This game was every bit as close as the 4-3 OT score would indicate.  No team
ever had a two goal lead and Minnesota scored a 6-5 goal with 6.7 seconds
left to tie it up.
 
The Gophs are finally able to match the Wolverines in physical play.  Their
weakness was on defense.  The youngsters made some blunders that let Michigan
skaters come in on Steve DeBus.  DeBus made some outstanding saves in the
second period to keep the game close.
 
Erik Rasmussen opened the scoring 27 seconds into the game, before MSC even
had the cameras rolling.  In a  scramble in behind and then to the side of
the net, Casey Hankinson pried the puck loose and Rasmussen buried the pass
before Marty Turco could move.
 
Brendan Morrison evened the score at the 5:12 mark.  I don't really remember
the play sufficiently to describe it.
 
Jason Botterill gave the Wolverines the lead late in the period on the first
of several fortuitous bounces they had.  While on the power play, Michigan
fed the puck into the slot.  Warren Luhning was tied up, but the puck caromed
off of him to Botterill standing alone at the side of the net.  2-1.
 
It's tempting to say that Michigan was a very lucky team this afternoon, but
these kinds of things happened often enough that I suspect it wasn't entirely
coincidence.
 
The second period was scoreless, though Michigan had a lot of good chances.
 The best came short-handed.  Minnesota had a 4-3 power play, generating
several opportunites.  Michigan cleared the puck as coincidental penalties to
Ben Clymer and Bobby Hayes expired.  Clymer went straight to the bench to
change up, leaving Hayes all alone to pick up the puck and come in all alone.
 DeBus stoned him on the best of many good saves he made in the period.
 
Minnesota tied the game at the 18 second mark of the third period.  Rasmussen
brought the puck into the zone on a 2-1.  When Hankinson received, Turco went
six feet out of the crease to challenge him.  Casey returned the puck to
Rass, who had 24 square feet of net into which to put a soft backhand.
 
Then, for a stretch, referree Roger Graff became the focal point of the game.
 He's had a bad game all along.  If the NCAA is cracking down on checking
from behind, why is it missed so often?  In the first period, either
Botterill or Madden slammed Brian LaFleur head-first into the boards with no
call.  About a second later, a Gopher dropped Madden from behind, but this
one was at least parallel to the boards rather than into it.  Come on guys,
the puck was right there; you've got to make these calls.
 
In the middle of the third, Michigan went on a power play.  Then, Erik
Rasmussen was called for hooking Brendan Morrison after the Gophs cleared the
puck.  Rass did have his stick there, but there was no tug.  I noticed this
about Graff when I was in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago; he's pretty shaky on
actual hooking, but he's a real sucker for a dive.  Michigan obviously knows
of this tendency and took advantage of it a couple of times this afternoon.
 
Nevertheless, the Gophers killed off 1:22 of 5-3 power play despite an
obvious trip as Mike Lyons tried to clear the puck.  Is it too much to ask
that if you give a team a 2-man advantage on a borderline call, that you pay
attention to what they're doing on the ensuing power play?
 
So, the game entered the homestretch still tied.  It remained that way on a
close call.  DeBus went down to block a shot that Jason Botterill was poking
away at.  DeBus never froze the puck, but Graff lost sight of it and blew the
whistle an instant before it crossed the line.  It was close, but the whistle
definitely went before it did so.  It was sort of odd that Graff was early on
this one, given how long he'll let players batter each other along the boards
with no stoppage.  He must have been a bit unsure of himself on the call,
though; otherwise Botterill's reaction ought to have drawn a misconduct.  In
addition to throwing every piece of equipment he could find, he pushed an
assistant ref.
 
I thought that Michigan got this call back a few moments later.  It looked to
me like Turco reached behind to grab a puck, but the mass of bodies was such
that I couldn't be sure, and there was no way any of the officials could have
seen this.
 
What I was sure would be the game winner came with 6 1/2 minutes to play.
 Matt Herr undressed Bill Kohn at the blue line and came in down the wing.
 Kohn, Godbout and DeBus all had the situation played perfectly, but Herr's
centering pass bounced off Kohn's stick and managed to find a gap between
DeBus's shoulder and the crossbar.  3-2.  Given the kind of goals Michigan
has scored off of him (I'm thinking of The Goal), DeBus should take to
wearing some really big shoulder pads.
 
The Gophs didn't quit, though, and continued to get the better of the play,
as they had for most of the third.  They couldn't make the most of their
opportunities, though.  They pulled DeBus with 49 seconds.  With the 6-5
advantage, Minnesota played one of their grittiest shifts of the year.  The
Wolverines managed to clear the puck once, but it came back in quickly.  From
there, Minnesota just kept banging away.  The puck stayed in the slot for an
eternity, producing about five or six shot attempts.  Michigan was unable to
get control and Rasmussen finally shoved it under Turco and into the net with
6.7 left.
 
After such a hectic close to regulation, the overtime was a bit
anti-climactic (at least for a Minnesota fan).  The Gophers had a chance
quickly, but Michigan's first possession ended it.  A Wolverine (Muckalt, I
think) got the puck behind the net and passed it out to Morrison standing all
alone in front.  DeBus never had a chance as Morrison buried it.
 
Thus ended the regular season game I wait for every year.  Based on last
year, hopefully a one goal loss to Michigan in the Showcase means that
Minnesota will beat them in the NCAAs.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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