Berenson: “We got humbled” in GLI consolation game

By Nick Barnowski – 

DETROIT – “We got humbled.”

That’s how University of Michigan head coach Red Berenson described his team’s loss to the Michigan State Spartans in the consolation game of the Great Lakes Invitational on Saturday night.

After falling to Western Michigan in a shootout Firday, No. 3 Michigan’s disappointing GLI continued as the Wolverines (10-4-2) were shut out, 3-0, by MSU outdoors at Comerica Park.

The loss snapped Michigan’s three-game winning streak against their rivals and marked the first time they’ve finished fourth in the GLI since 2000.

Goaltender Steve Racine, playing in his first game since Dec. 2, faced 40 shots on goal in the loss.

“Forty shots is way too many for any goaltender, that’s not going to get the job done at any level of hockey,” junior defenseman Mike Chiasson said. “We need to tighten up as a group on defense.”

Berenson agreed.

“When you give up 40 shots you can’t say your defense played well,” he said. “I thought they moved the puck up better and they kept pucks alive better but still we gave up too many shots.”

Michigan fired 29 shots on Michigan State goalie Jake Hildebrand but Berenson said they felt they were trying to do too much with the puck on the outdoor ice.

“I thought we over passed the puck tonight,” Berenson said. “You saw what happened when they shot the puck, they had a chance to score. I thought we were too cute with the puck or maybe not as confident enough to shoot so we passed it off.”

Nieves, who had three shots on goal, said even he didn’t put the puck on net often enough.

“At times, including myself, we would make one too many passes,” Nieves said. “Especially with an outdoor rink, the ice isn’t great, you kind of have to get pucks to the net and hope for the best at this point.”

Michigan State’s game-winning goal came less than two minutes into the game. Thomas Ebbing carried the puck into the Michigan zone and fired a wrist shot that seemed to fool Racine and snuck in through his glove and pad.

Berenson said Ebbing’s goal was one Racine would “like to have back.”

After giving up the early goal Michigan was able to gain momentum and controlled the puck for the majority of the rest of the period. The Wolverines had a couple of great chances on Hildebrand, but the Spartan goalie, in his first shutout of the season, denied them. JT Compher, playing in his second game back after a foot injury, had Michigan’s best scoring chance of the game but a sliding Hildebrand stopped his shot from the side of the net in his crease.

“I thought we had a good first period,” Berenson said. “We got some chances, and either [Hildebrand] made the save or we hit the bar or we missed the net but that was one of our best periods of the weekend.”

Racine made 17 of his 37 saves in the second period, including one on John Draeger that was from the slot and two from Mackenzie MacEachern in front of the net to keep the Wolverines within one.

He then made another big save, this time on Matt Berry, on one of Michigan’s two penalty kills in the period. Other than a shot that hit the post behind Hildebrand, Michigan couldn’t muster up a scoring chance in the second and only had five shots on goal in the period.

“I think they took it to us in the second period,” Berenson said. “We killed two penalties and they got some momentum from that. We just didn’t do much. We had trouble putting back-to-back good periods together.”

Michigan’s 15-shot output in the third was their best period offensively, but two MSU goals by Berry and Brent Darnell put the game out of reach.

Michael Downing took a penalty for contact to the head (elbowing) and on the ensuing power play Berry converted, burying a pass from Jake Chelios on the left hand side of the net.

Darnell scored State’s third of the game on a shot from the high slot that stayed on the ice surface but found its way through Racine’s five-hole.

Thirteen days between games for the Wolverines will give them a chance to work on what went wrong this weekend Chiasson said.

“For Michigan, it wasn’t what we wanted it. We’re not in the championship game, and losing in the consolation game wasn’t what we wanted. We have a lot we need to work on as individuals and as a group.”