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Home Match
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The Michigan Daily
SPORTS
Friday, December 9, 1988
Hockey
vs. Michigan State
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Yost Ice Arenax
Page 11
BLUE TO FACE NO. 1 RIVALS
Spartans streak into
Yost
BY TAYLOR LINCOLN
Michigan State lost its season
opening hockey game to Lake
Superior State on October 14. They
haven't lost since.
Heading into this weekend's series
versus Michigan (7:30 p.m. tonight
at Yost Ice Arena, and 3 p.m. Sunday
at Michigan State, on PASS) the
Spartans (15-1, 13-1 in the CCHA)
are ranked No. 1 in the country in
both the media and coaches' polls -
unanimously.
Michigan has been on a streak of
its own - in the other direction.
After getting off to a 7-2-1 start, the
Wolverines (7-6-3 overall, 7-4-3 in
the CCHA) are 0-4-2 in their last six
contests.
BUT THIS is a Michigan team
with a history of rebounding against
top competition. Earlier this season,
after the Wolverines lost and tied at
home to Illinois-Chicago, they
traveled to defending national
champion Lake Superior State and
gained a sweep.
"This is a good time to be playing
State," Wolverine goalie Warren
Sharples said. "We need a big game
and we know that everybody will
come ready to play.
"It's no secret that we've been in a
little bit of a drought here and we
definitely need to get some points
before Christmas," Sharples said.
The Spartans have been
dominating the CCHA. Currently,
they lead the league in goals scored
while giving up the fewest.
THEY ALSO sport the most
effective power play and have the
JOHN MUNSON/Daily
Michigan's Randy Kwong and Tim Helber will look to
push MSU out of its No. 1 ranking tonight at Yost.
aI
Blue
Lines
BY MIKE GILL
I talked to McGyver this week. Or a guy nicknamed that.
This person hawks Rose Bowl tickets for inflated prices every year. And
he told me something pretty interesting. He said when Michigan or Ohio
State fans go to California, all the big restaurants are packed. The Chamber
of Commerce loves it. But when Michigan State heads west, Burger King is
packed. Pasedena hates it. "MSU's farmers," McGyver said.
Guess who's comin' to Ann Arbor tonight?
} Yep. And O' whatta game it will be.
Michigan. Michigan State. Need I say more? No. But I will.
First off, it's always the best series of the year. "It's a college hockey
fan's delight," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.
The emotion starts early in a sold out Yost Ice Arena. The barn really
burns when these two teams square off.
"Even in the warmup, the crowd - it's 'Go Blue,' 'Go White.' You can
hear them up in the locker room," Mike Moes said. "When you get to the
rink you can cut the air with a knife."
Berenson loves the match-up especially at Yost, where many Michigan
State fans invade the arena. "You've got both teams well represented by fans
in this building and then you've got two teams that are really gonna play
hard. That's a great classic hockey confrontation."
You said it, coach. How about a prediction, Red? "I don't think the odds
makers could ever predict when Michigan and Michigan State play."
Why? It's a game of emotion. Throw out the records. The Spartans are in
best overall penalty killing per-
centage. Furthermore, five of the top
10 scorers in the league are Spartans.
Michigan State center Kip Miller
leads the CCHA in scoring, with
Spartan left winger Bobby Reynolds
second. Goalie Jason Muzzatti leads
the league with the lowest goals
against average.
Despite the offensive output,
Mason said that the key to his team's
success has been defense. "We've had
outstanding defensive play," he said.
"Usually when a team scores a lot of
goals, people assume that it's their
offense. But it's been the defense
which has set up the goals."
Michigan co-captain Myles
O'Connor is no stranger to being an
underdog to Michigan State, but he
also knows that being an underdog
doesn't necessarily translate into a
loss.
"Every year that I've been here in
the past you can basically throw out
the record books when it comes to
Michigan State," O'Connor said.
"We know we can play with Mich-
igan State. They've won 15 in a row,
but I don't think that phases anybody
on this team."
DURING THE 1985-86 season,
Michigan State won the national
championship while Michigan man-
aged only 12 wins. But, the two
teams split their season series. Over
the past three years, the teams are
even at six wins apiece.
"We can't get into a shootout
with them because they're the best
offensive team in the league,"
Berenson said. "We'll have to take
advantage of our chances, play close-
checking hockey, and force them to
make mistakes."
Michigan may be helped by the
fact that the Spartans will be playing
this game at the conclusion of their
exams week, which could distract
their preparation and concentration on
the game.
"It's a concern for us but we're
not going to worry about it," Mason
said. "Sometimes after finals week
the players have been relieved and
we've had really good efforts. Other
times they have been drained. I guess
we won't know until after Fridlay
night's game."
"This will be a great crowd, it
will be a classic college hockey con-
frontation," Berenson said. "I just
hope we get off to a good start. If.We
do I think we'll get some confidence
and I think we'll beat them."
Blue Banter
- Penalty King: In last
Saturday's game versus Boston Uni-
versity, Myles O'Connor collected
four minutes in penalties to become
the Wolverines all-time penalty
minutes leader with 313.
-Slip, slidin' away: Mich -
igan, which had been ranked in the
top ten for the last few weeks, fell to
No. 14 in the WMEB poll.
'M'-MSU: Heart attack
game in store for tonight
first? They have a unanimous No. 1 ranking? Michigan hasn't won lately?
Who cares?
"All 25 guys, even the guys who aren't dressed, are pumped up for this
game," Alex Roberts said.
Added Don Stone, "You start thinking about this one a little earlier than
the other games."
Michigan. Michigan State. It don't get any better than this.
If you're one of the lucky to have tickets, get pumped. This is one game
which takes place in the stands and on the ice.
But fights in the stands don't get game misconducts. "State fans are
rowdy and they sometimes don't show a lot of class," Warren Sharples said.
So do whatever it takes to get geeked. Listen to the fight song. Drink a
keg or two. Alex Roberts has fans who sit behind the Michigan bench
complete with "Alex" signs and airhorns.
Pick a player. Any player. Do the same. "Felsner's Following," "Kent's
Korner," "Helber's Hideaway" are some suggestions. Maybe people who do
real creative things with their minds can think of something for Don Stone.
And how about the wave?
"No. I think fans do that when they're bored," Berenson said.
Okay, okay - don't expect Red to join in, but show him it's another
way to make noise - in a tight game. This is it. This is the game.
Myles O'Connor sums it all up, "The rivalry speaks for itself."
Michigan. Michigan State. Enough said.
- ..
--
RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS
2
The Medieval and Renaissance Collegium
announces
QUI, QUAND, OU ET
PUOR QUI?:
TOUT SUR LA FARCE DE
MAITRE PATHELIN
a lecture by
PROFESSOR BRUNO ROY
Institute d'itudes Medievales
Universit6 de Montreal
Monday, December 12, 1988, 4 p.m.
West Conference Room, Rackham
Call 763-2066 for further information
REMINDER: TODAY, DECEMBER 9 "The Latin
Phaedo and Its concept of Simultaneous Harmony:
The Reception and Application of a Medieval Text"
Prof. Nancy Van Deusen, California State University,
4 p.m., West Conference Room, Rackham.
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