MMIN" tH LMtIU(,N LDAILY Page Nine i. ,,., iEu roger . . over and out ROGER ROSSITER T he dekers feast . . on pride and hope TEAMS THAT DO not win league titles and make heroic bids for national championships tend to be forgotten when it comes time for post season accolades here at Michigan. And when you think about it, that tradition begins to smell awfully rank. No one starts from scratch and builds a national champion the first year. Bo Schembecler came close, but even he has not yet attained that lofty plateau. This year especially, with Johnny Orr's basketballers making an incredible run at the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball title, and Rick Bay's matmen coming within an eye- lash of a national wrestling title, the little guys struggling to the top have really been forgotten. But one man and his program are going to be next to im- possibe to overlook in the next few years. The man's name is Dan Farrell, and he coaches the Michigan hockey team. Farrell began with little ORDINARILY, A MAN who coaches his team to a seventh place finish in a ten team league would not inspire a rash of rah rah's from the media. One reason for that is the ever- present shortsightedness of those in the media business. Unlike the average fan, they like winners-second best just ain't good enough. But when a guy walks, into a program that's headed no- where but down and imparts knowledge and confidence to his players, while honing down that winning edge, anyone with even an ounce of intelligence has got to appreciate the change. While Farrell's expertise has gone relatively unnoticed at home, it has been the talk of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association all year. Right from the opening weekend of the league season, when Farrell's crew shocked just about everyone with a win and a tie against eventual national champion Minne- sota, those in the know realized Farrell was a winner. "Be patient," claimed Tom Greenhoe, assistant sports in- formation director in Gopher-land, "in a couple years Farrell will take you to the top." Victories began to come E SEASON WORE on with its ups and downs. But the high- est summit that could have ever been imagined finally became reality when the Wolverines twice knocked off hockey goliath Michigan Tech before a pair of delerious home crowds that totaled well over 14,000. That one weekend gave Farrell and the Wolverines the reward they had worked diligently for since late September. Farrell played his college hockey at Tech under John MacInnes and worked there as an assistant until last spring. MacInnes came to Tech from Michigan where he played and coached for Al Renfrew, the man Farrell replaced. Not sur- prisingly, Renfrew was the key figure in Athletic Director Don Canham's offer to Farrell. Renfrew knew MacInnes' coaching ability and correctly reasoned that Farrell had to know the game well to work for John. As Renfrew smiled lst night at annual Dekers' Club ban- quet, "I told these guys last year at this time they'd be playing on a national champion in a couple years. That gives Danny 'one more year." The roast was all in fun, but the prediction may not be far off. Farrell proved his ability as a recruiter by bringing in six freshmen who stepped right into the starting lineup and per- formed like veterans. The best is on the way ONE OF THE SIX, Pat Hughes, was honored as the "Most Colorful Rookie" at last night's proceedings. Hughes' most noteworthy contributions to this year's squad were his rink long dashes thatexcited the fans like no one since Bernie Gagnon. Greg Fox was next to be feted as the team's "Most Improved Player" voted by his teammates. No one deserved the award more. Shunned to the bench early in the season, "Foxy" returned to evolve into the team's most reliable defenseman. Fox became a stalwart on the Michigan peialty killing crew, and perhaps'was the main reasonrforsIts re- sounding success in the season's later stages. The last award was the one that everyone knew had to Robbie Moore, after being acclaimed all-American last week, was voted the team's "Most Valuable Player." When coach Farrell announced the award, Moore was rendered speechless, probably for the first time in his life. With the end of theufestivities, Michiganhockey came to an end for -the season. But for Farrell and assistant coac.h Jimf Keough, the real work is still ahead. Recruiting now takes over as their number one concern, and they will be working day and night to get "those two or three players that we need to become champions," according to Farrell, Don't be surprised when you stroll into Yost in the very near future and see a bright maize and blue manner proclaiming the Wolverines WCHA and NCAA champions. It's just the logical product of a combination that always succeeds-good coaching and players that refuse to settle for anything less. r o fJr e s s io n alr.{ L e a gu~ '$ "'s""ri,?J' ? e i: S ta n d in g s V rsf. {~ ":AYFZ... .:/r.r" ,.U Sf.rr:i 'J:Jf~f r-a#ss a a e g e t n i g STREAKERS We Got 'Em Clark's '