Online Update: Wolverines squeak out a win, leave Alaska with a split series
Nicole Auerbach
Daily Sports WriterNovember 9th, 2008
FAIRBANKS — An hour before the scheduled faceoff, the power went out at the Carlson Center.
Following Michigan’s lackluster effort on Friday that led to an Alaska victory, the Wolverines’ energy came back with the power just in time to salvage the series with a 3-2 win tonight.
Freshman forward David Wohlberg opened the scoring for the Wolverines for the second night in a row. Less than five minutes into the game, freshman defenseman Greg Pateryn took a slapshot from the blueline that sent the puck to the net, where sophomore center Matt Rust dug out the rebound. After senior forward Travis Turnbull slid the puck across the front of the crease, Wohlberg pushed the puck into the right corner of the goal.
Wohlberg appeared to injure his knee in the third period of Friday night’s game, when he collided with an Alaska defenseman and flew into the boards. He was helped off the ice by teammates and didn’t return to the ice that game. But the injury wasn’t serious, and the freshman looked healthy and energized tonight.
Michigan’s special teams were once again a cause for concern in the opening period. The Nanooks are not known for their power-play prowess, and came into the contest with a paltry 3-for-53 success rate on the man advantage. But against the Wolverines’ penalty kill unit, Alaska found the back of the net just 34 seconds into the power play with 7:32 remaining in the first.
The Wolverines had a chance to retaliate two minutes later thanks to a Nanook penalty for having too many skaters on the ice. But Michigan couldn’t find any rhythm on the man advantage and Alaska was able to clear the puck a few times easily.
Sophomore goalie Bryan Hogan kept the Wolverines in the game, making seven huge saves in the second period, including one that ended with Hogan sprawled horizontally in the net with a defenseman’s stick, while his goaltending stick lay a few yards to the right of the goal.
As the intensity of the game increased and the hits got harder through the second frame, Michigan sophomore center Louie Caporusso showcased his individual ability to score a go-ahead goal.
With 6:09 remaining, sophomore forward Aaron Palushaj passed the puck to Caporusso, who sprinted up the right side of the ice towards the Nanook goalie, Chad Johnson. Caporusso made a move on Johnson’s stick side, and then poked the puck in the wide-open left side.
Caporusso leads the Wolverines in scoring with nine goals on the season.
Brian Lebler kept the momentum going early in the third, knocking in a power-play goal with one second left on the man advantage. Set up in front of the right post, Lebler received the puck from Turnbull, spun around and pushed the puck in while rotating. Lebler’s only other lamp-lighter came in the season-opener against St. Lawrence.
Less than eight minutes later, Lebler himself was whistled for a penalty, giving the Nanooks another power play. Alaska defenseman Scott Enders flicked the puck past Hogan into the top right corner of the net untouched to bring the Nanooks within one.
Alaska went 2-for-4 with the man advantage, which puts a heavy emphasis on how weak the Wolverine penalty kill unit has been recently.
A few scuffles broke out in the final eight minutes of play, a stark contrast from both teams’ almost lackadaisical efforts in Friday’s contest. But Michigan was able to remain calm, fend off some late Alaska rushes and secure the win — and split the series.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:09:54 -0400