Michigan
28-5-4, 20-4-4CCHA
Nebraska-Omaha
17-18-4,11-13-4CCHA
Michigan Maims Mavericks in CCHA Quarterfinals
3/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #1 Michigan 10, Nebraska-Omaha 1
Records: U-M (28-5-4, 20-4-4 CCHA), UNO (17-18-4, 11-13-4 CCHA)
Attendance: 6, 211
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 14 -- vs. Nebraska-Omaha (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 7:35 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery | Video Report
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan hockey team recorded a decisive 10-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha Friday (March 14) in Yost Ice Arena. Led by Chad Kolarik's(Abington, Pa.) third hat trick of the season and Mark Mitera's(Livonia, Mich.) 1-2-3 output, 16 of U-M's 18 players tallied points on the night, including seven Wolverines icers with multi-point efforts.
With the man-advantage, Michigan was the first to find the back of the net, capitalizing at 4:53 of the opening stanza for the 1-0 lead. Steve Kampfer(Jackson, Mich.) nabbed a feed from Mitera and fired a shot from just inside the blue line. The laser was tipped in front of the net by Brandon Naurato(Livonia, Mich.) for his fifth goal, and fourth power-play tally, of the 2007-08 campaign.
Kolarik's 25th goal gave the Maize and Blue the 2-0 edge at 10:29. The alternate captain took the puck off an UNO player's stick, then turned around and lifted a shot from the left faceoff circle that found the space between Jerad Kaufmann's blocker and the top of the net for the unassisted marker.
U-M pushed its lead to three goals on Kolarik's second goal of the night. Kolarik snagged a feed from Max Pacioretty(New Canaan, Conn.), gained the zone, and relayed a dish to a trailing Kevin Porter(Northville, Mich.). The center deked across the front of the net, but his attempt was pushed aside by the Maverick netminder. From his back, Porter collected his own rebound and slid the puck back to Kolarik, whose low-angle shot lit the lamp at 18:05.
With Mitera in the box for tripping, Carl Hagelin(Sodertalje, Sweden) scored the first shorthanded goal of his career to put the Wolverines up 4-0. Tim Miller(Davisburg, Mich.) chipped the puck to Hagelin, who carried the puck coast to coast and around the back of the UNO net before he spun around and rifled a shot for his ninth goal of the season at 10:37. Following the marker, Jeremie Dupont took over goaltending duties for Nebraska-Omaha.
Travis Turnbull's (Chesterfield, Mo.) goal at 18:47 gave U-M the 5-0 advantage. Louie Caporusso(Woodbridge, Ontario) and Turnbull gained the zone with a single Maverick to beat. Caporusso backhanded a pass to Turnbull, who one-timed a shot over Dupont's outstretched blocker. Mitera also picked up an assist on the play.
Through two periods of play, the Maize and Blue out-shot Nebraska-Omaha by a 25-7 margin.
Michigan wasted no time in the final period of play, as Kolarik finished his hat trick bid just 30 seconds in on a breakaway. Nebraska-Omaha's defense was caught out of position, and Pacioretty flipped a pass to Kolarik, who laced a shot for the 6-0 lead.
The lead continued to grow with Caporusso's tally at 1:25. Chris Summers' (Milan, Mich.) initial shot was turned away by Dupont, but Caporusso scooped the puck up in traffic for his 12th goal of the campaign, giving the Wolverines a 7-0 edge.
Tomas Klempa ended Billy Sauer's (Walworth, N.Y.) shutout bid at 2:50, cutting Michigan's lead to 7-1. Klempa scooped up a rebound from a Brandon Scero shot and roofed it over the U-M goalie for the power-play marker.
U-M answered back with Mitera's second goal of the season at 4:21. The rearguard received a pass from Chad Langlais(Spokane, Wash.) and ripped a shot from the top of the slot that deflected off a defenseman in front and found the space between Dupont's legs.
Porter's team-best 28th marker of the campaign gave Michigan the 9-1 lead at 11:44. On a three-on-two break, Aaron Palushaj(Northville, Mich.) crossed the puck from right to left to Porter, who one-timed a shot past Dupont. After the goal, Eric Aarnio took his turn in net for Nebraska-Omaha.
The scoring flurry ended with a tally by Danny Fardig(Ann Arbor, Mich.) at 14:07 of the third session. The junior took a feed from Naurato and as he was falling to the ice, swiping the puck past Aarnio for the 10-1 final.
The teams will face off Saturday night (March 15) in the second game of the best-of-three series. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m., and the game will be televised by Comcast Local.
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
