MICHIGAN 6 Alaska Fairbanks 0
 
I've seen all five UM-UAF contests and not only was this
arguably the Nanook's worst outing, it was the first to leave
me with a bad taste in my mouth for their program.  The UAF
offense consisted of two plays...(1) cherry pick Cody Bowtell
high and look for a breakaway and (2) ice and change.
That's their problem.  Their defense was much simpler...take
cheap shots at Brendan Morrison all night.  This is a bigger
problem.
 
UAF defenseman (and I use that term liberally) Bob Schwark
decided to take matters into his own hands late in the second
period.  Schwark fancied a game of billiards, using his stick
as a cue and Morrison's head as a ball.  Schwark did receive
a major for spearing and a game DQ, but this is total crap.
It's his first DQ of the season so after he sits out Friday, he's
available to be back in the lineup Saturday at Lake Superior.
If this were the NHL (and, since Schwark was involved, it's
obviously not), we wouldn't be seeing Mr Schwark on the ice
again until early to mid-February.  I don't have the answer,
because I'm not sure that all teams have game tapes available
to send to the respective commissioner, but it's time for college
hockey to consider some further form of disciplinary action for
blatant attempts to injure such as this.
 
Schwark couldn't have picked a better/worse place for the
incident either...directly in front of the Michigan bench.  For a
brief moment, I thought we might actually see it clear as
several Wolverines were fighting the urge to come to Morrison's
defense.  Even the coaching staff looked ready to pummel
some Nanook butt and make Schwark a permanent tattoo on
the surface of Yost Arena.
 
The only other minor fireworks came in the final minute of play,
when UAF frosh Ben Dailey tangled with UM's resident enforcer
(and CCHA goal scoring leader) Jason Botterill.  Nothing more
than some mutual pushing though.  Botterill must have let his
tongue slip, because he received 2+10, but he kept his fists at
bay and avoided the 2+5+3 games which await him should he
receive another DQ.
 
As for the game itself, netminders Ian Perkins (UAF) and
Marty Turco (UM) each went the distance and looked good.
It was Michigan's fourth shutout of the season, but Turco's
first following a pair of Turco-Malicke tag teams and one
Turco-Daddario whitewash.  Turco only faced 17 shots,
but 5-6 of his saves were of the high quality variety.  Turco
should have added to his penalty minute total as well, but
I think even referee Matt Shegos was tiring of the chippiness
in this game.  UAF's Erik Drygas (who is a consistent chump,
albeit not as spectacular as Schwark) decided to run Turco
in the third period but Marty sat him on his can.  Shegos let
it go.  Perkins turned in another decent performance in the
UAF net, making 36 saves.  He seemed to lean too much on
Michigan's first move...and UM missed a couple of resulting
open nets...but Perkins did make some stellar saves and, for
the most part, didn't receive much help.  With the three-game
season series concluded, Michigan outscores UAF 16-2 and
outshoots them 141-46.
 
As for the three stars (1 Greg Crozier, 2 Marty Turco, 3 Steven
Halko), I'm still trying to figure out what Crozier did to earn his.
Yes, he's generally solid in the corners, particularly for a
freshman winger, but his lone goal was a gift by UAF as he
was given the puck near the top of the circle and allowed a
clear path to the UAF net.  I really didn't notice Crozier otherwise,
except when he was engaged in some mutual chipping with
a UAF player.  (These little bouts went on all night between
various players.)  Turco's star was certainly deserved, as
was Halko's.  Halko missed a couple of open nets, once
misfiring and once being stoned by a sprawling Perkins, but
he was huge defensively.
 
And, UM freshman defenseman Bubba Berenzweig had his
coming out party, announcing his arrival to the CCHA.  Bubba
has always carried the puck up ice well, and is getting more
adept (probably due to increased comfort/confidence) at
creating good scoring chances for himself and his teammates.
But his physical side seemed to arrive last night.  To this
point in the season, Bubba has relied on positioning in the
defensive zone rather than being a physical presence.  But,
why not have both? :-)  Berenzweig and Halko must have
combined for 10 pancakes last night as they were routinely
putting Nanooks on their backside in Michigan's zone.  Damn
fine stuff...and damn smart as well.  Halko, awarded Best
Defensive Defenseman in the CCHA in 1994-95, has taken
only 5 minor penalties this year while Berenzweig has yet to
visit the sin bin despite playing a regular shift in 22 contests.
 
My stars might have been 1 Turco, 2 Halko and 3 Berenzweig,
although Warren Luhning and his two lamp lighters also
deserves a mention.
 
My apologies for the early tone in this message, but I can't
hide what I feel.  UAF head coach Dave Laurion is one of the
most likeable guys in the CCHA and I'm positive that I could
sit down with Nanook SID (and jack of all trades) Scott
Roselius and talk college hockey for hours without ever tiring
of the conversation.  And, I'm looking forward to making a
second trip to Fairbanks next season, although it appears
that Michigan is playing there in January...BURR!  However,
a couple of bad apples really "soured" me last night.
Needless to say, any Laker that decides to rearrange Mr
Schwark's face on Saturday night in the Soo will make
several friends in Ann Arbor in so doing.
 
Lastly, applause for another good game from the zebras.
IMO, Shegos was excellent.  There was opportunity to call
a couple of coincidental minors which he let go, but he was
clearly in control.  (You can't blame Shegos for letting Schwark
out of his cage.)  Shegos also nailed three interference calls
(two on UM, one on UAF) that many other CCHA refs would
have let go or simply wouldn't have seen.  Linesman Dave
Kronenberg also had a good night.  It's rare to point out a
linesman, but Kronenberg is an exception.  He is without a
doubt the worst linesman in the CCHA.  My friends and I
generally joke about other linesman losing five pounds when
they do a game with Kronenberg, because they have to cover
both ends of the ice while Kronenberg is miserably out of
position.  But, Kronenberg actually looked like he knew what
he was doing last night.  Will wonders never cease.
 
 
John H (U Mich) [log in to unmask]
 
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