Field Hockey vs. Ohio State Sunday, 11 a.m. Oosterbaan Field House SPORTS Ice hockey vs. Western Michigan Tonight, 7:30 p.m. Yost Ice Arena The Michigan Daily Friday, November 1, 1991 Page 10 BOILERMAKERS FEATURE IMPROVED RUNNING ATTACK 'M' hopes to steamroll Purdue by Jeff Sheran Daily Football Writer Now that the mid-autumn dol- drums are sweeping through the Michigan football schedule, Wolverine coach Gary Moeller hopes they won't affect his team's play. Emerging from the first, and ar- guably tougher, half of its confer- ence season unscathed, Michigan (4- 0 in the Big Ten, 6-1 overall) hosts Purdue tomorrow (12:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium). After watching Illinois tumble to severe-underdog Northwestern last week,. Moeller recognizes that the first-place Wolverines are in position for a let- down against an inferior Boiler- maker team. "I'm not saddened by the (Wildcat victory)," Moeller quipped. "But it shows that when you hit the stretch, you have to, number one, win, no matter how you do it, and, number two, make im- provement." Likewise, Purdue (2-2, 3-4) has sought improvement all season. First-year coach Jim Colletto has implemented a new system that concentrates on conservative rush- ing and strong defense. While it seems to have set in on occasion, the transition has struggled thus far. "Offensively, our coaching staff has screwed up the offense trying to overcome personnel inadequacies," Colletto said. "We don't execute very well. We have tried to piece- meal it and now we don't function very well on offense." However, the Boilermakers have developed their running game to some extent. After ranking last in the NCAA last year with 56 yards per game, the Purdue backfield has compiled a current mark of 177. Leading rusher Jeff Hill has av- eraged 6.2 yards per carry, while Corey Rogers and Arlee Conners have also bolstered the Boilermaker offense. "We just have to continue to stop the running game," Moeller said. "They've been rushing the ball a lot better; they've done pretty good, ahead of schedule to some ex- tent." However, the most serious of- fensive threat comes from junior quarterback Eric Hunter. Though often criticized by Colletto for forcing offensive plays, Hunter has The Road To Pasadena TQmorrow 4-0 Big Ten 12:30 (ESPN) a dangerous scrambling ability and a strong arm. In his starting debut two years ago in Michigan Stadium, Hunter passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the 42-27 Wolverine victory, and eventually earned Big Ten Freshman-of-the- Year honors. "He just is a guy that can be a complete opposite," Moeller said. "Two years ago he threw them up like you wouldn't believe, and hit them. He's a very fine athlete with a, great arm - if he has a hot day, we could be in trouble." One benefit of Michigan's last two victories is the familiarity it has developed in facing option quar- terbacks. Though Indiana's combina4 tion of Trent Green and Vaughan Dunbar, Minnesota's Marquel Fleetwood, and Hunter all vary in0 their styles, the Wolverine defense has been able to concentrate for the past three weeks on pursuing an un- conventionally mobile backfield. "We have a scramble drill that the defensive coaches have worked out," Moeller said. "It's very eleA mentary, but it puts the emphasis off something. But while you worry about him rushing for positive yards, he can scramble and get some-s one out of position downfield." "It's gonna carry over froni week to week," defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson said. "You learn. to adjust, to come in at right angles, to not overpursue." t. But while Michigan hopes de- fense will key its victory, Colletct has a different aim. "Our goal is to go up to Michigan, not be intimidat- ed, and play competitively," he saidb Nevertheless, Moeller expects a tough matchup: "If you're going to be great at the end of the season and you're going to attempt to win it all, you have to approach every game as a big game." Tailback Ricky Powers will lead Michigan's running attack against Purdue tomorrow. The game is a main feature of Parents' Weekend. Panel will help athletes adjust by Matt Rennie Daily Sports Editor Wolverine athletes will now have an alternative to professional agents when contemplating their professional careers. Michigan athletic director Jack Weidenbach announced the creation of a Career Counseling Panel at yesterday's meeting of the Uni- versity Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics. Weidenbach said the department created the panel to offer an alterna- "tive to student-athletes' premature dealings with professional agents, a violation of NCAA rules. The panel will deal with athletes' questions about whether to enter the profes- sional arena. This advice can include reading and advising on professional contracts. This panel is intended to provide a middle ground between the stu- dent-athletes and the professional agents who attempt to sign poten- tial pro stars while they are still in college. The three-member panel will consist of two faculty representa- tives and one member of the athletic administration. David Brophy, an as- sociate professor of finance in the School of Business Administration, and Doug Kahn, a law professor and former faculty representative on the Board of Control are the two fac- ulty members. The representative from the athletic department is George Hoey. Brophy stressed that the panel will provide a deposit of informa- tion regarding career plans for ath- letes. He stressed that this panel has not been implemented exclusively for students entering professional athletics. "Let's suppose you're a volley- ball player and what you're going to do with your life is be a coach. We'll have information on entering the coaching job market," Brophy said. "I think it's not just the super- star who has a use for this kind of information." Weidenbach also announced that the creation of a $12,000 Needy Stu- dent Fund. This money is to be used to assist needy students in emer- gency situations. Weidenbach listed medical costs and travel expenses for family emergencies as possible situations in which the fund would be used. ' UAC Viewpoint Lectures and L. S. A. Student SPORT SPEAK Government Present: -50 LS-ru EN1 CHR An Evening With ar-- r 1 S °-U MoNt-S-uDN Michigan's Mark Ouimet fights for the puck against Western Michigan during action last season. The Wolverines look for their first victory of the season when they take on the Broncos in a weekend series. leers look for first victory Berenson's boys try to bounce back and bully the Broncos by Josh Dubow Daily Hockey Writer strength was penalty killing." have who can skate with Felsner'is * BERMAN Nov. 5 5:00 pm Rackham Auditorium I - '4 a w , .. Zvi ,_", .. Y: t'Y i This event is the first in a series of lectures from the world's top sports figures-- yet another way Viewpoint Lectures reaches out to more of the many groups that com- prise the diverse community at the University of Michigan. Early season blues. If the Michi- gan hockey team does not reverse the trend it started last weekend against Michigan State, that is what the Wolverines will be singing after this weekend. Michigan (0-1-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, 0-1- 1 overall) faces conference rival Western Michigan (2-0, 2-0) in a home-and-home series Friday in Ann Arbor and Saturday at Kalamazoo. The Wolverines have taken 11 straight games from the Broncos dating back to the 1988-89 season. Michigan coach Red Berenson has said that the Wolverines must im- prove their work ethic to be worthy of their preseason No. 2 ranking. Berenson has seen that change this week in practice. "We've learned something from last weekend," Berenson said. "We're going to have to work harder than we did. To be a good team you have to do the little things. We know we have to play better in our zone, defensively and special teams - especially the power play. It all starts with check- ing, working, and keeping the puck out of our net." The power play will be espe- cially important this weekend. Both teams excelled at penalty killing, but struggled with the man-advan- Western killed all 22 power- Pat Ferschweiler." play chances against Illinois- Chicago last weekend while Michi- gan State only managed two goals in 18 chances against Michigan. Michi- gan matched the Spartans' power- play performance last weekend while the Broncos managed three goals in their 18 chances. Berenson has acknowledged that the power play usually takes time before it gets in sync. Wilkinson expects both squads' power plays to improve this weekend, and feels the games will be decided by which team plays smarter hockey. "Michigan has got a lot of po- tent offensive weapons," Wilkinson said. "We need to try to give them as few (scoring) opportunities as Berenson has made even more changes in Michigan's lineup for this weekend, including puttig Felsner and Wiseman on the same line. In last Saturday's game, 1l7- sner swapped assignments wtih Cam Stewart, lining up with Wise- man and David Oliver, while Stew- art centered Mike Helber and Mge Knuble. Berenson will make lme changes throughout the season, espe- cially in the beginning of the season. Forward Dan Stiver, who was in-* jured last Friday, is expected to re- turn this weekend and will rejoin Roberts and Ouimet. Rookie winger Rick Willis had his first full pra - tice Monday and is available for this weekend's action. 'We've learned something from last weekend: We're going to have to work harder than we did. To be a good team you have to do the { little things' - Red Berensdn Michigan hockey coach !J f possible. Whoever plays disciplined hockey and does not take a lot of penalties will win." Michigan's arsenal includes Denny Felsner, David Roberts, Mark Ouimet and Brian Wiseman. Wilkinson knows it will be impos- Berenson had not decided on a goaltender for this weekend, and said he might again use both Chtis Gordon and Steve Shields. Shields liked the use of the rotating system last weekend. "It's kind of a good situatipn _,, nFRM ' N