All 3,842 fans at Northern Michigan’s Berry Events Center were a little confused by the ending.

But the Wildcat fans were happy with the result.

No. 19 Northern Michigan (2-1 overall, 1-0 CCHA) shut out No. 2 Michigan, 2-0 Friday scoring a first period goal and an empty netter. But it was a play late in the third period that left the arena baffled.

With 34.5 seconds remaining in the game, Michigan had the puck deep in its offensive zone on a power play, with senior goaltender Billy Sauer on the bench for the extra attacker.

Senior Travis Turnbull appeared to have knocked the puck beyond
Northern Michigan goaltender Brian Stewart for a game tying goal. The Wolverines thought it counted too, gathering to celebrate the late game heroics, but the referees had something else to say.

After spending several minutes reviewing the play, leaving the arena in a collective state of suspense, the referee waved off the goal, saying that the puck crossed the goal line after a whistle was blown.

The Wildcats killed off the remainder of the game and tallied an empty net goal with two seconds remaining to ice the win.

Northern Michigan started off the scoring with a rebound goal off Sauer's right side by Wildcat forward Phil Fox. The power-play goal was scored after Turnbull was called for a cross-checking penalty midway through the first period.

Though the Wolverines finished down after the first period, they were relieved that it wasn’t by more. Northern Michigan had a few dangerous chances including one rebound opportunity tha was clearedy by sophomore Tristin Llewellyn.

The Wildcat’s Nick Sirota also fired a wicked on-time slap-shot off Sauer’s right post that kept the score at 1-0.

Michigan was outplayed the entire first period by Northern Michigan except for its two chances on the power play. The Wolverines nearly tied it up with a point shot by Chad Langlais and several deflections down low, but the puck was cleared away from danger by the Wildcats.
Like St. Lawrence last weekend, Northern Michigan constantly body checked all night against Michigan, which riled up the crowd early.

Michigan picked up its play period in the second period. Although the Wolverines didn’t get any goals against Northern Michigan, they picked up the momentum heading into the third period.

Michigan’s power play had seen its fair share of opportunities in the second stanza.

Sophomore Louie Caporusso had the Wolverines best opportunity of the period. While on the power play, Caporusso got a puck that was deflected by a Wildcat defensemen. Northern Michigan goaltender Brian Stewart was out of position on the chance, but Caporusso’s backhander sailed wide of the net and the Wildcats were able to cover the puck.

Michigan averted a late five-minute kneeing penalty by freshman David Wohlberg. The referees called a minor penalty shortly after Wohlberg’s and Michigan killed off the remaining time with solid defensive play.

Senior Danny Fardig, made two plays in front of Billy Sauer on the penalty kill, deflecting a possible one-time opportunity and blocking a shot from point-blank range in front of the netminder.

The third period was a tense one for both teams, but after Michigan’s apparent goal was waved off, Northern Michigan breathed a sigh of relief, happy to get its first big win of the season.

Michigan will look to split against the Wildcats tomorrow night, with the puck dropping at 7:35 PM.