Michigan
25-10-6, 17-8-5CCHA
Denver
26-13-2, 15-11-2WCHA
Michigan Overcomes Three-Goal Deficit, Beats Denver
3/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
With the mild upset -- the Wolverines were seeded fifth in the East Regional and ranked ninth by U.S. College Hockey Online while the Pioneers were seeded fourth and ranked eighth -- Michigan advanced to the second round to face New Hampshire, the East Regional's top seed, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday (March 27).
After Paul Veres scored 7:46 into the second period to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead, Michigan called a timeout to regroup. The Wolverines showed life out of the timeout as Geoff Koch (Exeter, N.H.) skated down the right wing and snapped off a wrist shot which hit Denver goalie Stephen Wagner's glove and trickled behind him toward the goal line but rolled just wide.
Michigan was able to get on the board with 7:51 left in the second period. Scott Matzka (Port Huron, Mich.) got caught on an extended shift, but worked hard along the right-side boards with Mark Kosick (Victoria, B.C.) and Greg Crozier (Williamsville, N.Y.). Crozier worked the puck free and fed it to Kosick, who skated behind the net, spun and passed the puck to Crozier in front of the goal. Crozier one-timed the shot over Wagner's stick side for his seventh tally of the season, and the comeback was on.
The Wolverines added a second goal with 3:49 left in the period when senior Sean Ritchlin (Conseco, N.Y.), playing in the first NCAA Tournament game of his career, worked a give-and-go with Kosick. Kosick drew the defense down low and slid the pass back to Ritchlin in the slot, and Ritchlin beat Wagner over the stick shoulder for his 12th goal of the year.
Michigan came out flying in the third period. Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) tied the game, 3-3, 6:11 into the final period. Matzka stole the puck in Denver's zone and passed it to Koch, who fed a cross-ice pass to Huntzicker at the point. Huntzicker skated in and flipped a shot over Wagner's stick-side shoulder for his fifth goal of the season.
The Wolverines continued to pressure the Pioneers as Ritchlin was robbed by a great sliding glove save 7:32 into the period and Huntzicker dinged the post 53 seconds later. But Michigan went ahead with 9:40 remaining in the game on Dale Rominski's (Farmington Hills, Mich.) 15th goal -- and eighth game-winner -- of the year. Rominski flew down the left boards, skated past everyone and blasted a slap-shot from the face-off circle. Wagner made the initial save, by Rominski followed his shot and banged the rebound in for a 4-3 Michigan lead.
Mike Comrie (Edmonton, Alberta) closed out the scoring with 6:20 left in the game. He picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, tipped it around a Denver defender and broke into the offensive zone on a 2-on-0 break with Kosick. Comrie went straight down the left side and snapped a shot in for his 19th tally of the year.
The Pioneers opened the game strong, outshooting Michigan 13-1 in the first period, but freshman Josh Blackburn (Chocktaw, Okla.) was steady in the nets, allowing only a Bjorn Engstrom goal. Denver added two more goals in the second period before Michigan mounted its comeback. Blackburn ended the game with 15 saves for the win in his first NCAA appearance.
GAME SUMMARY
| Goals By Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Denver | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
1st period
1, DU, Bjorn Engstrom 16 (Joe Ritson, James Patterson) 13:11.
2nd period
2, DU, Joe Ritson 8 (James Patterson) 06:34.
3, DU, Paul Veres 8 (Todd Kidd) 07:44.
4, MICH, Greg Crozier 7 (Mark Kosick, Scott Matzka) 12:09.
5, MICH, Sean Ritchlin 12 (Mark Kosick) 16:11.
3rd period
6, MICH, Dave Huntzicker 5 (Geoff Koch, Scott Matzka) 06:11.
7, MICH, Dale Rominski 15 (Jeff Jillson) 10:20.
8, MICH, Mike Comrie 19 (unassisted) 13:40.
Shots on goal: MICH 1-12-11-24; DU 13-4-1-18.
Power plays: MICH 0 of 4; DU 0 of 4.
Penalties: MICH 7 (14 minutes); DU 7 (14 minutes).
Goalies: MICH, Josh Blackburn 25-9-6 (18 shots-15 saves); DU, Stephen Wagner (24-19).
Referee: Jeff Bunyon
Linesmen: Paul Scleparis, Richard Zannetti
Attendance: 8,509
Time: N.A.
QUOTES
COACH RED BERENSON
"Denver played a great first half of the game. We were kind of watching and not playing. Once we started playing, the momentum shifted. ... I think college hockey is a game of momentum. Everyone is talking to one another, the guys on the bench start getting into it ... we showed a lot of enthusiasm. We never gave up, even when we were down 3-0. We told them they had half a game to go and we asked them to start doing a few things. They did and they got some results and you saw the end results. It was a great game, it's great to know you are never out of a game."
On what he said at the timeout ...
"I think we needed to refocus and start all over again. We had a half game left and we weren't doing some things we wanted do on the ice -- like our work ethic and checking and finishing our hits and going to the net, getting the puck deep. It was the simple little things. I said I wasn't worried about the score, I just wanted them to play better and harder and don't worry about the score. We'll just start over again."
SOPHOMORE MARK KOSICK
"In the first period, we couldn't get anything going. My legs were just shot. I don't know what happened. In the second period, we started to pick it up. When Cro (Crozier) scored that first goal, it just opened the flood gates."
SENIOR DALE ROMINSKI
"Last year, we came back against North Dakota and when you think about it, you really don't want to finish the season like this. You don't want to go into the summer saying to yourself, 'Well, I should have played harder.' So you work harder and something like this can happen."
NOTES
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
