Weekly Release #12
12/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
#4 Michigan (13-3-3, 7-3-1 CCHA)
at
Great Lakes Invitational
U-M vs. Michigan Tech (3-13-1, 3-11-0 WCHA)
Friday, Dec. 29, 7:35 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Mich.
U-M vs. #1 Michigan State or #2 Boston College
Saturday, Dec. 30, 4:05 or 7:35 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Mich.
• Complete Release in PDF (13 pages, 118 KB)
This Week
The fourth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team (13-3-3, 7-3-1 CCHA) heads to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich., to face Michigan Tech (3-13-1, 3-11-0 WCHA) on Friday, Dec. 29, in the second semifinal game of the 36th annual Great Lakes Invitational. The Wolverines and Huskies are scheduled for a 7:35 p.m. start which will be aired live on FOX Sports Net (Ch. 32 on MediaOne). In the first semifinal game, No. 1 Michigan State (12-1-4, 9-1-3 CCHA) battles No. 2 Boston College (12-3-1, 6-1-1 Hockey East) at 4:05 p.m. The third-place game is set for a 4:05 p.m. start on Saturday, Dec. 30, with the winner from each semifinal face playing for the championship at 7:35 p.m.
Catch the Game
• In Person -- Tickets are still available for the GLI. Contact the University of Michigan Athletic Ticket Office at 734-764-0247, TicketMaster at 248-645-6666 or the Joe Louis Arena Box Office at 313-396-7575 for more information.
• On Television -- All four games of the GLI are scheduled to be televised live on FOX Sports Net (Ch. 32 on MediaOne).
• On the Radio -- All Michigan hockey games are broadcast on WTKA (1050 AM), which can also be heard on the Internet at MGoBlue.com. Al Randall covers play-by-play, while Jim Hunt provides color commentary. Home games are also on WCBN Student Radio (88.3 FM).
Quick Hits
• Michigan will be missing three key players for this year's annual holiday tournament. Sophomore forward Mike Cammalleri (Richmond Hill, Ontario) will be representing Canada and forward Andy Hilbert (Howell, Mich.) and defenseman Mike Komisarek (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) will be playing for U.S. National Junior Team at the 2001 World Junior Championship. Hilbert (14-20-34) and Cammalleri (12-16-28) are leading the Wolverines in scoring this season.
• Josh Blackburn (Choctaw, Okla.) has stopped 152 of 161 shots faced (.939) in the last six games to post a 5-0-1 record.
• Michigan's penalty-kill units have stopped 32 of the opponent's last 34 power plays (94.1 percent) over the last six-plus games away from Yost Ice Arena.
• The Wolverines are 11-0-0 when leading after two periods of play.
• Michigan is 10-0-0 in games which take less than 2 hours, 30 minutes to play.
Series History vs. Michigan Tech
Friday's game (Dec. 29) will be the 205th meeting between the Wolverines and the Huskies. Michigan leads the series 112-88-4. At the GLI, Michigan is 11-10-0 against MTU, and in the last 10 games against the Huskies (all at the GLI tournament), Michigan owns a record of 10-0-0.
Last Time vs. the Huskies
The Wolverines beat the Huskies 4-1 in the second semifinal game to advance to the 1998 GLI Championship Game. Michigan jumped to a 4-0 lead on goals by Josh Langfeld (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Sean Ritchlin, Andrew Merrick and Sean Peach. Josh Blackburn nearly earned a shutout, stopping 17 of 18 MTU shots in the contest.
Michigan's Last Weekend Series
For the second consecutive weekend, Mike Cammalleri and Andy Hilbert led the offensive attack as Michigan swept St. Lawrence with a 5-1 win on Dec. 8 and a 6-2 win on Dec. 9. Hilbert led the way with a goal and assist on Friday and his first career hat trick on Saturday for a five-point weekend (4-1-5). Both he and Cammalleri each extended scoring streaks. Hilbert has a nine-game streak (10-8-18), while Cammalleri has a career-high eight-game streak (10-7-17). In net, Josh Blackburn stopped 48 of 50 shots and held the Saints, who entered the weekend with the nation's top power play, to just one power-play goal in 12 chances in the pair of games. Bill Trainor (Canton, Mich.) netted a goal and an assist on Saturday to record his fourth career multi-point game.
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson
Red Berenson is in his 17th year as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. Coach Berenson owns a career record of 434-210-43 and is the 15th winningest coach in NCAA history. Over his career, Berenson has 766 games associated with Michigan hockey (687 as a coach, 79 as a student-athlete). As the coach of the Wolverines, he has guided Michigan to two NCAA championships and total of nine CCHA regular-season and tournament championships. Under his direction, Michigan was the most successful program in the country during the 1990s, with 314 wins, and was the only school to qualify for all 10 NCAA championship tournaments in the decade. He has also maintained a player graduation rate of over 92 percent during his tenure at U-M.
Berenson vs. the Huskies
Michigan head coach Red Berenson holds a record of 10-1-0 against Michigan Tech. This will be his first meeting against the Huskies' head coach, Mike Sertich.
Michigan Tech Head Coach Mike Sertich
Mike Sertich is in his first year as Michigan Tech's ice hockey coach and his 19th season overall. Sertich, who joined the Huskies' program in early November, and owns a 2-6-0 record. Prior to leading the Huskies, Sertich spent 18 years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he holds the school record for most wins with a career mark of 335-306-44. He was a four-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year at UMD and led the Bulldogs to four WCHA titles and four NCAA tournament appearances.
Michigan and the GLI
• The Wolverines won a tournament-record nine consecutive titles from 1988-1996.
• Michigan has the most titles in GLI history (11), two more than Michigan Tech (9).
• Michigan State has defeated Michigan just five times in tournament history, including once each of the last three years.
• In the last 25 GLI games, the Wolverines have compiled a 22-3-0 record, with some wins as lopsided as 13-0, 8-3 (twice) and 7-1 (twice).
• The Wolverines have outscored GLI opponents 126-57.
Seniors Lead the Way
A trio of seniors are at the top of Michigan's GLI active scorers list. Mark Kosick (Victoria, B.C.) and Josh Langfeld each has two goals and two assists for four points, while Dave Huntzicker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) has four assist.
Solid Scheduling
Should Michigan face Boston College on the second day of the GLI, it will be the sixth time the Wolverines have faced a team from last year's 12-team NCAA Championship tournament field so far this season. The Wolverines have already met Colgate, Michigan State, St. Lawrence, Wisconsin and defending national champion North Dakota, posting a 3-1-2 record against those teams.
A LOOK AHEAD: Saturday's Possible Opponents
Series History vs. Boston College
The next meeting will be the 11th between the Wolverines and the Eagles. Michigan leads the series 8-2-0. This is the first time the two teams will face off at the GLI, but in neutral-site matchups Michigan has a 4-0-0 advantage. In the last five games against the Eagles, Michigan owns a record of 3-2-0, with both losses coming on the road.
Last Time vs. the Eagles
The Wolverines won their ninth NCAA Championship, in 1998, with a 3-2 overtime victory against Boston College at the FleetCenter in Boston. Rallying from a 2-1 deficit in the 3rd period, Mark Kosick tied the game on a rebound goal with 6:12 remaining to send it into overtime. Josh Langfeld scored the game-winning goal at the 17:51 mark in the extra period on a shot that snuck in through the short side.
Series History vs. Michigan State
The next meeting will be the 229th between the Wolverines and the Spartans. Michigan leads the series 118-102-8. Michigan is 2-1-1 in the last four meetings, dating back to Dec. 29, 1999.
Last Time against the Spartans
Michigan suffered its first loss of the season, falling 1-0 to the Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 4 at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines fired 31 shots on net, but Spartan netminder Ryan Miller stopped them all. Michigan's defense held MSU to just 13 shots on goal and killed five of six Spartan power-play chances. The only score of the game was power-play goal by Rustyn Dolyny with three minutes left in the first period.
Less is More for Opposition
All three of Michigan's losses have come when the Wolverines have held the opponent to 19 or fewer shots on goal (3-3-0 record). U-M is 10-0-3 when allowing 20 or more shots on goal.
OT Opportunities
Michigan has held the opposition to zero shots on goal in two of three overtime periods. The Wolverines are outshooting opponents 16-1 in the extra period.
Fire Away
Through 19 games of this season, Michigan has outshot its opponents 18 times. Overall, the Wolverines are averaging 35.9 shots per game while holding the opposition to just 23.5 shots per game.
The Start is the Key ...
The Wolverines have a perfect record of 9-0-0 when leading after the first period. When tied or trailing after one period of play, Michigan's record is 4-3-3.
... But Finishing Strong Doesn't Hurt
Michigan has scored more goals in the second and third periods of games (56) than its opponents have scored the entire season (42). In just the second and third periods, Michigan has allowed only 25 goals this season.
Shutting the Door
In 14 of 19 games this year, Michigan has held the opposition to two or fewer goals in a game and posted a record of 11-1-1. The only loss is a 1-0 shutout against Michigan State (Nov. 4).
Player Notes
• Mark Kosick has entered U-M's top 50 in career scoring with 128 points (49-79-128). He is 46th all-time at Michigan. Josh Langfeld needs just seven more points to join the same group. He has 116 points (56-60-116) in his career.
• Mark Mink (Livonia, Mich.) has played in all 60 games of his career, the Wolverines' longest active consecutive games played streak.
• Mike Cammalleri (3-10-13) leads the team with 14 power-play points. Andy Hilbert (2-11-13) has 13 power-play points. Together they have scored 21 of the team's 49 power-play assists (43 percent).
• Defenseman Jeff Jillson (N. Smithfield, R.I.) is 15th on U-M's all-time defenseman career scoring list. He has 72 career points (17-55-72) in 93 games. Greg Natale is 14th with 79 points (18-61-79), and Tim Manning leads the list with 142 points (27-115-142) in his career.
• John Shouneyia (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) is the only Michigan player this season with multiple power-play goals in a single game. He scored two of Michigan's three power-play goals against Alaska Fairbanks (Nov. 17).
• Josh Blackburn has stopped 152 of 161 shots faced (.939), including a season-high 33 at Minnesota (Nov. 25), in the last six games to post a 5-0-1 record.
• Three of Scott Matzka's (Port Huron, Mich.) five goals this season have been game-winning goals. He leads the team in that category.
• Bill Trainor scored his fourth career multi-point game with his first goal of the season and an assist against St. Lawrence (Dec. 9).
CCHA Standings (Through 12/17/00)
|----CONFERENCE----| |----OVERALL----| W- L- T Pts GF GA W- L- T GF GA 1. Michigan State 9- 1- 3 21 38 16 12- 1- 4 53 25 2. Western Mich. 7- 2- 2 16 53 39 12- 3- 2 80 56 3. MICHIGAN 7- 3- 1 15 45 24 13- 3- 3 78 42 Miami (Ohio) 7- 4- 1 15 43 33 10- 6- 2 61 54 Ohio State 7- 4- 1 15 41 32 10- 5- 1 58 37 6. Northern Mich. 5- 5- 4 14 37 40 9- 5- 5 64 50 7. Lake Superior 6- 9- 0 12 36 53 9-11- 0 51 68 Alaska Fairbanks 4- 6- 4 12 37 50 4- 8- 4 40 56 9. Nebraska-Omaha 5- 6- 1 11 38 41 8- 9- 1 50 53 10. Bowling Green 3- 7- 4 10 39 42 3- 9- 4 39 47 11. Ferris State 1- 8- 3 5 25 48 4-10- 4 44 62 12. Notre Dame 1- 7- 2 4 18 32 3-11- 3 39 61
U.S. College Hockey Online Poll (12/18/00)
Team (1st-Place Votes) Record Pts Last 1. Michigan State (38) 12-1-4 598 1 2. Boston College 12-3-1 544 2 3. North Dakota (2) 13-3-4 514 3 4. MICHIGAN 13-3-3 481 4 5. New Hampshire 12-3-3 445 5 6. Colorado College 11-4-1 377 7 7. Western Michigan 12-3-2 350 6 8. St. Cloud 13-4-1 317 9 9. Minnesota 10-5-2 299 8 10. Providence 8-4-3 205 10 11. Rensselaer 8-3-1 181 11 12. Ohio State 10-5-1 132 12 13. Wisconsin 11-9-0 94 13 14. Northern Michigan 9-5-5 77 15 15. Vermont 7-4-0 32 NR
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
