NORTH DAKOTA, MINNESOTA STILL ALIVE:
It's playo time on the ice, too
The Michigan Daily-Sunday, March 18,1979-Page 11
By DAN PERRIN
While household stars Larry Bird and
Earvin Johnson fight to bring their
teams an NCAA basketball crown,
there's another battle being waged at
the same time. This one is on the ice,
where such infamous pucksters as Nor-
th Dakota's Kevin Maxwell, Neal
Broten of Minnesota and George Mc-
Phee of Bowling Green lead their respec-
tive squads into the NCAA Hockey
Championships this week at Detroit's
Olympia Stadium
After skating it's way to a first place
regular season 'finish and three vic-
tories and a tie in the WCHA playoffs,
North Dakota has earned a bye into the
semi-finals. The Fighting Sioux (29-11-
1), WCHA champs for the first time sin-
ce the 1966-67 season, are led by fresh-
man Maxwell (26-33-59) and will face
off against Eastern Collegiate Athletic
Conference (ECAC) runner-up Dar-
tmouth on Friday night.
JOHN GASPARINI, in his first year
as North Dakota's head coach, was
pleased with his team's playoff perfor-
mance versus Colorado College and
Wisconsin, and planned no wholesale
changes for the upcoming national
tournament.
"We had a tremendous team effort in
the playoffs," said Gasparini. "I'm ex-
tremely proud of the team; they over-
came a lot of adversity in having to play
without (defenseman) Travis Dunn,
and (forwards) Doug Smail and Erwin
Martens.
"We're back to full health for the
national tournament which might even
be a bad omen," joked Gasparini.
"Right now, we're just making sure our
performance is up to par. We know
what we have to do. We've had good
success with the game we've played all
year and we're not about to change it
now."
WCHA RUNNER-UP Minnesota (29-
11-1) also rolled through the league
playoffs with little trouble, but has a
rougher road to the NCAA title. The
Gophers must play a first round NCAA
game versus Central Collegiate Hockey
Association (CCHA) champ Bowling
Green (37-5-2) tonight at Minneapolis,
with the winner advancing to the semi-
finals opposite ECAC, champion New
Hampshire on Thursday night.'
The game will feature two of the
country's top rookies in Bowling
Green's McPhee (40-48-88) and Broten
of Minnesota (20-47-67), as well as a
pair of talented goalies, Wally Charko
for the Falcons and Steve Janaszak of
Minnesota. Both coaches, Herb Brooks
of Minnesota and Ron Mason of
Bowling Green are cautiously op-
timistic going into the game.
"For us to defeat Bowling Green in a
single game playoff will take every bit
of talent owned by our men," predicted
Brooks. "We will have to skate, check
and play without the puck better than
any previous game this year.
"THAT'S ASKING a lot, but then, I
have asked an awful lot from this team
all season,'' he continued. "Whichever
team wants it the most will play in
Detroit later this week."
Mason's Falcons, who finished third
in last year's NCAA's, could become
the first collegiate hockey team to win
40 games in one season if they capture
the championship. "I definitely see
Minnesota as having the advantage,
playing at home with a bigger rink,"
noted Mason. "But we've played very
well on the road, which is unusual.
"The game Sunday night might be for
the NCAA Championship," Mason ad-
ded. "Either team there could have the
horses to go all the way."
POR TER BREAKS NBA RECORD
Flom salvages meet
for crippled gymnasts
Special to the Daily
MORGANTOWN, ,W.Va.-Sara Flom
salvaged some pride for a wounded
Michigan gymnastics team yesterday,
when she won the floor exercise event
in the individual portion of the AIAW
Midwest regional at the West Virginia
Coliseum.
With all-arounders Teresa Bertoncin
and Colleen Forrestel out of the lineup
due to serious injuries, Flom rolled up a
two-routine total of 17.55 and added
another floor title to the same crown
which she earned at the state cham-
pionship three weeks earlier.
BUT BESIDES 'Flom's winning ef-
fort, there was little for the Wolverines
to cheer about. Mia Axon, who finished
sixth in the all-around competition
Friday night, picked up a third place on
the uneven parallel bars and a fourth in
vaulting, while Cindy Shearon finished
sixth and Forrestel, before bowing out
with a twisted ankle, claimed seventh
in the latter event.
In additon, Flom and Axon were
named to the all-Midwest regional
team, which is composed of 12 gym-
nasts.
The crushing blows came in the form
of injuries to Bertoncin and Forrestel.
While Forrestel competed in vaulting
yesterday before her injury, Bertoncin
disocated her knee during the balance
beam event Friday.
-BUT THAT WAS only a smattering of
the-severe ailments which plagued the
Wolverines. Flom entered the meet
with strained knee ligaments, Lisa Ut-
tal was nursing tendonitis in one
shoulder, and Cindy Shearon was suf-
fering from painful shin splints.
In spite of the handicaps and hear-
tbreaks, Coach Scott Ponto saw several
positive signs for next season. "We did
a super job on vaulting (Friday), and
they did a pretty good job on beam," he
said. "But Teresa's injury did hurt us.
"I don't think Sara's injury affected
her too much," he added. "She was a
little shaky on beam, but she did a
super job for us on floor."
OHIO STATE'S Donna Silber, who
ran away with the all-around title
Friday, claimed top honors' in the
vaulting, bars, and beam events
yesterday, but an injury prevented her
from competing in floor exercises.
Piestons dr
By AP and UPI
PONTIAC-Kevin Porter broke the
NBA season assist record and M.L.
Carr and Bob Lanier scored 20 points
apiece last night in leading the Detroit
Pistons to a 105-98 victory over the In-
diana Pacers.
Porter dished out 20 assists to boost
his season total to 918, toppling the old
mark of 910 set by Nate Archibald of
Kansas City in 1972-73.
Porter, a 5-foot-10 playmaker one
month shy of his 29th birthday, broke
the mark with 5:14 to play in the third
qurter, passing off to John Long, who
connected on a short jump shot.
Porter had 10 assists in that quarter,
four in each of the first tx#o periods, and
two in the final quarter.
En route to his record, Porter has had
53 games with 10 assists or more this
SCORES
NHL
Detroit 3, St. Louis 1
Boston 4, Chicago 2
Pittsburgh 5, Washington 2
NY islanders 5, NY Rangers 2
Exhibition Baseball
Los Angeles 11, New York 9
Philadelphia 3, Chicago (A) 2
Atlanta 5. Minnesota 1
Cincinnati 4. Kansas City 2
St. Louis 3, New York (N) 3, 1i-inning tie
Boston 3, Detroit 0
California 1, Milwaukee 0
Chicago (N) 7, Oakland 3
Houston 4, Montreal 2
Pittsburgh 7, Toronto 1
Seattle 10, Cleveland 2
San Francisco 5, San Diego i
Baltimore 9, Texas 6
NBA
Detroit 105, Indiana 98
New York 103, Philadelphia 101
lop aeers
season. His best night was against
Boston March 9 when he had 25 assists.
Detroit never trailed after outscoring
Indiana 35-22 in the second quarter to
take a 59-46 halftime lead. The Pacers
drew to within two points, 94-92, on a
bucket by James Edwards with 4:27 to
play, but Detroit scored the next nine
points, including a pair of three-point
plays by Lanier and Leon Douglas.
Terry Tyler had 17 points and Porter 16
for the Pistons, who have won nine of
their last 14 games. Indiana's Alex
English led all scorer with 27 points.
David's a Goliath rrns
David Greenwood's attempt to reject a shot by DePaul's Gary Garland was all
for naught as the Bruins dropped the NCAA Western Regional final, 95-91 to the
Blue Demons. DePaul advances to the final four in Salt Lake City.
CRANBROOK TAKES CLASS B:
Trenton captures Class A hockey title
By TOM STEPHENS
Special to the Daily
FLINT-The Lower Peninsula made a clean sweep of
the state high school finals here last night, as Trenton shut
out Sault Ste. Marie, 2-0, for the Class A title, while Bloom-
field Hills Cranbrook edged Houghton, 6-5, for the Class B
crown.
In Class B, Steve Gasser scored both the tying and win-
ning goals within a 30 second time span in the third period
and Cranbrook killed a determined last-minute Houghton
power play to ice the state title by a narrow 6-5 count.
Houghton's Chuck Lower spearheaded the losing cause
with a hat trick and one breakaway goal that was disallowed
because of belated and controversial high sticking call.
Gasser's linemates Dan Sahutske and Steve Black had
two goals and a goal and three assists, respectively, to round
out Cranbrook's production-line attack.
In the second period of the Class A contest, Trojan penaity
killer Phil De Sana poked a loose puck between a Soo defeh-
seman's skates to give himself a breakaway. He deftly fired
the puck past goalie Jim Claxton's stick side for the only
goal Trenton needed.
At 2:26 of the final period, Trenton's Scott Weedon took A
power play pass from Scott Stephens at the point and fireda
hard drive over Claxton's glove hand'for Trenton's insurance
goal.
The Blue Devils never really took control as the muscular
Trenton defense forced most of their shots from outside th'
Trojan blue line. Goalie Doug Buck handled all of his chances
smoothly and made some good stops on the few serious S-
scoring attempts.
For Cranbrook, it was the first state title in its high school
hockey history. For Trenton, who has reached the semifinals
in each of the past five seasons and who lost last year to Sault
Ste. Marie, it was their second championship in four years.