The Wolverines finished the final weekend of the regular season with a loss
to Miami and a victory over the Buckeyes.
 
=== Miami  4    Michigan 2 === at Oxford, OH
After a pleasant drive from Ann Arbor to Oxford, we discovered a huge line
of Miami fans anxious to see their Redskins trounce some Wolverines.  There
are usually General Admission tickets available at the door, but not for
this game.  GA ticket holders and Miami students started lining up around
4pm, according to fans around us.  They opened the doors around 5:45, and
the general admission seats were packed & standing room areas were three
deep by 6:15.
 
Both teams came out hard in the first period.  Miami needed at least one
point to clinch 2nd place in the CCHA, and they came out of the gate
determined to get two.  Randy Robitaille (Miami) got the first goal of the
game with 1:10 remaining in the first.  Michigan's Brendan Morrison tied
the game at 1-1 with a power play goal at 5:34 of the second.  Robitaille,
who played a solid & agressive game, put Miami ahead 2-1 four minutes
later.  The Redskins never looked back, and the Wolverines didn't seem to
care.
 
After a good first period, the Wolverines seemed to have no desire to keep
up with the Redskins.  Their passing was way off and the Redskins took
advantage of the many errant passes.  All credit is due to the Redskins.
They needed a win, and they played that way.  The Wolverines didn't need
anything--their first place was locked up and their first round opponent
already determined--and that's how they played.
 
Michigan did outshoot the Redskins, but Miami had better chances and worked
much harder.  They deserved this win.
 
One factor in the game was the performance of Referee Jim "I'm not going to
call anything" Sotiroff.  I'm always there to compliment the refereeing
when compliments are deserved, and Sotiroff was (for the most part)
consistant throughout the game.  But, his consistancy was that he did not
call anything for what it was.  He consistantly let hooks, cross-checks,
trips, etc. go without calls, but then he'd call a dive a few minutes
later.  To his credit, though, he did this for both teams.
 
I'm still amazed, though, at Sitoroff's unwillingness to call 5-minute
majors.  In the third period, a fight ensued in front of the Miami bench.
It was a serious fight, there were at least 8 players involved (plus a few
pushes from Miami's Trevor Prior, who was on the bench), but Sotiroff
called no one for more than a 2-minute minor!  In the last 2 minutes of the
game, Michigan's Warren Luhning took a run at Miami's Boyle (I think), who
was behind the Miami net.  It was *clearly* a charge and/or boarding, as
Luhning started from the Michigan bench and didn't slow down until after
the hit.  Sotiroff watched the whole thing, and put his arm up to indicate
the delayed call.  When Luhning saw Sotiroff's arm up, he turned around and
cross checked Boyle more than a few times (who was on his hands and
knee's).  What did Warren get?  A two minute minor.  IMO, it was clearly a
5-minute boarding + Game DQ.  It seemed obvious (to me) that Luhning's
intentions were clear.  Boyle was pestering the Wolverines all night, but
that in no way justifies Luhning's actions.
 
The announced attendance was 2,850, and everyone one of them were indeed
present.  In fact, I think all 2850 were around for the final buzzer, as
well as the post game ceremony where the Redskins honored the senior who
was filling the costume of their mascot, Tom-A-Hawk (?).  A nice touch.
 
Part 2 continues from Columbus in the next post...
 
 
From the Top Row,
roger
 
 
// Roger L. Spurgeon    [log in to unmask]
 
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