Michigan beats, then ties Nanooks

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan hosted Alaska this past weekend and came away with a shutout Friday night, but had to settle for a tie Saturday night.

The Wolverines did, however, participate in their first-ever shootout last night with the result being the loss of an extra point.

Michigan rallied from 3-1 down, with Chad Langlais tying the game at 3-3 with 2:19 remaining in regulation, only to come up fruitless in overtime and the shootout.

Chris Brown and Kevin Lynch also tallied for UM, while Bryan Hogan made 20 saves between the pipes.

"I didn't like the penalties in the game and the way they dictated the momentum of the game," said UM head coach Red Berenson. "I don't know if it was the players' fault or the officials' fault, but it definitely had an impact on where this game went in the second period. I liked the way our team battled back. We were down 3-1 and we came back and tied the game. Arguably, we could have had the best of the chances to win it, but we didn't win. Then, for the first time in a long time, we went into overtime. Then for the first time ever, we got into a shootout and we didn't look very good."

Friday night, 14 Wolverines registered a point and four players recorded multi-point games in the win.

Hogan made 17 saves for his fifth career shutout and second this season.

Michigan had a 3-0 lead after the first period, something senior captain Chris Summers said is something he hasn't seen a whole lot of this year.

"That is back to Michigan hockey," Summers said. "That's my past experience the last three years and that has always been our style to come out and jump the team early on. I think that was the first time all season we really honed in and did that. That makes a huge difference the rest of the game."

Brian Lebler potted two goals, Brown had a goal and an assist, and Ben Winnett and Tristin Llewellyn each added two assists.

Lee Moffie, Lindsay Sparks and A.J. Treais scored the others for the Wolverines.

"When a team gains excitement, momentum, and confidence you score goals and prevent the other team from scoring goals," Berenson said. "We had our way tonight and I'm sure they'll talk about tomorrow night's game. Tonight, the puck went in for us, the power play scored, we had shots through, and we balanced scoring."

Next up for Michigan (13-10-1, 8-7-1-0 CCHA) is a home-and-home set with Ferris State starting Friday night in Ann Arbor and concluding the next night in Big Rapids. Both games start at 8:05 p.m. and will be televised by CBS College Sports.