October 24, 2009
Michigan Struggles With BU in Loss
by Joe Meloni/CHN Reporter
BOSTON — They just couldn’t finish.
In the first period, Michigan couldn’t finish in the offensive end. In the second, the Wolverines couldn’t finish in the defensive end. And in the third period, they just couldn’t finish the comeback.
After Michigan tied the score, 2-2, when Matt Rust lifted a puck over Kieran Millan’s shoulder with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in regulation, a UM miscue led to BU’s winner.
Goaltender Bryan Hogan misplayed a puck behind his own goal, and BU winger Joe Pereira swooped past him before wrapping around the net tucking it in just as Hogan dove back to his crease.
“Hogie played a good game, but he played a puck off the glass. A goaltender should never play a puck off the glass,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said following BU’s 3-2 win Saturday night.
There were many positives for the Wolverines despite the loss. However, each and every positive came with a negative that overshadowed it by game’s end.
A glance of the final statsheet shows a game that Michigan should have won. They outshot the Terriers, 35-22, and created far more scoring opportunities. BU goaltender Kieran Millan deserves credit for keeping his team ahead, but this isn’t the first time a Michigan team has created more chances only to lose.
In the opening round of the NCAA tournament a season ago, the Wolverines outshot Air Force 43-13 in their 2-0 loss, and in this season’s first game they held the advantage, 23-13, in another 2-0 loss – this time to Alaska.
The issues with finishing extended to the defensive zone on Saturday, though. With BU leading, 1-0, Colby Cohen picked up the puck as he crossed the Michigan blue line. Zach Cohen noticed Colby trailing and slid the puck toward the high slot. Colby waited, and waited as his teammates darted through the low slot in front of goaltender Bryan Hogan.
As Cohen wound his shot, Louie Caporusso skated back to his defensive zone, seemingly to backcheck.
A simple stride and reach from Caporusso would have prevented Cohen from getting the shot off, at all. Instead, Michigan’s returning scorer from a year ago stood and watched as Cohen’s shot sailed over Hogan’s left shoulder, doubling BU’s lead to 2-0.
The Wolverines did fight back into the game, but if Caporusso and his teammates had done more early the situation may never had become so dire.
Before the comeback attempt even began, the Wolverines made it seem like they had no interest in winning the game. After BU’s Eric Gryba received a 5-minute misconduct for hitting from behind, the Michigan power play took over and peppered Millan with several shots. Exactly 60 seconds after Gryba’s hit, though, Michigan freshman Chris Brown nullified Michigan’s momentum by committing the exact same foul. Brown was sent off, as well, shorthanding the Wolverines for the remainder of the game. Compounding the problems for Michigan were the actions of defenseman Steve Kampfer who fired a shot on Kieran Millan well after Brown was whistled for his hit. He received a 10-minute misconduct for his actions.
Brown’s only been on campus for a few months, still it seems like he’s falling the lead of his teammates. Michigan is among the most gifted teams in the nation. They don’t seem too keen on turning that talent into victories, though. BU’s first two goals came after too many men on the ice calls short-handed the Wolverines.
“The referees called both of those right,” Berenson said. “What happened was, our guys were coming off and all of a sudden the puck was at their feet. Still, we need to get on the ice faster and off the ice faster.”
It’s a credit to the Michigan players that they fought back into the game despite the best efforts of a few of their teammates.
AndrewOct 25 2009, 9:56 am
It won't surprise me if the USCHO.com poll now hands BU the #1 ranking for finally winning a meaningful game. New Hampshire should probably jump to #2 for finally winning something also. Geez, can you tell that I'm tired of Hockey East favoritism by hockey media? Guess it just goes hand in hand w/ East Coast leftist political media. By and large, the upper teir of the CCHA has been having their way with Eastern teams so far this season, but how much has that been reported?
CHN EditorOct 25 2009, 10:39 am
Comments like these are unfortunate, and, as usual, way off. For one, not sure where you're looking, but what hasn't been reported? Two, the USCHO poll is voted on by an equal amount of coaches and media members from each major conference, so there goes that theory. Three, who in the "upper tier" of the CCHA has had their way with the East, other than Miami? ... Finally, as usual, everyone believes "bias" from their own perspective - but it's always amusing that there are just as many people who complain about how much focus we put on the CCHA. ... Or that our front page has been entirely WCHA focused for three days. "Hockey East favoritism" is a fun, useful phrase - with no basis in reality - thrown around by people who would rather be outraged at something, than just enjoy the articles and the games.
AndrewOct 26 2009, 7:31 am
Thanks for the response. My comment really wasn't directed at CHN, more so USCHO (however I apparently don't have an opportunity to comment on their articles). Their "Devastating Defeats" dramatic title w/ Michigan State pictured on the front page really bothers me. Miami has won all but one game to date, which they nearly came back and won after a slow start-- yet it's somehow a "devestating" defeat. They've probably had one of the toughest schedules to date and have faired very well, though one loss to Mich St. is now devestating... c'mon. Yes, I grew up playing hockey in the midwest and graduated from Miami and will leave it at that.
AndrewOct 27 2009, 7:42 am
Guess I'm not the only one "outraged" Mr. CHN Editor. See INCH's "First Shift" article from yesterday that features a section called "Rankings Outrage" (below). That's the kind of east coast hockey favoritism I'm referencing. BTW, how many articles or even photos has CHN featured of the nation's #1 team so far? INCH has stood by without comment for two weeks, but in this, the third week of absurdity, we are compelled to shed our cloak of silence. What, we ask, is up with one renegade pollster consistently going off the board with his/her first-place vote in the national polls? It started two weeks ago when Boston College garnered a lone no. 1 mention in both the USA Hockey Magazine/USA Today and USCHO.com/CBS College Sports rankings. Last week, another Hockey East school, Vermont, earned a sole no. 1 vote in both polls. This week, Yale got the outlier in the polls. Don’t get us wrong; we’re certainly open to radical thinking when it comes to voting in the national polls. Perhaps the voter in question can only give his/her top spot to institutions located in one of the 13 original colonies. We’ll know that’s the case should Old Dominion gets a first-place vote. But this pattern is odd, to say the least.
CHN EditorOct 27 2009, 8:18 am
There's 58 teams to cover and it's the third week of the season. Funny, because last year, I was told I was "in the tank" for Miami. Ha. ... Anyway, perhaps you missed it, but Miami was prominently featured on the front page with a photo last week, for a couple of days.
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