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Friday: Michigan 5 LAKE SUPERIOR 1 Saturday: Michigan 4 LAKE SUPERIOR 3 OT I knew it was going to be a good trip when we encountered car trouble on the way North (just like last season) and, upon finally reaching the Soo, were given the same motel room as a year ago. (Michigan defeated LSSU, 4-2, in the lone game between the two at the Norris Center in 1993-94.) What, me superstitious? As for the games, Jeff Weiss has posted the summaries so I'll just add a couple of comments. On Friday night, Michigan was clearly the better team but referee Perry Petterle did everything in his power to keep LSSU in the game. The Lakers were on the power play throughout, getting 10 man-advantage opportunities (Michigan had 4). I don't mind the calls on Michigan...but rather the lack of calls on Lake Superior. I wondered if it was Frank Anzalone himself wearing the orange armbands. It's safe to say that I don't remember ever seeing a 5-1 game were the officiating was so blatantly biased in favor of the losing team. One thing that doesn't appear in the boxscore is a scary injury to LSSU defenseman Mike Matteucci. During a UM power play in the second period, Matteucci went down to block a shot by Michigan's Bill Muckalt and never came up. A gentleman, presumably a doctor, came from the stands onto the ice to help attend to Matteucci, who at that point was spitting up blood. After some time, Matteucci was taken from the arena on a stretcher. Over the course of the next 24 hours I heard that Matteucci had: A) broken ribs and internal injuries B) broken ribs and a collapsed lung C) two broken ribs and a punctured lung D) two broken ribs and a bruised lung (no further damage) I never received a definitive report, but let's hope for (D) among the above choices. On Saturday night, another one of the CCHA's supposed finest was on hand to entertain us. Roger (Steffi) Graff was almost as bad a Petterle the night before. Thankfully, he sucked in both directions. (I never thought I'd be a card carrying member of the Steve Piotrowski fan club, but I'll take Pio over any other CCHA official these days.) So, both teams were made to battle the officiating as well as each other. The game was fairly one-sided in favor of Lake Superior. The Lakers controlled the play throughout, outshooting Michigan in each of the three regulation periods and finishing with a 45-30 edge in shots on goal. Defenseman Keith Aldridge played a fantastic game for LSSU, even when he was being a chippy little SOB (which is often a component of playing a fantastic game in the UM-LSSU series). On the Michigan side, the standouts were Marty Turco and Warren Luhning. Turco made a career high 42 saves and, at times, seemed to singlehandedly be keeping Michigan in the game. (For his efforts, he was the CCHA Defensive Player of the Week.) Luhning did everything else. With LSSU leading 2-1 and owning a man advantage, Luhning's solid forechecking paid off when he won the puck from a Laker in the neutral zone then carried it in for an unassisted shorthanded goal to tie the score and derail some of the momentum the Lakers had built. Luhning later sent the game to OT when, in a mad scramble, he managed to jam the puck behind LSSU goaltender John Grahame with only :09 remaining in regulation. He was also a physical presence throughout, once sending two Lakers to the bench on the same shift as a result of crushing hits. For most of the third period, it looked like the typical Laker showing...gain a lead, and know how to protect it. But, in the end, Michigan did something that is generally more associated with teams such as the Lakers. The Wolverines found a way to win a game that by most accounts they should have lost. After seeing their Saturday performance I can say that although the math isn't favorable (under .500 in mid-January), Lake Superior is far from dead. I'm not sure that they have enough season left to get back into NCAA consideration via the RPI, but they are capable of making a sustained run in the CCHA playoffs. Right now, their goal has to be to work their way into fourth place in the CCHA, to establish home ice for the first round as well as the single elimination game between the 4th and 5th best first round winners. Lastly, the post-game meal at The Antler's on Friday wasn't as lively as usual, but, the food was delicious. Apologies for the negative opinions on the CCHA officiating, but officiating in general (not solely the CCHA) has become one of if not the biggest problem for college hockey in the 1990s. Not only is poor officiating becoming the norm rather than the exception during the regular season, it has helped mar the last three NCAA tournaments in some way or another. :-( John H U Mich "If you can't be good, at least be consistent." -- Hopefully the CCHA officiating creed, someday.