FEBRUARY 13, 1998 at Yost Ice Arena
 
Miami        0  1  0  --  1
Michigan     1  1  1  --  3
 
  FIRST PERIOD
1.  13:39  Mich   Mike Van Ryn 4 (Bobby Hayes, Bill Muckalt) 4x4
Penalties:  Joe Bodnar, Mia & Matt Herr, Mich (slashing) 12:34
 
 
  SECOND PERIOD
2.  12:40  Mia   C.J. Buzzell 5 (Vitali Andreev, Marc Tropper)
3.  17:50  Mich  Mark Kosick 10 (Josh Langfeld, Bill Muckalt) 5x4
Penalties:  Josh Harrold, Mia (interference) 14:47; Marc Tropper, Mia
(interference) 17:27; Matt Herr, Mich (interference) 19:15
 
 
  THIRD PERIOD
4.  19:42  Mich  Bill Muckalt 27 (Matt Herr) 5x6
Penalties:  Brooke Chateau, Mia (interference) 1:46; Chris Fox, Mich
(holding the stick) 11:04
 
 
  SHOTS ON GOAL
Miami            4  10   5  --  19
Michigan         5  14  11  --  30
 
Power Plays:  Miami 0 for 2; Michigan 1 for 3
 
  GOALTENDERS
Trevor Prior, Mia (29 shots, 27 saves)
Marty Turco, Mich (19 shots, 18 saves)
 
Referee:  Steve Piotrowski
Assistants:  Dave Kronenberg, Dave Poliski
Attendance:  6,559
 
 
 
There have been negative comments on this list and in other places
about the officiating of Steve Piotrowski in this game; I could not
disagree more.  Piotrowski does a good job of letting the teams play
their games without letting the game get out of control.  Miami's
style, probably because of their tiny ice surface at Goggin, is very
defensive:  a trapping defense with lots of contact (some would say
"clutching & grabbing") in their defensive zone.  Michigan has always
preferred an open style of play, trying to get the puck up the ice as
quickly as possible.  If Piotrowski had started calling Miami for more
holding & interference, he would also have had to start calling
Michigan for interference for running "picks" when breaking out of
their zone.  All things considered, I would rather see a game with 5
power plays than a game with 20.  Piotrowski set a standard from the
start, and he stuck by it for the entire game.
 
 
As far as the actual game is concerned, the phrase "playoff hockey"
comes to mind.  Lots of defense, hard hitting without being cheap, hard
skating from start to finish.  The key moment that did not show up in
the box score was about 3 minutes into the 3rd period, with Michigan on
a power play, Turco stopping a Miami penalty killer on a one on none
breakaway.  I would not say either team "dominated" the other, but
Michigan seemed to have much more attack time than Miami.  Miami's
quality defense--and Prior's goaltending--kept Miami in the game until
the end.
 
The start of the third period was delayed for about 30 minutes when a
Zamboni(tm) stopped working around center ice near the benches.  The
blade dug into the ice, and the second Zamboni was used to slowly drag
the other one off the ice.  With that delay and the TV timeouts from
the Fox Sports Detroit telecast, the game took over 3 hours to play.
 
WTKA's 3 stars:
1. Trevor Prior, Miami (27 saves, 2 GA)
2. Marty Turco, Michigan (18 saves, 1 GA)
3. Bob Gassoff, Michigan (good "D" against Miami's first line)
 
 
CURRENT CCHA STANDINGS (games remaining in parentheses):
                     W- L-T  Pt  (GR)
 1. Michigan        18- 4-1  37  (7)
 2. Michigan State  15- 4-4  34  (7)
 3. Ohio State      15- 9-1  31  (5)
 4. Miami           13- 7-4  30  (6)
 5. Northern Mich.  13- 8-3  29  (6)
 6. Notre Dame       9-11-4  22  (6)
    Lake Superior    9-11-4  22  (6)
 8. Ferris State     9-11-3  21  (7)
 9. Ak.-Fairbanks    6-17-2  14  (5)
10. Bowling Green    4-16-3  11  (7)
11. Western Mich.    5-18-1  11  (6)
 
 
Miami can stop worrying about where they are rated in the national
polls; they can start worrying about whether they can get home ice in
the first round of the CCHA playoffs.  It shouldn't be too hard
considering 3 of their last 6 games are against Bowling Green (the
other 3 are Ferris, Western and OSU)...considering Miami's troubles
against lower-ranked teams, however, it should be a concern for Miami
fans.
 
Michigan can start seriously thinking about the CCHA championship (and
a possible NCAA bye), they just need to be sure not to look past NMU to
next week's games against MSU.  MSU can not afford to give up a single
point for the rest of the season if Michigan beats Northern tonight.
 
 
 
Go Blue!
 
Alton
 
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