Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Michigan swept at home by Ohio State

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

Ohio State's weekend sweep of Michigan was the first such whitewashing the Wolverines have experienced since November 2009 when Miami turned the same trick.

The pair of weekend games bore no resemblance to each other, though.

Friday night's 2-1 Buckeye win was accomplished by Darik Angeli's fluky third period goal after the two teams had struggled most of the game to find the back of the net. The scoring floodgates opened on Saturday as the teams poured home 11 total goals in Ohio State's 6-5 win of the series nightcap.

The series sweep vaulted the Buckeyes into the CCHA conference top spot, one placing ahead of Notre Dame while the two losses dropped Michigan into a tie with Michigan State for seventh position.

Angeli's shot from an awkward angle at 7:53 of the third period Friday night somehow slipped between Michigan netminder Shawn Hunwick's pads providing the winning margin and marring an otherwise fine performance by the Wolverine senior that included 30 saves.

The Saturday rematch between the two rivals saw the offenses explode in a counter punching war that eventually tipped just slightly enough in Ohio State's favor.

“We take pride in all of our games,” said a disappointed Michigan head coach Red Berenson, "but Yost has been a special place. To give up back-to-back games to anybody is a big disappointment. To win these games, you have to play better whether it is penalty killing, goalkeeping, special teams or defensive zone play.”

Michigan gets a chance at a little redemption this coming weekend when it hosts Northeastern (Friday) and Union College (Sunday) in a pair of non-conference games.

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