WINNING STREAK NOW SEVEN leers defeat Irish, The Michigan Daily-Saturday, November 10, 1979-Page 9 Michigan s Heikkinen trudges through practice, excels in meets 7-4 By MARK BOROWSKI Special to The Daily SOUTH BEND - Last night's hockey between Michigan and Notre Dame resembled the old Doctor Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde movie. Just as one team star- ted to take control, it unwillingly changed its personality and let the op- posing team take over. But the third period saw Michigan take on the per- sonality of Dr. Jekyl and come from behind to edge the Fighting Irish, 7-4. And after two very sluggish periods for Coach Dan Farrell's Wolverines they wasted no time in putting the win-. ning goal in the net. Murray Eaves tip- ped a John Blum shot that rebounded off Notre Dame's Dave Laurion just :57 into the final period, while the Irish weire one man short. NOTRE DAME opened the first period by doing everything a good hockey team should. 'They outskated, outpassed, and outshot the Michigan squad. But Michigan netminder, Paul Fricker, was determined to keep the sailing black disc out of the net and did just that, turning sixteen Irish shots. Michigan's potent power play was stymied three times in the first period as Notre Dame continually controlled the puck. But then Dr. Jeckyl came into play as a boarding penalty against the Irish set up the Blue's fourth power play attempt in the first period. And as soon as Bruno Baseotto got his stick on the puck he slipped a pass to senior Dan Lerg who slapped his first of three goals home to put the Wolverines ahead, 1-0. The second period opened with the tide still going Michigan's way as Baseotto picked up his thirteenth goal of the season. But Coach Farre~s squad was not able to find the potion necessary to control the dreaded Mr. Hyde. Notre Dame came back with four straight goals, two of which were scored while Michigan had men in the penalty box and the other two while both sides were short one man, giving them a 4-2 advantage. JUST WHEN it looked as if the Wolverines were going to be pushed out the door they changed their play again aided by two Notre Dame penalties. "I was pleased by the fact that we were able to come back after being down 4-3. A fifth goal would have finished us," said Coach Farrell. Lerg was the man who capitalized on both power plays, first knocking in a nifty pass from Eaves and a little over two minutes later, ripping a slapshot from the top of the face-off circle that sneaked past Laurion to tie the score at four apiece. By JOHN FITZPATRICK Dan Heikkinen is an anomaly. He's one of the best distance runners Michigan has had, having placed second in the '79 Big Ten steeplechase, and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials next year in that same event. Most runners of Heikkinen's caliber are totally absorbed in the imperatives of their sport, getting their daily miles in with a dedication that approaches obsession. Heikkinen, however, views track not with enthusiastic intensity, but with a cool detachment peculiar for today's breed of the "total runner"; "It's kind of like a job," he laughs. "I can't say it's been fun." When Heikkinen came to Michigan as a 4:15 miler from Adrian High School, he didn't find the transition to college easy. "When I first came here, it was like starting all over again. It was something of a shock to go from the number one runner in your school to a lowly freshman here." Injuries hampered rapid improvement for Heikkinen, but an 8: 55steeplechase as a sophomore was an encouraging sign: "It was sort of like a breakthrough." Heikkinen's most prolific season was last year, as he was second in the Big Ten steeple and sixth in the 5,000 (both on the same day), and qualified for the finals of the NCAA steeple, in which he finished 10th, at Champaign, Illinois. "It was something standing next to (multi-world record holder Henry) Rono at the start. I was pretty tired in that race after having run the prelims in the previous day; I wasn't used to running that many hard races so close together." Though he considers himself to be best at distances un- der 5,000 meters, Heikkinen has been the number one man for the Wolverine harriers this year. At the Big Ten meet last weekend, he finished third, being outkicked by Ohio State's Steve Crane and Wisconsin's Jim Stinzi over the last 200 yar- "Crane's a kicker," commented Heikkinen ruefully. "He's a miler, so in a kick situation like that he'll have an advan- tage over me; Stinzi's quick, too. I just got outkicked, I guess. I should have stuck in a surge with about 500 yards to go. But really, the whole thing was kind of stupid. I just fell off at the end." Though he thinks the Wolverines will do well, Heikkinen has modest hopes for himself at today's NCAA district meet to be held at East Lansing. "I'm looking to finish in the top five, but hey, you never know, anything can happen. Team- wise we should do very well. The course is hilly, and that's the type of terrain we excel on. The hills will probably weed out the guys who are from the flat areas and aren't used to them. "If I make a move, it'll probably come with about one and a quarter miles to go; there's a pretty big hill at that point, so I'd pick it up at the base of the hill and try to break things up. "If it comes down to a kicker's race, I don't know what'll happen. Maybe I'll get outkicked again, maybe I won't. You just don't know." As for his post-collegiate plans, Heikkinen intends to concentrate on the steeple: "I'll stick with the steeple; I don't want to get too diversified." Despite his avowed disdain for training regimens, and his well-meaning temperament, Dan Heikkinen has the steely tenacity of an ardent competitor beneath his unassuming veneer; when asked what he thinks of competing against freshman sensation Brian Deimer, his teammate, Heikkinen says, "He's a great guy and a fantastic com- petitor," and then adds, "You think about competing against someone like Brian. But you don't want anyone beating you when it comes to the big meets. "Never. 7-0 FIRST PERIOD Scoring: M-Lerg (Baseotto, Eaves) 19:26. Penalties: M-Bourne (hooking) 4:10; M- Fricker (highsticking)4:52; ND-Poulin (elbowing) 12:10; ND-Cameron (interference) 15:10; ND- Humphreys (interference) 15:38; ND-Higgins (boarding) 18:15. SECOND PERIOD Scoring: M-Baseotto (Tippett, May) 2:31; ND- Poulin (Brownschidle, Friedmann) 4:26; ND- Michalek (Merideth, Lucia) 6:35; ND-Merideth (Weltzin, Michalek) 8:41; - ND-Merideth (Fried- mann) 11:24: M-Lerg (Eaves, Manning) 14:22; M-Lerg (Baseotto, Eaves) 16:37. Penalties: M-Tessier (interference), 4:05; M- Tippett (charging) 5:48; ND-weltzin (slashing) 5:57; M-Lundberg (highsticking) 8:22; M-Rich- mond (roughing) 10:53; ND-Michalek (roughing) 10:53; ND-Friedmann (elbowing) 13:34; ND- Cameron (holding) 15:01: M-Milburn (tripping) 16:50. THIRD PERIOD- Scoring: 9. M-Eaves (Lerg, Blum) 0:57; 10. M-Baseotto (Oiver) 14:14; 11. M-Eaves (Blum, Tippett) 14:35. Penalties: ND-Meredith (checking from behind). 0:49; M-Brandrup (tripping) 8:47; M-Milborne (delay of game) 11:00; ND-Higgins (delay of game) 11:00; M-May (checking from behind) 11:59; M-Tessier (boarding) 8:41. Saves Fricker (M) Laurian (ND) 16 6 12-34 11 10 3-24 'I LOSING STREAK ENDS A T FIVE: DeVitalized Pistons beat Sixers, 106-98 By BRAD GRAYSON Special to the Daily PONTIAC-The Pistons won a hard fought game at-the Silverdome over the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-98. It was close most of the way until center Bob Lanier led* the Pistons in a fourth quarter charge that put the game away r It was the first win in as many tries for new coach Richie Adubato who suc- ceeded Dick Vitale, the recently fired Piston coach. ADUBATO COMMENTED that it was "just a good team effort" and Lanier was "just unbelievable." He also attributed the big win to good team defense. The Pistons led most of the first quar- ter, but the Sixers kept it close until Philadelphia finally took its first lead, 25-23, on a Bobby Jones flying slam dunk with 46 seconds to go in the quarter. The quarter ended in a 27-27 deadlock as Julius Erving of the Sixers and James McElroy of the Pistons led their respec- tive teams with eight points apiece. The second quarter began as see-saw battle, however the Pistons took com- mand with a 12-3 spurt led by Lanier to open a 53-44 lead with 1:30.,to go in the half. The Sixers closed the lead to 56-51 at the half on a Caldwell Jones jumper from the top of the key as time ran out. IN THE THIRD quarter the Pistons, with four points each by McElroy and Terry Tyler, ran off eight straight to open up a 65-56 lead. The rest of the quarter was Philadelphia's as Doug Collins led a comeback to pull them within three at 81-78 to end the third stanza. The Pistons were led by game MVP Lanier's 26 points, while Collins led the losers with 21. Also, McElroy ended his string of 20 straight successful free-. throws. One factor in the game was the fact that both teams received technical fouls for using a zone defense. This con- tributed to some good one-on-one basketball as Lanier and Tylersuc- cessfully shut off the vaunted Sixers in- side game. Out of the s9Iue By Geoff Larcom RE YOU LEAVING Dick Vitale? I heard when they fired you, that you cried. Well Dick Vitale, we all sure know one thing. We're damn sure that you tried. .. I remember a similar phrase used in connection with Billy Martin when he was finished with the Detroit Tigers, Love, hate or amused indifference, whatever you felt for either Vitale or Martin, one thing was sure. They put everything they had into the professional coaching position. That was the problem with Vitale, one which should have been evident to his superiors from the start. Every loss, every notch the Pistons dropped in the standings .was to take a small piece of mind from Vitale. He is a man who admittedly cannot cope with losing. Each setback weighs on him as a personal blow. Depression was Vitale's reaction to the Pistons' early season ineptitude, and his superiors, Oscar Feldman and Bill Davidson, only saw that as deepening while the season wore on. Yet they knew Vitale was a high-powered man when they hired him. He labored right under their noses as U of D coach. If ever the company should have had a good idea of how a man would respond to pressure, this was it. And yet Vitale was enthusiastically hired, his stunning successes with the Titans still fresh in everyone's mind. It was to be a "ReVitalization" of the franchise. Vitale's enthusiasm was catching, and soon he had many believing that, yes, another Detroit basketball resurrection was in the making. But that star quickly faded. A public relations ploy dies a quick death when a team goes 30-52 as did the Pistons last year. And so all the Piston management had left this season was an also ran product and a coach that couldn't cope with the emotional rigors of the NBA's second division. I just wish they'd thought ahead, beyond the first year benefits a Detroit celebrity like Vitale would bring. Could a man with Vitale's emotional and personal devotion to the game last in such a transient, harsh environment? Nobody knew enought to ask. So Vitale gratefully accepted the oppor- tunity of a lifetime, leaving the atmosphere he seemed so at home in, the 'rah, rah' situation college imposes. So now the Piston brass must choose the club's seventh coach of the decade. Dave Bing would be a popular local choice, but if the Vitale era taught them anything, it should be that catering to local fan appeal is no way to win in the NBA. The simple fact remains-the players on the court spell life or death in the -NBA. Ask former Milwaukee coach Larry Costello where he'd have been without Bob Dandridge or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when his Bucks won the world championship. Ask Billy Cunningham of the Philadelphia 76ers how he coaches Julius Erving. Sure, he draws out plays. Sure, he formulates last-minute strategy. But the bottom line is court execution and only the players can respond to that challenge. Davison and Feldman have put themselves on the spot. They fired another coach. They inexplicably cut John Shumate. The lost M.L. Carr and Kevin Porter, after each had super seasons. And what did they get in return? Bob McAdoo-a proven scorer, and lit- tHe else. They've kept up the local appeal with, incredibly, three U of D stars presently on the roster, along with MSU's Greg Kelser and Phil Hubbard of Michigan. But if these very young, untested players don't soon produce, Feldman and Davidson are in for worse times still. The two can change coaches as they please. That's not the problem however. It's called thoughtful decisionmaking, and in that the Pistons have been strictly minor league. 2 FREE 12,. COKES With Purchase of Any 1 Item or More Pizza ci, #ras3Et 0hu SINGLES NIGHT GIN, VODKA & WHISKEY COCKTAILS HALF PRICE EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT Open 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Saturday 2045 PACKARD 668-9 A BILLBOARD Tonight's Michigan-Notre Dame hockey game will be broadcast live from South Bend by Mark Stacy and Jim Huttle on WCBN, 88.3 on your FM dial. Catch all the action star- Altom bers ting at 7:34 p.m. 1588 at Toronto By LEE KATTERMAN With the season only two weeks old, the men's gymnastics team will be facing Olympics-bound competition on- ce again. The season opener pitted the Wolverines against the Korean National team, with the Koreans coming out on top, 266.8-254.9. TONIGHT, THE gymnasts meet the York University squad, which includes three members from the Canadian Olympic team. Although the Wolverines defeated the Toronto-based tumblers last season, Michigan coach Newt Loken believes this year's match will be much closer. HIS GUARDED optimism stems from the recent injury to sophomore all-arounder Marshall Girfield. Gar- field dislocated a finger while working on parallel bars and is not expected to be able to practice for at least two weeks. Against the Koreans, Garfield tied for first on parallel bars with a 9.15. SCORES NBA Boston 127, Kansas City 119 Washington 125, San Antonio 116 Chicago11 7;San Diego 92 NHL Chicago 4, Hartford 2 Atlanta 5, New York I.2 The Athlete's Shop I.M. B-ball 10% Team Discount 309 S. State Attention All Bookworms: Now that your midterms are over, TAKE A luatIV D D C A KI I