Michigan
11-5-0, 7-3-0CCHA
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Western Michigan
6-6-1, 5-6-1CCHA
Michigan Falters in Series Opener Against Broncos
12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6 ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team fell to Western Michigan, 6-3, for its first home loss to the Broncos since the 1995-96 season, ending a 15-game winning streak at Yost. Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario) was U-M's lone highlight, tallying his first career hat trick.
A soft goal off the faceoff allowed Western Michigan to take the early 1-0 lead. Jason Moul cleanly won the faceoff in the Wolverine end, and slid the puck back to Tyler Ludwig stationed just inside the blue line. Ludwig's wrister caught Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) by surprise, and the puck trickled over the goal line at 2:52 of the first period.
The Maize and Blue wasted no time answering back, evening the score at a goal apiece at 5:28. Matt Hunwick (Sterling Heights, Mich.) snared a pass from Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) and led the charge into the WMU zone. Hunwick fought his way to the left face off circle before firing a shot that bounced off Riley Gill's pads and out in front of the net. Cogliano, speeding through the slot, used his momentum to propel the puck past the sprawling Bronco netminder for his eighth goal of the season.
After 20 minutes of play, the Wolverines outshot Western Michigan by a 12-4 margin.
Western Michigan took advantage of a U-M too-many men penalty, pulling ahead 2-1 at 5:58 of the second stanza. The Broncos cycled the puck around the zone to Ludwig at the top of the slot. Ludwig wound up and one-timed a bullet that bounced off teammate Brian Bicek in the slot. Patrick Galivan gobbled up the loose puck and used the traffic outside of the crease as a shield, finding the back of the net for the power-play tally.
The back-and-forth scoring continued when Michigan evened the score at 2-2. On the power play, T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) snagged the puck behind the goal line and looped a pass to Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.) waiting in the left circle. Porter lined two hard shots in quick succession, but could not put it past Gill. However, Cogliano corralled the puck in the ensuing scrum and lit the lamp for the Wolverines at 10:53. The man-advantage marker was Cogliano's second of the night and ninth of the year.
Less than a minute later, a two-on-one break for the Broncos put them up once more at 11:40. Jeff Pierce picked up a Chris Frank dish and carried it end-to-end and in on Sauer. Pierce elected to keep the puck, and his near-side shot was behind Sauer before the Michigan goalie had a chance to react, putting his team up 3-2.
Western Michigan extended its lead with 1:13 left in the middle session. Bicek banked a pass around the boards to Paul Szczechura behind the Michigan goal. Szczechura roped a pass to Mark Letestu, whose one-timer gave WMU the 4-2 advantage.
Despite having double the shots (26-13), Michigan trailed the Broncos 4-2 heading into the third period.
Michigan closed the gap to 4-3 at 6:23 of the final stanza. Miller relayed the puck up ice to Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.). Kolarik deftly swiped a pass around a Bronco defender that found Cogliano in the middle of the ice. Cogliano tapped the puck past Gill for his first career hat trick.
The Broncos put the game out of reach at 17:20 with an unassisted goal by Szczechura. The senior deked his way around a Wolverine defender and lined a shot over Sauer's far shoulder for the 5-3 lead.
Michigan pulled Sauer at 19:01 in an attempt to pull within a goal, but an unassisted marker by Letestu with 10 seconds remaining put an end to the Wolverines' bid and capped the scoring at 6-3.
U-M will travel to Kalamazoo for the finale of the home-and-home series against Western Michigan. Face off is slated for 7:35 pm.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
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