April 7, 2002

Site: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)

Score: #7 Michigan 12, #12 Buffalo 4

Records: UM (11-2), Colorado State (7-3)

Next U-M Game: Wednesday, April 10 -- vs. Michigan State (@ Birmingham Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Mich.), 7 p.m. EST

Strong Defensive Effort Helps Michigan Past Buffalo

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Two Wolverines recorded hat tricks as Michigan held Buffalo to just three first-quarter shots and 15 for the game in a 12-4 victory for the Wolverines.  Sophomore attackman Jeff Hanna (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) and junior midfielder Chip Thomas (Tenafly, NJ/Dwight-Englewood) led Michigan (11-2) with three goals and one assist each.  Buffalo was led by attackman Jack Goldsmith, with one goal and two assists.  Midfielder Doug Kubiak also scored two goals for the Bulls (6-3).

Michigan started the game on top very quickly when Thomas picked up the ball off of the face-off and scored just 13 seconds into the game.  Midfielder Kevin Toller (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer) was about to follow with a goal of his own just ten seconds later, but Buffalo goalie David Reed made a great save on his high shot.  A minute later, Hanna found Thomas cutting to the crease with 13:34 remaining.  Senior midfielder Eric DeLamarter (Concord, MA/Concord Carlisle) scored inside to go up 3-0 after an excellent dodge.  After a man-up goal to go ahead 4-0, Thomas earned his hat trick on an extra man opportunity with an assist from attackman Ray Lombardi (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest). 

The Michigan defense, led by sophomore Charles Appel (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia), freshman Mike Roth (South Orange, NJ/Montclair Kimberly), and sophomore John Morgan (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) dominated the Bulls from the start and held them without a shot until 3:57 remaining in the first quarter with the Wolverines ahead 5-0.  Buffalo finally earned its first goal when Goldsmith picked up the ball after a Michigan turnover and converted on a one-on-one with Michigan goalie Sooman Kim (Troy, MI/Troy).

The second quarter saw more Michigan domination, as Buffalo was held scoreless and to just one shot.  Goals by Lombardi, Hanna, and freshman attackman Ryan Clark (Summit, NJ/Summit) gave the Wolverines the 8-1 advantage at the half.  Michigan started the second half with a man-up opportunity due to a penalty at the end of the second quarter, and the Wolverines took advantage when Lombardi scored in the middle with a feed from DeLamarter.  Buffalo responded to close to 9-2 with its own extra-man goal when Kubiak cut towards the goal from the top and scored off a feed from Goldsmith.  Reed played his best with his team a man down with 9:00 remaining in the quarter when he made several great saves on Michigan.  Buffalo scored again on an extra-man opportunity, again Kubiak from Goldsmith, with 1:09 remaining to close the lead to 9-3.

Hanna scored a pair of goals early in the fourth quarter to earn his hat trick.  In between his two goals, Buffalo attackman Dan Keating scored off of a failed Michigan clear.  With nine minutes remaining and the Wolverines ahead 10-4, Michigan head coach John Paul pulled Kim to allow more time for freshman Dan Webber (Weston, MA/Weston).  Webber would make two saves and shut out the Bulls in the last nine minutes.  With 2:06 remaining, freshman midfielder Greg Liberman (Syracuse, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), usually a defensive player, scored on a spectacular play to close out the scoring with an assist from sophomore attackman Evan Sonderman (Clinton Twp., MI/De La Salle).

NOTES

● The Wolverines regained their proficiency on extra-man opportunities tonight, scoring on 5 of 10 opportunities.

● Michigan won decisively in the battle for ground balls, 45-21.  The Wolverines also put up 50 shots to Buffalo’s 15.

● Thomas’s hat trick was the quickest for any Wolverine this season.  He scored his three goals in just 7:49.

● Michigan’s defense had made some costly mistakes on clears--although they were 22 of 29 overall, two Buffalo goals came off of turnovers on clears.

● Buffalo goalie David Reed’s 25 saves is the most by a Michigan opponent since California’s Robbie Warner stopped 37 shots against the Wolverines in 2000.

● Ryan Clark’s hat trick streak came to a close at three games.

● Liberman’s goal is the first in his career at Michigan.

● The Wolverines will next face in-state rival Michigan State on Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at Birmingham Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan.

QUOTES

UM Head Coach John Paul

On the game overall: “We did not play an inspired game, but we did what we had to do.  This was the finishing touch on a great weekend.  Now we have to prepare for Michigan State.  We should have a great crowd this Wednesday, so there is no reason we shouldn't be up for that game.”

On the weekend as a whole: “This was a great weekend for us.  The Colorado State game was a big step for our program.  It was also important to keep our streaks alive--in the CCLA and at home.  We want to make this place a tough place for teams to play.”

On the CCLA: “If we are not focused or ready, any team in the CCLA can challenge us.  Buffalo has a ton of potential, and I think that they will develop into a USLIA power.  They probably learned a lot from this weekend.”

GAME SUMMARY

Michigan vs. Buffalo
Sunday, April 7, 2002
3:00 p.m., Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Score by Quarter     1     2     3     4     OT     Totals

Michigan …………   5    3     1     3                     12

Buffalo …...............   1    0     2     1                       4

Michigan Scoring

Jeff Hanna 3G/1A – 4 Pts.

Chip Thomas 3G/1A – 4 Pts.

Ray Lombardi 2G/1A – 3 Pts.

Ryan Clark 2G/0A – 2 Pts.

Eric DeLamarter 1G/1A – 2 Pts.

Greg Liberman 1G/0A – 1 Pt.

Evan Sonderman 0G/1A – 1 Pt.

Sloan Buchan-McGilliard 0G/1A – 1 Pt.

Buffalo Scoring

Jack Goldsmith 1G/2A – 3 Pts.

Doug Kubiak 2G/0A – 2 Pts.

Dan Keating 1G/0A – 1 Pt.

 
Goalies
Michigan:                      Sooman Kim – 6 saves / 4 goals against

Dan Webber – 2 saves / 0 goals against

Buffalo:                         David Reed – 25 saves / 12 goals against

Team Statistics     1         2       3      4      OT      Totals

Ground Balls

Michigan                14        12     11     8                    45

Buffalo                     6          3       5     7                    21

Shots

Michigan                 14      16      10    10                   50

Buffalo                      3        1        7      4                   15

Face-offs

Michigan                 6       2        2       2                      12

Buffalo                    1       2        1       2                        6

Clears

Michigan               8/10      4/4     3/5    7/10               22/29

Buffalo                     5/9      2/5    6/10    7/7               20/31

Extra Man

Michigan                2/3     1/2    1/2     1/3                   5/10

Buffalo                      -      0/1    2/2    0/2                    2/5

 
Scoring Summary

14:47 (1^st)….UM….Thomas  ….UM 1, UB 0

13:34  (1^st)….UM….Thomas (Hanna)….UM 2, UB 0

8:55 (1^st)….UM ….DeLamarter….UM 3, UB 0

8:37   (1^st)….UM (EMO)….Clark (Buchan-McGilliard) ….UM 4, UB 0

6:58 (1^st)….UM (EMO)….Thomas (Lombardi)….UM 5, UB 0

3:47 (1^st)….UB….Goldsmith….UM 5, UB 1

End of 1^st Quarter: Michigan 5, Buffalo 1

10:58 (2^nd)….UM (EMO)….Lombardi ….UM 6, UB 1

3:22 (2^nd)….UM….Hanna….UM 7, UB 1

1:48 (2^nd)….UM….Clark….UM 8, UB 1

Halftime: Michigan 8, Buffalo 1

14:33 (3^rd) ….UM (EMO)….Lombardi (DeLamarter)….UM 9, UB 1

12:18  (3^rd)….UB (EMO)….Kubiak (Goldsmith)….UM 9, UB 2

1:09 (3^rd)….UB (EMO)….Kubiak (Goldsmith)….UM 9, UB 3

End of 3^rd Quarter: Michigan 9, Buffalo 3

13:35 (4^th)….UM….Hanna….UM 10, UB 3

9:48 (4^th)….UB….Keating….UM 10, UB 4

8:07 4^th)….UM (EMO)….Hanna (Thomas)….UM 11, UB 4

2:06 (4^th)….UM….Liberman (Sonderman)….UM 12, UB 4

End of Regulation: Michigan 12, Buffalo 4

Officials
Rob Quinn, Tom Bensman, Rick Szalsma 

Attendance
284

Contact: Peter Lund (734) 936-2450