4 Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 26, 1984 Stars' Richter hits hard Life in NHL not so rosy for ex-Micer a .lk "There's a lot more hitting in the pros.. It's rougher, more physical. But the biggest thing is speed. The NHL is much faster," Richter said. No doubt, the most common com- plaint people have about the NHL is the high level of violence. Of course, there is- the obligatory, sarcastic one-liner, "we went to the fights and a hockey game broke out." RICHTER scorns such comments and accuses spectators of, holding double standards. "That (the one-liner) is a bloody far- ce. Sure, there's fighting, but what do people do - they keep coming back to By ADAM MARTIN In an era when professional athletes are assumed to earn millions for playing out childhood fantasies, Dave Richter knows better. Richter, a 1982 Michigan graduate, currently hovers around the blue line, preventing goals an: playing aggressive hockey for the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League. - "I think (jumping up and down from the minors to the NHL) is frustrating," Giordano said. "Dave was getting disillusioned, but I think he's found himself." Indeed, Richter finds himself in a league much different than the one he played in at Michigan. 'There's nothing wrong with a good, honest fight. The most that can hap- pen is a bloody nose or a few stitches.' - Dave Richter You've got to use the tools you have." IT'S WHEN the hitting gets a little cheap that the fighting begins. But, ac- cording to Richter, who won the 1982 Vic Heyliger Trophy for outstanding Wolverine defensemen, "There's nothing wrong with a good, honest fight. The most that can happen is a bloody nose of a few stitches." Richter actually sees some justification for fighting because, he says, it counteracts cheap, dangerous violence. "If someone on the ice spears you or crosschecks, you can retaliate within the rules. I think (the violence) is counteracted. "Fans don't see what really goes on on the ice, the little extra hook, now and then. The other day, I got elbowed in the head and that was all the justification I needed (to start a fight)." BUT THE style of play isn't the only difference between Michigan and the pros. "At college you have to practice and do your homework and have a cur- few," Richter said. "You're confined." With that atmosphere, however, comes camaraderie, something missing from the NHL. "At Michigan everybody was single and everybody was going to school," he said. "Here, there are five people on the team who aren't married. Everyone has their own life. It's nowhere near as close as Michigan. It's the real world." Still, now that he has settled into life in the NHL, Richter has gotten used to it. "Hockey can be what you want to make it," he said. "I like the hours, I do enjoy it. You're in control." He does, however, have his own sar- castic one-liner to pass on to those who think life as a pro athlete is nothing but fame and fortune. "It's no picnic. 4 rr R' Former Wolverine defenseman Dave Richter more physical than college hockey. -Sports Information photo finds NHL hockey faster and But life as a pro has not been glamorous for the former Wolverine defenseman. Richter was up and down between the minors and the NHL before finding a spot with the North Stars this season. "IT'S TOUGH mentally and physically," he said. "Every job has its pressures. Here, if you don't do your job, you could be traded, sent down, or bought out. It's very grueling." During his last year at Michigan, Richter received a lot of help from Wolverine coach John Giordano and matured into an outstanding defen- seman. After being drafted by the Nor- th Stars, he experienced first hand the harsh realities of life in the NHL. Gophers shut down Badgers, 75=6.2 "There's a great deal of difference between college hockey and pro," said Richter. "I don't play college hockey." SO WHAT'S the difference? Well, if you take a nice little stroll down to Yost Ice Arena one chilly Ann Arbor evening, sure, you'll see the icers play an aggressive, fast-paced game, but ... watch." As for his own style, the Winnipeg,' Manitoba native plays a physical game, but also knows aggressiveness is inherent in hockey. "I get hit, and I hit with authority," he said. "It's part of the game. I can in- timidate as well as the other guy. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Sophomore center John Shasky shoved in 18 points and ripped down 16 rebounds, both career highs, as Minnesota clobbered Wisconsin 75-62 last night. Both teams are now 3-4 in the con- ference. At 7-0, Shasky was three inches taller than Badger center John Ploss. While Shasky used his height advantage to control the chaos beneath the basket, Minnesota clamped down on high- scoring Badgers Rick Olson and Cory Blackwell in the first half.. OLSON AND Blackwell came into the game the second- and third-ranked Big Ten scorers, but Olson scored only five first-half points and Blackwell managed only four. Although Blackwell led all scorers with 27 points and Olson finished with 18, it didn't matter much. Minnesota guard Marc Wilson scored all 16 of his points in the.second half, as the Gophers opened a 15-point lead, 58- 43, with 5:49 to play and breezed to the buzzer. Minnesota led 28-20 after a first half of Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde basketball. Wisconsin (built a 16-8 lead, outscoring the cold-shooting Gophers 9-2 midway through the half. Wisconsin gridders ineligible MADISON (AP) - The University of Wisconsin football team will lose two players next season who did not enroll in second semester classes but will regain the services of an ineligible player, a Wisconsin faculty represen- tative to the Big Ten Conference said Tuesday. Defensive- back Ken Stills, who last November was ruled ineligible to com- pete in the 1984 season as part of san- ctions handed down against the univer- sity by the National Collegiate Athletic Asociation for recruiting violations, will be allowed to play next fall. Sophomore punter George Winslow and junior defensive back Richard Bax- ter will not be back, according to station WKOW in Madison. The Wisconsin sports information office confirmed today that Winslow has left school. The Crash Line I State 5S high-scoring trio stirs up trouble By MIKE PRISUTA Of the State News Special to the Daily EAST LANSING - It isn't pretty - just very effective. No, the Michigan State Crash Line of Mike Donnelly, Mitch Messier, and Jeff Parker will never be confused with Buf- falo's fabled French Connection, the New York Rangers' flashy Goal -a-Game Line or even Ohio State's current high- scoring trio known as the Production Line. But that doesn't bother Spartan head Thursday, January 26 --4:00 PM and 7:30 PM 4:00 PM East Lecture R., Rackham "Popular Organizations, Politics and the Catholic Church in Brazil" 7:30 PM St. Mary's (William and Thompson) "Base Communities in the Catholic Church in Brazil" SCOTT MAINWARING, Fellow of the Kellogg Institute of International Affairs of Notre Dame recently did a major study of Religion and Politics at the grass roots in Brazil. Dept. of Political Science, Dept. of History, Dept. of Romohce Languages, Office of Ethics and Religion the other team's end; hit people, and go from there. "When they score, it isn't so much an end-to-end rush as simply hitting somebody in the corner, jamming the slot and converting a hard-earned op- portunity." What makes the Crash Line's success even more amazing is that it was for- med basically out of convenience. Mason wanted to try Newell Brown - who had been centering for Parker and Donnelly - at right wing, so he gave Messier's spot on the Bill Shibicky line to Brown, and put Messier, the cousin of Edmonton Oilers Mark Messier, at cen- ter. "AT FIRST it wasn't really a line, just three guys playing together," Mason explained. "But after we saw them play we kind of liked it, so we kept them together. The three make a good blend, because they all like to hit. Often they'll stir up so much trouble on their shift that the opposition is still worrying about them after they leave the ice and there are better scoring opportunities for the next line." Parker, a 6-3, 190-pound freshman from White Bear Lake, MN., likes to hit best of all. He leads the team with 28 penalties. Lately, though, his trips to the, box have decreased and his point production (four goals and eight assists) has started to rise. Messier (three goals and 12 assists) has also picked up now that he's ad- justed to playing in the CCHA. After scoring 108 goals in juniors last year, the freshman from Regina, Saskat- chewan didn't score his first collegiate goal until joining the Crash Line. Don- nelly, a sophomore from Livonia and, at 20, the elder statesman of the group, is just doing what comes naturally. "WE'RE JUST playing basic hockey," said Donnelly - who has already surpassed last season's goal- production with ten this year. "The. coaches want us to make sure we don't make any mistakes in our own end or in the neutral zone. We just worry about getting the puck in the other team's end. The MSU coaching staff expects the Crash Line to be right in the thick of things this weekend in a home-and- home series against Michigan. "Those are usually very physical 4 games, so it should be right up their alley," said Spartan assistant coach Terry Christensen. "They're best on the scrambly-type situations, like after a face-off. Their greatest asset is their work-ethic and that's what it takes to beat a Michigan team - hard work for 60 minutes." I Mason ...finds line convenient coach Ron Mason. The combination has been putting points on the board ever since it first appeared against Ferris State (November 25 and 26). And the line has given the Spartan icers a real lift as the team gears up toward playoff time. "THEY'RE PLAYING with con- fidence now and they're really making things happen when they are on the ice," Mason said of the group that has produced eleven goals in its first 12 games as a unit. "Their success, comes'from work habits. They get into 4 op -Sports Information photo 4 THE U.S. AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST A Conference presented by THE CENTER FOR NEAR EASTERN AND NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Michigan State rightwinger Mike Donnelly powers his way past Michigan Tech's James DeGenaro towards the Husky goal. The most productive of the Spartan's Crash Line with ten goals, Donnelly hopes to be "right in the thick of things" in this weekend's home and home series against Michigan. INTERVIEWS* Monday, January 30th --9 A.M. - 5 P.M. Student Activities Building 3rd Floor" Friday, January 27 1 pm- 9pm "The Use of Religion: Conflict Intensification or Conflict Resolution?" Saturday, January 28 9:30 am - 4 pm "U.S. Foreign Policy" Speakers from the State Depart- mont, Center for Defense Infor- mation, American Friends Service