The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 9,1989 - Page 5 U ----- m Nf / w EWE N NR ONRmo7 AV 1989-90 University of Michigan ....:Ho c k e y S c h e d u le. ..... . Oct'1t*t Miami (OH) Oxford, OH 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 *at Miami (OH) Qxford, 011 7:30 p~m. O.7WETR ONTAR (Ex.) Ann Arb~or 7:30 p.m, Oct. 2() *at UIC Chicago, IL 7 p.m. Oct21 *at UIC Chicago, IL 7 p.m. Oc.27 *at LakeSuperiorState SaultSte.Marie 7:30p.m..... Oct. 28 *at Like Superior S Late Sault Ste. Marie 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 *at Bowling Green Bowling Green,.OH 7:3Q0 pm. Nov.3 *BOWLING GREEN Ann Arbor 73.....7' m . Nov. 10 *FERRIS STATE..... ...Ann Arbor...7:30p.m. Nov. 11 *FERkIS STATE Ann Arbor 7:30 p~m. Nov. 17*ZOHJO.STATE Aim Arbor...7:30p~. Nov. 19 *at Qho State Columbus, OH 3 p. Nov,24 *WESTERNM.ICHWGAN Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m. Nov25 *at Western~ Michigan....Karaaoo 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 flOSTON UNIVERSITY Ann Arbor..7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 BOSTON.UNIVERSITY Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m.... Dc.,9 *MICHIGAN STATE Ann Arbor ..7:3Q p~m Dec. 10 *a:. Michigan State East Lansing.4 p.- .CAnn Arb. .7:30 p.m- D;c. 16 *UIC Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m-. Dec. 29 at Great Lakes Invitational Detroit Dcc. 2. vs. Northr Michigan Detroit TBA ... Dec. 30 vs. MSU/Michiigan Tech DritTBA. Jan. 5 *LAKLE SUPERIOR STATE Ann Arbor 7:30p~m. Jan6 *LAKESUPERIORSTATE Ann Arbor...7:3.p.m . Jan. 12 *BOWLNG GREEN Ann Arbor 7:30 p.m. < Jan. 13 *at Bowling Gron Bowling Green,.OH 7:30 p.m.. Jan, 1.9 *af Ferii State Big Rpds 7:30 p.m4 Jan. 20 * at Fers State Biag Rapids.7:30p~m. Jan. 26 *at Ohio State Columbws, O.7:30 p.m Jan.27 *OHO SATE Ann Arb~o...7:30 p.m. Feb, 2 "'*it Western Michigan Kalamazoo 7:30.p.m Feb. 3 *WESTERN MICHIGAN Ann Arbor....7:30p..m Feb. 9. ALASKA-ANCHORAGE Ann Arbor...7:30 p.m. Feb, 10 AL ASKA-ANCHOR AGE Ann Arbor...7:30 p.m, Feb. 16 *at Michigan State East Lansing 7:30 p.m Feb. 17 *MCHIGAN STATE Ann Arbor 7:30p.m. Feb. 23 *MIAMI (OH) Ann Arbor 7:30 p~m. Feb. 24 *MIAMI(OH) Ann Arbor 7:30p.m Mar. 2.CCHA First Round begins Campus Sites TBA M .10 CCHA Fnaks begin Detroit-Joe Louis TBA Mar. 16 NCAA First Round Campus Sites TBA Mar. 23 NCAA Second Round begins Campus Shes.TBA Mar. 30 NCAA Semi-Finals DtotJeLus TA Apr. 1 NCAA Finals Dctroit-Joc Louis.TBA *C..r.. Co eg t e .key A.scociati.....n es. ... .. s . . S . ~. n. .. :, VETERANS LEAD 'M' CLIMB TO TOP OF CCHA Seniors by Andrew Gottesman Daily Hockey Writer "We were playing 10 freshman out there every night, and that's just too many young players. The transition and getting over the college difficulties for the freshmen cost our team a lot of games." -Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson after the 1986-87 season. The Wolverines finished a disappointing 14-24-1 that year. In the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, they were 11-20-1, good for 7th place. But now Berenson is expecting those same players, as seniors leading the team, to be at the center of a lot of Wolverine wins. "Any successful college team has a solid nucleus of seniors that play well," he said. "That's one of the reasons we feel our team will be an improved team this year. "When, as freshmen, they didn't really have a great year, our team suffered. When I brought them here, we needed kids to step in and help the team. And they were ready to play, but they weren't ready to carry the team." Of the ten players recruited for the fall of 1986, eight have remained at Michigan. Captains Mike Moes and Alex Roberts lead the offensive and defensive lines, respectively, while goalie Warren Sharples is a legitimate All- American candidate. Todd Copeland, Randy Kwong and Brad Turner round out Michigan's senior defenders. Along with Moes, Rob Brown and Ryan Pardoski provide additional experience as forwards. Two other members of the class of '86 were Bryan Deasley, a forward who is now playing in Calgary, and Glen Neary, a goalie who transferred to the University of Vermont. Together, the group has been a large part of Michigan hockey's transformation from a CCHA loser to a contender for the league's title. "I knew the situation at U of M before I decided to come here," Brown said. "We've always known that each year's going to get better and better. The only way the team could go was up." The.year before the ten arrived, Michigan hockey was just take last shots at goal beginning its turnaround. Berenson was in only his second year and working with his very first recruits. They finished a miserable 12-26 overall and came in 8th in the CCHA at 10-22. However, to Roberts, Mich- igan's situation looked like an advantage. "That made me want to come here more," he said. "I could play more and contribute more." And with Berenson, a Michigan and NHL veteran doing the recruiting, many prospective recruits looked past the Wolverines' record. After that frosh fiasco in 86-87, the sophomores came together in 1987-88 to produce Berenson's first winning season. They finished 22- 17 overall and moved up to 5th in the CCHA with a 17-15 record. Last season, the eight juniors from the original recruiting class helped the Wolverines bring home a 22- 15-4 record. They were 17-11-4 in the CCHA, good for 4th place and their first home-ice seeding in the league's post-season tournament. But this season they are seniors. It's their bestshot to advance past the first round of the CCHA playoffs, something Michigan has never accomplished. "(This year) has been a long time coming. Now we're just this far away," Turner said as he measured out about an inch between his thumb and index finger. "If we don't advance through the first round and get to (Detroit's Joe) Louis, it would be a disappoint- ment." This class has been such a huge part of Michigan hockey for the last three years that nobody is quite sure how their departure will affect the team. But most agree that it will not hurt quite so much simply because of the strength these eight have brought to the program. "They won't have to start over again with all new players next year," Moes said, referring to this year's strong frosh class. "There won't be a big gap." But still, the Wolverines are not going to be the same team. "There's no substitute for ex- perience," Moes said. 1988-89 Final Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standings n W L T Points Teat m 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 9. Michigan State Lake Superior UIC Michigan Bowling Green W. Michigan Ferris State Ohio State Miami (OH)_ 25 6 19 7 18 10 17 11 15 14 9 17 9 18 7 20 8 24 1 51 6 44 4 40 4 38 3 33 6 24 5 23 5 19 0 16 JOSE JUAREZ/Daily Michigan hockey co-captains Mike Moes, top, and Alex Roberts lead a group of eight seniors into what they hope will be their most successful year since becoming Wolverines. Hard-fought Blue-White Game ends in 3-3 deadlock by David Hyman Daily Hockey Writer Intensity, strong skating and hard hitting are what one saw Friday in the annual Blue-White hockey game, which came as no surprise to Michigan coach Red Berenson. "That's exactly what we're looking for," Berenson said. "We've got to develop a level of play that we're going to be able to handle for 60 minutes during a game and this is the type of play* we need." However, for those who attended the 3-3 deadlock, it was hard to imagine Michigan picking up the pace any more. The White jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Denny Felsner and Mark Sorensen, only 29 seconds apart, eight minutes into the game. Sorensen, playing left wing this season for the first time in his car- eer, responded well to his new pos- ition by adding a second goal, 6:42 into the third, to cap off the scoring. "I've got to learn the position as I've never played it before," Sorensen said. However, according to Berenson, Sorensen is doing fine: "He's learning some of his responsibilities, being that it's a new position, and he hadaa pretty good game tonight." The Blue soon settled down and exploded for three goals to take a lead at the end of the second buzzer. Center co-captain Mike Moes scored two, while right winger Ted Kramer added the other. The only low point of the exhibition came when an injury forced right-winger KentaBrothers out of the game. He may. have suffered a separated shoulder and will be out indefinitely. Berenson was also happy with the play of the newcomers. "They played pretty well and they're ready at this point," Berenson said. Overall, Berenson was pleased with the scrimmage and will prepare for the season opener this Friday night against Miami (Ohio). "We've been on the ice since September 10 and we're ready to go," said senior center Rob Brown. FELSNER Continued from Page 1 around the net. He can score in a lot of different ways," said coach Red Berenson. While it seemed obvious that Felsner was able to deal with the competition on the ice, could he do the same with the atmosphere of expectation that surrounded him? "My performance made me feel real good because I didn't expect it. But I never let it get me cocky though because that's when you get bad. I just blacked out everything and concentrated on playing hockey," said the Michigan Hockey Rookie-of-the-Year. This attitude that Felsner brings with him to the rink has a definite effect on the team as a whole. "He has a lot of fun out there and it's a lot of fun to watch the kid. He does some amazing things," senior center Rob Brown said. "The way he looks at the game, it's his own outlook. He's definitely a kid you'd like to have on your team." One word to describe Felsner's outlook on hockey is intense. At practices it always seems to be Felsner that is skating the hardest and always leading the way as the team goes through speed skating drills. "Denny shows up every game to play and plays to win, he's the player you need on a good winning team," Turner said. Felsner's ability and attitude has also broken mythical barriers between the older and younger players on the team as he is treated alike by seniors as well as first-year students. With his tendency to downplay his own achievements, Felsner will tell you that his success is largely due to the play of his teammates, especially center Todd Brost, who graduated last year. Not only did Brost provide him with scoring opportunities but also with leadership. "It was his presence. That feeling you get when you're around him. It helped so much," Felsner said. Besides Felsner's offensive prowess, the other interesting story behind this young athlete is how he came to Michigan. Felsner had narrowed down his choice of schools to Michigan and Michigan State. As he puts it, Spartan coach Ron Mason felt that he wasn't good enough to play in East Lansing so he came to Ann Arbor. What's coincidental is that Michigan State had an outstanding rookie of their own, center Rod Brind'Amour. He netted 27 goals and racked up 32 assists to finish ahead of Felsner in the CCHA Rookie-of-the-Year award voting. Was Felsner disappointed in not getting the honor? "Inwas kind of, but I just have to come back and do well this year and show them that I should have won it," Felsner said with a laugh. When Felsner arrived at Michigan he wasn't a complete stranger on the team. He's known teammate Don Stone since they were both very young and he describes his present housemate as like a brother to him. During practice the two are almost like sparring partners, constantly trying to jab arid trip each other with their sticks. "Felsner usually starts that stuff but I finish it," said Stone, the junior left winger, with a playful smirk. "We've played together all the time so we know what to expect from each other." Stone and Berenson were two of the main reasons Felsner became a Wolverine. Stone because of his friendship and Berenson because of the great amount of respect that he commands from his players. "You'll never meet another coach like him. I can't even find the words," Felsner said. "On and off the ice I talk to him a lot. He keeps a good eye on me to see that I'm not screwing up. The present is certainly exciting for Denny Felsner but the future could be even more rewarding. Last season there were rumors of Felsner jumping to the NHL but he is the first to say that this is far from the truth. "I'd love to finish college. School is a great place, I mean, this is the life." In the NHL amateur draft last June, Felsner was chosen by the St. Louis Blues after being overlooked while in high school. Ironically, Brind'Amour was also chosen by the Blues and plays for them presently. "Who knows. After school, maybe we'll be linemates," Felsner said. "What I want to do most is play hockey because that's what I like to do the most." " That certainly would be a pleasant anecdote at the start of a promising hockey career for the very talented Denny Felsner. Western Michigan _ _- - --r. " Miami University Miami University Nickname - Redskins Colors - Red and White Enrollment - 15,000 Arena - Goggin Arena (2,50) Head Coach - George Gwozdecky First Year - Previously Assistant at Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State University Nickname - Spartans Colors - Green and White Enrollment - 44,480 Arena - Munn Ice Arena (6,255) Head Coach - Ron Mason Career Record at MSU (10) - 285-133-13 Ovip.~,rnll C r P~r nrA (t21- 574-243-27 Ohio State OHIO STATE I l Ohio State University Nickname - Buckeyes Colors - Scarlet and Gray Enrollment - 53,669 Arena - OSU Ice Rink (1,580) Head Coach - Jerry Welsh Career Record at OSU (15) - 277-236-33 Western Michigan University Nickname - Broncos Colors - Brown and Gold Enrollment - 26,000 Arena - Lawson Arena (4,000) Head Coach - Bill Wilkinson Career Record at WMU (7) - 146-129-15