| INCH’s THREE STARS |
3. Aaron Dell, North Dakota: All you can ask from your goaltender is to give your team a chance to win. Dell certainly did that, making 18 saves on a night when he didn’t see a lot of action.
2. Ben Winnett, Michigan: A senior from Westminster, British Columbia, Winnett scored a veteran goal to give the Wolverines the lead in the first period. Getting his own rebound, he drove to a spot just to Dell’s left and, once he got the puck, didn’t panic and wristed it high over a sprawling Dell.
1. Shawn Hunwick, Michigan: Forty shots. Forty saves. ‘Nuff said.
| STICK SALUTE |
Hunwick saw his fair share of vulcanized rubber Thursday, but the Wolverines did a terrific job of limiting second chances. Of the 40 saves he made, one could probably count the ones he made on second-chance opportunities on one hand. As Red Berenson said during his postgame press conference, his team is one the same page. Let this serve as Exhibit A.
| BENCH MINOR |
On a night when Michigan did what it had to do and limited mental and physical errors, the decision and execution of sophomore defenseman Lee Moffie at the end of the first period could have been very costly. If you believe that goals scored early or late in periods are especially impactful in terms of momentum, Moffie made quite a blunder. From his own defensive corner, he cleared the puck toward the high slot. To make matters worse, it found the stick of the nation’s leading goal-scorer, but Matt Frattin couldn’t convert on what might have been the best chance for the Sioux all night long.
| SAY WHAT? |
“It reminds me of our team in ’97 where we were the best team and everybody knew it, and we got upset, too. So that can happen. The best team doesn’t always win.”
Michigan coach Red Berenson said that during his postgame comments. It’s similar to what Brendan Morrison said when the then Wolverine forward accepted the Hobey Baker Award in 1997 after a talented Michigan team—one that was as much a favorite then as North Dakota was heading into this weekend—lost to Boston University in an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal in Milwaukee. Kinda nice when stuff gets tied up in a nice little bow, eh?
| TWEET OF THE GAME |
goon48 Eric Burton
One Sioux fan flashing a middle finger on national television doesn’t make a whole fan base. That just means said fans [sic] is lacking of class.
This image was captured by INCH photographer Larry Radloff as well as the television broadcast by ESPN’s team and shows the frustration of a North Dakota fan and the ecstasy of Michigan’s Scooter Vaughan after scoring the empty-net goal that effectively ended the game.
We’ll go ahead and agree with Goon’s take, and also encourage fans to take those words to heart all year long—such as, ahem, labeling “conferences” or “schedules” or “rankings methods” or “players” as superior or faulty based on the results of a few games in a single-elimination tournament.
