Hail To The Victors!

I don't have much in the way of details, because I couldn't get the Internet radio feed to work and the Gametracker play-by-play wasn't much better, but the Michigan Icers won tonight 5-3, clinching the regular season CCHA title.  Kevin Porter had a goal and an assist, and defenseman Mark Mitera had three assists.

The game was tied 2-2 halfway through, but Porter put Michigan up 3-2, and Max Pacioretty made it 4-2 just 15 seconds into the third period. 

UM gets next weekend off, and will face the lowest-seeded team that emerges from the first round of the CCHA playoffs on March 14-16.

Congrats to Michigan on its 10th regular season CCHA title!

Ferris St. Preview

I'll be honest:  I don't know much about Ferris, other than that they swept Miami 10 days ago when Miami was suffering from its Michigan hangover.  The crack CCHA scheduling staff managed to have Michigan play two series out of its last four against teams it had not played previously during the season.  I do know that Ferris had been on a 3-0-2 tear before splitting its last series with Bowling Green, which means they're still on a 4-1-2 tear over their last seven games.

Championship Math

Last weekend's (and Tuesday's) results have simplified the title situation somewhat.  Everyone but Michigan and Miami has been eliminated.  Michigan has 42 points with 2 games left; Miami has 41 with only a Friday game with cellar-dweller OSU remaining.  So...

Michigan wins with a win either night, or two ties.  If any of those happen, Michigan wins no matter what Miami does.  If Michigan loses both, Miami wins with a win on Friday.  If Michigan ties and loses, and Miami wins, Miami will benefit from an odd CCHA tiebreaker that gives precedence to total league wins over the teams' head-to-head record.  Here is the tie-breaker explanation from the CCHA.

Odds and Ends

Forgot to mention it last week, but Aaron Palushaj was named CCHA Freshman of the Week for his performance in the sweep against LSSU.

Friday's game is at 7:35 from Yost Ice Arena.  It will be Senior Night, and the chance for fans to say goodbye to Kevin Porter, Chad Kolarik, and the rest of the seniors.  Tickets are still available, so if you're in the area, head over to the game and soak in the atmosphere.  Saturday's game is at 7:05 in Big Rapids.  No television for either game; you can get the audio feed link from mgoblue.com.

Let's hope that Michigan locks it down on Friday night.  Along those lines, here's some video from one of last year's contests, a 9-4 Michigan win featuring a JJ hat trick.

 

Go Blue!

Quick Hockey Note

Miami, the only team that can catch Michigan for the CCHA regular-season title, has a rare Tuesday game against OSU in Columbus tonight at 7pm. An OSU victory would seal the CCHA championship for Michigan, so dig deep and (gulp) root for the Nuts tonight. If you're so inclined, here's a link to the CSTV Gametracker page.

I'll have the result up later, and a preview of Michigan's weekend series against Ferris on Thursday morning.

UPDATE: It was a close one, but Miami scored halfway through the 3rd period to win 2-1. Miami is one point behind and Michigan has one game in hand. Any combination of a Michigan win, two Michigan ties, or a Miami loss Friday night will give Michigan the CCHA title.

Wolverines in the Combine -- Part II

Well we've been over the possible first round draft picks coming out of Michigan this year, but that's not the half of it. Michigan has four other players representing the Maize and Blue in the NFL Combine.

When will they be drafted? What can they do to improve their stock? Let's take a look..

Shawn Crable, LB

Crable is a good linebacker that has been told he could potentially play DE in the NFL. He did line up at DE a few times while he was at Michigan, and while he wasn't fantastic, he showed that he can pick up the position at the next level.

In a dense class in terms of the defensive line as well as the linebacker positions, however, he isn't exactly a standout. There are plenty of linebackers ahead of him, and quite a few DE's as well. So while he might have a good amount of talent, and will probably end up a starter in the NFL, he won't be a first round draft pick.

Projection: Mid-Late Second Round

Jamar Adams

Jamar Adams is also an odd case. If he is drafted to a team that allows him to do what he can do in the box, he will flourish and be a good NFL player with a decently long career. If he's forced into a system where he has to drop back and play coverage, he's not going to last long at all.

He would be a solid pick up, however, for those teams that are looking for a good safety to play up in coverage or to stop the run in the box. He doesn't have the speed or the coverage skills to make it as a coverage safety in the NFL, however.

Projection: Third Round

Adrian Arrington

Adrian Arrington is perhaps the most unpredictable of all of the Michigan players that are participating in the Combine this year. He has the talent to go in the early second round, absolutely. He doesn't have the exposure or the name recognition, on the other hand, to go any sooner than the middle of the third round.

Arrington went off during the Capital One bowl, and the one handed, circus sideline catch that set up the winning score, as well as the behind the back catch in the first quarter, as well as the diving touchdown catch that wasn't (both of which can be found in these highlights) might have gone to his head, because he left a year early.

Sure he has the talent, but he really only had one season of prominence at Michigan, whereas Manningham has been turning heads since his freshman year. But would another year in a brand new offense (with a brand new quarterback who is still to be determined)? This one's a tough call.

Arrington hurt himself and was unable to show the scouts what he's capable of today, but should be in good shape for Pro Day in Ann Arbor in March.

Projection: Great Pro Day Showing- Early Third Round, "Meh" Pro Day Showing- Early Fourth Round

Mike Hart

Everyone knows how good Mike Hart is. Everyone knows that a team would be better off drafting him, even if he wouldn't ever see the field, just because of his presence. He lift's the team's spirits, he has more heart than any player I've ever seen play the game of football, and he's not a half bad football player, either.

So why isn't he in the talks for a multi-year, $10 million NFL contract next year? A multitude of reasons. He's small (5'9, 200lbs), and he's not too quick, either (he ran a 4.67 forty today). He can move piles a few yards, sure, but in the NFL he won't be an every down, starting back. He just won't.

He'll be a solid back-up for sure, but teams don't use their early draft picks on players that they're planning on being back-ups in the future. He'll be a presence in the NFL for years, but he'll never be a Larry Johnson or Shaun Alexander.

Projection: Late Third Round

Look for a combine wrap-up soon. Thanks for reading.

That's More Like It

I guess my pessimism following Friday night's game was misplaced. It turns out that all Michigan needed to do was score first...and then again, and again. Michigan scored the first three goals, and scored a goal in the last minute of each period to win 5-2. Game video can be found here and pictures can be found here.

Defenseman Chris Summers set up the first goal of the game when he carried the puck end-to-end. Spartan goalie Jeff Lerg stopped his shot, but Tim Miller put in the rebound.

Five minutes later, the Spartans made an uncharacteristic defensive mistake, clearing the puck directly to Aaron Palushaj right in front of their net. Palushaj scored to make it 2-0.

Just before the end of the first period, Brandon Naurato put Michigan up 3-0, with the goal once again coming off a rebound given up by Lerg.

After nearly 30 minutes of solid defensive play by Michigan, the Wolverines fell asleep for the middle of the second period, giving up two goals in the space of about three minutes, energizing the Spartans and their fans. One hopes the Michigan coaching staff spends some time with the team this week in practice reminding them that leaving opposing players unguarded in the slot is a bad idea.

Just as things seemed to have turned the Spartans' way (after allowing those goals, Michigan goalie Billy Sauer suddenly looked uncertain and tentative), Michigan scored in the final minute of the period to seize the momentum going in to the locker room, as Max Pacioretty deflected in a harmless-looking wrist shot from the point by defenseman Mark Mitera.

Michigan played a solid third period, committing no penalties, and limiting the Spartans' scoring chances. In the final minute, MSU pulled its goalie, but Tim Miller put the puck into the empty net to seal the victory.

With the victory, Michigan eliminated MSU from the race for the regular-season CCHA title. Miami beat Western Michigan, leaving the Wolverines 3 points ahead with two games remaining. Michigan has a home-and-home with Ferris State next weekend, and Miami plays Ohio State in Columbus on Tuesday night before playing its finale in Oxford on Friday night. A Michigan win (or two ties) or a Miami loss clinches the CCHA title for Michigan. The teams could tie for the regular season title if Michigan loses one to Ferris St. and ties the other, and Miami sweeps OSU. In that event, the first tie-breaker is conference wins, and Miami would have more wins if that happens. Here's hoping Michigan puts away Ferris Friday on Senior Night to end the suspense.

I'll have a preview of the final series of the regular season up later in the week.

Notes

• Michigan scored more goals on Saturday than in its first three games combined (4) against MSU.
• The goalies in the game presented quite a contrast. Billy Sauer stands 6-2, whereas Spartan goalie Jeff Lerg is 5-6.
• Michigan coach Red Berenson was honored for coaching his 1000th college game (all at Michigan), although the ceremony was marred a bit by the on-ice host's malfunctioning microphone.
• Michigan improved its record when scoring first to 22-0-3.
• Although Kevin Porter went without a goal for the fourth game in a row, he tallied two assists to take the team lead at 26.
• For the first time in the last four regular-season games at the Joe, the game was a sellout. Michigan fans appeared to slightly outnumber MSU fans, though both schools were well-represented.
• Whoever built the Joe Louis Arena parking garage should be sentenced to an eternity of trying to exit from the top level after a sold-out event.

Other Sports

• The Michigan baseball team improved to 2-0 with a 16-6 win over Villanova. The series finale is today at noon. The teams are playing in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Michigan next plays the Mets on Tuesday.
• The Ladies' softball team followed up on an 8-0 win over Birmingham Southern yesterday (featuring a perfect game from pitcher Nikki Nemitz) with a 9-0 win over Auburn in the UCF Tournament in Orlando this morning. Michigan wraps up the tournament with a 4pm game against UCF this afternoon. The 12th-ranked ladies are 10-2 on the young season.

Well.. Technically We Won

After the final buzzer went off in last night's game against the Illini, we had more points on the scoreboard than they did. That's about the extent of our victory, because the entire game was a miserable performance by both sides.

A few examples..

• The teams combined to shoot 31% from the field, with Michigan shooting 30%

• Michigan's leading scorers were Manny Harris (14) and Kelvin Grady (12)

• Illinois' were Calvin Brock (12) and Trent Meacham (11)

• Midway through the second half, there was a gripping five minute stretch where Michigan outscored Illinois  4-0. In five minutes.

• Illinois has an eight and a half minute field goal drought for most of the tail end of the second half.

• There were 26 turnovers in the game (Illinois 16, Michigan 10)

• Michigan shot an incredible 24% from three point range (5-21).. Illinois shot 32% (6-19)

• The final score was 49-43. Forty Nine to Forty Three. Neither team scored fifty points. That happened in ONE other game yesterday, and that one involved a team called Bethune-Cookman.

So really, we didn't 'win' so much as we played absolutely terrible basketball against a team that somehow played worse basketball than we did. But I'll take it, a win is a win an we've won four of our last five.

Hopefully we can start winning because of our skill again, however, instead of our opponents lack thereof.

Michigan tips off against Northwestern on Tuesday, and let's hope it goes something like the first time we played them this season.

Photo Courtesy: AP/Tony Ding

Wolverines in the Combine

As I mentioned a few days ago, seven former Wolverines will be taking part in the NFL Combine over the next few days.

Chad Henne (QB), Mike Hart (HB), Jake Long (OT), Mario Manningham (WR), Adrian Arrington (WR), Shawn Crable (LB) and Jamar Adams (S) will be showing NFL teams what they can do, and M&BS wishes each of them the best of luck.

Who will represent Michigan and the Big Ten as standouts at the combine? Let me give you my take on it..

 Jake Long, OT                 

Wow. Jake Long. He'll be a top five pick, could be top three, and should be number one. His Junior year, he won the Big Ten's Offensive Lineman of the Year award. No big deal, right? It's a conference award, players win them all the time.

The big deal is who he beat out to win it. OTs Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) and Levi Brown (Penn State) were both in the mix for the award two years ago, and both ended up behind Long in the voting. If those names look familiar, it's because they were both top-five picks in last years draft. Thomas (drafted third overall) and Brown (fifth) are both fantastic players, and both were starters in the NFL in their rookie seasons.

Long has another year of college experience, and is better than ever. A team would be downright foolish to not take him first overall. I'm looking at you, Miami.

Mario Manningham, WR

Mario Manningham is an odd case. Clearly he is a fantastic wide receiver, but he might not be first round material. Players such as DeSean Jackson, Malcolm Kelley and Limas Sweed are being projected to go ahead of Manningham in the draft, however FoxSports ranks Manningham the #1 ready NFL starter.

So what's the real story on this guy?

In my opinion, he is the most prototypical wide receiver in this year's class, however teams might look over him for a few reasons. Most notably is the fact that he's only six feet tall. Not terrible by any means, but a few more inches would do wonders to his draft stock.

A great combine could all but secure his being selected in the first round. He needs to show scouts that his size doesn't affect his strength, and that he does, in fact, have sub-4.5 speed.

Chad Henne, QB

Chad Henne is a great talent who has the misfortune of being in a class with perceived better talent. Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson make up a good quarterback class for this year's draft. In the end, draft position could come down to mobility issues.

Of all quarterbacks in this years class (ALL of them), Henne has the worst 40 time, with a mid time of 5.18. That's ridiculous. Jake Long has a mid time of 5.08, and he's a 315lb offensive lineman for god's sake. Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson, and Matt Ryan all have mid times of 4.8 or lower, and while that doesn't exactly put them up there with Dennis Dixon, it shows scouts that if those quarterbacks absolutely needed to scramble on a play, they would be able to. A 40 time nearing 5.2 really makes some scouts nervous, which is why Chad will probably go in the early to middle second round.

What a team would get in Chad Henne is a phenomenal pocket passer. As we saw throughout his career at Michigan, he can pass as well as any of the former Wolverine greats, and he has the track record to prove it. We even saw what he could to out of the shotgun during the Capital One bowl, a formation that we rarely saw him in.

With a good combine, however, he could climb as high as the very late first round. Especially if a team is looking for a very solid pocket passer. His 40 time needs to improve immensely, however. As in lower than five seconds.

So that's three potential first rounder's. Analysis of the other four players in the combine coming up next.