Eric Rickin writes...
> And, thank god michigan was playing Ohio state, because the defense was
> REALLY porous yet again.  On one play (I tihkn Ohio STate's first goal),
> there was one Michigan defenseman to beat, and the ohio state player was
> approaching the free puck and only the defenseman seperated the ohio
> state player from basically a 1 on 1 with goalie turco (there were poeple
> in the zone, but all on the other side).  So what did the defenseman do?
> Instead of going for the puck, he went the other direction, yielding
> basically a 1 on 1 and an ohio state score..
 
I'm not sure what game Eric was watching.  The defense was
by no means dominating, just at they were not porous.  The first
OSU goal was scored 5-on-3.  With two OSU forwards on top of
the crease, UM defenseman Harold Schock had a chance to
clear the zone but either the puck hopped over his stick or he
just muffed it [it looked like the latter] and Todd Compeau slid
it past Marty Turco for an easy marker.  On the ensuing 5-on-4,
the puck was being jostled among several players just inside
the UM blueline.  UM defenseman Steven Halko decided to
commit forward and try to knock the puck from the pack but just
before he arrived an OSU player managed to slide the puck
forward [past the approaching Halko], which resulted in a
Buckeye 2-on-1 from about 30-35 feet out.  OSU converted,
cutting the lead to 3-2 at that point.  So, neither OSU tally occurred
as Eric described.  [The first goal *may* have looked like
that, depending on the angle, but Schock was trying to play
the puck...he just fanned on it.]
 
In Saturday's 4-2 win over LSSU, one Laker goal came on the
power play and the second came on an offside 3-on-2 rush.
[One LSSU winger was ahead of the play, if not both.]  The
puck was moved to right wing and UM defenseman Blake
Sloan challenged the man, who slid a nice pass back to the
center for a clean goal.
 
The best chance for the visitors over the weekend came in
the third period of the LSSU game.  Michigan was on the power
play...with five forwards...and freshman Bill Muckalt literally fell
on his behind, giving Laker Mike Morin a clear 90 foot run at
the UM net.  But Morin couldn't get it past Turco, which may have
been the proverbial "turning point" in the game.
 
So, I'd say it was an OK weekend for the D...4 GA, 3 on the PP.
The D also showed some signs of offense as Tim Hogan and
Sloan each made a sweet rush in the third period on Saturday,
resulting in a pair of John Madden goals.  I though Madden hit
the empty netter as well, but it was credited to Rick Willis.
 
As for ads on the boards...I've always thought that this is a
violation [several CCHA teams have done it for years].  After
questioning someone [can't remember who] about it, I was
told that it only applies to NCAA games...i.e., NCAA tournament
games...and not regular season games.  I don't know if this
is correct or not, since my understanding from the rule book
is that it applies universally to all games, but it's obviously
never enforced in the regular season [or conference postseason
that I can recall].
 
 
John Haeussler
Univ of Michigan
[log in to unmask]