Michigan
12-5-1, 6-3-1CCHA
Boston University
11-6-2, 5-4-0Ho Est
U-M Nipped by Terriers in Great Lakes Invitational Final
12/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
| | Ryznar's goal with 1:36 to go drew U-M back within one. |
Michigan would strike back to even the score at one goal apiece just over one minute later at 8:09. Sophomore defenseman Nick Martens (Ann Arbor, Mich.) sent a slap shot toward the BU goal that was redirected by senior forward Mark Mink (Livonia, Mich.) into the goalie's body, and freshman forward Brandon Kaleniecki (Livonia, Mich.) then crashed his way through traffic and chipped the puck over the diving goaltender into the net.
Michigan continued to pressure the BU defense and wound up earning its first power play with 4:20 left in the period. Michigan had two open goals to shoot at during the advantage but one pass bounced over the stick of the shooter and the other went wide of the goal. The Terriers had their share of breaks during the final minute as Montoya had to scramble to make multiple saves. Four coincidental penalties were called during the first 20 minutes and U-M was the only power-play recipient with two.
To start the second period, the Maize and Blue had a little over a minute of power-play time that carried over from the opening stanza. U-M failed to convert but still managed to pepper BU goalie Sean Fields with three close-range shots as the advantage came to an end. The Terriers nearly took the lead back when a defensive miscue forced Montoya to deny their scoring attempt from between the circles.
BU gained its first power play at 4:44 but the Michigan penalty kill kept the Terriers off the scoreboard. Seconds after that penalty expired, BU gave the Wolverines their third power play and then further aided U-M by taking another penalty 16 seconds later for 1:44 of time on the two-man advantage. The BU penalty killers did their job though and prevented numerous Michigan scoring chances from slot area.
With just under nine minutes left BU had a tremendous scoring chance as a shot deflected behind Montoya and remained inches from the goal line before senior defenseman Mike Roemensky (White Lake, Mich.) stuffed the puck under Montoya's body. Michigan took a penalty at 11:50 to give BU its second power play. Senior forward Jed Ortmeyer (Omaha, Mich.) provided the best scoring opportunity during the two minutes when he intercepted a pass at the BU blue line and broke in alone on Fields only to lose control of the puck in front of the crease. BU responded at 14:22 when, from the high slot, Ryan Priem one-timed a pass from Greg Johnson past Montoya's left pad.
Freshman forward Jeff Tambellini (Port Moody, B.C.) knotted the game at 2-2 at 17:00 as senior forward John Shouneyia (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) threaded the puck through traffic to him in the high slot to fire the puck between Fields' left pad and trapper. Just 1:24 into the final period, sophomore forward David Moss (Dearborn, Mich.) gave Michigan its first lead of the game as he picked up a blocked point shot by sophomore defender Eric Werner (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) in the right circle and fired it high over the goalie's left shoulder as he was still on his knees from the initial shot.
BU earned a power play at 5:26 and quickly converted at 6:01 as David VanderGulik sent a rebound past the outstretched left leg of Montoya into the net to tie the game at 3-3. Michigan's fourth chance with the man advantage came at 8:40, but it was BU that capitalized with Mark Mullen streaking down the right side, making a move around a U-M defender and tucking the puck through Montoya's legs to give the Terriers a 4-3 lead. BU's Justin Maiser made the score 5-3 at 12:55 when he knocked a loose rebound into the back of the net from the left side of the crease.
Michigan earned a much-needed power play at 13:33 but was again held scoreless with the extra skater. Michigan cut its deficit to one goal when sophomore forward Jason Ryznar (Anchorage, Alaska) scored with 1:36 remaining on the clock. Montoya was pulled during the final minute of play for the extra attacker but Fields gloved Michigan's best shot by a circling Shouneyia with four seconds left. A last-ditch effort came close as the horn sounded with the puck bouncing around left edge of the crease.
Michigan returns to conference play next weekend, hosting Miami (Ohio) on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 4-5, for a two-game series at Yost Ice Arena.
In the GLI third-place game, Michigan State topped Michigan Tech 6-2. Tech held an early lead on a goal by John Pittis, but four straight scores by Michigan State gave MSU a solid advantage. Michigan Tech cut the lead to 4-2 before the Spartans added two more goals in the third period to put the game out of reach. Brad Fast and John-Michael Liles each had one goal and two assists for Michigan State.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson
On the game ... "It was a hard-fought game. We knew BU was a strong team after seeing them yesterday, and they played strong today. I think it was anyone's game. Every goal was kind of a turning-point goal and every missed goal was a turning-point missed opportunity. Both teams had their chances to win the game and obviously we didn't capitalize on our chances and when you give up three third-period goals, you can't expect to win."
On his team ... "I like our team. I think we're just getting our team back together again. It feels like every weekend we're trying to get our team back together. I like a lot of things about our team and certainly we have to play better. We're not a powerhouse team. We're an honest team and obviously a competitive college team, but we're not a team that can score five or six goals a game and certainly we can't give up that many. We've got a lot of work to do on defense -- our defensive coverage and coming out of our own zone -- and then you try on work on taking advantage of opportunities. I think we can help our team play better in the second half."
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
