4 Hall of Fame Bowl tickets still available Michigan Ticket Department Corner of State of Hoover The Michigan Daily SPORTS Wednesday, December 9, 1987 Men's basketball vs. Austin Peay Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Crisler Arena Page 10 leers Blue Lines Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth. -Rudyard Kipling By JULIE HOLLMAN Kipling's ballad came to life this past weekend when Michigan battled head to head with Hockey East representative Boston College. The two teams met and they met hard, as each was struggling for a badly needed victory. Both teams are strong and talented but have failed to live up to presea- son reputations and fan expectations. Before the series, each team was fifth in its division and each was coming off a string of defeats. Michigan had lost three in a row, including suffering its first sweep of the season at the hands of Lake Su- perior, the previous weekend. Boston College had just beaten Colorado College, but before that, had lost four in a row and was sporting a 4-5 ecord. BC'S EXCUSE for mediocrity is more understandable than Michi- gan's. The Eagles, normally a na- tionally contending team, lost four players to the Olympics and one to the NHL, leaving a young and inex- perienced squad. As for the Wolver- ines, they're not offering any ex- cuses for their 7-9 conference record, but they're also not providing any solutions. That's mainly because the cause of their ailments is too puz- zling. Michigan has played some great hockey; and it has played some bad hockey. Often, the Wolverines look like two different teams even within play / . t game of Jekyll and Hyde 4 the same game. Last weekend was a prime example of the Michigan schizophrenia. On Friday night, BC and Michi- gan played an evenly matched but boring, scoreless first period. Not much was expected from BC since it failed to score in the first frame in its last three games, and four of its last five. SO THE burden of excitement fell on Michigan. But the Wolverines failed to capitalize on the Eagles' lack of productivity. As Kipling put it "He fired once, he fired twice, but the whistling ball went wide." After that first dry period though, the weekend got very exciting. The Wolverines came out of the locker room a changed team. By playing some of their best hockey this season, they pulled out to a 3-0 lead. In the third frame however, the Jekyll came out of the Hyde. In an all too typical fashion, Michigan let the Eagles stage a comeback, yield- ing two quick goals. The Wolverines showed some strength, scored two more goals, and Doily Photo by ROBIN LOZNAK Don Stone's goal helped Michigan past Boston College Saturday. Despite the Wolverines' sweep last weekend, head coach Red Berenson still sees room for improvement. held on for the win. SATURDAY night, Michigan again showed some character and some softness. After climbing back from a 2-1 deficit to take a 4-2 lead in the final period, Michigan allowed BC to tie the game and force an overtime period. The Wolverines gained new life in the extra frame, and within 29 seconds, clinched the victory and their first sweep of the season. So it was a very good weekend for Michigan, but not a great weekend. "Good things happened this weekend," said head coach Red Berenson. "But the games we have to look at are the ones that move us up in the standings." And the Wolverines have had some trouble winning those. WITH HALF the season now over, Berenson is taking a hard look at his team in evaluating its current position. "Sometimes its worthwhile that a team face reality," he said. "We have to regroup, because the direction we're going in right now is not good enough against the top teams." Michigan split with league-lead- ing Michigan State but also split with cellar dwellers Miami of Ohio and Ferris State. Michigan could not have improved its standing this weekend because BC was a non-con- ference foe. The sixth-place Wolver= ines ended up dropping from eight points out of first to ten points out. Up until the Lake Superior series, the Wolverines were able to salvage something from each weekend, but they have not been consistent. The problem is three-fold. In or- der to make the jump into the upper half of the standings, Michigan must improve on overall team defense, third-period consistency, and preparation. "We still need to learn how to win in the third period re- gardless of the score," said Berenson. "We've also been discussing preparation because we spend all week getting ready, but we're not getting into sync until Saturday." So there it is, the dark and dreary explanation. Now it will be up to Berenson and the rest of the team to find the bright solutions. There's enough time to make up the dis- tance, but it has to be done quickly. North Campus Commons Bookstore pays TOP DOLLAR for your textbooks whether used on this campus or not! Store Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. " Cash on the spot * Up to 50% of the list price " The best time to sell is right after your final exams a