The Michigan Daily-Friday, October 15, 1982-Page 7 artans avorite in tight CCHArace By MIKE McGRAW This may be hard for some die-hard Michigan fans to swallow, but in this year's Central Collegiate Hockey Association race, all signs point to one clear favorite-Michigan State. Not, only do the Spartans return their top fourteen scoreres from last year, including Mark Hamway and Newell Brown, who finished in the top four in the conference, but they bring back all of their defense along with leading CCHA goalie, Ron Scott. Despite all this talent and a number three national ranking by Sports Illustrated, State is not ready to take their place at the NCAA finals just yet. "We're a long way from being an out- standing team," said assisstant coach Terry a®, Christensen. "The conference will be very tough this year. I think Michigan Tech and Bowling Green will certainly be battling for the top." HOWEVER, TECH and Bowling Green each must go through the experience of new coaches this year and that is certain to slow the teams somewhat, especially early in the season. Bowling Green is led by the Hills-Mills com- bination of All-American Brian Hills, a senior center from Windsor and the CCHA's leading scorer last season, and Barry Mills, the Falcons top defenseman. The defending CCHA regular season champions will also have senior goalie Mike David, third in the conference in 81-82. That should be enough to propel BG into another first division finish. Michigan Tech has lost the all-time coaching victories leader of college hockey in John MacInnes and Rick Boehm, the Huskies' leading scorer his first three years at Houghton before an injury sidelined him for most of last year, but virtually everyone else is returning. THIS YEAR MTU will be powered by junior center Bill Terry (26 goals, 24 assists last year) and right wing Steve Murphy (19, 23). Never- theless, new coach Jim Nahrgang will have a difficult time leading Tech to a customary high finish. Last year Lake Superior started out slowly under first-year coach Bill Selman, but once he and the team got acquainted, they were tough W- to beat, winning 10 games in a row at one point. "I'd like to think we'll start this season like we ended the last one," said Selman. "We have 13 lettermen returning, but we also have 13 freshmen so if we have a weakness it would be lack of experienced depth." Leading the way for Notre Dame this year will be seniors Kirt Bjork and Rex Bellomy, who last year scored 34 goals between them. The Irish enjoyed their best season in five years in '81, their first in the CCHA. Thundering down from Big Rapids come the Ferris State Bulldogs, always a tough opponent. Goalie Rob Hughson (3.95 goals against) will be one of the leading contributors to the FSU effort this year alon with second leading scorer Paul Cook. )RTHERN MICHIGAN is looking to boun- ack from a 12 game losing streak late last >n behind a strong offense led by Dave ush. Coach Jerry Welsh expects his Ohio team to be much improved over last year 1 the Bucks finally came on late in the in, winning 10 of 14, Miami and Western igan should be able to surprise a few s, if not challenge for playoff spots in a battle in the middle of the conference. rois-Chicago enters their first official >n in the CCHA with the largest college ey arena in the country and a reputation of * the conference doormat. But coach .onte says his team will not roll over for ne and foresees a possible .500 record for lames. ~ toFC L= ~~I I I STATENI Western Micltaganuniversity .IZ Z Falcons return as CC By TAM BENTLEY Question: What happens when a college hockey squad has nineteen lettermen returning from the previous season? Answer: It can come out of its season with a 27-13-2 *overall record and a CCHA first-place standing over teams such as Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Notre Dame And Michigan. Who was the team with such an impressive list of conquests? Well, the squad that took the CCHA by storm was none other than the Falcons of Bowling Green State University who made an impressive comeback off their 1980-81 season record of 13-24-2. "They had great talent and they really made the talent jell," said Michigan head coach John Giordano regarding Bowling Green. "No question at all, they were the toughest team we played and I'm sure we can look for more of the same from Bowling Green again this year." Elsewhere in the league, the Michigan State Spar- tans came off an unimpressive 12-22-2 tenth-place finish in the WCHA season for 1980-81 to snatch second place in the CCHA, posting an overall record of 26-14-2. Last year the Spartan icers left the WCHA and entered into the CCHA for their first season. The team also boasted nineteen returning lettermen to spark the squad. THE CCHA'S third place was grabbed by the Huskies of Michigan Tech, who also moved from the WCHA last year to spend their first season in the CCHA. A 23-14-3 season was aided by the return of eighteen lettermen and the confidence gained from the outstanding 29-14-1 season of 1980-81. The biggest Oblow dealt to the Huskies, though, was the four-game routing taken at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines. "I think our team went through the adjustment period from the WCHA last year," said Jim' Nahrgang, the new head coach of Michigan Tech who replaced the retired John MacInnes, college hockey's all-time winningest coach with 565 game wins. "We may have thought it was a better conference and I think we thought we could throw our sticks on the ice and win, but in order to win in the CCHA you have to play 60 minutes of excellent hockey every time out because anyone can beat you on any given night." The Michigan Wolverines managed a fourth-place. tie with Notre Dame and ended the season with an 18- A champs 15-5 overall record while the Fighting Irish came in at 23-15-3. Both teams completed the formation of the CCHA, as they too, left the WCHA behind. THE BULLDOGS of Ferris State claimed sole possession of the CCHA's sixth place with an overall record of 15-18-3. Seventh place though was another story as it resulted in a two-way tie between Lake Superior at 19-17-3 and Northern Michigan at 15-21-0. The Soo Lakers, whose past season parelleled that of their 1980-81 finish of 14-21-1, flourished under the direction of first-year head coach Bill Selman. "I was concerned about establishing a particular style of play," Selman said. "There was a lack of respect for the program, but we quickly got the reputation of being a disciplined team." Ninth, tenth and eleventh places were taken by Western Michigan, 14-19-1, Ohio State with 16-17-1 and Miami closing out at 16-19-1, respectively. Michigan's Giordano discussed the competition he and his Wolverine icers faced last year. "The other teams were excellent. Tech, State and Notre Dame were great. We didn't have any easy games," he said. "I don't see it as a pushover league." 1981-82 OVERALL GOALTENDING Goalie, School Games Ron Scott, Michigan State............................... 39 PETER MASON, MICHIGAN .............................. 16 Mike David, Bowling Green ................................ 35 PAT ANSELL, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE .................. 17 Jon Elliott, Michigan ...................................... 26 Tom Allen, Michigan Tech ................................. 27 Rob.Hughston, Ferris State ................................ 27 1981-82 OVERALL SCORING LEADERS Player, School1 Brian Hills, Bowling Green.......... .. ................. GEORGE McPHEE, BOWLING GREEN.......................... Newell Brown, Michigan State ................................ Mark Hamway, Michigan State .................................... DAVE POULIN, NOTRE DAME ................................... ROSS FITZPATRICK, WESTERN MICHIGAN ..................... BILL ROTHSTEIN, NOTRE DAME ................................ LARRY MARSON, OHIO STATE .................................. Steve Mulholland, Lake Superior State ............................. Eric Ponath, Northern Michigan ......... .................... Dave Mogush, Northern Michigan. .................. ........ MICKEY GANDLER, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE .................. Bill Terry, Michigan Tech........................................ Steve Morris, Miami............................................... Peter Wilson................................................ BOB SCURFIELD, WESTERN MkHIGAN................... Bruce Martin, Northern Michigan .................................. JIM BAKERFERRIS STATE..................................... STEVE SHERMAN, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE .................... Paul Cook, Ferris State ............................................ PLAYERS IN ALL CAPS ARE NOT RETURNING G.A. 109 36 125 49 88 91 93 tS Avg. 2.85 3.03 3.41 3.44 3.50 3.62 3.95 Sav. 992 328 985 322 765 754 734 1981-82 Final CCHA Statistics Pct. .901 .901 .887 .868 .897 .892 .888 Games Goals 41 34 40 28 32 22 . 41 34 39 29 33 30 38 27 33 19 39 20 28 17 32 29 39 24 31 26 36 21 42 301 32 19 29 24 34 19 39 22 35 22 Assists1 47 52 51 31 30 28 30 38 36 36 22 27 24 29 19 31 24 28 24 23 Points 81 80 73 65 59 58 57 57 56 53 51 51 50 50 49 49 48 47 46 45 C f han in auard Ne cahsatrC lo 82-83 CCHA Schedule By CHUCK JAFFE The four new coaches entering the Central Collegiate Hockey Association this season will all face different challenges. There is a new coach with a new team, an old coach with his old team, an old coach with a different team and a new coach with an old team. Val Belmonte takes over the head coaching reins at the University of Illinois- fhicago, the league's newest member, while Jim Nahrgang moves from an assistant's po ition to the to shot at Michigan Tech. Bill Wilkinson shifts from Bowling Greeh to Western Michigan and Dick Bertrand leaves for the confines of Ferris State. Together, these men, along with second-year coaches John Giordano of Michigan and Bill Selman of Lake Superior, signal a changing of the guard in CCHA hockey. But the new coaches do not necessarily bring a new style of play with them. In- stead, they are trying to refine the CCHA's tight-checking, disciplined type of play, while adding new enthusiasm to their programs. "A coach basically has his own philosophies, and adjusts to meet his players," said Selman, a founding father of the league from his coaching days at St. Louis University. "There is a certain difference if you enter the league from outside or as *n assistant, but the main task of a new coach is setting up his systems and getting the players to work with it." Illinois-Chicago coach Val Belmonte faces the stiffest challenge of the new coaches. The Flames are coming off a one year probationary period, and are now full-fledged CCHA members. Belmonte, however, takes over a program com- prised mostly of freshmen and sophomores, and with little hope of reaching the playoffs this year. "No matter what league you are going into you have to prepare your players for it mentally," said Belmonte, who spent last season as an assistant cuach at Har- vard. "I don't want to be the doormat to anybody. We'd have to be nuts not to shot for a playoff spot. "A coach has to make believers in his program," he continued. "The players *have to believe in themselves, in their school, in their system, and in their coach. If we can instill that confidence, then we should be able to win some hockey games. This is a tough league, and weekend-in, weekend-out you have to be ready to play well or lose." Michigan Tech's Jim Nahrgang does not have to build a program, as he takes over a Husky team loaded with experience. He must, however, replace John MacInnes, hockey's all-time winningest coach, who left Tech with 565 career wins and left Nahrgang with big shoes to fill. "I haven't really felt any pressure yet about replacing a legend," said Nahrgang, who was MacInness' assistant for four years, "If I start trying to do things the way John did I'm going to be in big trouble. These players know my style, and I had a hand in recruiting all of them, so we know what to expect of each other." Bill Wilkinson also knew what -to expect when he left his asistant's position at Bowling Green for the head coach's Nahrgang post at Western Michigan. Now he is in the middle of rebuilding . . .replacing a team which lost much of its leadership after suffering through a 14-19-1 season. a legend "They are a lot better than I anticipated," said Wilkinson, who left the Falcons after three seasons. "We lost a lot of firepower, but we have worked hard defen- sively, and hope to improve. We have a solid team, and we'll just have to grind out our wins." "Bill's adjustment won't be that difficult," said Lake Superior's Selman. "He brings with him a good knowledge of the league. He's paid his dues, and we're all anxious to see how he will do." Selman and the rest of the coaches are also anxious to see Dick Bertrand's Ferris State Bulldogs. Bertrand left Cornell University for the post, and may bring with him a different style of play than midwesterners are used to. "A lot of people in the east feel that we play big and tough hockey in the mid- west," Selman said. "I don't know if coach Bertrand will want to build his team for size, or if he will go with a smaller team. Look on my roster and you will see that we use all sizes of players, but his roster might show a different style." Bertrand's team shows only three players shorter than 5-10, but the new coach S has to stretch his team's Derformances to improve on last year's 15-18-3 record. Bertrand ... mOveS west to Ferris State 1982-83 CCHA COMPOSITE SCHEDULE Friday-October 22 FERRIS STATE AT BOWLING GREEN ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MICHIGAN STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT WESTERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN TECH AT OHIO STATE NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT MIAMI NOTRE DAME AT MICHIGAN Saturday-October 23 FERRIS STATE AT BOWLING GREEN ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MICHIGAN STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT WESTERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN TECH AT OHIO STATE NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT MIAMI NOTRE DAME AT MICHIGAN Friday-October 29 LAKE SUPERIOR AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MIAMI AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN AT BOWLING GREEN NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT NOTRE DAME 01110 STATE AT MICIHIGAN STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN TECH Saturday-October 30 LAKE SUPERIOR AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MIAMI AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN AT BOWLING GREEN NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT NOTRE DAME OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN TECH NOVEMBER Friday-November 5 BOWLING GREEN AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO FERRIS STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN MIAMI AT OHIO STATE MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN MICHIGAN TECH AT LAKE SUPERIOR WESTERN MICHIGAN AT NOTRE DAME Saturday-November 6 BOWLING GREEN AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO FERRIS STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE MICHIGAN TECH AT LAKE SUPERIOR NOTRE DAME AT WESTERN MICHIGAN OHIO STATE AT MIAMI Friday-November 12 LAKE SUPERIOR AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN TECH NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE NOTRE DAME AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO OHIO STATE AT BOWLING GREEN WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MIAMI Saturday-November 13 BOWLING GREEN AT OHIO STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN TECH NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE NOTRE DAME AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MIAMI Friday-November 19 BOWLING GREEN AT LAKE SUPERIOR FERRIS STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN STATE AT MIAMI MICHIGAN TECH AT NOTRE DAME OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN Saturday-November 20 BOWLING GREEN AT LAKE SUPERIOR ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN STATE AT MIAMI MICHIGAN TECH AT NOTRE DAME OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN WESTERN MICHIGAN AT FERRIS STATE Wednesday-November 24 Wisconsin at Illinois-Chicago Sunday-November 28 MIAMI AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MICHIGAN TECH AT MICHIGAN STATE DECEMBER Friday-December 3 BOWLING GREEN AT MICHIGAN TECH FERRIS STATE AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MIAMI AT LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN STATE AT NOTRE DAME OHIO STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN Saturday-December 4 BOWLING GREEN AT MICHIGAN TECH FERRIS STATE AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO MIAMI AT LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN- MICHIGAN STATE AT NOTRE DAME OHIO STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN Friday-December 10 BOWLING GREEN AT MIAMI FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN - ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT WESTERN MICHIGAN LAKE SUPERIOR AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN OHIO STATE AT NOTRE DAME Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech Saturday-December 1i BOWLING GREEN AT MIAMI FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT WESTERN MICHIGAN LAKE SUPERIOR AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN 01110 STATE AT NOTRE DAME Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech Friday-December 17 MICHIGAN STATE AT LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN TECH AT FERRIS STATE OHIO STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN Saturday-December 18 MICHIGAN STATE AT LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN TECH AT FERRIS STATE OHIO STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN Tuesday-December 28 Lake Superior at Wisconsin Great Lakes Invitational Tournament (UM, MSU, MTU, ND at Detroit, MI) Northern Michigan at Jeno's Classic, Duluth, MN Wednesday-December 29 Lake Superior at Wisconsin GLIT Consolation and Finals Northern Michigan at Jeno's Classic RPI Tournament, Troy, NY Bowling Green vs. Lowell Thursday-December 30 Northern Michigan at Jeno's Classic Bowling Green at RPI Tournament JANUARY Friday-January 7 FERRIS STATE AT OHIO STATE ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MICHIGAN MIAMI AT MICHIGAN TECH MICHIGAN STATE AT BOWLING GREEN NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN Notre Dame at Lake Superior Saturday-January 8 FERRIS STATE AT OHIO STATE ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MICHIGAN MIAMI AT MICHIGAN TECH MICHIGAN STATE AT BOWLING GREEN NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN NOTRE DAME AT LAKE SUPERIOR Friday-January 14 FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE MIAMI AT NOTRE DAME MICHIGAN AT LAKE SUPERIOR MICHIGAN TECH AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN 0111 oSTATE AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO iwaCPL'Ki .I HAtU;AS2AT BOfWINGGEE2 fI'~N Saturday-January 22 BOWLING GREEN AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN LAKE SUPERIOR AT OHIO STATE MICHIGAN AT MIAMI MICHIGAN TECH AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO NOTREDAME AT FERRIS STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE . I ,I f k Friday-January 28 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT BOWLING GREEN LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN TECH MIAMI AT OHIO STATE MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT FERRIS STATE NOTRE DAME AT WESTERN MICHIGAN Saturday-January 29 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT BOWLING GREEN LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN TECH MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN OHIO STATE AT MIAMI NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT FERRIS STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT NOTRE DAME FEBRUARY Friday-February 4 BOWLING GREEN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN TECH ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT OHIO STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN STATE MICHIGAN AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN NOTRE DAME AT MIAMI Saturday-February 5 BOWLING GREEN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN TECH "ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT OHIO STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN STATE MICHIGAN AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN NOTRE DAME AT MIAMI Friday-February 11 BOWLING GREEN AT NOTRE DAME ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MIAMI MICHIGAN AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN TECH NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT LAKE SUPERIOR WESTERN MICHIGAN AT OHIO STATE z Saturday, February 12 BOWLING GREEN AT NOTRE DAME ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT MIAMI MICHIGAN AT FERRIS STATE MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN TECH NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT LAKE SUPERIOR WESTERN MICHIGAN AT 01110 STATE Friday-February 18 LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN MIAMI AT BOWLING GREEN MICHIGAN STATE AT FERRIS STATE NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN TECH NOTRE DAME AT 01110 STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO Saturday-February 19 FERRIS STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE LAKE SUPERIOR AT MICHIGAN MIAMI AT BOWLING GREEN MICHIGAN TECH AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN NOTRE DAME AT OHIO STATE WESTERN MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO Frkday-February 25 BOWLING GREEN AT OHIO STATE FERRIS STATE AT LAKE SUPERIOR ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT NOTRE DAME MIAMI AT WESTERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN TECH AT MICHIGAN Saturday-February 26 FERRIS STATE AT LAKE SUPERIOR ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT NOTRE DAME MIAMI AT WESTERN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN Wilkinson ... trades Falcons for Broncos , cv -