Michigan
4-0-1
Michigan State
2-0-1
Sauer Backstops Michigan to Draw with Michigan State
10/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team fought a hard battle against rival and No. 10-ranked Michigan State only to end the game with a 3-3 tie on Saturday night (Oct. 22) at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines were led offensively by Andrew Ebbett (Vernon, B.C.) and Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario), both of whom had a goal and an assist. Blueliner Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.) had a pair of assists, and goaltender Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) recorded a career-high 35 saves on the night.
In the first stanza, U-M came out slowly as it was outshot 14-4 by the Spartans. Twenty-one seconds into the game, Michigan State's Colton Fretter came in alone on a breakaway but Sauer stoned him. Seconds later, Tim Kennedy fired one low from the low slot on a three-on-two opportunity, but Sauer came up with another big save to halt the Michigan State offense.
Michigan State struck first at the 15:43 mark of the first period as Kennedy stole the puck from Michigan's Tim Cook (Montclair, N.J.) in the slot and whipped one past Sauer to put the Green and White up 1-0.
Michigan's two strongest scoring opportunities of the first frame came from Jason Bailey (Nepean, Ontario) and Cogliano midway through the first period, but Michigan State's Dominic Vicari made the saves to keep the Spartans ahead. With 6:59 left in the first period, Vicari tried to clear the puck but it was intercepted in the high slot by Ebbett and he blasted a rocket through traffic to tie the game at 1-1.
Toward the period's end, junior defenseman Jason Dest (Fraser, Mich.) was called for a cross-checking penalty, resulting in a Michigan State power play at the 16:52 mark, but the Wolverines killed off the Spartans' first man-advantage. The Wolverines earned their first power play of the game at 19:33 of the first period, but the Michigan offense was held off and the teams headed into the first intermission still tied at one goal apiece.
The second period featured extremely physical play as both teams matched each other check for check and goal for goal. The Maize and Blue came out hungry early on in the second period as Mitera fed a cross-ice pass to Brandon Kaleniecki (Livonia, Mich.), who fired it glove-side past Vicari at 1:03 for a power-play goal. However, the Spartan offense did not give up as Tyler Howells answered with a goal of his own at 3:22 to tie the game at 2-2. Howells took a blind pass from along the boards by Jim McKenzie and roofed one past Sauer.
With 13:44 left in the second period, Sauer made a glove save that was immediately followed by a scuffle behind the net. Howells was called for a two-minute minor for hitting after the whistle, resulting in a Michigan power play. The Wolverines' second power-play goal came from Cogliano as he flipped a shot from the point through a screen past Vicari to notch the score, putting U-M up 3-2.
Sauer preserved the Michigan lead at 11:00 as he stopped a Spartans shot from point-blank range. Seconds after the denied goal by Sauer, sophomore forward Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.) missed the net on a diving shot that almost upped the Michigan lead to two goals.
At the 11:44 mark, Danny Fardig (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was called for interference to start a Michigan State power play. Just under a minute later, Michigan State was awarded a two-man advantage, but U-M killed off the power play and returned to full strength without any damage done.
As the second period was coming to a close, Tim Crowder of MSU got one past Sauer on a goal-mouth scramble to even out the battle at 3-3 with only 43 seconds left.
Coming back from second intermission, the Wolverines and Spartans played a tight game. The third period's action featured zero goals scored, but both teams had their chances. The first penalty of the last period was called on Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich.) at the 9:05 mark. Seconds later, Michigan was plagued with a five-minute major on Cook, resulting in a Michigan State power play. With their second five-on-three advantage of the night, MSU still could not top U-M's defense as the Wolverines killed off their second long power play of the night.
The best opportunity for either team in the period came with just under five minutes remaining. Sauer made an initial save to his left but the rebound squirted out into the left circle to wide open Drew Miller. The Spartan captain wound and fired, however Sauer scrambled up to his knees and smothered the shot with his chest to end the play.
Deadlocked after the third period, both teams played a hard-fought overtime that resulted in no goals scored. T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) had the best chance of scoring in overtime on a shot from a bad angle that Vicari stopped a minute into overtime.
The Wolverines take to the road for the first time this season next weekend (Oct. 28-29) as they make the trek to play Alaska Fairbanks. U-M faces UAF at 7:05 p.m. Alaska time (11:05 p.m. EDT) each night.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
