The Michigan Daily - Spots Monday - November 19, 1990-- Page 5
E!
f
Is
0
Senior co-captain Don Stone blasts the puck against Michigan State. His leadership has been a big factor in Michigan's rise to the top of the CCHA.
STONE
* Continued from page 1
playing really well for us now.
Aaron Ward is playing great, and the
fourth line with my brother and
David Wright is, too. All of the new
guys are contributing and helping
the team out."
One of the question- marks that
existed at the beginning of the sea-
son is quickly being erased. Shields,
4 goalie, has stepped into the void
#left by graduated four-year starter
Warren Sharples and has played a
key role in Michigan's fast start.
"He's (Stone) helped me to ad-
just," Shields said. "I feel more com-
fdrtable now. All of us, the new
guys, we don't feel alienated at all.
Also, he sits next to me in the lock-
erroom and he always gives me hints
and stuff. Definitely, he's helped my
confidence."
Even so, Stone will continue in
anonymity, widely unnoticed, but
greatly appreciated. For him, it is all
part of the job description.
"I've got a lot more responsibil-
ity," Stone said. "Off the ice, guys
come to me, you know, and want to
talk about things. I just have to be a
leader by example off the ice and
whatever I do, it's got to be for the
well-being of the team."
For a guy who so embodies the
"team-player" spirit, it will be hard
to leave at the end of the season.
"I was talking to Kent (Brothers)
the other night and we realized, you
know, we're one-fourth of the way
through the season already," Stone
said. "There's not much left. We
still get calls from guys who were
seniors last year saying how much
they've missed it and how good
we've got it here compared to the
minor leagues or whatever else lies
ahead. I'm going to miss this a lot."
One thing that he didn't miss was
the opportunity to play with his
brother.
"This is the first time it's ever
happened," Stone said. "This is the
first year I've ever played with him
and it's really exciting. I'm happy,
this being my last year, that I'm get-
ting this chance. Playing hockey
with my brother is something I'll
always remember."
While Don Stone's present is
Michigan hockey, his future is un-
certain. As a twelfth-round draft pick
of the Detroit Red Wings two years
ago, he is still considering that op-
tion.
"I haven't made up my mind yet.
I've been playing hockey since I was
five, so it would be pretty hard to
quit. It's the best thing going for me
right now. Maybe I'll play in the
minors for a year or two. We'll see."
But in the meantime, he has a
job to do. And in case you haven't
noticed, he's doing it very well,
thank you.
Blue shows true
colors in comeback
by Matt Rennie
Daily Hockey Writer
SAULT STE. MARIE - A sportswriter by the name of Heywood
Hale Broun once said, "Sports do not build character; they reveal it."
Now, it's obvious that sportswriters have not cornered the market on
wisdom, but if Mr. Broun's theory is correct, Michigan hockey coach
Red Berenson has to be pleased with the events of the weekend.
The Wolverines split their series this weekend with Lake Superior
State, but there was not the usual ambivalence that accompanies a series
draw. Michigan was absolutely ecstatic over the results.
There are obvious reasons for this excitement. The first reason is the
fact that the Wolverines won the second game of the series; it is always
better to go out on a winning note. Secondly, nothing can charge up a
team like an overtime victory.
But these facts do not paint the full picture of the weekend's events.
The Wolverines were dead Friday. They surrendered their first goal
less than a minute into the contest, and the rout was on. By the first
intermission, Lake Superior led, 6-1.
Although Michigan's play improved for the rest of the game, the
Lakers held on, 10-5, and it looked like it was time to tie the tag to
Wolverines' collective toe.
The message that Lake Superior sent was loud and clear: "There i
one national hockey power in this building, Michigan, and you ain't it."
Berenson replaced starting goaltender Steve Shields after the
disastrous first period, and one had to wonder if such an experience would
scar the young netminder. After all, people can only shout, "Sieve!" at
you for so long before you start wonder if they're right.
In short, the consensus was that the Wolverines had about as much
chance of winning Saturday as Saddam Hussein did of receiving a dinner
invitation from George Bush.
But this is where Mr. Broun's theory comes into play. The
Wolverines could have thrown in the towel, but they didn't. They could
have gone through the motions, but they didn't. Shields could have
started listening to the fans, but he didn't.
Instead, the Wolverines came back with a vengeance Saturday
apparently eager to prove that the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
was not a one-horse race.
Michigan took a 3-2 lead on two quick goals with seven minutes left
in the game, and it appeared that the Wolverines were going to earn the
coveted split. But then it happened...
Lake Superior scored with three seconds left.
All of the effort, all of the emotion, everything that the Wolverines
had poured into this game, seemed wasted on what would be at best a tie.
Shields had rebounded admirably, recording 26 saves, but all he could
think of at this moment was the save he didn't make.
The nightmare was back.
But in what seemed to be a microcosm of the entire series, the
Wolverines did not get down on themselves. They came out aggressively
in the overtime period, unwilling to be content with a draw.
Then, with 4:11 left to play, Patrick Neaton put home the rebound of
a Denny Felsner shot, and the cycle was complete. Michigan had risen
from the ashes and beaten what was arguably the best college hockey
team in the country.
Statistically, the difference between the two games was obvious.
Friday, Lake Superior compiled 57 shots on goal; Saturday, they had 29.
"This is obviously our biggest win of the season," Berenson said.
"Yesterday was our biggest loss of the season. We were really humiliated
last night. To come back like this is a good sign of our team character."
There's the magic word again: character. The biggest reason that the.
Wolverines are serious contenders for the CCHA title is that they believe
that they are.
They knew that they were a better team than the one that the crowd a
the Norris Center saw Friday night. They knew that with the talent the
have, they shouldn't give up six goals in a period to anybody.
And after Saturday, everybody else knew it, too.
True, this "great" Michigan team got hammered Friday, but the:
qualities that the team exhibited in rebounding from the defeat gave more:
of an indication of what kind of team this is than anything that happened:
on the ice.
Call it character or-call it poise, but whatever you call it, Michigan
has it.
Gordon returns home
and plays in front of
relatives in M' loss
HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Oliver's absence slows
Blue in Laker series
,by John Niyo
paily Hockey Writer
* SAULT STE. MARIE - The bone-breaking hit in the Michigan State
game that rearranged David Oliver's jaw forced some other rearranging as
well. Michigan coach Red Berenson spent all of last week trying to piece
together four cohesive forward lines in preparation for this past weekend
clash with Lake Superior State.
But all the king's horsemen and all the king's men couldn't keep Michi-
gan from falling apart against the Lakers in Friday's series opener. Neither
could Berenson.
"You can't blame him (Berenson)," Laker coach Jeff Jackson said.
"Sometimes as a coach, you have to do things like that. But I don't think
that the changes really had an impact on the- outcome."
Before Oliver's injury, the second-most productive line for the Wolver-
ines had been that of Oliver, Don Stone, and rookie Cam Stewart. Berenson
experimented with a new lineup Friday, moving sophomore David Roberts
from the top line to a line with first-year players Brian Wiseman and David
Wright. Berenson replaced Roberts with Stewart, while Oliver was replaced
in the starting lineup with junior Mike Helber.
The end result of all this? An embarrassing 10-5 loss.
So it was back to the drawing board for Berenson and the coaching staff.
The lineup that premiered on Saturday was somewhat more familiar and cer-
tainly more successful.
Roberts, Denny Felsner, and Mark Ouimet were back together again as
* the top line and Stewart rejoined Stone, while junior Ted Kramer filled in
for Oliver. Helber remained in the lineup as the right winger on the fourth
line with Wiseman and Stiver.
This time the lineup switch paid off.
Felsner,'Ouimet, and Roberts clicked again, showing why they are so
highly touted. Meanwhile, Helber seemed to benefit from the switch as
well.
"Helber's practiced hard all week," Kramer said. "He was definitely the
sparkfor us tonight. He came up with that big assist."
U.P. FALLS: The Upper Peninsula's dominance of college hockey fal-
tered a bit this Weekend thanks to Michigan and Minnesota.
4 Lake Superior was ranked second in the nation before the weekend split
in Sault Ste. Marie with the Wolverines. Meanwhile, top-ranked Northern
Michigan ventured away from the friendly confines of Lakeview Arena in
Marquette and were pinned with a loss and a tie by the Golden Gophers.
_'=<
I Mihipi & 17
I 7
6 BwngGen6 4 24
; :*:4.: *
M':l 3 41
0 *:-
.t ~IAnne
.JJOE JU-REt/U
Right winger Denny Felsner scored two goals and added an assist this
weekend at Lake Superior. He leads the CCHA in both categories.
HOCKEY
Continued from page 1
Moger left the teams deadlocked and
set the stage for the frenzied third pe-
riod.
A slashing penalty on Wolverine
center Don Stone gave the Lakers a
power play early in the third and, for
once, they made good on their man
advantage. Barely.
With only three seconds left in
the penalty, Mark Astley took a pass
from center Jim Dowd in front of the
Michigan goal and put it by goalie
Steve Shields. For Dowd, the
league's second leading scorer and
the top returning scorer in college
hockey this year, it was his first and
only point of the weekend.
After Lake Superior squelched a
four-minute Wolverine power play,
Michigan finally tied it up when
Stone snuck a pass to defenseman
Patrick Neaton, with 8:01 left, who
put the puck into the back of the
net.
with 1:13 left in the third period, and
then pulled their goalie, putting a
sixth skater on the ice. Twice,
Michigan came close to putting the
game away, clearing the puck out of
their zone and barely missing the
empty net. But an icing call brought
the puck back into the Wolverine's
end
Lake Superior extended the game
into overtime when a flurry in front
of the Michigan goal resulted in a
tying goal with only three seconds
remaining in the third period.
"I was pretty upset with that ic-
ing call," Shields said. "But I had to
keep my composure because I knew
there was still five minutes left to
play."
But he didn't have to stay com-
posed very long as Neaton took a
pass from Felsner and slapped it by
Madeley for his second goal of the
game, only 39 seconds into over-
time.
That was the high point. The low
by Matt Rennie
Daily Hockey Writer
SAULT STE. MARIE - It is
Saturday night at The Antler's, a lo-
cal bar/restaurant, and a father and
son are sitting down to have dinner
before going to the Norris Center for
the second game of the Michigan-
Lake Superior State series.
"Hey, son," the father says, grab-
bing the young man's attention. "Do
you remember that goalie that
Michigan put in last night in the
second period? That Gordon kid?"
The boy nods his head.
"Well, he's from right around
here, from the Soo, and he went to
Michigan."
The boy gets a puzzled look on
his face.
"Why would he do that, Daddy?"
The goaltender in question here is
Wolverine rookie Chris Gordon, a
native of Sault Ste. Marie who saw
his first CCHA action in Michigan's
10-5 loss Friday.
Gordon joins junior Tim Keough
as the backups for starting goalie
Steve Shields. Shields' stellar play
of late has all but eliminated the
in his first taste of CCHA action,
stopping 33 of 37 shots over the fi-
nal two periods.
"I went into the game just trying
to do the best I could to help the
team," Gordon said.
The circumstances were not ideal
for the rookie, playing against a top
team in an enemy arena, but Gordon
knew he had at least a few people
cheering for him. All of his relatives
were in attendance at the Norris Cen=
ter.
*I
The folks take their hockey seri-
ously up here, so it is 'somewhAt
puzzling that a talented prospect
such as Gordon would choose. to
head south for the winter. Ann Arbor
being south, of course.
With the Lakers returning the
tandem of Darrin Madely and Bra4-
don Reed, playing time may have
been rarer at Lake Superior this sea-
son, but he said the reasons for his
migration went beyond ice time.
"Under the circumstances, Michi-
gan seemed like a better situation in
terms of playing time," Gordon said.
"But the main reason I decided to