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March 28, 2003
Site:
Ann Arbor, Michigan (Oosterbaan Fieldhouse)
Scores:
#4 Michigan 11, Illinois 1
Records: UM (9-3), UI (4-6)
Next
U-M Game: Friday, April 4 -- vs. Indiana, Ann Arbor, MI,
7:00 p.m. EST
Michigan Defense Smothers
Illinois
Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Anyone
thinking that Illinois scoring the first goal of the game tonight was a
sign of things to come had another think coming. The Michigan
defense completely stymied the Illini from that point on, holding them
to just 9 more shots, only 2 more on goal. The Wolverines went on
a 6-0 run to finish the quarter, then coasted to an 11-1 victory at
home.
Michigan's top four close
defensemen, Brian Anderson (Lansing, Mich./Waverly),
Kirk Kozel (Barrington, Ill./Taft, CT), Mike Roth (Montclair,
NJ/Montclair-Kimberly) and Bill Blake (Troy, Mich./Cranbrook)
repeatedly stripped Illinois ballcarriers, knocked down passes and
forced turnovers, while longstick midfielders Ray Chang (The
Woodlands, Tex./The Woodlands) and Dave Silverman (Potomac,
MD/Churchill) kept Gus Granchalek in check. Illinois' leading
scorer was held to just one fourth quarter shot.
Illinois took an early 1-0
lead when Andrew Merrill set up Jim Barrett with a nice feed from behind
the goal. Jeff Hanna (Fayatteville, NY/Fayatteville-Manlius)
scored the next two on similar plays when his man slid to help, first
off a feed from Ben Herbst (Pikesville, MD/Pikesville) and
then from Ray Lombardi (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
Justin Gal (Amherst, Mass./Milton Academy) fired one in
from 15 yards out at 4:45, and less than a minute later Chip Thomas
(Tenefly, NJ/Dwight-Englewood) scored on a drive from the top.
Herbst found Paul Mans (Palo Alto, Cal./Gunn) at 1:42 for
a slow break finish, and at 1:14 Hanna completed his first quarter hat
trick and put Michigan up 6-1.
The Wolverines seemed to
get a little complacent offensively after the first quarter, but with
the defense providing possession opportunities almost as soon as
Illinois could touch the ball, the offense continued to score the
occasional goal. Most impressively, Michigan held Illinois to just
one third quarter shot while Thomas scored both goals in the period to
complete his hat trick.
Michigan goalie Dan
Webber (Weston, Mass./Weston) was not tested much. He
turned away both shots on goal that he faced after the opening tally.
Jeremy Menkowitz (Ambler, Penn./Germantown Academy) came
in during the fourth quarter to finish the game, but he was not called
upon to make a save.
The Wolverines get a
much-needed rest before playing again next Friday, April 4 against
Indiana at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. Gametime is set for 7:00 p.m.
NOTES
●
While the Michigan defense was holding Illinois to just 10 shots, the
offense was busy taking 44 shots, 27 of them in the first half.
Illinois goalie Eric Heller had 17 saves to keep the score respectable.
●
Justin Gal scored his second goal of the season in the first quarter.
The junior midfielder scored 26 goals last year, but has yet to get on
track this season..
●
A hard, steady rain and strong winds blew constantly outside throughout
the game. Inside, Oosterbaan showed its age a bit as several roof
leaks brought the bad weather indoors at several spots on the field.
QUOTES
UM Head Coach John Paul
On the
game overall: "Our defense was outstanding all night.
Offensively, we had a great first quarter, but I think we relaxed a bit
from there. We had trouble executing for the rest of the game."
On the
rivalry: "I'm was so used to the old rivalry we had with
Illinois during my first few years here. It was always our biggest
game. It feels different now with them in another conference and
down a bit from where they were."
On the play of the defense: "It's a bit ironic that our
defense dominated that game, since (defensive coach) Kevin (Boyle)
played at Illinois. I thought we did a really nice job of sliding
tonight. Every time they got a step on their man, we had someone
on their hands before they could do anything with the ball. That
was a dominant performance."
GAME SUMMARY
Michigan vs. Illinois
Friday, March 28
8:00 p.m. EST, Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Score by Quarter
1 2 3 4 OT Totals
Michigan …………
6 1 2
2
11
Illinois....................
1 0 0
0
1
Michigan Scoring
Ben Herbst 1G/3A - 4 Pts.
Chip Thomas 3G/0A - 3 Pts.
Jeff Hanna 3G/0A - 3 Pts.
Ray Lombardi 1G/1A - 2 Pts.
Paul Mans 1G/0A - 1 Pt.
Jason Gratson 1G/0A - 1 Pt.
Justin Gal 1G/0A - 1 Pt.
Jim Constantine 0G/1A -
1 Pt.
Mike O'Leary 0G/1A - 1 Pt.
Illinois
Scoring
Jim Barrett 1G/0A - 1 Pt.
Andrew Merrill 0G/1A - 1 Pt.
Goalies
Michigan: Dan Webber – 2 saves/1 goal against (53:00); Jeremy
Menkowitz - 0 saves/0 goals against (7:00)
Illinois: Eric
Heller - 17 saves /
11 goals against (60:00)
Team Statistics
1 2 3 4 OT Totals
Ground Balls
Michigan
11 8
14
11
44
Illinois
6 3 7
4
20
Shots
Michigan
14 13
9 8
44
Illinois
3
3 1
3
10
Face-offs
Michigan
5
2
1 3
11
Illinois
3 0
2
0
5
Clears
Michigan
4/5 5/6 7/9
7/9
23/29
Illinois
2/7 2/7 7/12
8/10 19/36
Extra Man
Michigan 0/1 0/1
1/1 1/1
2/4
Illinois
- -
0/2 -
0/2
Scoring Summary
11:03 (1st)….UI….Barrett
(Merrill)….UM
0, UI 1
9:08 (1st)….UM….Hanna
(Herbst)....UM
1, UI 1
7:35 (1st)….UM….Hanna
(Lombardi)….UM
2, UI 1
4:45 (1st)….UM….Gal....UM
3, UI 1
3:50 (1st)….UM….Thomas….UM
4, UI 1
1:42 (1st)….UM….Mans
(Herbst)....UM
5, UI 1
1:14 (1st)….UM….Hanna
(Constantine)….UM
6, UI 1
End of 1st
Quarter: Michigan 6, Illinois 1
6:08 (2nd)….UM….Gratson….UM
7, UI 1
Halftime: Michigan 7,
Illinois 1
10:56 (3rd)….UM….Thomas….UM
8, UI 1
6:58 (3rd)….UM (EMO)….Thomas….UM
9, UI 1
End of 3rd
Quarter: Michigan 9, Illinois 1
11:32 (4th)….UM (EMO)….Lombardi
(Herbst)….UM
10, UI 1
3:54 (4th)….UM….Herbst
(O'Leary)….UM 11, UI 1
End of Regulation:
Michigan 11, Illinois 1
Officials
Graham Adams, Rick Szalma, Dana Friend
Attendance
327
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