SPORTS

A Little Respect

The small but swift
Andover hockey
team is skating
toward another
winning season.

MIKE ROSENBAUM

Sports Writer

A

John Michaelson (2), Darrin Levin (10), and Chad Zamler (44) take the faceoff against Livonia Stevenson.

The Barons' success comes in
spite of their lack of size. The team
boasts no six-footers and no one
weighs over 185 pounds.
About half of Andover's skaters
are Jewish, including its captain, two
assistant captains and its two top
scorers.
Defenseman Bryan Schneider, one
of two 185-pounders on the squad,
wears the "C" while fellow seniors
Darrin Levin and Chad Zamler are
the assistants. Schneider is strong in

his own zone but also plays on the
power play. He has four goals and five
assists. Farrell says that Schneider is
a good leader on and off the ice. "He
takes charge of the team. In school he
does an excellent job with different
promotions, like selling jerseys. He
writes our announcements; he helps
out with statistics."
Levin, a forward, is the team's
leading scorer with 16 goals and nine
assists. "Last year he was more of a
defensive player," notes Farrell. "This

Bob Mc Keown.

lthough back-to-back losses
last week temporarily
grounded the high-flying
Bloomfield Hills Andover
hockey team, the Barons
seem headed for their third straight
improved season under coach John
Farrell.
The Andover High School icers
won just two games in 1985-86, the
season before Farrell took charge. The
Barons won eight games two years
ago and 14 last season. They ended
December at 5-3-2. "I'm satisfied with
the program," says Farrell, who hopes
to better last year's win total. "I have
a goal of winning about 15 games this
year."

Andover leaders Chad Zamler, Bryan Schneider and Darrin Levin.

36

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1988

year he's an excellent offensive
player."
Forward Zamler's strength is his
strong skating. "If he utilizes his
speed he can be a threat to any team,"
says Farrell. "He's gotten several
goals because of his hard work and
desire." Zamler has four goals and five
assists.
Another key contribUtor is junior
forward Todd Lansky. one of the
team's many strong skaters, Lansky
is second in scoring with 11 goals and
nine assists. Farrell expects him to
continue at that pace. "He comes up
with that big breakaway. And he
usually scores on a breakaway, if he
gets one."
Farrell has high expectations for
junior forward Brad Zamler, who has
five goals and two assists. "He's
always scored goals; he's got a nose for
the net. Hopefully next year he's go-
ing to be one of our big goal-scorers.
I'm looking for him to have anywhere
between 30 and 40 goals next year, as
a senior.. Hopefully this year he can
break the 20-goal mark."
Mark Bernstein is a first-year
senior forward. At 5-foot-11, he is the
tallest Baron. Although Bernstein is
inexperienced, Farrell says, "he's a
hard worker and he's an inspiration
to the team because of his hard work."
After Andover's 5-1-2 start, the
Barons led host Wyandotte 3-2 with

one minute left in their Dec. 21 game.
But the Bears scored to tie it, then
won it with 13 seconds left. Andover
came out flat at home the next night
and lost to traditional hockey power
Livonia Stevenson, 8-3.
Farrell has no set style he im-
presses on his teams. Rather, he lets
the team's abilities dictate what type
of game it plays. "I have a skating
team," he says, "so I have to utilize
their speed with a quick breakout and
try to catch the other team in a 3-on-2,
2.-on-1 situation."
Most of Andover's players learn
their_ skills playing youth hockey in
Southfield house leagues. While the
Barons are getting enough talented
players to win games, they are not yet
getting enough to become a
powerhouse.
"Out of the four-to-seven kids I get
each year," explainsFarrell, "about
half of 'em have (good) hockey ex-
perience and the other ones maybe
only have one or two years of hockey
experience and have limited skills at
first . . . I don't have a lot of depth (An-
dover has just one goalie, freshman
Brian Palmer). I have to go to these
kids as freshmen and sophomores and
I have to go to 'ern early. And when
I have to go to 'ern early, they just can-
not contribute like a junior or a
senior."
That means that Farrell spends a