Michigan heading back to Frozen Four

by Bob Miller / Michigan Beat Writer

Exactly eight days after laying a huge pre-Easter egg against Western Michigan in the CCHA playoff semifinals, Michigan played arguably the best game of their season, defeating Colorado College, 2-1, in the NCAA West Regional final in St. Louis.

The win earned the Wolverines a berth in the Frozen Four semifinals on April 7 in St. Paul, Minnesota, against the winner of Sunday's NCAA regional tussle between Denver and North Dakota.

Despite the slim one-goal margin, Michigan play dominantly offensively and nearly completely shut down Colorado College's freshman phenom, Jaden Schwartz.

"Obviously this was great, but this was about our team and the University of Michigan," said Red Berenson, referring to his NHL playing and coaching days in St. Louis. "My history is really irrelevant in terms of this building. We just wanted to get through the first game. For Colorado College to score like they did last night against arguably the best team in college hockey, might have put the fear of God in our team and made us play better out of respect. It's a good win for Michigan.

"I think we were prepared tonight. I talked to Coach (Billy) Powers and he looked at video and did a good job preparing our penalty killers. When they did get shots Shawn (Hunwick) was there. As much as we survived it, I thought we did a much better job on the PK than we did last time we played them over the Christmas break.

"I can't tell you that we tried to play any differently than we normally play, but I can tell you that I wasn't the only one to watch the game. All the players watched it on television back in the hotel and when you watch a game like that you really get a sense of respect for a team that you may not have gotten otherwise. The way that team went was just remarkable. I will say that when you score that many goals on one night, you can't buy one the next night and that's what happened tonight."

Scooter Vaughan (pictured), who showed his flexibility in a number of roles during the game, opened the scoring for Michigan barely two minutes into the game. Defenseman Lee Moffie had the other Wolverine goal to build a 2-0 lead.

Michigan then played strongly on offense, defense and special teams, narrowly failing to convert numerous scoring chances.

"It was a 2 on 4," said Vaughan, starting to describe his opening goal. "I really didn't notice it was that way. I knew my man was a little flat-footed. I just used my speed and got by him and got a good shot off above his glove.

"We knew that (Colorado College) are a good team. The line of the Schwartz brothers and Shultz we knew we had to shut them down and get on the boards. We got on them early and we had some great goalkeeping."

Shawn Hunwick provided that goaltending, holding the Tigers off the board until late in the third period, including the duration of a key penalty kill in the game's closing moments.

"I think they did have a few pretty good shots early on, but this is an opportunity to play for the Frozen Four," Hunwick pointed out. "I think I made a couple good saves. It's pretty easy to stay in the game when you're playing to go to the Frozen Four. They didn't really get anything going too much until they got into the power play. Once they got into the power play, I really had to be sharp."

"I say it all the time; I'm still shell-shocked," continued Hunwick. "I can't believe I'm playing hockey for Michigan. I'm so happy that Coach (Berenson) gave me the opportunity to come here and play for Michigan. To go back to the Frozen Four twice is something that my brother (Matt, who played defense for Michigan) was never able to do, even once, which is nice for me, but I'll give him a call tonight and remind him of that. I got texts tonight from guys who've played in the past. We're just happy that we can go back not only for us, but for our program and future players. It's a great tool for recruiting; I can't wait to be there."

Hunwick WILL be there on April 7 with the rest of his Wolverine teammates.

photo courtesy University of Michigan Athletics

Red gets No. 700 as Wolverines sweep

By Bob Miller / Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan head coach Red Berenson would probably have been just as happy to have the focus on his Wolverines' pair of road victories over Bowling Green this weekend.

History stepped in, though, and deemed that the overriding story was that the Michigan victory provided the Wolverine's esteemed mentor the 700th win in his Michigan coaching career.

Matt Rust, David Wohlberg, Kevin Lynch and Carl Hagelin all lit the lamp in the Michigan Friday night 4-1 win that earned Berenson the milestone victory.

Goaltender Shawn Hunwick stopped 17 of the 18 shots that the Falcons fired his way to backstop the win.

Berenson was typically low-key in his analysis of the win.

“We got the lead and we didn't give up much,” said the Michigan coach. “When you only give up one goal, you have a chance to win."

On Saturday night, Berenson's Wolverines gave up two goals, but again scored four of their own to complete the two-game weekend sweep of the Falcons.

Bryan Hogan tended the Wolverine net in the two-goaltender system Michigan is using at the outset of the '10-'11 season and nearly matched Hunwick's Friday performance with 16 saves on the night.

"I thought he battled hard,” said Berenson of the senior netminder. “Certainly with all the penalties that were called...I can't tell you how many minutes we killed tonight, but it had to be well over 15 minutes for the game. Hogan had to be one of our best penalty killers."

Louie Caporusso was the offensive star for Michigan with a shorthanded goal and two assists.

Freshman defenseman Jon Merrill chipped in his first career goal and Brandon Burlon and Wohlberg completed the Wolverine scoring.

The two victories gave Michigan an early leg up on the rest of the CCHA in the league standings, most of whom haven't entered the conference part of their schedule.

Michigan hosts the USNTDP Under-18 team Tuesday night in an exhibition scrap before heading east to challenge New Hampshire Saturday night in a battle of highly-ranked teams.

TEAM PREVIEW: Michigan Wolverines

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Head coach: Red Berenson (25th season)
Home arena: Yost Ice Arena (6,637)
Last season: 33-6-4 overall, 20-4-4 CCHA (1st), lost in NCAA semifinals to Notre Dame
Back for more: Goalies Billy Sauer, Bryan Hogan and Shawn Hunwick, forwards Louie Caporusso, Danny Fardig, Anthony Ciraulo, Carl Hagelin, Brian Lebler, Tim Miller, Brandon Naurato, Aaron Palushaj, Matt Rust, Chris Summers (alternate captain), Travis Turnbull, Eric Elmblad and Ben Winnett and defensemen Mark Mitera (captain), Chad Langlais, Steve Kampfer, Tristin Llewellyn and Scooter Vaughan
So long, farewell: Forwards Kevin Porter (signed with Phoenix), Chad Kolarik (signed with Phoenix), Max Pacioretty (signed with Montreal after freshman year) and Chris Fragner
Welcome to campus: Forwards Robbie Czarnik, David Wohlberg and Luke Glendening and defensemen Brandon Burlon and Greg Pateryn
NHL draft picks: 13 (Sauer, Caporusso, Hagelin, Palushaj, Rust, Summers, Winnett, Mitera, Kampfer, Czarnik, Wohlberg, Burlon and Pateryn)
Notable Quotable: “I just see us as being a good team right from the get-go. Last year, we weren't supposed to be good; we surprised ourselves. You never know what you're going to get.” – Head coach Red Berenson

Summers to wear an 'A' for Michigan

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

The University of Michigan announced this past Monday that junior forward/defenseman Chris Summers will serve as an alternate captain for the 2008-09 season.

Summers has spent the majority of his tenure at Michigan as a defenseman, tallying eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 81 games. During the 2007-08 campaign, Summers posted career highs in assists (11) and plus/minus (+26).

Summers, a Milan native, was drafted in the first round (29th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Summers served as an alternate captain for Team USA at the 2008 World Junior Championship where the Americans placed fourth. Prior to attending U-M, he played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Summers also wore an 'A' as a member of the U.S. Under-18 Team in 2005-06.

"Chris Summers is obviously one of our top returning players," said Wolverines head coach Red Berenson. "Even though he is not a senior, he proved last year that he was an emerging leader on this team and I think he has the respect of his teammates both as a player and a person.

“We feel that he has a combination of all the ingredients that are necessary to be an effective leader on this team."

Senior defenseman Mark Mitera was named the captain of the 2008-09 Michigan squad last April. The coaching staff left open the possibility for adding an additional alternate captain.

Photo by U-M Photo Services

Ferris and Michigan split finale

by Tom Balog / Ferris State Beat Writer

A night after getting thumped by the Michigan Wolverines 5-3 in Ann Arbor Friday, the Ferris State Bulldogs returned to their home ice on Saturday and shocked the No. 1 team in the nation with a 4-3 overtime win.

"It's a tough loss when you lose in overtime, obviously," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "I thought we were playing pretty well in the second period -- we had the lead. We gave up the lead in the third and maybe had our chances, but I thought we gave up too many chances. We didn't play as well defensively. Our penalty killing wasn't strong, and our faceoffs were a factor in tonight's game."

FSU started the scoring with back-to-back, first period power-play markers by Justin Lewandowski and Justin Menke.

The Wolverines responded with markers by Carl Hagelin and Kevin Porter and the score was tied 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.

Max Pacioretty gave U of M their first lead when he scored at 13:58 of the second.

Lewandowski notched his second of the night at 3:57 of the third to tie up the score at 3-3 and that would last until overtime.

Senior Adam Miller became the hero at 3:22, redirecting in his seventh of the season to give the Bulldogs the victory.

With the win, the Bulldogs snapped a seven-game losing skid to the Wolverines.

Mitch O'Keefe stopped 29 shots in between the pipes for FSU. Bryan Hogan turned away 37 for the Maize and Blue.

Ferris State will face Western Michigan in the first-round, best-of-three CCHA playoff series that will begin Friday night at the Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids. Friday's game will also be televised on FSN Detroit at 7:35 p.m.

Michigan will get a week off and a first-round bye in the CCHA tournament.

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.

Wolverines sweep aside Lakers at Yost

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

The top-ranked Michigan Wolverines continued their roll last weekend with a convincing two-game sweep of Lake Superior State at Yost Ice Arena.

Michigan is now unbeaten in their last seven games (3-0-4) and is 12-2-2 on home ice this season.

"Well, it was definitely great to get the two wins,” U-M freshman forward Louie Caporusso said. “I do not think we have swept a series in four weeks. So, it was definitely great that we got these two wins. It wasn't pretty; that's for sure. But we will take them."

Friday night, Chad Kolarik scored all four goals for the Wolverines and senior captain Kevin Porter assisted on three in a 4-2 win over the Lakers.

Kolarik was asked after the game if he should start his own Hobey Baker campaign.

"No, this is Kevin Porter's year,” said Kolarik. “Let him have it and I'm just having fun. He's carrying me night-in and night-out; Porter's carrying me on his back."

Billy Sauer finished with 25 saves for the Wolverines, while Brian Mahoney-Wilson made 30 stops for LSSU.

Simon Gysbers and Nathan Perkovich scored for the Lakers.

The Wolverines completed the sweep with another 4-2 victory Saturday night.

Bryan Hogan played in net and stopped 21 shots and Caporusso potted a pair for the Wolverines.

Travis Turnbull and Matt Rust tallied the other U-M goals.

“There was some good hockey in parts and there was some ugly hockey,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “I thought we took too many penalties, or there were too many penalties called in the game. But any time you have a sweep in a weekend in this league this time of year, you've got to do a lot of things right and you've got to get some breaks.”

Dan Eves and Rick Schofield added goals for the Lakers, who got a 20-save outing from Pat Inglis.

The Wolverines (25-3-4, 18-2-4 CCHA) will travel to East Lansing this Friday to take on the Michigan State Spartans at Munn Ice Arena. The in-state rivalry is scheduled to begin at 8:05 p.m. and will be broadcast by CSTV. The following night, both teams will head to Detroit to play at Joe Louis Arena. The puck will drop at 7:05 p.m. and television coverage will be provided by FSN Detroit.

LSSU (6-18-6, 4-15-5 CCHA) plays host to Alaska this weekend and will celebrate Senior Night and pay tribute to the late Diane Floyd on Saturday.

Wolverines take a bite out of No. 1

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan jumped back into the top-ranked spot in the national polls by taking three points at then-No. 1 Miami last weekend.

"Three out of four points coming in here is a lot better than the alternative,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “Not many teams are going to do this. We feel that maybe we could have gotten another point out of it, but you have to say the effort was there, the execution was there and a lot of good things had to happen to come in here and get three out of four points."

Friday night, Michigan got four goals in the first period and hung on for a 4-2 win.

Louie Caporusso, Max Pacioretty, captain Kevin Porter and Aaron Palushaj scored to back Billy Sauer’s 18-save outing.

Chad Kolarik added a pair of assists.

"We played really well in the first and then that carried over into the second a little bit,” Porter said. “Our penalty kill was good in the third, but we took too many penalties and they got a couple of goals and got into the game. But we held them off in the end."

The Wolverines were down 2-1 after the first period Saturday night and 3-2 midway through the second period, but rattled off three goals to take a 5-3 early in the third period.

The RedHawks brought themselves to within one goal at 11:39 and then Nathan Davis scored the game-tying goal at 14:57.

“If someone told us we were going to get three out of four points before we came down here, we'd be pretty happy with that,” said Kolarik. “But we had a chance to win. We were up 5-3 with 11 minutes left and then they get a fluke goal and they get the momentum."

Pacioretty scored two goals to go along with singles from Travis Turnbull, Kolarik and Porter, with his NCAA-best 25th goal. Sauer stopped 30 shots in the tie.

"I think it was pretty evident that there is not much to choose between the teams," Berenson added. "They have a great team, no question. I'm sure they won't be happy about some of the parts of their game this weekend and they'll get better. Remember, they didn't play last weekend, so they could have been rusty. We're a young team and we held our own."

Michigan (23-3-4, 16-2-4 CCHA) returns to Yost Ice Arena for a two-game set against Lake Superior State Friday and Saturday. Friday's opener will be an 8:05 p.m. start as the game will be televised by CSTV.

Michigan and NMU tie two straight

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

Never in their 86-year history has Michigan tied three straight games, but after knotting Northern Michigan in consecutive home games last weekend, history was made.

In Friday’s game, despite out-shooting the Wildcats by a 44-24 margin and holding two one-goal leads, the Maize and Blue could not pull through with an outright win. Senior captain Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty each tallied a power-play goal and an assist in the game, while Travis Turnbull chipped in a marker of his own.

Gregor Hanson, Matt Butcher and Mark Olver scored for NMU.

Brian Stewart stopped 41 shots for the Wildcats and Billy Sauer made 21 saves for the Wolverines.

"We did not come prepared,” Michigan forward Chad Kolarik said. “We just did not do it today. We were a little loose in the locker room, and we like to be a little loose, but not that loose. We took it for granted."

“For the first 10 minutes, we were on our heels, we weren't as sharp, they were taking it to us, and it could have been 2-0 or 3-0 in the first 10 minutes,” added U-M head coach Red Berenson. “Then I thought that the last seven or eight minutes we started to play better and then for the most part we were in the game and we were playing well. The game comes down to mistakes and penalties."

Saturday night, the Wildcats erased a two-goal deficit to force another 3-3 tie.

Butcher scored midway through the second period and Nick Sirota tied the game seven minutes into the third period for Northern Michigan, who got a 34-save performance from Stewart.

Sauer was given the night off and Bryan Hogan turned aside 18 shots for Michigan.

"Bryan Hogan battled – that early goal was a tough goal to give up,” said Berenson. “Both of these games were tough games for our goalies to play because they didn't see a lot of shots, and then when they did it was important, obviously. There was a near-breakaway on one of (Northern Michigan's) goals and Billy Sauer had the same type of play last night. So, our goaltending needs to stay focused just like the rest of our game. I thought Hogan did fine."

Carl Hagelin, Louie Caporusso and Kolarik registered Michigan’s goals.

Ray Kaunisto scored the other Wildcats’ goal.

Michigan (22-3-3, 15-2-3 CCHA) travels to Miami to play a pair against the top-ranked RedHawks this weekend, while NMU (10-15-3, 7-11-2 CCHA) has two at home against Michigan State.

Quick's time expires with Wolverines

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan freshman defenseman Kevin Quick has been dismissed from the Wolverines hockey team, Michigan College Hockey has learned.

"He's gone," said a source in an email to MiCHO. "All (Michigan head coach) Red (Berenson) would say is that it wasn't a one-time violation of team rules and that it was egregious enough that a suspension wouldn't suffice. I don't know if he'll end up in Sarnia or not. He always seemed like a nice, polite kid. This is a big surprise to everybody."

Quick's Ontario Hockey League rights, and his younger brother Kyle's, belong to the Sarnia Sting after both were taken with back-to-back picks last May out of Salisbury Prep School.

Kevin, a 19-year-old Buffalo native, was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round (78th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft

This year for U-M, Quick registered two goals and two assists in 21 games.

Photo courtesy University of Michigan

Wolverines take both at Showcase

By Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan is now on a 12-game winning streak after winning both games of the College Hockey Showcase last weekend at Yost Ice Arena against Wisconsin and Minnesota from the WCHA.

Friday night, Michigan beat Wisconsin, 3-2. Chad Kolarik scored shorthanded in the first period, senior captain Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty found the back of the net, both on the power-play, in the middle frame. Kolarik assisted on both tallies.

The Badgers threatened late in the third period with goals 18 seconds apart.

"It was a game where the momentum really changed late in the game,” said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. “I thought the third period wasn’t going anywhere, and then we had a couple of shifts where we had three or four point-blank chances and the puck didn’t go in. Then we had a couple of penalties and all of a sudden we're on our heels. The puck went in for them and they got a life. Then they got a second goal, when we made one bad mistake, and it was a new game. We did a lot of good things in the game, but we didn’t finish them off in the third period and I can't remember the last time we lost a third period like that."

Billy Sauer stopped 24 shots for the Wolverines.

Porter tallied four points (two goals, two assists) and now has a nation-best 16 goals on the year and Kolarik had his second straight three-point contest to lead Michigan to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota Saturday night.

"I think it was just one of those nights where we were clicking,” Porter said. “We were finding each other and things just happened to go our way. We got a couple lucky bounces and it worked out."

Kolarik scored the first two goals of the game and Porter added a third before Minnesota could respond.

Ben Winnett chipped in a third-period goal for the Wolverines and Sauer stopped 26 shots en route to his 13th win.

Michigan (12-1-0, 8-0-0 CCHA) suffered its lone loss of the season to the Gophers on Oct. 13 and swept the College Hockey Showcase for the first time since 2002 and the fifth time in the tournament’s 15-year history.

Wolverines sweep winless Nanooks

By Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

The Michigan Wolverines extended their winning streak to eight games by sweeping the still-winless Alaska Nanooks over the weekend at Yost Ice Arena.

Michigan started the weekend by shutting out Alaska, 4-0 on Friday and then getting a 4-2 win Saturday night.

Chad Kolarik, Travis Turnbull, Aaron Pulashaj and captain Kevin Porter scored for the Wolverines, while Billy Sauer made 15 saves to earn the shutout.

"It is a tough game when you only get 15 shots,” said Sauer. “It is hard to stay in the game and stay focused. There were only a few chances that I really had, so there was not a whole lot that I had to do tonight. But the penalty kill did a great job, and that really made a difference in the game."

Saturday night, Michigan built a three-goal lead before Alaska could respond in the 4-2 victory. Kolarik and Brandon Naurato each scored in the first period for the Wolverines. Kolarik added his second goal of the night on a second period power play and Palushaj extended Michigan's lead in the third period.

"It is good to see Kolarik's line rewarded, because they have been a strong line all weekend,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “Kolarik is playing his best hockey right now, and the line is playing really well. So I was not surprised when one of them scored. They took advantage of loose pucks and opportunities. Chad Kolarik is an opportunist. He is a playmaker, he is a goal scorer and he is a smart player. I think you saw a lot of that this weekend. He is very vocal with his teammates and he is able to back it up on the ice."

Sauer assisted on Naurato's first period goal and finished with 18 stops.

U-M is 9-1-0 to start the season for the first time since 1999-2000. That season, the Wolverines got off to a 10-1-0 start.

Michigan (9-1-0, 6-0-0 CCHA) will visit Lake Superior State this weekend.

Wolverines get sweep at Omaha

by Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

The Michigan Wolverines ventured to Omaha this past weekend and took both games from the gritty Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.

Friday, senior captain Kevin Porter had his third career hat trick as No. 3 U-M defeated UNO, 6-3. A five-goal third period propelled Michigan to the win.

Fellow senior Chad Kolarik added a goal and two assists and goalie Billy Sauer made 25 saves.

"They were the difference - the seniors," U-M head coach Red Berenson said. "Getting that first goal by Porter in the third and Kolarik scored a great individual effort and that set the tone for the period. I can stand here and tell you I liked the score, but I didn't like the way we played for a big part of the game."

Steven Kampfer and Brian Lebler scored U-M's other goals.

Saturday night, Sauer had a standout performance with 28 saves and Carl Hagelin scored the game-winning goal with 2:53 remaining in regulation in a 3-2 win for the Maize and Blue.

Porter and Louie Caporusso added goals for the Wolverines, while Travis Turnbull contributed a pair of assists.

"It was a good weekend overall," said Porter. "In both games, we didn't play our best, but we came out with two victories and that is the important thing."

The Wolverines (7-1-0, 4-0-0 CCHA) return to Ann Arbor to host Alaska Friday and Saturday. Both games start at 7:35 p.m.

Michigan sweeps Boston University

by Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

The Michigan Wolverines took care of Boston University last weekend at Yost Ice Arena rather handily.

Freshman Matt Rust scored twice and senior captain Kevin Porter had a goal and an assist to power third-ranked Michigan past Boston University, 4-2, Friday night.

Rust now has four goals in five games this season for the Wolverines.

Freshman Aaron Pulashaj also scored for U-M and classmate Max Pacioretty notched his first career point with an assist on Porter’s goal.

Goaltender Billy Sauer made 30 saves for the Wolverines, including 15 in the first period.

"Billy kept us in the game,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “If Billy hadn't had a much better than average game, then we wouldn't be talking about a victory. The whole game would have taken a different direction. He was the difference."

Saturday night, Michigan used a balanced attack to finish a sweep of BU, winning 6-2. Six different players scored for the Wolverines and 14 players recorded at least one point, including Sauer.

Ben Winnett, Pacioretty (first NCAA goal), Louie Caporusso, Travis Turnbull, Chad Kolarik and Carl Hagelin tallied goals for the Wolverines and Sauer finished with 22 saves.

"It is such a relief,” said Pacioretty. “I had a feeling I was going to get it tonight. I had a good feeling in warmups. Everyone kept saying 'give Max the puck' in practice, so I just had a feeling all day that it was going to happen tonight."

"We have to take the weekend with a grain of salt,” Berenson said. “Boston University is a team to contend with in Hockey East. They're going to be in the top two or three in that conference. I thought we got away with a game last night that on another night we could have lost. Then tonight we came back and had a better game. I appreciate BU coming out here and playing in a tough road environment and we will probably do the same next year out there. They're a good team and they hung in there. It was a good game for a long time; it was 3-1 going into the third period. One goal, one power play or one bounce and you're back into a one-goal game."

Michigan (5-1-0, 2-0-0 CCHA) will face Nebraska-Omaha on the road this weekend.

Wolverines sweep NMU to open CCHA play

By Kyle Whitney/NMU Beat Writer

In the first weekend of conference play this season, the Michigan Wolverines swept the Northern Michigan Wildcats in back-to-back games, 3-1 and 4-3.

After taking a 1-0 lead on a Nick Sirota goal in the first period of game one, the Wildcats committed six penalties in the second.

“You cannot be in the box that much. They had the puck and we took so many stupid penalties,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle said. “They got total control of the game on power-plays.”

Chad Kolarik scored for Michigan during a 5-on-3 and at the second intermission, the game was squared at a goal apiece.

The Wildcats fired just two shots during the second period, both from beyond the top of the circle.

In the final period, Kolarik tacked on another power-play marker, this one the game-winner. The insurance goal came from Carl Hagelin at the 16:16 mark and put the Wildcats up 3-1.

"Right from the get-go we knew it would be a close game,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “They got the first goal, which was a big goal in the game. Fortunately, our power play finally connected because in the second period we had a lot of power plays. Kevin Porter finally scored and that kind of broke the ice - that was good. Then in the third period, I thought we played our best hockey. We really played hard. We killed a penalty we needed to kill. I thought we carried the play, especially the last half of the period. Our best period might have been our third period."

NMU goaltender Brian Stewart stopped 27 of 30 Wolverine shots in the loss, while Michigan tender Billy Sauer allowed one goal on 14 shots.

Saturday was opposite day in the Berry Events Center and the two teams switched roles in every aspect but the final score. Northern Michigan was the aggressor while the Wolverines committed penalty after penalty and spent the evening killing off those mistakes.

“We were killing too many penalties, just like Northern last night,” Berenson said. “You can’t get shots when you’re killing penalties in your zone.”

The PK unit stood tall, though, an when the game was over, Michigan had collected nine penalties, 37 minutes in the box and a short-handed, game-winning goal.

The Wolverines led 3-2 late in the contest. After Michigan freshman Matt Rust picked up a 5-minute major for checking from behind, NMU pulled the goalie and organized a 6-on-4 attack in the final minute.

With just 41 seconds remaining, Phil Fox tied the game at three. Stewart returned to the net and the Wildcats maintained a one-man advantage.

The Wildcats won the faceoff before turning the puck over in the neutral zone. A quick tip gave the puck to a streaking Chad Kolarik, who beat Stewart for the game-winning goal with 22 seconds remaining.

“We made a mistake,” Kyle said. “We pulled the goalie, were able to score a goal to tie it and we had a guy make a mistake.”

The goal was the only shot that Stewart faced all night after relieving starter Derek Janzen, who allowed three goals on 18 shots.

“I was really disappointed, honestly,” Kyle said. “[Janzen is] a great kid, I’m sure he will come up with a bigger effort at some point, but I didn’t like any of the three goals that went in on him.”

The third goal snuck past Janzen with just under five minutes remaining in the game and Stewart entered the game cold.

The Wolverines will stay home next weekend as they face off against Boston University. The Wildcats, on the other hand, will head south to take on the defending National Champion Michigan State Spartans .

Maize and Blue open with split

by Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

The Michigan Wolverines started off the season with a split at the Ice Breaker Invitational last weekend in St. Paul, Minn.

Freshman Louie Caporusso's first collegiate goal was a memorable one, as his centering pass deflected into the net in overtime Friday to give No. 9 Michigan a 4-3 upset over No. 2 Boston College.

The season-opening win was driven by the play of Travis Turnbull, who notched a second-period goal, an assist and earned a +3 rating in the victory. Carl Hagelin gave U-M the early lead with a first-period tally and Billy Sauer had 19 saves for the Wolverines.

"I think you’re lucky when you win in overtime,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. “I don’t know if it was a great scoring chance or not, but if you play in their zone you have a chance of scoring. That line (of Hagelin, Caporusso and Turnbull) had a pretty good game for us, so I think they ended up with three goals for the night, so when they’re on the ice they definitely have a chance to score."

Danny Fardig scored the other goal for the Wolverines.

The last time Michigan defeated a team ranked as high as No. 2 Boston College was March 30, 2003, when U-M beat No. 2 Colorado College, 5-3, in the NCAA West Regional Final at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan was 4-8-1 against ranked teams in the 2006-07 season.

Saturday night, freshman Matt Rust scored his first two collegiate goals as U-M dropped a close contest to No. 6 Minnesota, 4-3, in the Ice Breaker finale.

"The first goal was pretty much we got a good forecheck in and some solid offensive-zone play,” Rust said. “We worked it down low and eventually got the puck in front. I got a couple whacks at it and it went in."

Steve Kampfer also scored for Michigan and Tim Miller had two assists. Sauer made 18 stops in the loss.

"For the second college game for these freshmen, I thought it was great,” Michigan senior captain Kevin Porter said. “Obviously, we didn't come up with the win, but I thought battling back was great. We fought back and we scored a couple of goals, but we couldn't come up with it in the end though."

Freshman Ben Winnett tallied his first career point, an assist, in the second period on Rust's first goal.

Michigan (1-1-0) opens CCHA regular-season play Friday and Saturday with a road series against Northern Michigan (1-1-0). Both games will be played at 7:35 p.m. at the Berry Events Center.

Wolverines top UWO in preseason, 5-1

by Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

The University of Michigan capped their preseason schedule with a 5-1 win Sunday over the University of Western Ontario at Yost Ice Arena.

Freshman Carl Hagelin (pictured) racked up a hat trick and junior alternate captain Tim Miller added a goal and an assist en route to the win.

"Carl might be our hardest worker on the team,” U-M head coach Red Berenson said. “We see it every day in practice and we saw it when we ran the steps in the football stadium. You see his work ethic on the ice at every practice and then in the game he has good hands and good puck skills. You'll have to ask him if he's a goal scorer or not, but right now he's finding a way to score over here. He's making adjustments. He's from a rink that's 15 feet wider over there (Sweden), which is a big difference."

“My last hat trick was one year ago,” noted Hagelin. “And this is probably my second hat trick in my life, so it was pretty fun.”

Hagelin also touched on what it felt like to play at Yost.

"It was an amazing feeling,” Hagelin said. “I have watched two games before and I had heard from all the guys that it is awesome to play out there. I really enjoyed my first game (Blue/White intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night) and this game.

“And the helmet is awesome to have on. I love it."

Freshman Aaron Palushaj notched the Wolverines’ other goal and junior goalie Billy Sauer finished with 16 saves in net.

“I thought it was an overall great team game and great defense,” senior captain Kevin Porter said. “And then in the third, we really picked it up and started scoring a few goals."

The Wolverines open their regular season Friday against last season's NCAA runner-up Boston College in the Ice Breaker Invitational in St. Paul, Minn. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. CST.

Photo courtesy of UM Photo Services, Martin Vloet

Michigan '07-08 Season Preview

by Matt Mackinder/MiCHO Editor-In-Chief

T.J. Hensick is gone.

So is Matt Hunwick.

And Jack Johnson.

Andrew Cogliano, too.

David Rohlfs will also be missed.

Not to mention Tim Cook and Jason Dest.

Still, even with 12 freshmen on the roster, Michigan doesn’t see this upcoming campaign as a potentially rebuilding year. Head coach Red Berenson called it “interesting.”

“Certainly the depth of our team should be good, but the experience will be a question mark,” said Berenson, starting his 24th season behind the Wolverines’ bench. “This will be the most interesting season in the recent past for the coaching staff at Michigan and certainly for the players. I like the incoming freshman from what I know of them and what I've seen.

“We've got a long season. We have a tough schedule. We start off against Boston College in the Ice Breaker in Minnesota and that'll give us a bit of a wake-up call as to the level of hockey we'll have to play.”

All six incoming forwards – Max Pacioretty (first round Montreal), Louie Caporusso (Ottawa), Matt Rust (Florida), Ben Winnett (Toronto), Aaron Palushaj (St. Louis) and Carl Hagelin (New York Rangers) – were taken in June’s NHL Entry Draft and all six should make an immediate impact in Ann Arbor.

The remaining half dozen include goalies Bryan Hogan and Shawn Hunwick (Matt's younger brother) and defensemen Tristin Llewellyn, Kevin Quick (Tampa Bay), Chad Langlais and Scooter Vaughan. The four freshmen defenders join returnees Chris Summers (Phoenix first round 2006), Mark Mitera (Anaheim first round 2006) and Steve Kampfer (Anaheim). Summers also played a bit of forward last year.

Incumbent starter Billy Sauer (Colorado) will start the majority of games in goal and Hunwick and Hogan will battle for the No. 2 job. Sauer went 25-14-1 a year ago with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.

The Wolverines as a team were 26-14-1 a year ago with a 18-9-1 second place CCHA finish.

Cogliano (Edmonton) and Johnson (Los Angeles) left Michigan for the NHL after last season’s disappointing loss in the West Regionals to North Dakota. Hensick (Colorado) and Hunwick (Boston) both graduated and signed NHL deals. Michigan will surely miss Hensick and his 69 points from 2006-2007.

This season, U-M has just two seniors in new captain Kevin Porter (pictured) and Chad Kolarik - two more Phoenix picks. Porter is college hockey's highest returning scorer this season after putting up 24 goals and 58 points a season ago playing on a line with Hensick.

“I'm glad to see Kevin Porter come back for his senior year,” added Berenson.

Also back up front are juniors Travis Turnbull, assistant captain Tim Miller, Brandon Naurato and Danny Fardig and sophomores Brian Lebler and Anthony Ciraulo.

"This will be a big year for Michigan in terms of a challenge,” Berenson noted. “Last year, we sat here and we knew we'd be a good team because of T.J. Hensick and Matt Hunwick and Jack Johnson and Andrew Cogliano and our big senior class, but all those guys are gone.”

Senior forward Chris Fragner and sophomore defenseman Eric Elmblad may fill in when needed. Last year's backup goaltenders - Mike Mayhew (graduated) and Steve Jakiel (transferred to D-III Curry College) - have moved on.

Porter offered his assessment of this year's team.

“We’ll have a very young team, obviously,” said Porter. “But if we come out with a good start and get five or six wins early, I think we should be OK.”

Michigan kicks off their season Sunday, Oct. 7 at home with an exhibition game against Western Ontario and then play national runner-up Boston College five days later.

Photo courtesy U-M Photo Services