Michigan
25-12-1, 18-9-1CCHA
Northern Michigan
15-24-2,10-17-1CCHA
Wolverines Sweep NMU, Will Face Spartans in Detroit
3/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team swept its CCHA quarterfinal match-up against Northern Michigan with an 8-3 final on Saturday (March 10) in front of a sold-out crowd at Yost Ice Arena. T.J. Hensick (Howell, Mich.) led the charge with a hat trick and a game-winning assist, while four others had multiple points in the game. Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, Ontario) notched two goals and two assists for the Wolverines.
Michigan moves onto the CCHA semifinals next Friday (March 16) at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. U-M will face arch-rival Michigan State at 8:05 p.m. The other semifinal game is Notre Dame vs. Lake Superior State.
A botched clearing attempt allowed Michigan to break onto the scoreboard at 3:12 of the opening stanza on Hensick's 18th goal of the season. A thread from Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.) to David Rohlfs (Northville, Mich.) gave U-M the zone, but a Northern Michigan defender got a stick on the puck to negate the threat. However, the Wildcat could not clear the puck, and Porter deflected the loose puck over to Hensick, who roofed a quick shot over Zaniboni's outstretched glove for the 1-0 lead.
The Maize and Blue pushed its lead to 2-0 at 8:21. Cogliano picked up a Tim Miller (Davisburg, Mich.) feed and raced into the NMU zone. Cogliano waited until he was below the left faceoff circle and relayed the puck to Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich.). The blueliner one-timed a shot to light the lamp. The goal, Johnson's 16th of the year, gave him sole possession of first place on U-M's sophomore defenseman goals list.
Northern Michigan narrowed the gap to one goal on a power-play tally at 12:39. Zach Tarkir gathered the puck just inside the blue line and slid a pass to Darin Olver. Olver dumped the puck down to Pat Bateman waiting in the slot. Bateman swung around and deposited it between Billy Sauer's (Walworth, N.Y.) legs to cut Michigan's lead to 2-1.
The Wolverines answered back 1:20 later on a Cogliano marker that put Michigan's advantage back at a pair of goals. Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.) dropped a pass behind the NMU cage to Cogliano, who carried the puck around the front of the net and across the crease before giving U-M the 3-1 lead on a backhand shot. Cogliano's team-leading 22nd goal of the campaign came at 13:59.
A clean faceoff win in the Wildcat zone allowed Michigan to extend its lead to 4-1 at 18:04. Hensick won the draw easily, and the puck found its way to Porter just outside of the circle. Porter fired a laser shot that was behind Zaniboni before the NMU netminder had a chance to react. The tally was Porter's 20th of year.
After 20 minutes of play, the Maize and Blue outshot NMU by a 10-4 margin.
Northern Michigan cut the lead back to two goals with a power-play marker by Mike Santorelli at 2:33 of the second period. Zaniboni made a long clearing pass to Tim Hartung, who slid a pass to Santorelli in the slot. Santorelli ripped a shot that went just under the crossbar to cut the U-M lead to 4-2.
Hensick's second goal of the night at 8:05 permitted the Wolverines to regain the three-goal advantage. Bobby Selden attempted to clear the puck out of the NMU end, but Matt Hunwick (Sterling Heights, Mich.) corralled the disk and sent a pass down to Hensick. The alternate captain's shot found the hole between Zaniboni's glove and leg for the 5-2 lead. After the goal, Brian Stewart came in to replace Zaniboni.
Kolarik's tally at 15:10 added to Michigan's lead, pushing it to a 6-2 margin. Johnson dished to Cogliano, who waited until Kolarik was stationed just outside of the crease and slid a pass through traffic to the right winger for the marker.
The duo teamed up again with just 23 seconds left in the middle session on a bang-bang play that gave the Wolverines the 7-2 lead. Chris Summers (Milan, Mich.) chipped the puck to Kolarik, who carried the puck into the NMU end with Cogliano trailing. Kolarik laced a pass between a pair of Wildcat defenders to Cogliano, and the center notched his second goal of the game.
The Wildcats scored their third power-play goal of the game at 4:15 of the third period. Tim Hartung took a shot from the point that was tipped over Sauer by Ray Kaunisto. The NMU tally made the score 7-3.
Hensick collected his 20th goal of the year on his third marker of the night at 14:33 of the third period. Rohlfs drew Stewart out of position and slid a pass to Hensick, who deposited the puck into the vacated net for the 8-3 margin. Porter also picked up an assist on the play. With the game secure, senior Mike Mayhew (Owatonna, Minn.) made his first appearance of the season, replacing Sauer in net.
Michigan advances to the CCHA Tournament semifinals at Joe Louis Arena, where it will face third-seed Michigan State on Friday (March 16). Face off is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. and will be televised by FSN Detroit.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
