ANN ARBOR – When Michigan sophomore goaltender Adam Janecyk relieved starter Shawn Hunwick in last night’s third period against Lake Superior State, coach Red Berenson said he looked “scared.”
It seemed completely the opposite tonight.
In his first career start, Janecyk turned aside 34 shots. But he couldn’t stop the last. Nick McParland beat the Wolverine netminder in the sixth round of the shootout, giving the Lakers a 3-2 win on Saturday night.
“There were a lot of question marks about Janecyk, and I think he showed us that he can play and give us a chance,” Berenson said.
Janecyk had played in limited minutes this season and last, backing up fifth-year senior and Frozen-Four experienced Hunwick.
“I thought he was more in sync with the game. He was more jerky last night. Tonight he was smooth; he was in position. He looked more confident,” Berenson said of Janecyk’s play compared to his relief effort on Friday.
Berenson said Hunwick had a “slight headache” in the morning and “was not feeling himself,” so he decided to go with Janecyk.
“We see him in practice and he does really well,” Michigan captain Luke Glendening said. “He works hard, he takes extra shots. He doesn’t have a lot of game experience, but we expect him to come in and do a job. I think he probably exceeded some people’s expectations tonight with the way he played, but he did a great job for us.”
After Luke Moffatt netted the first Michigan shootout attempt, the next five shooters either didn’t get a shot off or missed the net entirely. Domenic Monardo tied the shootout at 1 on LSSU’s third shot to send the shootout to extra rounds.
With the series win and shootout loss, No. 13 Michigan dropped to seventh in the CCHA standings and LSSU stayed put at fourth.
Michigan opened the scoring at 14:40 of the second. David Wohlberg drove down the left wing, launching a hard shot on net. The puck rebounded off LSSU defenseman’s Kyle Haines’s skate, and deflected past goaltender Kevin Kapalka.
Less than four minutes after, LSSU got on the board. Janecyk didn’t get caught for swimming out of the blue paint, but LSSU kept the puck in the zone and the Wolverines scrambled to get back in position. From behind the net, Kyle Jean curled out into the blue paint, where Ben Power dumped in the loose puck at 18:19 of the second.
Just 13 seconds later, Michigan stole back the lead. Alex Guptill’s shot ricocheted off an LSSU defender’s skate, 2-1. Guptill, tied for the Michigan lead in goals, was not available for the shootout after a puck hit him hard in the second period. Berenson said he was “dizzy,” and he did not return in the game.
Buddy Robinson tied the game for the Lakers, collecting a loose rebound and slamming it past Janecyk at 2:58 of the third.
“We really gave this game away,” Glendening said. “(Janecyk) really stood tall for us when we needed him, and we just threw that one away.”
Michigan next faces off against Ohio State in Columbus, and Lake Superior State hosts Miami at home on Friday, Jan. 13.
Notes: Jon Merrill played in his second straight game, after serving a 22-game team suspension. He had four blocked shots… Michigan’s shooters in the shootout: Luke Moffatt, David Wohlberg, AJ Treais, Derek DeBlois, Chris Brown and Phil Di Giuseppe… LSSU: Ben Power, Kyle Jean, Domenic Mondardo, Dan Radke, Chris Ciotti, and Nick McParland.