4
Page 12 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 14, 1988
1988-
89
M'
HOCKEY
PREVIEW
--
Icer
BY TAYLOR LINCOLN
In his first four years as
Michigan head coach, Red Berenson
has compiled a 61-96-2 record.
Hardly encouraging, unless you
consider that Berenson inherited a
last-place team in 1985.
After making gradual
improvement in the first three years
of Berenson's tenure, the Wolverines
got a taste of winning last year.
The 1987-88 squad posted
MIchigan's first winning record
since 1981 (22-19) and jumped from
seventh to fifth place in the CCHA
with a 17-15 mark. "We're starting
to make progress," said Berenson.
"This year we're shooting for the
top four."
THIS YEAR will be a test of
sorts for Berenson's program. The
'88 team will be the first squad
entirely composed of players
Berenson recruited.
Senior co-captains Todd Brost and
Myles O'Connor, both members of
Berenson's first recruiting class, will
be. expected to provide solid
leadership.
Brost, a center, is the career
scoring leader on the current
Mvichigan squad, while O'Connor is
38 points shy of becoming the
Wolverines all-time leading scoring
defenseman.
Another key ingredient for the
Wolverines' success hinges on 1
junior goaltender Warren Sharples. <
Last year Sharples improved his
goals-against average by more than
one (5.14 to 4.10) and led the
CCHA with 799 saves en route to
winning 18 games and earning team
MVP honors.
BERENSON praised Sharples
and his surrounding defensive core,
saying, "Sharples has become a
mature college goaltender, and we
will have a more experienced defense
than we've had in the past."
Aside from O'Connor and
Sharples, the defensive contingent
looking
to
rise
in
CCHA
Y.
4
Jim Ballantine and junior Ryan
Pardoski and a trio of newcomers:
Danny Felsner, Mike Helber, and
Ted Kramer.
Helber, a graduate of Ann Arbor
Pioneer High School, set a national
high school record last year with 65
goals. Felsner burst on the scene in
last week's intrasquad game with
two goals and an assist.
Last year's team alternated
between highs and lows. Bright
spots included a mid-season streak in
which the Wolverines strung
together six wins in eight games,
including a two-game sweep of
league powerhouse Michigan State.
THE SEASON ended in
disappointment as Michigan lost the
final two games of its opening
round three-game playoff series
against Western Michigan, dropping
the deciding game,10-0.
"It was a tough way to end the
year," said Berenson. "But we gained
some humility and something to
learn from."
This year Berenson hopes the
Wolverines can continue to improve
upon the consistency that they
displayed in the second half of last
season. "In the last couple of
seasons we had a tendency to fold
up," Berenson said. "Last year we
reversed that. We were a .500 team
in the first half then became a really
strong team in the second half."
Berenson is cautious in his
predictions, but optimistic about his
team's potential. "There are five
teams capable of finishing first, and
we're one of them," he said. "We
have a chance to win every game.
We're learning how to win now."
Brost considers the team's main
goal to gain home ice in the
playoffs (top four league finishers),
and he will not be satisfied with
being an also-ran. "This year we
will expect to win every game,"
Brost said. "We're as good as every
team in this league."
Michigan's 1988-9
D ATE DAY OPPONENT
Oct. 14 (Fri.) *MIAMI
Oct. 15 (Sat.) *MIAMI
Oct. 21 (Fri.) *ILL-CHICAGO
Oct. 23 (Sun.) *ILL-CHIGAGO
Oct. 28 (Fri.) *at Lake Superior
Oct. 29 (Sat.) *at Lake Superior
Nov. 4 (Fri.) *BOV&ING GRE
Nov. 5 (Sat.) *at Bowling Greer
Nov. 11 (Fri.) *at Ferris State
Nov. 12 (Sat.) *at Ferris State
Nov. 18 (Fri.) *OHIO STATE
Nov. 19 (Sat.) *OH1O STATE
Nov. 25 (Fri.) *at Western Mich
Nov. 26 (Sat.) *WESTERN MIC
Dec. 2 (Fri.) at Boston College
Dec. 3 (Sat.) at Boston Univers
Dec. 9 (Fri.) *MICHIGAN ST
Dec. 11 (Sun.) *Michigan St.
Dec. 16 (Fri.) *at Illinois-Chiga
Dec. 17 (Sat.) *at Illinois-Chiga
Dec. 29-30 Great Lakes Invit.
Dec. 29 (Th.) vs. Michigan Tec
Dec. 30 (Fri.) vs. Michigan St.
EN
,n
.
Sity
. ~
go
go
L.
,h
Ockey Schedule
SITE TIME
ANN ARBOR 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
ANN ARBOR 3:00
Sault. Ste. Marie, M1 7:30
Sault. Ste. Marie, MT 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
Bowling Green, 01H 7:30
Big Rapids, MI 7:30
Big Rapids, MI 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
Kalamazoo, MI 7:30
ANN ARBOR 7:30
4
kx
4
Chestnut Hill, MA
Boston, MA
ANN ARBOR
East Lansing, MlI
Chicago,111
Chicago, Ill
Joe Louis Arena
IN. Dakota
JOHN MUNSON/Daily
nior center Rob Brown returns after
ints last year. Brown's offensive
pecially needed this year since the
leading the
production
Wolverines t
team in
will be
havc lost
l
l
J
four of their top seven scorers from last year.
Jan. 6 (
Jan. 7 (
Jan, 13 (
Jan. 14 (
Jan. 20 (1
Jan. 21 (
Jan. 27 (
Jan. 28 (
Feb.3 (
Feb.4 (
Feb. 10 (1
Feb. 11 (
Feb. 17 (
Feb. 18 (
Feb. 24 (
Feb. 25 (
Mar. 3-5
Mar. 11-12
Mar. 17-19
Mar. 24-26
Mar. 30-31
Fri. )
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
Fri.)
Sat.)
*LAKE SUPERIOR
*LAKE SUPERIOR
*at Bowling Green
*BOWLING GREEN
*FERRIS STATE
*FERRIS STATE
*at Ohio State
*at Ohio State
*WESTERN MICH.
*at Western Mich.
at Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME
*at Michigan St.
*MICHIGAN ST.
*at Miami
*at Miami
CCHA 1st Round
CCHA Finals
NCAA 1st Round
NCAA 2nd Round
NCAA Finals
NCAA Finals
ANN ARBOR
ANN ARBOR
Bowling Green, 011
ANN ARBOR
ANN ARBOR
ANN ARBOR
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH
ANN ARBOR
Kalamazoo, MI
Notre Dame, IN
ANN ARBOR
East Lansing, MI
ANN ARBOR'
Oxford, OH
Oxford, OHi
7:00
7:00
7:30 ,
3:00
7:00
7:00
5:00,,
5/8
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30 A
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:30
{
t
4.
4
will be bolstered by juniors Brad
Turner, Alex Roberts and Todd
Copeland, and sophomore Mark
Sorensen.
"We should have a really good
defensive core," said Sharples. "We
have an opportunity to be a force in
the league and in the nation."
Offensively, Michigan must
replace right wingers Billy Powers,
Brad McCaughey, and Joe
Lockwood. Also lost is left wing
Bryan Deasley, a sophomore last
year, who signed with the Calgary
Flames (see story below). This
foursome accounted for 41 percent of
Michigan's goals last season.
TOP RETURNING forwards
include junior Rob Brown, who led
Michigan in scoring last year (21
goals, 23 assists, 44 points), Brost
(18-23-41), sophomore Don Stone
(18-21-39), and junior Mike Moes
(5-27-32).
Filling voids left behind by
departed forwards will be sophomore
Campus Sites (Best 2-of-3)
Detroit Joe Louis Arena
Campus Sites (Best 2-of-3)
Campus Sites (Best 2-of-3)
St. Paul,MN
St. Paul, MN
ssociation (CCHA) game
1'
4
Apr. I
* Denotes Central Collegiate Hockey
(all games p.m.)
Deasley departs 'M' for
. . .:.
_ y
chance in th
BY RICHARD EISEN
"So, who did well in the intrasquad game," asked the
person at the other end of the telephone line. He
sounded just like any other Michigan hockey fan,
hungry for any piece of information about the team.
But, he is markedly different.
"I am proud to say I played at Michigan for two
years," the fan said.
The fan is Bryan Deasley, who, last spring, forfeited
his last two years of eligibility at Michigan by signing
a contract with the Calgary Flames of the National
Hockey League.
Instead of being on the blue line in Ann Arbor, he
is on the other end of the telephone line in Alberta.
With the flick of his pen, Deasley changed from
Michigan player to Michigan fan.
Deasley, a North York, Ont. native, is currently a
member of the Canadian National Hockey team, on
loan from the Flames. Once his tenure with the
National Team is over, Deasley, at age 20, said he
would join the Flames for the playoff drive in March.
"I'm not upset being put on loan," Deasley said.
"We play 70 games, playing the Russians 30 times and
Czechoslovakia about 20, so there'll be a lot of great
games."
TODAY, Deasley and the rest of the Canadian
National team will leave for a 30 day Iron Curtain tour,
playing against the Russians and the Czechs. Instead of
skating tonight for Michigan coach Red Berenson,
Deasley will be skating in Red Square.
For two years, Deasley skated in Red's Square -
Yost Ice Arena.. Going into his third year for the
Wolverines, Deasley had a chance to expand on his 31
goals and 15 assists. But Deasley opted for the pros, a
decision with which coach Berenson does not agree.
"I feel very strongly that the timing of Bryan's
decision was not right," Berenson said. "I feel very
strongly that he had a lot more to accomplish as a
college player, to get more school under his belt.
e big league
"I don't know if a person 19 years of age is mature
enough to go to a professional hockey lifestyle. If a
player was exceptional enough to slip into the NHL, it
wouldn't be fair for me to try to hold him back."
"It was a real tough decision. The Flames gave me a
good salary," Deasley said. "Plus, they gave me a
multi-year contract for a little security."
DESPITE leaving Michigan, Deasley will not
neglect his studies. He plans to take courses at the
University of Calgary, using those credits toward a
Michigan degree. He also plans to attend school here
during the summer months.
Although Berenson was not happy with Deasley's
departure, knowing that Deasley will study softens the
blow.
"It's a tougn tasK for a ooy to comnici piu inzury
and a university. He's one of the few," Berenson said.
"I want to graduate from Michigan. It's a great
school and I love it," Deasley said. "I miss everything
about it. The playing, the guys, my girlfriend and
those Saturdays on the road when the Wolves were all
set to play the (Michigan State) Spartans."
BERENSON said it is difficult to see the affect of
Deasley's absence since the Wolverines have yet to
play a game but, "Bryan's leaving now opens the door
for a younger player to come in and fill the spot."
Defenseman Todd Copeland, Deasley's first year
roommate, feels the team will fair just fine.
"When he was injured last year, we did pretty well,"
he said. "The team has a lot of youth and enthusiasm,
we'll be able to overcome."
Despite leaving Michigan in midstream, there is no
bitterness, no hidden feelings. Michigan hockey knows
where Deasley stands, Deasley knows where Berenson
stands.
"I hope he does well. I don't want to wish him bad
luck," Berenson said. "But I feel Bryan made a poor
decision, he knows it, his parents know it and Calgary
knows it."
4
4
4
4
Left winger Bryan Deasley elected to forego his final two years of eligibility
favor of pursuing an NHL career with the Calgary Flames of the NHL. As
1987-88 Deasley was the Wolverines fourth leading goal scorer.
ROBIN LOZNAK/Daily
at Michigan in
a sophomore ii.
Lake
Lake
Superior
Michigan
State
Western
Michigan
Bowling
Green
Nickname - Falcons
Colors - Burnt Orange and Seal Brown
Enrollment - 17,300
Arena (Capacity) - BGSU Ice Arena (3,400)
Nickname - Lakers
Colors - Royal Blue and Gold
Enrollment - 2,800
Arena (Capacity) - Norris Ice Arena (3,200)
Nickname - Spartans
Colors - Green and White
Enrollment - 42,096
Arena (Capacity) - Munn Ice Arena (6,255)
Nickname - Broncos
Colors - Brown and Gold
Enrollment - 24,500
Arena (Capacity) - Lawson Arena (4,000)
a