Page 8-Sunday, January 22, 1978-The Michigan Daily NoDAK VICTIMIZED, 5-2: Dekers final 1 By ERROL SHIFMAN Oh, what a relief it is! Pummeling the opposing net with 44 shots, the Michigan Wolverines re- kindled their early season flame and burned the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 5-2: WITH THE LINE of Dan Lerg, Bill Thayer and Mike Coffman leading the way, the Wolverines ended a month and a- half of agony. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to early December. A relieved Coach Dan Farrell conveyed the team's sentiments. "I'm glad it's all over," said Farrell, "especially for the kids, considering what they had to go through." In a hard checking affair which saw 18 penalties whistled, the Wol- verines finally meshed the defense and offense together. The Blue defense turned in a good perform- ance, blocking 19 shots and clearing, Fighting Sioux attackers away from the crease. After playing the first period in a 1-1 tie, Michigan took charge. LERG PUT THE Wolverines out in front temporarily at 5:17 of the second stanza on a superb individual effort. Starting at the red line, Lerg skated in by himself on three Sioux defenders. Streaking down the left side, Lerg cut in around all three Sioux and slid the puck past NoDak goalie Mel Donnelly. Lerg compiled three goals and three assists in the weekend series and received first star honors for last night's game. The hard-hitting second period saw a minor. altercation each time the puck went to the boards. AFTER NODAK defenseman Bill Himmelright tied the game at two apiece, Thayer notched his second goal of the evening taking a cross crease pass from Dave Debol and Michigan was ahead to stay. L1Y win The Fighting Sioux had apparently tied the game at 16:47 but the goal was disallowed. The officials ruled that Nodak forward Rick Meyers had gloved the puck into the net. The disappointment was enough to take all the fight out of the Sioux. JOHN McCAHILL gave Michigan its insurance goal just 52 seconds into the third period, banging in a Doug Todd rebound. Lerg rounded out the scoring 34 seconds later and the rest of the period was left to penalties and numerous Michigan scoring chances. It looked as if the Wolverines were in for another long night as Sioux forward Meyers scored on a power play at just 2:00 into the game. But Michigan, playing with an intensity they had been lacking, tied one! the game at 10:13 with Thayer getting the score. The line of Lerg, Thayer and Coffman provided excitement for the crowd of 4,651 each time they took the ice. Coffman picked up three assists and Thayer notched two goals and an assist. IN A STRANGE turn of events, the Michigan pep band took up the "Paaaaaalllllll-merrrr" chant usual- ly used by rival crowds to taunt the Michigan goalie. The chant seemed to perk up the Palmer and he turned- in a solid performance, stopping 33 Sioux shots. The Wolverine victory moves them within three points of fifth place Minnesota. Next week the Blue icers travel to Denver to battle the first place Pioneers. Return to normalcy FIRST PERIOD Scoring: 1. ND-Myers (Cox, Himmelright) 2:00; 2. M-Thayer (Coffman, Lerg) 10:13. Penalties: M-Olver (charging) 1:17; M-Lerg (4:00 minutes roughing) 13:17; ND-Chorney (4:00 minutes roughing) 13:17. SECOND PERIOD Scoring: 3. M-Lerg (Pacholzuk, Coffman) 5:27; 4. ND-limmelright (Martens. Burggraf) 7:20; 5. M-Thayer (Debol. Turner) 14:44. Penalties: ND-Stone (slashing) 1:42; M-Turner (cross(checking) 2:50; M-Coffman (elbowing) 6:56: M-Maurer (roughing) 10:02; ND-Marvin (rough- ing) 10:02; ND-Gliniany (hooking) 13:43. THIRD PERIOD Scoring: 6. M-McCahill (Todd, Debol) 0:52; 7. M-Lerg (Thayer, Coffman) 1:26. Penalties: ND-Marvin (roughing) 2:05; M-Hlampson (roughing) 2:05; ND-Smail (cross- checking) 5:16; M-Hampson (cross-checking) 5:16; ND-Himmelright (cross-checking) 6:17 M-Turner (interference) 7:13; ND-Smail (charging) 15:44; ND-Mihulka (holding) 16:44; M-Coffman (hook- ing) 18:11. SAVES Palmer (M)................13 11 9-33 Donnelly (NI))............... 6 16 17-39 Daily Photo by PETER SERLING MICHIGAN PLAYERS Dean Turner and Bill Thayer celebrate the scoring of Thayer's second goal of the game here in the second period. Michigan won its first conference game in eight tries as the Wolverines defeated North Dakota, 5-2, last night at Yost. Dan Lerg- Game's first star skiPuckh9 Hard to criticize... 0. icers slump By BRIAN MILLER OjNE OF THESE DAYS, I'm going togive Joe Falls a call. "Joe," I'll say, "tell me how you do it." Tell me how you can cover the Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons, Lions, Wolverines, Spar - oops, not the Spartans - but everyone else, and rip them apart in your column. Tell me how you can meet the players and coaches, travel with them, make friends with them, and then tell them, in print, how bad they can be. I marvel at that ability of yours, Mainly because it is a talent I do not possess. I am now in my second semester of covering Michigan's hockey team. I have~met the players and coaches, travelled with them, and even made friends with some of them. But now that they are in the midst of a long slump, I can't bring myself to cut them down. I take that back - I could, and would, criticize the team members, if they deserved it, but I don't think they do. Two weeks ago, I traveled with the team to Wisconsin to cover my first road series in the two years I've been here at the Daily. I was very excited about going to Madison, but after spending a couple of hours there, I couldn't wait to get home. Last week, I went with the team to Minnesota, and again, I was very ex- cited about going. I rationalized my bad time in Madison by convincing myself that I couldn't really enjoy the trip knowing I was missing the first day of the new semester. Besides, I had to cover the two games against the Badgers and therefore, was unable to just sit back and enjoy them. Better this week? It would be different this week, I thought. I had already settled into a routine at school, and I was going to see the team play as a fan, not a repor- ter. I could yell and cheer now, not hold everything in like you're supposed to when you sit in a press box. But again, I found that I was anxious and impatient to get back to Ann Arbor. I enjoyed my visit of the campus at Minnesota, but for some reason, I just wanted to be back home. So what does this have to do with my inability to criticize the team? Probably less than I think it does. But, after having'travelled with the team for the last two weeks, I was able to see how tough these guys have it. So me of the playersare no more than one year older than me, and many are one or two years younger. I was bothered by the travelling and I was only on the road with them for two weekends. They had been away from home for almost two months, You could make a great case in blaming the road games for the Wol- verines' problems. Michigan's last three conference opponents - Michigan Tech, Wisconsin and Minnesota - are 23-0-2 in their last 25 games at home. But the icers' problems go deeper than playing away. I think the team is beginning to doubt themselves now. The are finding it harder and harder to put the puck in the net at the same rate they did earlier in the year. One reason for that is because other teams are checking the Wolverines' two top scorers, Dave Debol and Kip Maurer a lot closer than before. They are unable to cruise up and down the ice looking for the breakaway pass as they once did. Need a leader Another problem is a lack of leadership. The team does not have a well defined leader who can instill the motivation needed to turn a one goal deficit into a one goal,win. This team is like a diamond-in-the-rough. The only thing missing is the jeweler who can take it, smooth it out, polish it up, and make it sparkle. This is a good hockey team. They shouldn't be losing like this, but they are. The players are trying their hardest, but have nothing to show for it other than fifth place in the conference. Still, I firmly believe it would only take one win to turn things around. Thic vear is hPinnin to resemble last year uite a bit - with the team's BIG TEN ROUNDUP MSU tops Iowa; Hoosiers nailed From Wire Service Reports EAST LANSING - Forwards Ear- vin "Magic" Johnson and Greg Kelser each scored 13 points last night to keep Michigan State alone in first place in the Big Ten with a 68-58 win over Iowa. The Spartans remain undefeated in the Big Ten with a 6-0 record but had trouble putting away the Hawkeyes. Iowa led at halftime, 31-30, behind the outside shooting of sophomore guard Ronnie Lester, who finished with 20 points. Michgan State didn't take control of the game until past the midway point of the second half when five unanswered baskets gave the Spar- tans a 54-44 lead. Reserve guard Mike Brkovich hit three 18-footers to help the Spartans pull away. Michigan State is now 14-1 overall. Iowa is 2-4 in the Big Ten and 9-6 overall. Boilers cruise WEST LAFAYETTE - Senior Wayne Walls sparked a second-half comeback and finished with 20 points yesterday as Purdue defeated Indi- ana 77-67. Indiana put together a 10-point" streak late to cut a 15-point deficit to five. Purdue's Jerry Sichting hit two free throws, opening a 72-63 advan- tage. The Hoosiers drew back to 70-65 on Wayne Radford's basket, but the senior fouled out moments later. Sichting made a pair of free throws. Walter Jordan's free throw and a two-pointer by Eugene Parker put- Purdue in command with less than a minute to play. The Hoosiers, helped by 14 Purdue turnovers, led 34-28 at halftime as sophomore Mike Woodson scored 14 points. But, Purdue started quickly after the intermission, pulling ahead .h". . . . . .. ,. . . . . ..i i ?"i:::: For more sports, see Page 7 44-42 and were never caught., Walls led all scorers, while fresh- man Ray Tolbert was high for the Hoosiers with 19 points. * * * Badgers smoked MADISON, - Minnesota, led by Mychal Thompson's 22 points, over- came a 13-point deficit and downed Wisconsin 61-51 yesterday. The Gophers' victory was their 13th in a row over the Badgers, who lost for the fifth time in six conference games and are 5-9 overall. Minnesota won its fourth straight conference game, improving its Big Ten mark to' 4-2 and overall record to 8-6. Wisconsin' jumped to a 25-12 advan- tage before Minnesota closed the gap to eight points at 33-25 by halftime. Thompson, the league's leading scorer with a 23 point average, was held to nine points in the first half. But he and his teammates tied up the game at 35-35, and Minnesota went ahead for good when Thompson scored a three-pointer to make it 46-43. Arnold "Clyde" Gaines, who led the Badger scoring with 14 points, had only one field goal in the second half. Co-captain Jim Smith scored 12. 'Cats creamed CHAMPAIGN, - Freshman for- ward Mark Smith scored a career- high 18 points and Illinois turned back a late rally by Northwestern to earn a 73-64 victory yesterday. Trailing 60-50 late in the second half, Northwestern cut Illinois' lead to two points on two baskets by Rod Roberson, a pair of free throws by Mike Campbell and a field goal by Tony Allen. But the Illini regained a nine-point advantage when Audie Matthews scored a three-point play with three minutes left and Rob Judson and Smith followed with baskets to make the score 67-58. Big Ten Standings Conference W L Pct. GB WOMEN TANKERS SAIL, 93-36: Blue tidal wave drowns Spartans By BOB WARD Michigan's women swimmers spirit- ed their way to victory over Michigan State last night at Matt Mann pool, for their second Big Ten dual-meet com- petition win of the season. The Blue tankers swamped the Spar- tans 93-36, taking all but two of the races, while claiming first place in both diving events. The victory raised Michi- gan's Big Ten record to 2-0, while push- ing their season record to 5-0. "State didn't rest as much as they have in the past," said coach Stu Isaac, referring to the usual practice of short- ening practices before a meet for better times. "They weren't really as sharp as they might have been." Freshwoman Lisa Matheson, who was sick last week, swam her second meet for Michigan and claimed both the 500- and 200-yard freestyle. Mary Rish also cruised to two individual victories in the 50-yard backstroke and the 100- yard individual medley. Joyce Johnson, another freshwoman, finished the 200-yard medley relay team to a. national qualifying time of 1:53.20. "I've never swum on the 'A' relay, and it was my best, split (50 yards) in my life," Johnson said after the meet. "I'm really happy about it, I'm very ex- cited." Later in the meet freshwoman Sue [SCORES College Basketball MICHIGAN at Ohio State, ppd., snow Michigan State 68, Iowa 58 Minnesota 61, Wisconsin 51 Purdue 77, Indiana 67 Illinois 73, Northwestern 64 Kentucky 75, Mississippi State 65 Illinois State 81, Indiana State76 Duke 91, LaSalle 81 North Carolina State 99, Iona 72 North Carolina 85,Maryland 71 Mississippi 84, Auburn 75 Collins set a new varsity record in the 50-yard butterfly, with a time of 26.89. This time also qualified her for the national competition, later in the year. The divers aced with Julie Backman taking the title to both the one- and three-meter boards. "I'm satisfied with what I did considering the shape I'm in," said Bachman. "I'm not really in top shape right now." Team captain Chris Seufert was sec- ond on both boards, and was pleased with the team's performance. "The team is doing a fantastic job, and all of them are aiming for national competi- tion." Diving coach Dick Kimball said after the meet, "I was really happy with 'them. They all did a good job. They're just about where I'd like them to be." Next Friday the women take on In- diana at Matt Mann pool at 7:30 p.m. Michigan State.......6 MICHIGAN ........... 4 Purdue ................ 4 Minnesota .............. 4 Illinois ................:3 Ohio State ............. 2. Indiana...............2 Iowa .................. 2 Wisconsin ............I Northwestern..........1 0 1 2 2 3 .3 4 4 5 5 1.I f L V" l.Jl L 1.000 .800 .667 .667 .500 .400 .333 .333 .167 .167 1 '%. 2 2 3 3'2 4. 4 5 5 For last night's results, see SCORES Monday's game MICHIGAN at Ohio State (7:35) _ _ _ _ . : Grappler gripes Michigan's walking wounded had a chance to rest yesterday as the Wolverines' wrestling meet with Indiana at Crisler Arena was cancelled due to bad snow condi- tions in the Hoosiers' hometown, Bloomington, Indiana. While not yet having to resort to wrestling themselves, the Wolver- ines' injury situation borders on the ridiculous. Sophomores Lou Joseph (142) and Steve Fraser (177) both joined the injury ranks last weekend, as Fraser hurt his knee and Joseph injured a shoul- der in the meet with Northwest ern. Currently the Wolverines are holding onto a 3-4 season record, with victories over Colorado, Massachusetts and Syracuse. The Michigan setbacks have been at the hands of Rhode Island, Michi- gan State, Lehigh, and Northwest- ern. This marks the second cancelled home meet of the season for the Wolverines, as the Dec. 9 meet with California Polytechnic was also cancelled, due to a highly enmmunicable skin disease eon- LF THE 'PROE' FO L LO~li } CURRENT f NTURY ai ~--. coNNnUE~S ATITS f-'f S A ~LGl - T- £VIZYONE ~"/E~riN&~ARt -~-~ EL! 15 OUT W(1-4 AN i1~7f_ IN3~JY SINCE YOURSE. FACED Vim) T iONcy Cafe - 6( & SIThATrcN .N /wFo 1IOR" Li I. ~li~'OKAY! II 5 P...-,~ TRrL4 , YWoIK\1N(7 ARD Naw E i I