Andrew Ebbett scored two goals and assisted on Kevin Porter's eventual game-winner to lead the Michigan ice hockey team to a 6-4 win over Ferris State on Friday, March 10, in Yost Ice Arena. The win gives the Wolverines a 1-0 edge in the best-of-three CCHA quarterfinal series. Porter added two assists, while Noah Ruden made 28 saves, including 12 in the third period. Michigan led 5-2 after 40 minutes, but the Bulldogs pulled within one with 9:36 to play before Travis Turnbull gave U-M some breathing room with 3:40 left.

Senior receiver Steve Breaston (North Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills) led the way for the Wolverines in the first half, tallying 201 all-purpose yards. In total, Breaston was responsible for three catches for 46 yards, one rush for 30 yards and 125 total return yards. Throwing to Breaston was sophomore quarterback Chad Henne (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson HS), who completed 17 of 24 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns while seeing only first-half action. Sophomore Kevin Grady (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids), who averaged 6.7 yards per carry in the game, amassed 94 yards on 14 carries and punched in two touchdowns.

Junior linebacker Prescott Burgess (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding HS) forced the only Indiana turnover on the day, swiping a pass in the second half and returning the ball for 21 yards. Sophomore linebacker Tim Jamison (Riverdale, Ill./Harvey Thornton HS) and junior linebacker Shawn Crable (Massillon, Ohio/Washington HS) registered back-to-back sacks on the second Hoosier drive of the third quarter.

Sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski led all players with 16 kills for her 10th double-digit outing in a row, while sophomore Lyndsay Miller had 15 kills on 23 swings while hitting a match-high .522. Junior Danielle Pflum also hit double figures with 11 kills on 23 swings, terminating seven balls in game three. Sophomore Stesha Selsky and sophomore/freshman Mara Martin reached double digits in digs, with Selsky tallying 16 for her 23rd double-digit outing in 25 matches and Martin recording 13.

Michigan improves to 13-12 overall and 7-9 in Big Ten play, while Indiana falls to 9-18 and 2-13. The win guarantees that Michigan will find itself in sixth place in the Big Ten standings with four matches remaining and leaves the Wolverines with a task of finishing the season 2-2 to qualify for NCAA postseason consideration.

Sophomore forward Melissa Dobbyn earned first team All-Big Ten honors, freshman defender Skylar Andrews was named to the All-Big Ten second team and all-freshman team, and freshman defender Danelle Underwood was also picked for all-freshman team honors.

In addition, junior Katelin Spencer was chosen as Michigan's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Dobbyn leads the Wolverines in points this season with 28 (10 g, 8 a). Her 16 points in Big Ten play ranked third in the conference. She constantly created scoring opportuities for a Wolverine squad that held the fourth highest goals-per-game average in the conference (1.70). She earned Soccer Buzz Elite Team and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after tallying a career-best five points against Ohio State (Sept. 23) and following that up with a two-goal effort at Oakland (Sept. 25) two days later. Her 28 points, 10 goals and eight assists are all career-best season totals. She fired a conference-high 47 shots in Big Ten play and has a team-leading 80 shots this season.

Andrews was one of only two freshmen and one of only two defenders to start all 18 games for the Wolverines this season. Andrews' improvement showed throughout the season and earned her the assignment of guarding the conference-leading scorer Tiffany Weimer from Penn State on Oct. 21. She also recorded two shots this season.

Underwood also started all 18 games as a freshman this season, tallying 12 points (5 g, 2 a) in those 18 games. She led all Wolverine freshmen in scoring. The former Gatorade Player of the Year for Michigan looked comfortable from the start, scoring her first career goal, the game-winner, against Texas (Sept. 2) in Michigan's home opener. She recorded a career-best three points with a goal and an assist against Penn State (Oct. 21).

Spencer, a tri-captain this season, provided leadership for a young Wolverine team. She started all 18 games, playing both defender and midfield. She tied a career-best season total in assists with three, which ranks third on the team.

The host Wolverines will take on Penn State, the top-ranked team in the nation, tomorrow night (Thursday, Nov. 3) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at the U-M Soccer Field. The game has a start time of 7:30 p.m.

Hall was second on the team with six tackles (four solos) at Northwestern and set a Michigan record with an 83-yard touchdown return on a fumble to give Michigan a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. On the play, Hall forced the fumble, got up, scooped up the ball and ran 83 yards for the first defensive score of the season for the Wolverines. He also added a tackle for loss against the Wildcats.

Hall helped spearhead Michigan's defense that held Northwestern to its fewest points of the season. The Wolverines held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half and limited the nation's No. 4 offense to 94 total offensive yards in the second half, including four negative-yardage series in the third and fourth quarters. U-M thwarted a pair fourth-down plays in the final stanza and forced four three-and-outs in the second half. The Wildcats never ran more than six plays in any offensive series in the second half and had just one possession with seven or more plays the entire game, a nine-play drive in the second quarter that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Joel Howells.

The touchdown was the first defensive score for the Wolverines in 2005 and it was Hall's second career TD. He returned a punt 76 yards for a TD at Indiana a year ago. Hall is fourth on the team with 46 tackles this season, including three tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He shares the team lead in pass breakups (seven) and interceptions (two).

Hall joins Mike Hart (offense, Oct. 3, following Michigan State game) and Steve Breaston (co-special teams, Oct. 17, following Penn State game) as Michigan's Big Ten weekly award winners this season.

Junior tailback Jerome Jackson led the Wolverine offensive attack with his first career 100-yard rushing game, carrying the ball a career-best 24 times for 105 yards. Freshman tailback Kevin Grady added 64 yards on 20 carries. Sophomore quarterback Chad Henne finished 17-of-30 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Jason Avant returned to his home state and caught a team-leading five passes for 67 yards.

Defensively, the Wolverines held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half and collected three turnovers in the game. U-M forced five straight three-and-outs by Northwestern in the second half and stopped two fourth-down plays in the fourth quarter. Junior inside linebacker Prescott Burgess led the team with seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Junior cornerback Leon Hall added six stops, one forced fumble and an 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Michigan trailed for most of the first half after the Hawkeyes opened scoring at the 14:40 mark on a rebound goal by Caitlin McCurdy. Iowa continued to carry play in the frame -- the Hawkeyes outshot the Wolverines 10-6 in the half -- until just before the halftime intermission when sophomore Lucia Belassi knotted the score at 1-1 at the 32:24 mark. Senior Lori Hillman up the play at midfield, firing a long lead pass into the Hawkeye striking circle. Belassi, who stood alone with Iowa goalkeeper Lissa Munley, corralled the pass, maneuvered around a diving Munley and deposited the ball into lower right corner.

The Wolverines continued the momentum coming out of the break as freshman Erin Dallas tallied the game's deciding goal at 40:03. Off a Michigan free hit, senior/junior Katie Morris gained control of the ball and combined with Dallas to set up a two-on-one situation entering the Iowa circle. Morris sent a pass to Dallas, who one-timed it into the back of the cage.

Sterba is the first Wolverine to receive the weekly honor in the 2005 season. The senior recorded an assist in Michigan's 2-1 double-overtime win against No. 25 Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday (Oct. 20) before scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a 4-2 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday (Oct. 23). The goals for Sterba were scored at the 51:34 and 64:54 marks.

Sterba is second on Michigan's all-time list with 77 career games played, five games behind Mychal Turpin (2001-04). Sterba is also fifth in career assists (14) for U-M, two assists behind Knox Cameron (2001-04). Currently Sterba is second on the team with 25 shots, third in shots on goal (10) and assists (3), fourth in points (7), and tied for fourth in goals (2).

The win was Rosen's 13th over a top-25 program while with the Wolverines and his second over a seventh-ranked program. The No. 7 Badgers are the highest ranked opponent that the Wolverines have defeated in program history, tied with No. 7 BYU, which fell to Michigan in 1999 in Rosen's first match at the helm of the Wolverines. The win over Wisconsin also marked the 500th victory in program history.