ANN ARBOR, Mich —
“I was going to hit anything that moved,” Michigan defenseman Bob Gassoff said.
Playoff hockey in the CCHA means lots of physical play, exactly what Ferris State wanted to try to restrain the quicker, more skilled sixth-ranked Wolverines.
But after finishing the season a sluggish 1-6-1, No. 6 Michigan’s speed caught the Bulldogs off guard as soon as the playoff bell rang, notching three goals in the first period en route to an 8-3 victory.
“As a team, we just didn’t play well,” Ferris State coach Bob Daniels said. “It was not [goaltender Phil Osaer’s] fault.”
Both teams engage again Saturday at Yost Ice Arena, a do-or-die game for the Bulldogs (13-19-5 overall), who must win to stay alive in the playoffs.
But it will be a difficult task after the Wolverines (23-11-5) came alive just in time for the playoffs.
“It was some great output tonight,” said Michigan forward Josh Langfeld, who returned to the lineup after being injured for the past three games.
“We came out with intensity; that’s what it takes in playoff time.”
Goals by Mike Cammalleri, Mark Kosick and Langfeld spurted the Wolverines to a quick 3-0 by the end of the first period. Despite Michigan outshooting Ferris State 18-6 in the first stanza, the Bulldogs eventually responded.
But it took awhile. They almost didn’t get that response, blowing a five-on-three advantage early in the second.
With Michigan’s Andy Burnes already in the penalty box from the end of the first period, referee Duke Shegos called the Wolverines’ Jeff Jillson for holding 24 seconds into the second. What would have been an easy five-on-three opportunity backfired when Troy Milam hooked Andy Hilbert in his own zone.
But Ferris State eventually did mount its comeback climb. Kevin Swider scored two goals, one even strength and then another on the Bulldogs’ second five-on-three advantage.
“The game was not as lopsided as the score indicates — it was 3-2 [at one point],” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “The penalties we had to kill with their power play building momentum. We were vulnerable at that point. We got lucky.”
Josh Blackburn’s stop of a Ferris State three-on-one, combined with Andy Hilbert’s goal that give the Wolverines a 4-2 advantage, provided the key momentum change for Michigan, according to Daniels.
“They just caught us on a bad line change,” Daniels said.
The Wolverines went on to get goals from a variety of players, including their defensive forwards. Senior Bill Trainor and freshman Joe Kautz tallied their third goals of the season to put Michigan up 6-2 by the end of the second period.
“We got goals from all four lines,” Berenson said. “I think there’s a little more sense of urgency.”
Ferris State backup goaltender Vince Owen came into the game in the third period, replacing Osaer, who gave up six goals on 32 shots. Blackburn made 13 saves on only 16 Bulldogs’ shots.
Chippiness still prevailed throughout the game as Shegos called 10 penalties in the second period. Some old wounds remained after both teams had a disqualification-filled brawl when they met back in November.
“They want us to have a penalty-filled game,” Gassoff said. “We got off our game plan for a few minutes [in the second period], but we got right back to it.”
Limiting penalties, especially retaliatory penalties instead kept the CCHA’s most penalty-ridden team, the Wolverines, out of the box.
“I think we did a good job with discipline,” Berenson said. “Jillson took a punch, and on another night might have done something differently [than walk away].”
The Wolverines may have lost assistant captain Dave Huntzicker, who left the game nursing his shoulder. With two shoulder surgeries already on Huntzicker’s medical resume, Berenson was unclear as to whether he would return for Saturday’s game.
Michigan’s other assistant captain, Scott Matzka, played without the “A” on his chest Friday night. Berenson took the emblem away from Matzka after he was kicked out of the Wolverines’ final game of the regular season against Michigan State.
