April 10, 2008
NCAA Frozen Four Notebook
Fourth on the Line Chart, First in Your Hearts
Unheralded trio propels Notre Dame to upset win

By Jeff Howe, James Jahnke, Jess Myers, Mike Eidelbes, and Joe Gladziszewski

Fourth estate: Notre Dame fourth-liners Justin White (10) and Calle Ridderwall (22) battle two Michigan skaters for a loose puck.

DENVER – Don't act surprised that fourth-liner Calle Ridderwall scored two goals, including the overtime winner, in Notre Dame's upset of Michigan. The Irish's last group of forwards always believed it had an advantage against the Wolverines.

"We kind of see their D as the weakness of the team," right winger Ryan Guentzel said, "so we just take advantage of it."

Now there's some confidence, eh?

"Me and Calle are 175 pounds, so it's not a strength thing," Guentzel continued. "It's just smart — moving the puck, get them moving around. We cycle the puck really well, and when we get the puck in deep and can move it around, we've got some skilled players on our line. When we played them at their place, we had some really good success against them."

So skilled that third-liner Christian Hanson had a premonition.

"When Coach [Jeff Jackson] sent that line in there in overtime, they were talking about putting what line out next," Hanson said. "But for some reason, I had a feeling and I leaned back and I told Coach it's not even going to matter because they're scoring right here. Twenty seconds later, the puck is in the net. I swear to God."

The fourth line, which also includes center Justin White (two assists), started out matched against Michigan's fourth line -- the Wolverines had the last change as the higher-seeded team -- but when U-M shortened the bench in the late going, the Irish kept rolling their lines. That led to some matchups against Louie Caporusso's third line, but the Irish trio held its own.

"It shows Coach has confidence to put us out there in overtime on a shift like that," Guentzel said.

Now comes Boston College and the Eagles' fearsome top line of Nathan Gerbe, Brian Gibbons, and Ben Smith. After their sterling performance Thursday, Ridderwall, White, and Guentzel might just think they could get that checking assignment. But they're realists.

"Probably not — they'll probably get us out of there pretty quick if that happened," White said as some teammates yelled "Change! Change!" in their best Jeff Jackson voices in the background.

LIFE OF BRYAN

Fair catch: Michigan backup goalie Bryan Hogan eyes an airborne puck as Notre Dame forward Evan Rankin skates past.

Bryan Hogan stood by his locker, packing his bag for the final time this season, completely overcome by disbelief and his eyes welling up. There was no way he could have envisioned his night ending like this. But then again, who did?

Michigan junior goalie Billy Sauer surrendered three goals on nine shots in the first period, and the Wolverines trailed 3-0 heading into intermission. So coach Red Berenson made the gutsiest move of the day and yanked his starter in favor of Hogan, a freshman who had played five games all season, had never come off the bench in relief, and hadn’t seen the ice since allowing four goals in a loss to Ferris State on March 1.

For awhile, Hogan held his own and made 18 saves in two-plus periods of work, but this Hogan wasn’t a hero, not on this night.

“We had such a great team, and I just wish we could have done it,” Hogan said while fighting to find his words. “I don’t know. I’m just really disappointed. I had a chance to do something great there and just couldn’t really do it. That’s all there is to be said.”

According to Hogan, Berenson didn’t enter the locker room during the first intermission with a fiery speech, preaching to win one for the rookie. Berenson simply told the 19-year-old to get ready.

“[Sauer has] been our bread and butter goalie all year, but I just didn’t like the way the game was going,” Berenson said. “Billy looked like he was fighting the puck. There were two goals that he probably would have stopped another night. And we just watched the No. 1 goalie in the country [North Dakota's Jean-Philippe Lamoureux] give up six goals.

"It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. We had to change the momentum in the game. I think that helped our team a little bit. It was a tough decision for Billy, but
we’re trying to win the game.”

Hogan nearly allowed the Wolverines to do just that. He stopped six shots in the second period as Michigan drew to 3-2, and Hogan even registered an assist on senior forward Chad Kolarik’s first goal of the game. Hogan proceeded to make five more saves in the third, but he was put to work in overtime, stopping the first seven shots he faced before Calle Ridderwall ended the game at 5:44 of the extra session. It was just the sixth time this season the Wolverines walked off the ice on the losing end.

And that was it. There was no hero’s welcome in the Michigan locker room and no goalie controversy heading into Saturday’s national championship. Hogan stood lifeless in his crease when the game ended, refusing to believe he just let his team down.

But that wasn’t the case. Kolarik skated over to the net to revive his freshman goalie. For it wasn’t Hogan who lost this battle.

“He’s played what, four, five games all year, and he did a heck of a job,” Kolarik said. “I just thanked him because he gave our seniors a chance. That’s all you can ask from your goalie is to give you a chance, and he played really well when he came in.

“It wasn’t his fault. He played a heck of a game.”

INCH's Three Stars of the Game

3. Ryan Thang, Notre Dame His shorthanded goal late in the first period was nothing short of magnificent. He schooled Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer on the rush, then unleashed a wicked shot that completely baffled Billy Sauer. 2. Bryan Hogan, Michigan For a while, it looked like the little-used backup goaltender was going to come off the bench and backstop the Wolverines to victory much like another Michigan man, New England quarterback Tom Brady. It was an amazing effort under the most difficult of circumstances. 1. Notre Dame's fourth line Calle Ridderwall scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, but the unit that also featured Justin White and Ryan Guentzel set the tone early in the first period with an outstanding shift, controlling the puck in the Michigan end.

Related Coverage

Game Story: Here Come the Irish The improbable run of Notre Dame continued in Denver with a 5-4 overtime win over top-ranked Michigan.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE PEPSI CENTER

• On the opening faceoff of overtime, Notre Dame center Christian Hanson tried to kick the puck, twisted his knee, and crumpled to the
ice in obvious pain. He was helped off but returned later in overtime. In the locker room following the game, he was limping and wearing an impressive
icepack on his right leg, but claimed the injury was "just a tweak" and that he’d be fine to play in the title game.

Asked if he was in a lot of pain at the time, his only reply was, "I’m fine now."

• A Guentzel Stops Michigan, Again: Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel watched his son, Ryan, a Notre Dame freshman forward, play live for the first time Thursday. Ryan’s mother, Sally, has made it out to watch a few Irish home games, but Mike’s duties with the Golden Gophers kept him from seeing the Golden Domers play in person until now.

Asked if he remembered watching Michigan’s last overtime game at the Frozen Four (a 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota at the 2003 tournament in Buffalo) the younger Guentzel said he saw the game on TV at a golf course clubhouse, as he was stuck in Minnesota for tryouts for his high school golf team. In 2002, Mike’s
Minnesota team also took out the Wolverines at the Frozen, winning 3-2 in St. Paul.

So when Ryan’s linemate Calle Ridderwall scored the overtime winner Thursday to send Michigan packing, it continued a bit of family history that Ryan and Mike are particularly proud of.

“The last three times Michigan has been in the Frozen Four, they’ve gotten beat by a Guentzel,” Ryan said with a grin.

• Instant Karma's Gonna Getcha: Prior to the Wolverines' pre-semifinal press conference at the Pepsi Center Wednesday, Michigan coach Red Berenson asked the media liaison assigned to the team by the NCAA if an announcement could be made banning reporters from posing questions about his team's loss to North Dakota at the Pepsi Center in last year's West Regional. In that game, goaltender Billy Sauer gave up seven goals on 26 shots. Berenson's request was denied.

• It's Not How Many, But How: The Fighting Irish fourth line of Calle Ridderwall (who notched a pair Thursday night), Justin White, and Ryan Guentzel entered the Frozen Four with a total of seven goals. Michigan had nine forwards on its roster with seven or more goals.

• Synchronicity: Both of Thursday's winners got first-period, short-handed goals from forwards wearing no. 9 — Boston College's Nathan Gerbe and Notre Dame's Ryan Thang — and winning goalies John Muse (Boston College) and Jordan Pearce (Notre Dame) each made 29 saves.

• Experience Matters: By beating Michigan and advancing to Saturday's championship game against Boston College, Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson improved to 4-0 all-time in Frozen Four semifinal contests.

• Aw, Shoot: Of Notre Dame's 29 shots on goal, eight of them came in 5:44 of overtime play.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

It's a good thing Michigan didn't score the game-winning goal on its final power play of regulation, because the tripping call given to Notre Dame's Kevin Deeth, who was attempting to swat a loose puck in front of goaltender Jordan Pearce out of harm's way but inadvertently tapped the skate of a Wolverine forward. It was, at best, a marginal call by referee Todd Anderson.

Kudos to the Notre Dame band for its knowledge of the opposing team's protocol and sense of timing. Long after all most of the fans had left the arena, the Fighting Irish musicians serenaded the remaining family members of Michigan players with a chant of "ugly parents." The refrain is often utilized by the home fans at Yost Ice Arena.

We're not afraid to point the finger in our direction when necessary. INCH's pick for national goaltender of the year, North Dakota's J-P Lamoureux, had an awful outing in the 6-1 loss to Boston College. Likewise, Michigan's Kevin Porter, our choice for INCH Player of the Year, and Wolverine Mark Mitera, whom we tabbed as INCH Defenseman of the Year, were non-factors in the loss to Notre Dame.

We understand it's a concession made for television purposes, but having less than an hour between the end of the Boston College-North Dakota game and the start of the Notre Dame-Michigan game is inadequate. Here's hoping that the NCAA opts for a longer break between games next year in Washington D.C. — and beyond.

WHAT'S NEXT

One could say that Saturday's championship match pitting Boston College and Notre Dame is one of biblical proportions. And we must ask, does the winning team visit the White House or the Vatican?

Secular humor aside, the Fighting Irish getting to the championship game is great for college hockey. Love them or hate them, everyone knows Notre Dame, and the casual sports fan may be inclined to tune in to see them complete the miraculous run ... or fall just short of the goal.

Jeff Jackson watched BC's regional win over Miami as an interested spectator rather than for scouting purposes. What he saw reminded him of Michigan in many ways. No matter the opponent, the Irish have found a way to win in each of its last three games.