Teslak and Tech split #7 Denver

By Joseph Lakeland / Michigan Tech Beat Writer

The Michigan Tech Huskies engaged in a couple of defensive struggles over the weekend and were rewarded with a split against the #7 Denver Pioneers.

Dustin Jackson was the hero on Friday night as he scored the game’s only marker in the Pioneers 1-0 victory at MacInnes.

Jackson picked up the Kyle Ostrow’s rebound on buried it past Huskies netminder Michael-Lee Teslak at 19:47 of the second period.

Teslak finished the night with 21 saves.

Pioneer goalie Peter Mannino was perfect on 21 shots and earned his fifth shutout of the season and the 14th of his stellar career.

The Huskies got their revenge in Saturday’s finale as the beat Mannino and the Pioneers 2-1 on Senior Night.

Alex Lord started the scoring for MTU, putting a wrister past Mannino at 12:41 of the opening period.

Then blueliner Geoff Kinrade notched the eventual game winner, going nearly end to end and finishing with a shot upstairs to put the Huskies up 2-0 with about 10 left minutes to play.

Rhett Rakhshani ended Teslak’s bid for a shutout as he scored with the extra attacker on and just a 1:47 left on the clock.

Teslak sealed the door from there, making a total of 32 saves for the night.

“Teslak was incredable in net tonight. He made a lot of good saves,” said head coach Jamie Russell on the MTU Website. “I am also very proud of our six seniors. They have all meant a lot to the program.”

Mannino turned away just 19 shots for DU.

Michigan Tech (12-17-5, 8-14-4 WCHA) will finish out the regular season with a pair of road games at Minnesota State next weekend. MTU swept the Mavericks, 2-0 and 7-1, at MacInnes in mid-October.

Ice Chips...

- Following the game, Michigan Tech honored its six seniors — Jordan Foote, Kevin Hachey, Jimmy Kerr, Mark Malekoff, Peter Rouleu and Tyler Shelast.

Lakers sneak past Wildcats, 3-2

By Mike Burrill/LSSU Beat Writer

The Lake Superior State Lakers were able to hold off the Northern Michigan Wildcats Thursday night at Taffy Abel Arena for a 3-2 win.

NMU came out in the first period with a little more jump, but Laker netminder Brian Mahoney-Wilson was up to the challenge. The Lakers were happy to end the first period in a 0-0 dead lock.

In the second period, it would be the Wildcat goalie Brian Stewart who would make the amazing saves. He was intricate in NMU killing off a 5-on-3 Laker power play. Despite dominating the 'Cats territorially, Lake State would soon find themselves in a 2-0 whole.

Nathan Perkovich would finally solve Stewart, scoring a deflection goal at the end of the second stanza. John Scrymgeour and senior Jason Blain would earn the assists.

The third period was another competitive one, but the Lakers would be the only ones to find the net. Senior Dan Eves would tie things up when he took a nice feed from Zac MacVoy by the left circle.

Freshman Rick Schofield would score yet another game winning goal, with MacVoy getting another helper. Scholfield is on a four game goal scoring streak.

Mahoney-Wilson was able to hold off the Wildcats the rest of the night with 22 saves. Stewart ended the game with 23 saves, and was pulled with 1:14 remaining in the third in lieu of an extra attacker.

The Lakers extended their home win streak to six games, and both teams end the regular season Saturday night in Marquette.

MiCHO Power Poll 2.27.2008

It wasn’t easy, but the Michigan Wolverines escaped the weekend with a split against the Michigan State Spartans and remain at the pinnacle of the MiCHO Power Poll.

Jeff Petry led the Green and White with a goal and two assists as the Spartans defended their home ice with a 5-2 win over the Wolverines on Friday.

Michigan regrouped on Saturday as Tim Miller led the Wolverines to a 5-2 victory at the Joe Louis Arena.

Northern Michigan moved back into third place after sweeping the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in Marquette.

Ferris State dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 after splitting with Bowling Green on the road.

All other teams remain frozen in the same spot as last week.

Complete Poll

1) Michigan, 26-4-4 (split with No. 6 MSU)
2) Michigan State, 21-9-5 (split with No. 1 U-M)
3) Ferris State, 14-13-5 (split with BGSU)
4) Northern Michigan, 15-16-3 (swept UNO)
5) Michigan Tech, 11-16-5 (swept at No. 12 St. Cloud)
6) Wayne State, 9-21-2 (idle)
7) Lake Superior, 8-18-6 (swept Alaska)
8) Western Michigan, 7-24-3 (swept by No. 5 Miami)

Each week, MichiganCollegeHockey.com editors Matt Mackinder and Tom Balog will compile the MiCHO Power Poll. The poll will comprise the eight Division I teams in the state of Michigan.

Spartans and Wolverines do the splits

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan & Michigan State Beat Writer

The epic power struggle between Michigan and Michigan State continued last weekend with each team getting a win in front of capacity crowds each night.

Saturday night’s game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit drew 20,066 to the home of the Detroit Red Wings and the top-ranked Wolverines skated to a 5-2 win.

The Michigan offense was led by Tim Miller, who scored his first two goals of the season. Senior captain Kevin Porter and Mark Mitera both picked up two assists on the night. Aaron Palushaj, Brandon Naurato and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Wolverines.

Goalie Billy Sauer made 26 saves for U-M, while Jeff Lerg steered aside 39 shots for the Spartans.

Michigan head coach Red Berenson said after the game that there is more to Miller, an assistant captain, than putting points on the board.

"We wouldn't play him if we didn't think he was an honest player,” Berenson said. “It's not just about scoring goals. It's about playing a role and helping your team. He's playing with good players, and it's good to see him score. It's not like he can't score, it's just been a tough year for him offensively. But he plays physical, and he plays strong. He's a good penalty killer and a good two-way player for us."

Chris Mueller and Tim Kennedy scored for MSU.

"I thought they came out and were quick and physical and they were much better than us in the first period,” Spartans head coach Rick Comley said. “To our credit though, we fought back and made it a hockey game. The goal late in the first period really hurt and the goal late in the second period really hurt, but our kids really fought back."

Friday night at Munn Ice Arena, Jeff Petry had his first career three-point night and Michigan State had four other players with both a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win of their own.

Lerg made 31 saves for MSU.

“It just felt great playing throughout the night,” said Lerg. “I think that first goal really set the tone for getting our building into the game. It was kind of like what they did at Miami where they scored four goals in the first period and took their crowd out of the game. It was huge to get those two goals early and make them play from behind.”

Petry and Tim Crowder scored in the first period for the Spartans and Justin Abdelkader, senior captain Bryan Lerg and Kennedy added goals for MSU.

Pacioretty and Ben Winnett scored for U-M, who got 17 saves from Sauer.

“They defended well and they didn't give up much even though we might have carried the play,” added Berenson. “They're an opportunistic team and they get good goaltending and good special teams play. I thought we were looking for some momentum and then I thought when Max scored we got some momentum and we started to carry the play. You have to make those chances count, though.”

The Wolverines (26-4-4, 19-3-4 CCHA) have a home-and-home series with Ferris State starting Friday night in Ann Arbor. MSU (21-9-5, 17-6-3 CCHA) plays a home-and-home with Bowling Green with Friday night’s game at Munn.

This weekend is the final weekend of the regular season for the CCHA and the playoffs start the weekend of March 14.

Warriors split with #7 Mercyhurst

The Wayne State Warriors reached yet another milestone in the development of their program as they split with the 7th ranked Mercyhurst Lakers over the weekend at the City Sports Center in Detroit.

The split gave the Warriors a 2-1-1 season mark against their foes from Erie, PA, marking the first time the Green and Gold have taken the season series.

“I challenged our girls and they stepped up to plate,” said Wayne State Warrior head coach Jim Fetter. “Everyone knows their role and they did what was expected of them. They really showed a lot of character.”

A record 435 fans filled the arena on Friday night for Pack the Rick and “Doc” Andrews Scholarship Night, but unfortunately watched the Warriors fall by a score of 4-1.

Sam Poyton notched the Warriors lone goal with a power-play goal at 5:28 of the first period. Poyton took a tic-tac-toe pass from Lindsay DiPietro and Melissa Boal and buried it from just in front of MC goaltender Laura Hosier for her 33rd of the year.

The Lakers went on a blitz from there, scoring four straight goals to take the win.

Stephanie Jones, Hayley McMeekin, Ashley Cockell, and Jesse Scanzano all scored for the Lakers and Hosier made 32 saves in net.

Valery Turcotte stopped 25 for WSU.

WSU finished the night 1-9 on the power-play and MC ended up 1-5 with the man advantage.

Saturday afternoon it looked like the Lakers might run away with it, but the Warriors staged a monumental comeback and pulled out a dramatic 3-2 overtime win.

Scanzano and Jones scored first and second power-play goals respectively to give Mercyhurst a 2-0 lead after forty minutes of play.

The Warriors came alive in the third as Poyton notched a 4-on-4 goal at 14:57 to get WSU on the board.

Line mate Melissa Boal scored the equalizer less than two minutes later, forcing the third overtime game in the season series.

Chelsea Burnett assisted on both Poyton and Boal’s third period goals.

At 2:02 of overtime, Lindsay DiPietro started the play by getting the puck into the Mercyhurst end. Katrina Protopapas took the initial shot and Poyton was there to slam in the rebound for her 35th of the season.

Turcotte made 31 saves in net for WSU. Hosier stopped 22 for MC.

For her three goal, one assist effort vs. MC, Poyton was named the CHA Offensive Player of Week. It’s is the fifth time this year Poyton has earned the award.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to be working really hard all week in practice, “said Fetter. “We don’t a let down like we had against Robert Morris. We’ll get the girls going and get them focused for this last series.”

Wayne State (19-8-3, 7-2-1 CHA) and Mercyhurst are tied on top of the CHA with 15 points each with just two regular games remaining for both teams. WSU will host Niagara back at City Sports next weekend. MC will play a home and home with Robert Morris.

NMU sweeps Nebraska-Omaha

By Lee Hampden/Northern Michigan Beat Writer

The Northern Michigan Wildcats swept Nebraska-Omaha at home last weekend, including winning Saturday’s finale in overtime.

Friday night, Mark Olver scored twice in a 6-4 win. Brian Stewart made 29 saves to go along with single goals from Jared Brown, Matt Siddall, Erik Spady and Ray Kaunisto.

Siddall and Erik Gustaffson each recorded three assists on the night.

Canton native Brandon Scero scored for UNO.

Billy Smith was the OT hero Saturday night as he scored 3:40 into the extra session to complete the Wildcats’ comeback. NMU was down, 3-1, midway through the second period before Siddall scored in the second and third periods. Brown tallied in the first period for NMU.

“It all just kind of went to the net,” Smith said to USCHO. “Phil Fox had the puck down low and it just squirted out and I got the opportunity to take a couple cracks at it and the second one finally went in. It was an exciting goal.”

Stewart earned the win making 36 saves.

The Wildcats (15-16-3, 12-12-2 CCHA) play Lake Superior State this weekend in a home-and-home series starting Thursday night in Sault Ste. Marie and concluding Saturday night in Marquette.

Broncos downed by Miami U.

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

The struggles continue for Western Michigan University, who lost a pair of games on the road to No. 5 ranked Miami University over the weekend. The Broncos combined for just a goal in the series, while their counterparts reached double digits in the scoring department.

Friday’s game went a little closer than expected, as both teams were scoreless after the first period.

The Redhawks took the early lead about midway through the second period, when Justin Mercier banged one home past goaltender Riley Gill while on the power-play.

Teammate Ryan Jones added an insurance goal at the 6:31 mark of the final period, and netminder Jeff Zatkoff stopped 23 shots en route to a shutout.

Gill racked up 26 saves in the contest, 17 of which came in the third period.

Game two proved to be a scoring frenzy for Miami, which generated eight goals from six different players.

Freshman Jerry Kuhn started between the pipes for Western Michigan, but his stint was short-lived. After allowing four goals on seven shots in the opening period, Head Coach Jim Culhane yanked Kuhn in favor of Gill.

In the final minute of the second period, sophomore defenseman Jordan Collins scored his first goal of the season for Western Michigan, which came while on the man-advantage. This was the Broncos only goal of the night, and forwards Brian Bicek and Cam Watson were credited with the helper.

Penalties proved to be a burden throughout the game, as both teams went into double digits on their trips to the sin-bin.

Zatkoff finished with 26 saves, while Gill allowed four goals on 20 shots.

With the pair of losses, Western Michigan falls to 7-23-3 overall (3-21-2 CCHA). The Broncos are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and have now dropped seven of their last 10 games.

Up next for Western Michigan is a weekend series with Notre Dame University, who swept the Broncos back in November. This CCHA match-up will be the last regular season set before the conference tournament. The first game will be in Kalamazoo on Friday night, which can be seen at 7:35 pm on Comcast Local. Western Michigan will trek down to South Bend. Indiana the following night, with puck drop expected to be at 7:05 pm.

Seniors Bolster Lakers in Sweep of Alaska

By Mike Burrill/LSSU Beat Writer

Friday night at Taffy Abel Arena, Alaska netminder Wylie Rogers held the Lake Superior State Lakers scoreless until approximately four minutes left in the third period, when freshman Will Acton finally found the 4x6 on the power play.

Acton's marker was assisted by Steve Kaunisto and Josh Sim.

In overtime, it was another freshman Rick Schofield who blasted a shot past Rogers from between the circles to give the Lakers the win. Zac MacVoy made the pass to Schofield, and senior Dan Eves earned the other assist. LSSU kept Roger busy all night, as he made 39 saves in the game.

Lake State goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson was equally impressive, making 25 saves and only giving up the one goal.

Saturday was Senior Night as the Lakers took on the Nanooks in game two. Lake State would pick up where they left off the previous night, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period.

The first goal scored by Schofield again, set up by Eves and Steven Oleksy. The next two goals were scored by sophomore John Scrymgeour, both on semi-breakaways. His first goal was scored while the each team skated four apiece, with senior Jason Blain getting the only assist.

His second tally was short-handed assisted by Kaunisto and Simon Gysbers. Alaska came back, scoring a five on three goal early in the second.

Then the Lakers tried helping them out, scoring on their own net halfway through the stanza.

The Nanooks seized the momentum, tying the game early in the third. The Laker seniors would not be out done. Blain then scored the game winner set up by freshman Chad Nehring.

Moments later, Eves would complete the scoring, netting an insurance goal assisted by MacVoy and senior Justin Gutwald.

UAF net minder Roger was pulled after the first period in favor of Chad Johnson. LSSU goaltender Pat Inglis made 22 saves for the win.

Seniors Dan Eves and Jason Blain ended the game with an goal and assist a piece, while senior defensman Justin Gutwald had one assist.

The Lakers (8-18-6, 6-15-5 CCHA) play their last home game of the season on Thursday, taking on U.P. rival Northern Michigan.

Huskies swept at St. Cloud

by Joseph Lakeland / Michigan Tech Beat Writer

Michigan Tech’s slide through the end of the WCHA regular season continued over the weekend as the Huskies were swept at #16 St. Cloud State.

An overcapacity crowd of 6,057 saw the SCSU Huskies put on a show on Friday night at the National Hockey Center as the home team streamrolled MTU by a score of 4-1.

“We had some great opportunities and we didn’t make great shots. They had great opportunities and they converted,” said head coach Jamie Russell on the Michigan Tech website.

St. Cloud powered in three power-play goals and streaked out to a 4-0 lead before Tech could muster their first goal.

Blueliner Geoff Kinrade scored Tech’s lone goal, unassisted on a 4 of 3 power-play at 4:42 of the third period. Kinrade skated end to end before scoring his third of the season, all on the power-play.

Michael-Lee Teslak stopped 22 shots for MTU. Jase Weslosky turned away 28 for SCSU.

Saturday night the SCSU Huskies ran away with a 3-0 shutout over MTU.

Rob Nolan started in net for Tech and stopped 16 of 18 shots. Teslak played the final 27:29 and surrendered one goal on 15 shots.

Weslosky was perfect, stopping 37 shots for his second shutout of the season.

With the pair of losses, the Huskies (11-16-5, 7-13-4 WCHA) losing streak is now stretched to 3 games and MTU is just 2-5-3 in their last ten games.

The Huskies stand in ninth place in the WCHA with just four regular season games remaining.

The #8 Denver Pioneers roll into Houghton for the final two regular season games at MacInnes Arena next weekend. Saturday will also be Senior Night as the Huskies say goodbye to Jordan Foote, Malcolm Gwilliam, Jimmy Kerr, Mark Malekoff, Peter Rouleau, Tyler Shelast, and Jake Wilkens.