It’s special when any player gets his first goal. But it’s even sweeter when it comes off a highlight-reel play.
Michigan junior defenseman Tim Cook notched his first career goal less than two minutes into the second period en route to a 6-1 win for No. 6 Michigan over Bowling Green Friday night at Yost Ice Arena.
It all started with freshman Andrew Cogliano blazing over the blue line on a shorthanded rush. Cogliano then slipped a pass to Cook. Cogliano picked up the return feed out of the air, skated to the crease and dropped a perfect backhand pass to Cook.
“I didn’t really see him,” Cogliano said. “I just saw his pizza flipper (he has) as a blade, and I just saw that blade of the stick behind me so I dropped the pass. He was there, and he put it in.”
Cook had played 81 career games for Michigan before tonight, notching just two assists. It seemed to be no surprise that Cook was lost in the post-goal euphoria.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Cook said. “I think I blacked out in the celebration – I’m not even kidding. It was a good time to say the least.
“That was a sick pass. I didn’t really do anything on that goal.”
After being blanked 2-0 by Michigan State on Tuesday, Michigan got off to a quick start against Bowling Green. Andrew Ebbett scored on just the second shift of the game, grabbing the puck out of midair and banging in it in the right corner past Jimmy Spratt.
Cogliano doubled the Michigan lead on a power play three minutes later. Streaking down the left side, Cogliano took a pass from behind the net and buried the puck behind Spratt. Cogliano picked up his second of the night off his own rebound, giving the Wolverines a 4-0 lead less than four minutes into the second.
But the Falcons had their chances. When the game was just 2-0, Noah Ruden stoned Mike Nesdill with a laser-fast glove save. Bowling Green also went 0-for-6 on the power play Friday after scoring in 11 straight contests.
“When we did get a couple of good plays, when we got the goal, we just couldn’t generate any more momentum,” Bowling Green coach Scott Paluch said. “I thought they did a great job of extending their pressure 200 feet. We could never get anything into the zone because they were doing a great job all over the ice.”
On the other side, Michigan broke out of its special teams slide with a power-play goal and a shorthanded tally. Michigan had failed to score on 25 straight advantages before Cogliano scored in the first period.
Don Morrison spoiled Ruden’s shutout bid midway through the second, beating Ruden low stick side from inside the faceoff circle.
T.J. Hensick added the fifth Michigan tally. Hensick deked a defenseman and skated around a falling Falcon before beating Spratt five-hole. Kevin Porter capped the offensive outburst late in the third, stuffing a backhand between Spratt’s pads.
The two teams will faceoff in a rematch in Bowling Green on Saturday night.
