Wolverines take down Buckeyes 4-1 in Frozen Diamond Faceoff
By Brian Kalisher –
CLEVELAND – Another outdoor game, another big win for the University of Michigan.
A year after the Wolverines topped in-state rival Michigan State 5-0 at the Big Chill at the Big House, they posted a 4-1 win over one of their other rivals – Ohio State – at the Frozen Diamond Faceoff Sunday night.
The Wolverines posted their second win of the weekend over the Buckeyes, beating them in front of 25,864 at Progressive Field in Cleveland – home of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians. The Wolverines posted a shutout over the Buckeyes in Columbus on Friday.
“It was a good game for Michigan to win in the CCHA standings,” coach Red Berenson said. “We’re quite a ways behind Ohio State so that was an important victory.
“On the big picture it was a great spectacle, and everyone that put that together and did a lot of work for it, I think it came off really well.”
The spectacle at Progressive Field was something out of every hockey fan’s dream. A sheet of ice donning both teams’ logos and a Frozen Diamond Faceoff emblem glared as the sun went down and fans found their seats for the 5:05 p.m. puck drop.
A majority of the seats were plastered with fans wearing scarlet and grey OSU gear, but groups of brave Maize and Blue-wearing fans could be spotted. The Michigan players entered the ice surface to boos from the not-so-welcoming Ohio State faithful.
About five minutes into the first frame the ice was already visibly worn out. Both teams looked to play solid, fundamental hockey while adjusting to the outdoor environment.
The Wolverines’ Chris Brown opened scoring at 7:31 of the first period, rebounding on a point shot from teammate Kevin Clare to beat OSU goaltender Cal Heeter.
Six minutes later, at 13:33, Michigan struck again when left wing Alex Guptill fired one over the shoulder of Heeter to make it 2-0 for the Wolverines.
The fact that the boards were mic’d up made the goals – and every other aspect of the game – all the more entertaining for the fans in attendance. Each slap of the puck, tape-to-tape pass or body check echoed throughout the stadium. And when a shot on net was deflected hard enough out of play, it was launched not into protective netting, but down the first or third base line into a packed crowd. It looked as if fans were waiting to catch a foul ball instead of a freezing puck. Unfortunately for baseball fans, it will be another few months until the Indians use this stadium again.
When asked if they had played any baseball in their past, Berenson remembered his days as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan.
“Actually, I was a pretty good catcher when I went to Michigan,” Berenson said. “When I was trying out for the team, and the coach wasn’t giving me the time of day, and I asked around why, they said ‘oh, they’ve got a pretty good catcher – Bill Freehan – who was hitting over .400 then. So I stuck to hockey.”
Defenseman Greg Pateryn and forward David Wohlberg chimed in with some baseball experiences of their own.
“I’ve always been a Tigers fan, I still go to Tigers games every once in a while, “Pateryn said. “I played baseball a couple years growing up, nothing special, nothing serious, just having a good time.
“I think the extent of my baseball career was tee-ball,” Wohlberg said.
Plenty of festivities and an exciting outdoor game experience didn’t change the fact that Michigan and Ohio State hate each other. There was shoving between the whistles and a late hit or two by both sides.
At an event like this, even intermission was a cause for excitement. A gigantic slide beginning at the left field foul pole swooped down into center field for children – and even the daring adult – to enjoy. The Ohio State marching band performed at center ice, while Michigan’s band filled an entire section in right center field.
The Buckeyes lone goal came 50 seconds into the second frame – with two seconds remaining on their power play – Ohio State’s Chris Crane netted a goal for the Buckeyes, beating Hunwick and putting his team on the board, courtesy of Max McCormick and Brandon Martell.
Michigan got two more chances on the power play back-to-back immediately after the goal due to minors on OSU’s Ben Gallacher and Danny Dries. U of M had no luck on either power play but defenseman Greg Pateryn made a diving poke check to stop an oncoming OSU rush as soon as the first power play expired.
At 9:47 of the second, the flood gates opened for Michigan as Derek DuBlois shot one passed OSU goalie Cal Heeter when teammate David Wohlberg fed it to him out of the left corner. Just 28 seconds after the goal, at 10:15, Wohlberg found the score sheet again putting the puck past Heeter, making it 4-1 for the Wolverines. After letting in his fourth goal of the evening, Heeter was pulled in favor of junior Brady Hjelle.
“The first one, the puck just came around the boards and I heard Derek [DuBlois] call for it so I just threw it to where I heard his voice,” Wohlberg said. “We got a lucky tip and it went in.
“The second one, on Friday I tried to cut to the middle and it didn’t work out, but tonight I tried to put it off the pad and it snuck right under there, just using my outside speed, and it worked out.”
The Wolverines entered the second intermission up by a three goal margin and leading in shots 32-21.
The third frame proved mostly uneventful. Michigan played with their lead in mind while Ohio State tried to find the scoreboard. After 20 minutes of back and forth hockey and a missed 5-on-3 opportunity for the Buckeyes within the last minute, the game ended with Michigan beating their rivals 4-1.
“Our team knows what it takes to play in a game like this,” Berenson said. “We’re coming off a good game on Friday. But this was not only an important hockey game, it’s an outdoor game that you can easily be distracted, and I really liked the way our team came out and just worked hard and we got the bounces because of it.”