TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Gophers End Wolverines Season, 3-2
By Jason Paul
Michigan Hockey Net
April 4, 2002

ST. PAUL, Minn.--Where's Mike Legg when you need him?

A bad break, a bad penalty, and another bad break, and the end of
Michigan's season you have.

Minnesota advances to the NCAA championship game against Maine after
putting an end to the Wolverines season, 3-2, before a Frozen Four record
19,234 fans at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Black
Bears crushed top-seed New Hampshire, 7-2, earlier in the day.

The Gophers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a late Wolverine rally to
continue their march for their first national title in over 20 years.

Grant Potulny, Minnesota's only out-of-state player, felt right at home
scoring the Gophers' first two goals of the game.

The first came 4:20 into the opening period on a bad break for the
Wolverines. Eric Werner's outlet pass from the right of the net deflected
off the skate of Jeff Taffe in front of U-M goalie Josh Blackburn.
Blackburn had to make a quick pad save, but the rebound went to Potulny and
he buried the puck to give Minnesota the all-important first goal and bring
the 16,000-plus Gopher fans to life.

His second goal came 4:33 into the second period on the power play. With
Jason Ryznar serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice, Potulny
redirected a point shot by Jordan Leopold through the five-hole of
Blackburn to put the Gophers ahead by a pair.

The Wolverines had a golden opportunity to cut the lead in half late in the
second period on the power play. Eric Nystrom's shot was stopped by
Minnesota goalie Adam Hauser and the rebound went to Jed Ortmeyer charging
in on the right. Ortmeyer fired a wrist shot, but Hauser dove from one side
of the crease to the other and made a spectacular glove save to keep the
shutout going into the third period.

Early in the third period, moments after killing off a Wolverine power
play, Taffe went in alone on a breakaway and beat Blackburn...guess where?
If you said five-hole, you would be correct!

Down 3-0 and needing a miracle to pull off a comeback, the Wolverines
continually hampered their efforts with three penalties in an 8:30 span.
The third penalty kill would turn out to be a blessing in disguise as J.J.
Swistak skated down the left boards, cut in past the defenseman, and beat
Hauser five-hole shorthanded with 6:05 left in regulation.

Then with Blackburn pulled for the extra attacker, Jed Ortmeyer took a pass
from Eric Nystrom along the redline to the right of the net. He turned and
whipped a shot that redirected off Leopold and past Hauser with 1:34
remaining to make it 3-2.

The Wolverines had a few more opportunities, but couldn't tie the game. The
final faceoff came with nine seconds remaining in the Minnesota zone
between Mike Cammalleri and John Pohl, with Pohl winning it and clearing
the puck from the zone as time expired.

Michigan's special teams got a workout as the Wolverines committed 11
penalties, while the Gophers went to the box nine times. U-M finished
0-for-6 on the power play, while the Gophers were 1-for-8 with the
man-advantage.

Blackburn made 23 saves for the Wolverines, while Hauser stopped 27 shots
for the Gophers.

Minnesota and Maine will battle for the NCAA championship Saturday at 7
p.m. ET. You can watch the game on ESPN.

ALL-AMERICANS: Junior forward Mike Cammalleri and sophomore defenseman Mike
Komisarek have been named to the 2001-02 JOFA/American Hockey Coaches
Association Division I Ice Hockey West All-America first team.

Komisarek is the only sophomore on the squad and is joined by Minnesota
defenseman Jordan Leopold. Cammalleri is joined by former St. Cloud State
junior Mark Hartigan and Minnesota senior John Pohl. Michigan State's Ryan
Miller was named the West's first-team goaltender.

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Simply put, the Wolverines had their chances throughout the game and
couldn't bury them. Then they would end up taking a stupid penalty, exactly
what you don't want to do against a team as talented as Minnesota. This
game easily could have been a blow out because the Gophers had the U-M
defense skating in every which direction on a few of those power plays and
I'm still not sure how Blackburn and the defense managed to keep the puck
out of the net on a few of them. Then by the time they did get rolling, it
was too little, too late.

But this team shouldn't be bowing their heads in disappointment. Back in
October following their 2-4-1 start, a lot of people were putting the
season in doubt. Ask anyone back then if they thought U-M would make the
Frozen Four and they'd more than likely have said no.

Even up till the end of the regular season their NCAA tournament hopes were
in jeopardy, but time and time again this team fought their way out with
their backs against the wall. They skated away with both the CCHA regular
season and tournament titles, and they went farther in the NCAA tournament
than anyone probably thought they would have gone not too long ago. For a
team with 11 freshmen, that's not too shabby. And barring any early
departures this summer, this is by all means a team that should be back in
the Frozen Four once again next year.

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That's all for now...

Go Blue!

Jason
Michigan Hockey Net
http://MichiganHockey.net/