Dave Krisky seized the opportunity on the man-advantage, scoring off a pass from Jeff LoVecchio at 10:34.

Broncos head coach Jim Culhane took a gamble in the last minute of the third period, pulling goaltender Jerry Kuhn. Unfortunately, the extra attacker proved no good, as Whitmore and Brandon Svendsen added empty-net goals.

Chaos ensued after the Svendsen goal, as a line brawl broke out with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. Jordan Collins, Chris Frank, Matt Clackson, Chris Clackson and Patrick Nagorsen were given fighting majors and tossed out of the game. Five Falcons were given the boot as well and all 10 players involved in the scrum were exempt from the next game.

Both teams combined for 207 penalty minutes, 120 of which were handed out to Western Michigan.

Despite the 4-1 loss, Kuhn produced a career-high 38 saves. Additionally, the Broncos held Bowling Green scoreless on nine power-play attempts.

Saturday night’s game took place at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, but the storyline remained the same.

While this match-up didn’t have any melees, the Falcons continued their dominance over Western Michigan.

Whitmore continued his scoring binge, giving his team the early edge with 9:22 elapsed in the opening period.

Not to be outdone, Broncos defenseman Kevin O’Connor netted his first goal of the season in the following period, with freshman Ryan Watson being credited for the helper.

Just like their first two games back in November, the teams needed overtime to declare a winner. Bowling Green wasted little time in the extra period, as Schmidt fired the puck past Kuhn with 1:20 gone by for the 2-1 win.

Though he lost for the second time in as many nights, Kuhn reached a new carrer-high in saves with 39.

With their regular season series in the books, the Falcons took all four games against Western Michigan.

The pair of losses extends the Broncos losing streak to seven, and the team is now 6-17-1 overall (2-14-0 CCHA).

A home-and home series with Ferris State University is next for Western Michigan, who previously lost both contests to the Bulldogs.

The Broncos will host Friday night’s game before heading up to Big Rapids to conclude the series.

Bowers shines in Wayne State sweep

By Susannah Nichols/ WSU Women's Beat Writer

The Wayne State Warriors completed a convincing sweep of Quinnipac last weekend, winning 6-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday.

Their recent North Dakota transfer student Sammi Bowers (pictured, right) was a critical factor in the team's success, completing her first career hat trick in Saturday's game. The Warriors' record improves to 12-6-2.

Friday's game featured a second-period offensive explosion from the Warriors, as they scored five unanswered goals in just over 10 minutes. Christine Jefferson notched her first goal of the season, Melissa Boal and Sam Poyton scored a goal apiece and Lindsay DiPietro added two tallies. Chelsea Burnett picked up four assists during the second period.

Quinnipac got on the board in the third period, but Poyton added her second goal of the night (and her 23rd of the season) to extend the Warriors' lead.

Senior goalie Valery Turcotte made 12 saves for the win.

Quinnipac drew first blood in Saturday's contest, but Bowers evened the score with some help from Brandi Frakie and Tegan Schroeder. Quinnipac pulled ahead again in the second period, but DiPietro turned a Quinnipac power play into a reversal of fortune, as she took a pass from Jefferson and nailed a shorthanded goal.

Boal put the Warriors ahead for good in the third period, with Poyton and Jefferson earning the assists. Bowers then capped off the scoring by completing her hat trick with an unassisted goal and a setup from Boal and Katrina Protopapas in the final two minutes.

Turcotte made her fifth consecutive start between the pipes and made 15 saves for the win.

The Warriors will look to extend their five-game winning streak when they begin CHA competition this weekend as they play Robert Morris on the road.

Michigan takes both from Irish

By Karl Henkel/Special to MiCHO

Being the nation's top-ranked team and riding a seven game win streak, the Michigan Wolverines probably expected more of a fight from No. 8 Notre Dame than they got a week ago against Western Michigan.

While Friday night they got such a test, Michigan cruised in Saturday night's game at the Palace of Auburn Hills to extend their winning streak to nine games.

In the opener, the Fighting Irish led twice before the six-minute mark of the opening frame with tallies from Kevin Deeth and Justin White.

U-M got down to business in the second period, however, with Perani Cup leader and national scoring leader Kevin Porter notching a power-play goal 21 seconds in. Matt Rust tied the game at 12:05.

With regulation winding down, Louie Caporusso scored the game-winner, beating goalie Jordan Pearce with 21 seconds to go.

Billy Sauer stopped 24 shots in the victory.

Saturday's contest proved to be much easier as the Wolverines carried the play throughout, despite horrid ice conditions at the Palace.

“The ice was not good at all,” Michigan forward Tim Miller said after the game. “It was like playing pond hockey, but it was kind of fun."

Chad Kolarik got the scoring started, wristing a shot through the legs of goalie Brad Phillips for a shorthanded goal and the early lead.

After goals from Porter, Caporusso and Rust, Phillips was pulled in favor of Pearce, who shutout Michigan the rest of the way.

Travis Turnbull added an empty-net goal with three minutes remaining.

Sauer was a huge factor in the win, making 32 saves, many from point-blank range.

“I like the work, but at times we're giving up too many (scoring chances), and there are times we aren't giving up any,” Sauer said. “We just need to be a little more consistent.”

The sweep puts Michigan at 22-2-0 (13-1-0 CCHA), which is their best start since 1993-94 when they started 21-1-1.

“We're finding ways to win games and I can't tell you that it was a thing of beauty,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. “I can't tell you that we outplayed them, but we made our chances count.”

Next weekend, Michigan hosts Michigan State (16-5-4, 12-2-2 CCHA), coming off a sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes. MSU is currently third in the CCHA, behind Miami and first-place Michigan.

Warriors swept at home by NU

By Karl Henkel/Special to MiCHO

After sweeping Northern Michigan a weekend ago, the Wayne State Warriors looked to ride the wave of momentum as they battled CHA foe Niagara this past weekend.

Unfortunately, critical mistakes cost WSU both contests, each of which they had a lead in.

Wayne State outplayed Niagara through two periods in the opener Friday night at the Taylor SportsPlex, holding the Purple Eagles to just eight shots on goal. But going into the third, the score was knotted at two.

Armando Scarlato scored with less than three minutes to play in regulation, handing netminder Mike Devoney, who made 17 saves, his first collegiate loss.

Brock Meadows and Tylor Michel scored for WSU.

“It was really tough,” Meadows said of the loss. “We battled hard all week preparing for this, (but) we just lost it at the end.”

Saturday's showdown at the Palace of Auburn Hills proved to be an exciting, high-scoring affair, but for WSU, it was just another devastating defeat.

Backed by two Stavros Paskaris goals in a span of 2:17, the Warriors took a commanding 4-1 lead close to halfway through the game.

Purple Eagles head coach Dave Burkholder then yanked goalie Adam Avramenko for Friday night's starter Juliano Pagliero and it immediately jump-started his team.

A mere 1:56 after the switch, Vince Rocco got his first of two consecutive goals that would bring the score to a much tighter 4-3 heading into the final period.

“It got our benches' attention and it was a good job by 'Pags' to come off the bench and not make any mistakes,” Burkholder said of the switch. “If he makes one mistake we're out of it.”

By the 4:06 mark of the third, Ryan Annesley and Matt Caruana would score to give Niagara their first lead of the afternoon.

A late power-play goal by Derek Bachynski narrowed the margin to 6-5, but it was too little, too late for the Warriors, who suffered their seventh sweep of the season.

“You've got to shut the door with a lead and we didn't do that today,” Warriors head coach Bill Wilkinson said after the game.

Wayne State (5-17-2, 1-7-0 CHA) hosts conference opponent Alabama-Huntsville this weekend at Taylor. The following weekend (Feb. 1-2), the Warriors travel to Bemidji State to take on the Beavers, who currently sit atop the CHA standings.

No. 2 Redhawks soar past Lakers

By Mike Burrill/LSSU Beat Writer

Last spring, it was the Lake Superior State Lakers who christened Miami's new state-of-the-art Steve Cady Arena by defeating the Redhawks in the second round of the CCHA Tournament and advancing to Joe Louis Arena.

The upset must have been in the minds of the returning Miami players, as the second-ranked team in the country decimated the visiting Lakers over the weekend by scores of 6-1 and 5-0.

On Friday, Josh Sim scored the Lakers' only goal on the power play late in the third period. Nathan Perkovich and Troy Schwab earned assists. Sophomore netminder Pat Inglis made 27 saves in defeat.

On Saturday, the Lakers were held off the scoreboard and freshman goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson made 26 saves for LSSU, who went 0-for-7 on the power play.

The Lakers (3-15-4, 1-12-3 CCHA) return to Taffy Abel Arena this weekend to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Two of the Lakers' three victories this year have come in the Soo.