Page 8-Wednesday, November 2, 1977-The Michigan Daily MICHIGAN CHASES WCHA, NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS This could be the start of somethi By BOB MILLER For the first time in many years, the Michigan hockey team appears to be the team to beat in the Western Col- legiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Despite the many years of success for Wolverine icers, first place in the WCHA is an unaccustomed position. Only once in the 18 year history of the conference has Michigan finished at.the top. Even then, though, Denver defeated the Wolverines inthe finals of the league playoffs. But with Michigan's success from last year, and the return of key performers like Dave Debol, Kip Maurer, Bill Thayer to name but a few on offense, and goalies Frank Zimmerman and Rick Palmer, the Maize and Blue are ready to meet the challenge. Obviously it won't be. easy. It would be difficult to run away with the league title like Wisconsin did last year. But the probability that this year's race will be closer might turn out to be an advantage for Michigan. The icers play seven of their final ten regular season games at home. Coincidentally, however, Michigan's main com- petition-Wisconsin- only lost two road games all year. The Badgers return star goalie Julian Baretta, whose 3.08 goals against average and two shutouts (including a 4-0 whitewash over Michigan) were the class of the league. However, Wisconsin was dealt a serious blow when its leading scorer, Craig Norwich, decided to turn pro, giving up his senior year in Madison. What hurts even more is that Norwich was an All-American defenseman. Still, no one is sending Badger coach Bob Johnson sym- pathy cards. Not with players like All-American forward Mike Eaves, center Mark Johnson, goalie Mike Dibble and right winger Mike Meeker on the roster. In other words, Wisconsin won't have to worry about where the goals will 1977-78 Michigan Hockey Guide But DU is far better than that game showed and they more than made up for Friday night's fiasco with a sweet Saturday win in overtime, 6-5. The Pioneers' performance on Saturday is more in- dicative of the way they will play for the rest of the year. Once again, forward Perry Schnarr seems to play his best against the Wolverines. Teammates Alex Belcourt, Doug Berry and Bob Pazzelli compose the heart of Den- ver's potent offense. At Michigan Tech, where hockey just might be more popular than sex, the Huskies fropped from NCAA runner- up in 1976 to sixth place in the league last year. But Tech coach John MacInnes will have a more experien- ced team this year, with six of his team's top seven scorers returning. Goalies Bruce Horsch and John Rockwell had come from, but they might have a bit of a problem helping Baretta prevent them. Denver's first year coach Marshall Johnston has already faced Michigan this year, and the rookie has passed his initial test. The Wolverines were riding high on a six-game winning streak over the Pioneers, a two-game sweep over Bowling Green and an eight-game home ice winning streak when Denver came to town. The Pioneers looked unprepared for what hit them, especially since they had not played any regular season games before facing Michigan. Goalie Jim Bales was shelled for seven goals and left the game. To compound matters, first string goalie Ernie Glanville did not make the trip to Ann Arbor. Result: Denver was bombed, 10-4. ng good mediocre seasons last year, finishing with a combined record of 15-14-1, and should be better this year, especially with five defensemen retutning. Tech began its season with splits against Lake Superior State and Wisconsin, both at home. This probably means that the Huskies will be pesky, but not quite ready to jump back into the middle of the WCHA title chase. Minnesota had had many of the same problems that plagued Michigan Tech. After those two teams combated for the NCAA title three years running, both suddenly drop- ped in the league-Tech to sixth, the Gophers to seventh. Minnesota was anything but golden last year with a bleak 17-22-3 record. Perhaps the only worthy thing Minnesota did last year was to upset Notre Dame in the WCHA quarter- finals. Down 5-1 in the two-game, total goal series, the Gophers blitzed the Irish 9-2 for the dubious honor of advan- cing to the semi-finals against Wisconsin. But Minnesota will be improved this year. In the annual poll of WCHA coaches taken by the Grand Forks (North Dakota) Herald, the other U of M was chosen to finish sixth. About the only thing to add is that sixth is improved from seventh, isn't it? Speaking of improvement, North Dakota would win a trophy if there were one for that category. The Sioux jum- ped from 10th, where they finished three straight years, to fifth. NoDak coach Rube Bjorkrnan lost one of his school's best players in Roger Lamoureax, but retain forwards Mark Taylor, Mike Burggraf, Rick Zaparniuk and Erwin Mar- tens from an offense that popped in 202 goals last year. As for Notre Dame, Irish eyes will be smiling for the foot- ball team in South Bend, but not for their icers. Last year Notre Dame had its finest season since joining the WCHA. A second place finish and a 22-13-3 record were a tribute to the fine teamwork of graduated players like All- American Jack Brownshidle, last year's WCHA MVP Brian Walsh, and Clark Hamilton, three of the Irish's top four scorers. Returning goalies Len Moher and John Peterson will help ease the pain of Notre Dame's losses by graduation, but not nearly enough. It was no fluke that Colorado College swept the Irish at home to start the season. The final three teams in the WCHA-Michigan State, Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth-will probably bat- tle Notre Dame for the last two playoff spots. The Tigers of CC will most likely be the best of the worst, and might even surprise a few people, But, like the UMD Bulldogs, will find out, rebuilding isn't instantaneous. On the other hand, while Duluth and Colorado College rise slowly, Michigan State will probably stay the same, which means ninth or tenth place. Credits BOB MILLER ............ EDITOR STAFF WRITERS Paul Campbell, Elisa T. Frye Gary Kicinski, Bob Miller, Brian Miller, Errol Shifman and Tom Stephens All .eyes this year may be on three of Michigan's most outstanding players. The Wolverine ,,,mgrs from left to right _are Dave.Debol, whose 99 points past year set a Michigan record c* kvmo adialia Ri D.Pl ..I.r. . waa m F. hrnar*t March 26 won 14 of 17 games, and Kip Maurer, the explosive center who popped in 38 goals last year and is off to another quick start this season. d, )R d hnun earn AI -1i4erlcan, status, goaie rui.flJ 4Ih1eI wnu rrm r ra,. v. Get Your Action On Ice This Wiiter Exciting Michigan Hockey At Yost Arena - The Fastest Game On Two Feetl Michigan hockey almost reached the pinnacle last year, falling in overtime in the final game of the NCAA Tournament. This time around coach Dan Farrell has virtually the same cast as the Wolverines will be strong contenders for the Western Collegiate Hockey Associ- ation and NCAA crowns. Led by WCHA scoring champion and All-America Dave Debol, who has been described as ."the Guy Lafleur of college hockey," Michigan is a high scoring, fast skating, hard checking outfit that provides action every minute of every contest. The Wolverines racked up the most wins and the most goals in Michigan history last season and Debol set the individual pace, matching Red Berenson's mark of 43 goals while total- ing the most points ever in a season. This season Debol should shatter every career scoring standard. There are 8,100 seats in Yost lce Arena and every one of them provides an excellent view of one of the most exciting teams in college hockey. With 17 home games scheduled, there will be many opportunities to watch the Wolverines burn up the ice. . Student season tickets for the 17 contests are only $21 while individual game tickets are $2. Powerful offense scored 260 goals last year 17 Home Games 1977-78 Home Schedule Ticket Information Student Season: $21.00 October 22 October 28-29 November 11 November 18-19 December 2-3 January 20-21 February 3-4 February 17-18 Bowling Green Denver Michigan State Minnesota Wisconsin North Dakota Notre Dame Colorado College Student Individual Game: $2.00 NEWS