March
18, 2003
No Doubting Tuomas
Northern Michigan, Ohio State advance to quarterfinals
|
Northern
Michigan 2,
Michigan State 1 |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-NM |
Alex
Sawruk (7) |
EV |
| 1:11 |
K.
Gardner |
| 2-NM |
Kevin
Gardner (8) |
EV |
| 6:05 |
J.
Miller, A. Swanson |
| Second
Period |
| 1-MS |
Brock
Radunske (12) |
PP |
| 8:20 |
A.
Goldie |
| Third
Period |
| No
scoring |
| Goaltending |
| NM:
Tuomas Tarkki, 60:00, 35 saves, 1 GA |
| MS:
Dominic Vicari, 59:01, 15 saves, 1 GA |
| Penalties:
NM 4/8; MS 3/6 |
| Power
Plays: NM 0-3; MS 1-4 |
| Attendance:
N/A |
By
Mike Eidelbes
Tuomas Tarkki
is quickly moving up the list of notable Finns. After making 35
saves in Northern Michigan's 2-1 win against Michigan State in
a CCHA Super Six quarterfinal match at Joe Louis Arena, the Ruoma,
Finland native probably slid past architect Eero Saarinen, but
still ranks behind runner Paavo Nurmi, NHLer Teemu Selanne and
all-around good guy Santa Claus.
If the junior goalie can keep his improbable run going for two
more days, he'll most certainly be the most popular Finn in Marquette.
Tarkki, who entered the month with four career victories to his
credit, now has won four straight starts since Craig Kowalski
went down with a groin injury including three in the playoffs.
In those four games, Tarkki has stopped 28, 39, 29 and 35 shots.
Tarkki's teammates
put him in a position to succeed by jumping out to an early two-goal
lead. Alex Sawruk scored on a breakaway 1:11 into the game and
linemate Kevin Gardner made it 2-0 less than five minutes later.
“I think one of the keys for us...was to come out with a
good start," said Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle, whose
team opened the playoffs by sweeping Alaska-Fairbanks on the Nanooks'
home ice. "That first period was critical because it was
going to catch up to us and I think you saw that. I give them
a lot of credit, I give our guys a lot of credit.”
Michigan State,
which entered Thursday's game with an 8-1-1 mark in its last 10
games, got a second period power play goal from junior Brock Radunske
but couldn't tie the game despite owning a 36-17 advantage in
shots. The Spartans blew a shot to lock up an at-large berth to
the NCAA Tournament. MSU hasn't missed the NCAAs in back-to-back
seasons since 1980-81 -- Ron Mason's first two years behind the
MSU bench.
With a 21-14-4
record, Northern Michigan is a long shot to earn an at-large bid.
But unlike the Spartans, the Wildcats can control their own destiny
starting with tomorrow's semifinal match with regular season champion
Michigan. And with a hot goaltender like Tarkki, anything can
happen.
"I
think we’ll be a much better team as the tournament goes
by," Kyle said.
|
Ohio
State 6,
Notre Dame 5 (OT)
|
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-ND |
Rob
Globke (19) |
EV |
| 5:32 |
Unassisted |
| 2-ND |
Aaron
Gill (14) |
EV |
| 6:54 |
Unassisted |
| 1-OS |
Rod
Pelley (9) |
PP |
| 13:59 |
M.
Beaudoin, D. Steckel |
| 2-OS |
Dave
Steckel (17) |
PP |
| 17:30 |
M.
Beaudoin, D. Andress |
| 3-ND |
Aaron
Gill (15) |
PP |
| 18:40 |
R.
Globke, N. Komadoski |
| Second
Period |
| 3-OS |
Scott
May (15) |
EV |
| 0:16 |
M.
Waddell |
| 4-ND |
Aaron
Gill (16) |
EV |
| 4:43 |
R.
Globke (19) |
| 5-ND |
Mike
Walsh (12) |
EV |
| 10:14 |
A.
Gill, R. Globke |
| 4-OS |
Matt
Beaudoin (6) |
PP |
| 16:28 |
T.
Strachan, T. Welsh |
| Third
Period |
| 5-OS |
Matt
Beaudoin (7) |
EV |
| 17:34 |
D.
Andress |
| Overtime |
| 6-OS |
Tyson
Strachan (2) |
EV |
| 9:49 |
D.
Andress, A. Schembri |
| Goaltending |
| ND:
David Brown, 69:43, 43 saves, 6GA |
| OS:
Mike Betz, 30:42, 14 saves, 5 GA; Dave Caruso (w), 15 saves,
0 GA |
| Penalties:
ND 8/16; OS 8/16 |
| Power
Plays: ND 1-5; OS 3-5 |
| Attendance:
6,238 |
OHIO
STATE 6, NOTRE DAME 5 (OT)
Joining Michigan
State in the NCAA Tournament waiting game is Notre Dame. The Fighting
Irish find themselves in a precarious postseason position after
squandering a pair of two-goal leads before ultimately falling
to Ohio State in overtime.
Notre Dame
chased Buckeye starter Mike Betz from the game when Mike Walsh
scored midway through the second period to take a 5-3 lead. OSU's
Matt Beaudoin halved the Fighting Irish edge with a power play
goal -- the Buckeyes' third of the night -- with 3:32 left in
the second period. He then sent the game into overtime with his
second goal witt 2:26 left in regulation.
Freshman Tyson
Strachan scored the gam-winner 9:49 into the extra session on
a slap shot from the point.
"I thought
our boys persevered through a lot and came back from two goals
twice," OSU coach John Markell said. "We just kept chipping
away”
Caruso was
perfect in his relief effort, stopping all 15 shots he faced.
Markell refused to declare his starter for Friday's semifinal
against Miami.
The normally
reliable Notre Dame special teams units were abysmal Thursday,
especially against Ohio State's power play. The Fighting Irish
entered the game with the league's top penalty killing unit, but
gave up three PPGs on five chances.
"Our
strength all year has been...penalty killing," Notre Dame
coach Dave Poulin said. "To give up six goals and three on
power play is obviously disappointing, but we had our chances
in overtime. We just couldn’t capitalize on those.”
WHAT'S
NEXT
Ohio State
gets in-state rival Miami in one semifinal match. Miami can earn
an extra measure of redemption by beating the Buckeyes, who beat
the RedHawks on the last day of the regular season to keep them
from winning the CCHA regular season title.
Northern Michigan
faces Michigan in the other semifinal. The Wolverines scuttle
into the Super Six with a 2-3-1 mark over the last three weekends.
Tarkki is on fire in goal for the Wildcats, who always seem to
play Michigan tough.
Michigan State
and Notre Dame are relegated to scoreboard watching for the time
being. They'll never say it, but odds are strong that those inside
of the Spartan and Irish locker rooms are rooting hard for Colgate
in the ECAC, and cheering against Alaska Anchorage, Boston U.
and Northern Michigan.