Michigan gains split against Notre Dame

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

Shawn Hunwick's 38-save performance in Saturday night's rematch between Michigan and Notre Dame allowed the Wolverines to escape the two-game weekend series in South Bend with a split.

Goals by Alex Guptill and A.J. Treais were enough behind Hunwick's goaltending to provide a 2-1 over the Fighting Irish, who had handled Michigan in Friday night's series opener, 3-1, in another tight contest.

Michigan sits fourth in the topsy-turvy CCHA standings going into a bye weekend on January 27-28 before welcoming Miami for a two-game series at Yost Arena on Feb. 3-4.

The Wolverines nine-game unbeaten streak came to an end in Friday night's loss despite good netminding by Hunwick again.

"Hunwick was solid; he gave us a chance,” said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. “We were playing from behind the whole game. It was one of those games where it's down and back. On the second goal, we had a good rush, a good chance, and they go back down and the defenseman puts in a rebound on the loose puck. That's what it came down to. That's how fine the line was."

Michigan got their revenge in Saturday night's one-goal win on Hunwick's second straight solid performance of the weekend.

"I think it's good,” Berenson replied when asked about the importance of the win heading into the bye weekend. “Let's face it - we've had a good stretch of games since Alaska. It's good to bounce back tonight and not lose two in a row. Now we can think about the stretch run. It's good for our team's psyche."