Michigan
15-9-0, 10-6-0CCHA
Northern Michigan
9-14-2, 6-11-1CCHA
Michigan Offense Stymied by Northern Michigan
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team was unable to complete the sweep of Northern Michigan falling 2-1 to the Wildcats on Saturday (Jan. 13) at Yost Ice Arena. Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario) scored with seven seconds left in the game to prevent the shutout. Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) put up a solid performance, stopping 28 of the 30 shots directed his way. NMU netminder Bill Zaniboni made 36 saves for the win.
Midway through the first period, neither the Wolverines nor the Wildcats were able to produce any marks on the board. However, at the 10-minute marker, Michigan had out-shot Northern Michigan by a margin of 10-1. The first Northern shot of the game did not come until 9:30.
The first goal of the night came at 15:17 in the first stanza. Northern Michigan's Mike Santorelli -- the CCHA's leading goal scorer -- rifled a blast past Michigan's goalie Sauer. With an assist from Tim Hartung, Santorelli made a quick scoop around a U-M defender and slapped a shot over Sauer's outstretched glove.
Santorelli had a chance to repeat the feat as the end of the period drew near. Skating down the left side, Santorelli wound up for another blast at the Michigan netminder, but T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) was there to deflect the shot into the corner at 17:41.
The Wolverines were unable to respond to the Wildcats' goal leaving Northern Michigan on top at the end of 20 minutes 1-0. Michigan had three power-play opportunities in the first period, but the team was unable to capitalize on its five total power-play shots. Michigan out-shot NMU 13-4 by the end of the first stanza.
Northern Michigan extended its lead on Santorelli's second goal of the night near the halfway point of the second period. Alan Dorich grabbed a bouncing puck and fired it up ice to Hartung. The right winger gained the zone for the Wildcats and dropped a pass back to Santorelli in the slot. Santorelli lifted a shot that found the back of the net at 11:03 for the 2-0 lead.
NMU turned the tide on the Maize and Blue and outshot U-M 16-11 in the second period.
Defense was the name of the game in the third session, as neither team was able to mount any serious scoring chances until late in the period. With 15 seconds left in the game and the goal open at the U-M end in an effort to avoid the shutout, both teams elected to use their timeouts to devise a game plan.
Following the faceoff in the Northern Michigan zone, Michigan gained control of the puck, dumping it behind the net for Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.). Kolarik tried to reverse the puck to the other side of the net, but his attempt bounced off a NMU defender and onto the waiting stick of David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.). The senior right winger spun around and found Cogliano in the slot. Cogliano's wrister lit the lamp for the Maize and Blue with seven seconds on the clock. Cogliano's tally, his 15th of the season, prevented Michigan's first home shutout since Feb. 28, 2003, when the Wolverines were blanked 4-0 by Michigan State.
Despite the late tally, Northern Michigan held onto its lead and ended U-M's five-game winning streak in the series.
Michigan will travel to Alaska to take on the Nanooks in a weekend series (Jan. 19-20). Both games are scheduled for 7:05 pm AT.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
