The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 9, 1986-- Page 9

RECRUITS MAY HOLD KEY

Offense looks promising

By PETE STEINERT
The red light behind the
opposition's goal should be lit
quite frequently this season at Yost
Ice Arena.
Mix a strong group of returnees
that averaged 4.8 goals per-game
with some talented freshmen, and
the Wolverine offense will be
lightling up the Michigan crowd as
well.
"WE'LL HAVE more than a
Szouple of players that can score,"
said head coach Red Berenson.
"Some teams rely on one line or
one guy to carry the load. I think
we've got two and maybe three
lines that can score."
"Offensively, I honestly can't
say that we have a weakness right
now," said right wing Billy
Powers. "I feel we're going to
score a lot of goals. I have
confidence in my forward
tammates and myself."
T he Wolverines' top offensive
threat is senior center Brad Jones.
The Sterling Heights native led the
team in scoring for the second
straight season last year (28 goals,
39 assists, 67 points), and he earned
second team All-CCHA honors.
"WE'RE LOOKING for a
big year from Brad," Berenson said.

"I think he'll have a dynamite year
for us."
Jones will likely play on the
same line with right wing Brad
McCaughey .(24-26-50).
McCaughey, a junior, topped the
team in power-play goals in each of
his first two seasons, notching 14 a
year ago.
Other key returning forwards
include sophomore center Todd
Brost and Powers. Both players

Mc Caughey

... proven scorer

Bowling Green
HEAD COACH: erry York
NICKNAME: Falcons
COLORS:Burnt Orange and Seal
Brown
1985-86 RECORD: 28-14 (2nd
place tie)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 21
KEY RETURNEES: Gary Kruzich
(Sr., G, 3.56); lain Duncan (Sr., LW,
26-26-52); Todd Flichel (Sr., D,
3-10-13); Paul Ysebart (Jr., C,
23-45-68); Brian Mckee (Jr., D,
19-33-52); Scott Paluch (Jr., D,
10-11-21); Brian Meharry (Jr., C,
15-32-47)

begin their second season with
Michigan.
BROST (5-8, 175) makes up
for his lack of size with great
hustle. He was the team's leading
scoring freshman (9-26-35) last
year, while Powers (15-28-43) a
transfer from St. Anselm College,
led the team in scoring for first-year
players.
Junior captain Jeff Norton (15-
30-45) also supplies plenty of
offense from his defenseman
position. He and sophomore blue-
liner Myles O'Connor (6-19-25)
will see a lot of action on the
power play.
"I think the offense is going to
be more explosive than last year,"
feels Jones., "We had an excellent
power play (55 goals) last year, and
I think that's going to be even
better this year.
"EVERYBODY has to get
more hungry to put the puck in the
net. We got a little taste of that
last year, and I think it's just going
to continue."
Much of the offense's success
will depend on a highly-touted crop
of freshmen which includes centers
Mike Moes and Rob Brown and left
wings Ryan Pardoski and Brian
Deasley.
In last Friday's Blue-White
game, Pardoski started on the same
line with Jones and McCaughey,
and Deasley started alongside
Powers and Brost. All four recruits
netted a goal each, and Moes added
an assist. Hopefully, this will be a
sign of things to come.
HOWEVER, it will
undoubtedly take time for the
freshmen to adjust to the CCHA,
and for the entire team to feel
comfortable playing with each
other.
"I think in the first few games,
if we can play with emotion and get
up for all of the games, we'll be all
right," commented Brost. "I think
you'll start seeing us come together
as a team after Christmas."
McCaughey also expressed a
concern in the team's mental
preparation. "Our real weakness is
in our attitude in the way we play.
When we're playing and just
coasting and not really thinking -
that's been our problem the last
couple of years."
Berenson is cautiously
optimistic about how his team
stacks up with other offenses
around the league. "We're going to
be younger. We could have a
strong year, but that's no guarantee.
It will depend on how some of the
kids play.
"We're not going to be an
offensive machine that's going to
blow teams out. We're going to
have to work for our goals."

Daily Photo by JOHN MUNSON
Brad Jones drives home a goal past Michigan State's Norm Foster in action from last season. Jones has
played on three straight losing teams at Michigan, but he is hoping the tide will change his senior year.
ones seeks new heights

Michigan State
HEAD COACH: Ron Mason
NICKNAME: Spartans
COLORS: Green and White
'85-'86 RECORD: 34-9-2 (1st
place)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 17
KEY RETURNEES: Don McSween
(Sr., D, 9-29-38); Kevin Miller
(Jr., C, 19-52-71); Mitch Messier
(Sr., RW, 24-40-64); Bill
Shibicky (Sr., C, 17-39-56);
Norm Foster (Sr., G, 3.69); Bob
Essensa (Sr., G, 3.33)

By PETE STEINERT
Under the guidance of third year head coach
Red Berenson, the hockey program appears to
be turning the corner, not a minute too late for
senior center Brad Jones.
Since the Sterling Heights native arrived at
Michigan in 1983, the team has finished ninth,
seventh, and eighth in the nine-team CCHA.
It's overall record during that time was 39-74-2.
Last year they lost their last 10 games.
JONES HAS endured his share of losing,
and nothing would please him more than for
Michigan to leapfrog into the top half of the
standings, something not as far-fetched as it
may seem.
The CCHA preseason coaches' poll has the
Wolverines sixth, but only four points separate
them from fourth place Ohio State and Western
Michigan.
"It's been hard the last few years," said
Jones, "but I think with coach Berenson
coming in, we've shown improvement each
year, and I think this is the year that everybody
is going to break out of their shells."
"I KNOW Brad is excited about having a
strong recruiting class this year because he's
tired of losing...he wants to finish in the top
four-he wants to be a winner," Berenson said.
Last year's second team All-CCHA forward
attributes attitude and lack of intensity as
reasons for the team's downfall in the past. "I
think the teams took losing for granted, and
they got accustomed to it.
"I know that this being my senior year, I'm
not going to take losses in stride.
I THINK some of the other players are
starting to get that feeling, too."
Jones will admit that lack of intensity and
consistency are two things he has been guilty
of in the past. Although producing impressive
numbers (ninth leading scorer in the CCHA a
year ago), he has received criticism for being
spectacular on one shift and then nonexistent on
the next.
"It's something I've worked on over the
summer at the Olympic Sports Festival, and it
worked out well. I kept an even keel going
into each game, was very intense, and it payed
off."

NO NONE has ever questioned his
physical ability. "It's apparent when you see
him play that he's a great skater and a great
shooter," Berenson said. "I think he's as good
as anyone in the league right now."
"A lot of guys have a good, hard shot," said
Todd Brost, "but they take a long time to get it
away. He's got a good, quick shot, and a lot of
times he'll catch the goalie off guard."
The Wolverines will depend on the assistant
captain to provide leadership and stability to a
team of many young, unproven players, and as
has been proven in the past, if Jones plays
well, the entire team tends to play well.
"IF YOU look at some of the games we
won last year," Billy Powers said, "it always
seemed Jonesy was there with a couple of goals
or assists. He's definitely an impact player.
We look to him."
"I think he's a leader," echoed Brost. "He
doesn't say that much; but his goal scoring and
offensive ability on the ice really get a lot of
players excited."
To give an indication of Jones' impact on
the team, Michigan's record was a miserable 1-
15 last season in games in which he did not
score.
"I HAVE a lot of pressure on myself,"
Jones said. "I'm a scorer, that's my job, and I
want to do it to the best of my knowledge.
"I've got goals set for myself. I intend to go
out with a bang and try to take everything I
can, but the team comes first, naturally."
Despite the Wolverines' lack of success in
previous years, Jones is not bitter about his
career at Michigan.
"I'm disappointed, but after the season, I'm
not going to de down on myself.
I'm just going to go on to bigger and better
things."
Jones' future plans include trying our for the
1988 Olympic team, and he is also property of
the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey
League.
But-the matter at hand now is a winning
season for Michigan, something that Jones has
waited for for a long time.


Lake Superior
HEAD COACH: Frank Anzalone
NICKNAME: Lakers
COLORS: Royal Blue and Gold
1985-86 RECORD: 24-18-1 (4th
place)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 18
KEY RETURNEES: Jim Roque (Sr.,
C, 14-24-38); Dean Dixon (Sr., C,
13-24-37); Craig Hewson (Jr., C,
10-23-33); Matt Cote (Sr., D, 4-
18-22); Randy Exelby (Sr., G,
3.61); Paul Jerrard (Sr., RW, 13-
11-24); Terry Hossack (Jr., D, 0-
9-9); Joe Shawhan (Sr., G, 3.03)

Ohio State
HEAD COACH: Jerry Welsh
NICKNAME: Buckeyes
COLORS: Scarlet and Gray
1985-86 RECORD: 23-19 (5th
place)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 17
KEY RETURNEES: Rick Brebant
(Jr., C, 25-35-60); Jeff Madill
(Jr., RW, 32-25-57); Dave
Beaudin (Sr., C, 23-33-56);
Roger Beedon (So., G, 4.95); Joe
Tracy (Sr., RW, 20-34-54)


The utlokedBowling Green looks
The~~t otok0surpass Spartan s


Western Michigan
HEAD COACH: Bill Wilkinson
NICKNAME: Broncos
COLORS: Brown and Gold
1985-86 RECORD: 32-12 (2nd
place tie)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 13
KEY RETURNEES: Wayne Gagne
(Sr., D, 17-59-76); Rob Bryden
(Sr., LW, 23-28-51); Ron Hoover
(So., C, 10-23-33); Jim Culhane
(Sr., D, 1-21-22); Pat Ryan (Sr.,
LW, 7-14-21); Henry Fung (Sr.,
RW, 13-19-32); Bill Horn (So., G,
3.81)

FE4(Iy F
Ferris State
HEAD COACH: John Perpich
NICKNAME: Bulldogs
COLORS: Crimson and Gold
1985-86 RECORD: 17-19-2 (6th
place)
LETTERMEN RETURNING: 20
KEY RETURNEES: Paul Lowden
(Sr., RW, 32-39-71); Peter
Lowden (Sr., C, 28-40-68);
Murray Winnicki (So., C, 19-
40-59); Dean Cowling (So., RW,
16-23-39); Dean Davies (So., D,
8-16-24)

By SCOTT SHAFFER
Welcome to the Central
Collegiate Hockey Association,
1986-87 edition.
The conference is hard to begin
talking about because several teams
leap out and demand attention.
"I LOOK around the CCHA
and I see six teams capable of
competing on a national level," said
Bowling Green head coach Jerry
York.
One can begin by looking at
Western Michigan, the team that
won the CCHA playoffs last year.
Then there is Bowling Green,
the team that was narrowly picked
to win the conference in the pre-
season coaches' poll.
OR ONE can start right here in
Ann Arbor where coach Red
Berenson has recruited one of the
best freshman classes in the nation.
And you can hardly forget
Michigan State, the team that
merely won the NCAA
championship last year. Out of
respect for the national champs,
let's start with them.
The Spartans, who beat Harvard
6-5 to win the national title last
year, return17 lettermen this year.
That's a lot of returnees, but some
of the losses hurt.
GONE FROM last year's
championship team are Joe
Murphy, the first pick oveiall in
the National Hockey League draft,
by the Red Wings; Mike Donnelly,
who led the nation in goals scored;

All-CCHA Don McSween will
anchor coach Ron Mason's defense
this year. "We are deep in goal and
on defense, our special teams are
fine, but up front is the question
mark for us," Mason said. "A big
part of our season will depend on
how our offense comes together."
BUT ESSENSA, Foster,
McSween, and the- other veterans
were not enough to earn the
national champs the top ranking in
the CCHA coaches' preseason poll.
The Spartans missed that honor by
the slimmest margin, being edged

America goalie Gary Kruzich.
Kruzich led the CCHA with 831
saves and finished third with a 3.72
goals against. "The strength of our
team will revolve around Gary's
play in goal," said York.
The Falcon's leaders on offense
will be second team All-CCHA
Paul Ysebaert, Don Barber and lain
Duncan. It's a testament to
Bowling Green's surplus of talent
that all three play on separate lines.
TEAM CAPTAIN Todd
Flichel will be back on defense
along with juniors Brian McKee

BUT THIS year won't be a
throw-away for the Broncos.
Coaches around the league still
expect them to be tough, as
evidenced by the fact that they tied
for fourth with Ohio State in the
poll, behind Lake Superior State.
"This isn't really a rebuilding
year. I would call it more of a
changing of the guard for us," said
Bronco mentor BillWilkinson.
The best of the returning skaters
is Wayne Gagne, an All-America
defensman whose 76 points was
tops in the nation among
defensemen and took team scoring
honors.
"Our goal for this season is
home ice advantage in the playoffs
(fourth place)," said Wilkinson.
The general consensus of
coaches around the league is that
Western Michigan will have to
contend with Lake Superior, Ohio
State and Michigan for the last two
home ice spots behind Bowling
Green and Michigan State. Ferris
State, Illinois-Chicago and Miami
are not expected to be factors this
year.
For Berenson, the key to the
first division will be the
performance of his highly-touted
incoming freshmen, especially the
duo of Warren Sharples and Glen
Neary. The two will be asked to
step in and provide instant relief to
an area that was a sore spot for the

4

THE
t 1111ft~TY
FLAMES
Illinoia -Chic ago
HEAD COACH: Val Belmonte
NICKNAME: Flames
COLORS: Indigo and Flame
1985-86 RECORD: 14-25-1 (7th

sQt

Miami.
HEAD COACH: Bill Davidge
NICKNAME: Redskins
COLORS: Red and White

out by Bowling Green by one
point.
Mason's counterpart at Bowling
Green, York, is happy to receive

and Scott Paluch. The one player
who will not be back is Jamie
Wansbrough, the fourth leading
scorer in the CCHA last year. Even


,I