The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- January27, 1992 -Page 5

Yost gives 'M'
room to move
by Andy De Korte
Daily Hockey Writer
When Michigan and Ohio State laced up their skates
"Friday night in Columbus and Saturday night in Ann
Arbor, two very different games transpired.
Friday, the action was hard-hitting and competitive
between two teams that gave 60 minutes of effort.
That intense play led to a game that was even closer
than the 4-2 final indicated. Meanwhile, Saturday's 9-3
game was also hard-hitting, but the similarities ended
there.
The fiercest competition Saturday was between dif-
ferent sections of the crowd trying to develop the best
chant for pizza. Cottage Inn offered free small pizzas
* to ticket holders if Michigan scored nine goals.
After Brian Wiseman tallied the eighth Wolverine
goal, "Let's go Blue" degenerated to "Piz-za" while
another section yelled "Piz-za, piz-za" to a rhythm
usually reserved for obscenities. And after the ninth
Wolverine goal the crowd chanted, "Thank you, thank
you."
Usually when the outcome of a contest between
two teams differs greatly from the previous meeting,
both teams are responsible. That was not the case this
weekend. While neither team planned a change in strat-
egy for Saturday night, the Buckeyes did not execute
well, giving Michigan a multitude of scoring opportu-
nities.
"We had no composure out there whatsoever," OSU
coach Jerry Welsh said. "I'll have to look at the tape to
see if we did anything right."
Listening to Michigan coach Red Berenson after the
game, one would not have been able to discern the de-
gree of victory.
"Nobody's that excited we did what we were sup-
posed to do," he said of the victory. "There were still
defensive breakdowns."
How could OSU play so tough Friday and then sink
into oblivion on Saturday?
Whenever teams travel to Columbus much is made
of Ohio State's rinky-dink rink. While the rink mea-
sures 185 by 85 feet- the same dimensions as the
Chicago Blackhawks' arena - it seems much smaller.
The seating capacity is 1,410 with a standing-room
crowd of about 200. The press box is 12 feet off the ice,
and the dressing room is so small the goalies have to
change in the showers.
Being used to cramped confines certainly helped the
Buckeyes on Friday. They were able to play more ag-
gressively, and worry less about the team speed of
Michigan.
"There, they're right on top of you, it really affects
your transition from defense to offense," Wiseman
said. "Here you have more time, and we were able to
use our speed."
With 15 more feet to work with, the Michigan
players had more time to build speed and to adopt a
: more offensive-minded posture without battling a
Buckeye between the bluelines.
Wolverine scores by Tim Hogan, Mike Helber,
Mike Stone and Cam Stewart were all the results of
breakaways. The Wolverines worked for the same op-
portunities Friday night, but OSU and its rink simply
did not allow them to develop.
Because Ohio State resides in the conference cellar,
Michigan was expected to win. OSU captain Rob
Schriner admitted OSU probably has more "bump-and-
grinders than quick skaters with great puck-handling
skills," so Michigan should also have expected to skate
past the Buckeyes.
When teams mention how tough it is to adjust to
the OSU Ice Rink, they sometimes forget that the
Buckeyes have to make a similar adjustment for half of
their games.
But this weekend, the Buckeyes couldn't make that
adjustment, while Michigan could.

1AAA A

A A' A A AfAA

HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Berenson sits Neaton,
cites lackluster play
by Rod Loewenthal
Daily Hockey Writer
Second team all-CCHA defenseman Patrick Neaton sat out Saturday's
contest against Ohio State. Neaton's benching was the first game he has
missed all season. Apparently, Michigan coach Red Berenson was
concerned with his alternate captain's play of late.
"We want to get him playing at the level he can play at," Berenson said.
"I gave him the night off to try and refocus."
For the season, Neaten has totaled 4 goals, and 12 assists. He had been
logging time on the Wolverine power play but was recently replaced with
forward Mike Helber.
CHAPTER 11 FOR COTTAGE INN?: Motivated by the thunderous
encouragement of the Yost Ice Arena crowd, Michigan forward Cam
Stewart delivered the Wolverines' ninth and final goal Saturday night.
Cottage Inn offered a deal in which fans could exchange their ticket stubs
from Saturday's game for half off a small pizza if the Wolverines scored at
least seven goals, and a free small pizza if the team tallied nine.
After screaming, "Pizza, pizza," at bewildered Ohio State goalkeeper
Jim Slazyk, and inserting the same phrase into the "Go Blue" chant,
Michigan fans tossed pizza boxes and crusts onto the ice following Stew-
art's rebound score at 14:45 of the third period.
FINALLY, IT'S HAPPENING TO ME: Rookie defenseman Tim Hogan
scored the first goal of his Michigan career Saturday night.
"I just shot a little slapshot and I didn't see it," Hogan said. "But then
all of a sudden I see the crowd on its feet and I'm going, 'Yeah!"'
HATS OFF TO WISEMAN: Wolverine center Brian Wiseman notched
a hat trick Saturday against the Buckeyes. Wiseman's third score came at
9:17 of the final period. The power play goal, his second of the night, came
off assists from Aaron Ward and Stewart.
It was the second of Wiseman's career, the other coming against Ohio
State last year. It was Michigan's fourth hat-trick this season. David
Oliver has two and Denny Felsner has one.
THREE-FOR-THREE: After appearances by Michigan football's
Desmond Howard, and basketball's Fabulous Five, the Michigan hockey
team is set to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated soon.
Reporter Rich O'Brien was with the team last week in practice
working on the story, and he watched both games against Ohio State.
But O'Brien flew from Columbus to Detroit Saturday because Berenson
would not let O'Brien travel on the team bus.

PAULTAYLORD"aiy
Wolverine center Mike Stone flicks in his fifth goal of the season past Ohio State's Mike
Bales. Stone was one of seven Michigan scorers in Saturday's 9-3 rout over the Buckeyes.
Blue makes it look easy
with textbook execution

by Ken Sugiura
Daily Hockey Writer
Michigan center Mike Stone's fifth goal of
the season Saturday night didn't set any
records. It didn't win the game for the Wol-
verines, and it probably won't show up on too
many highlight films. It was merely one of
nine scores in the Maize and Blue's 9-3 drub-
bing of Ohio State.
Truth be told, probably the goal's greatest
significance is that it gave the 7,602 in atten-
dance 50 percent off a pizza. Cottage Inn
promised half-price pies if the Wolverines
notched seven scores.
Yet in its anonymity, the goal provided a
small glimpse of, in sporting jargon, textbook
hockey. It was the sum of listening to coaches,
'Coach always yells at us -
to be the support man.
You're supposed to know
that since you play Pee-Wees.
You take the man first and
someone comes and picks up
the puck, and that's what
happened.'
-Aaron Ward
Michigan defenseman.
learning fundamentals and making a split-sec-
ond decision second nature.
At 16:41 of the second period, Mike
Knuble joined the unit that had just finished
killing off his penalty. The Buckeyes dumped
the puck into the left corner behind Mich-
igan's net, and Tim Hogan was there.
"It started in our end," Hogan said. "I was
behind the net, and I rifled it around the
boards."
The puck came out to Buckeye left wing
Greg Burke, who, still in power-play forma-
tion, stood at the left point. Enter Mike
Helber.
"I rushed the pointman, and the pointman
kind of dumped it in, and I took him out of the
play," Helber said.

To be precise, Burke didn't have much of an
opportunity to dump it in, as Helber delivered
a solid check, which left the puck lying behind
the two.
"It's one of those things that (Michigan)
Coach (Red Berenson) yells at you all the
time, to take the man, and when you do, things
pay off," Helber said.
Saturday night it paid off as defenseman
Aaron Ward swooped in to take possession of
the loose puck.
"I picked up the puck, knowing very well
that Mike Helber finished off his check, be-
cause I know he always does," Ward said. "I
went up the middle, and looked over and the
only person with me was Stone."
For Ward, like Helber, perhaps one too
many Berenson tirades influenced his decision-
making process.
"Actually, we practice that all the time.
Coach always yells at us - to be the support
man," he said. "You're supposed to know that
since you play Pee-Wees. You take the man
first and someone comes and picks up the puck,
and that's what happened."
Ward carried the puck over the blue line on
the right wing and found himself in a 2-on-1
situation.
"The chances of me scoring off a shot in
that situation are not very good," Ward said.
"So I dished it off to a forward, and if I get a
point off it, great."
The pass came to Stone rushing up the left
side. While Hogan called the feed "excellent"
and Stone considered it "great," Ward admit-
ted more than a little luck was involved.
"To tell you the truth, it was one of those
where you close your eyes, launch the pass, and
hope it hits the stick," he said.
It hit Stone's stick perfectly, and the
sophomore closed in alone on the OSU net.
"I don't think the goalie (Mike Bales) saw
me coming in because he totally misplayed me
and I had a whole net to shoot at," Stone said
of his opportunity, which culminated in a
wrist shot into the heart of the net. "One of
the easier goals I've scored this year."
You couldn't have drawn it up any better.

Michigan forward Denny Felsner skates away from Ohio State's Mike
Merriman in Saturday's 9-3 victory at Yost. Michigan also won Friday, 4-2.


ICERS
Continued from page 1
breakaway," Helber said. "I was all
alone from the red line. Originally, I
thought I'd go between his legs, but
just before coach said if we got the
chance to shoot low, stick side."
In the third period, with the game
out of reach, both teams netted two
power-play goals each to round out
the scoring.
Michigan also jumped out to an
early lead Friday night, going up, 1-
0, when Dan Stiver took a Rick
Willis pass and slipped the puck past
Ohio State goaltender Mike Bales.
The Buckeyes first got onto the
scoreboard 18:28 into the period
with a goal from rookie Brian
Loney. They threatened in the sec-
ond period during a power-play stint.
*mShilds, Friday's starting goalie,
mafter save during the dis-
advantage. Michigan was outshot by
the Buckeyes, 24-10, in that period.
"Shields came up big," Berenson
said. "He stood up well. You need
that on the road."
"I didn't have much work up
until then," Shields said. "I got
through it, but I was pretty tired after
that."
Michigan clung to the lead the

to get to know him better. He was
a goal scorer and a real good kid."
After leading the Interior
Division of the British Columbia
junior hockey league in scoring,
Oliver (51 goals, 48 assists) had
amassed 92 goals and 86 assists in
two years at Vernon and was ready
for school.
"I was offered junior A tier
one, but I wanted to go to school,
so that's why I went tier two,"
Oliver said.
"It came down to Michigan and
Denver. Denver didn't have a real
strong team and they're still
rebounding," he added. "Red said
he gives all freshmen a shot and
that was one of the big reasons for
coming here."
Oliver got his shot.and despite.
the setbacks, he scored respect in
NHL circles as well as the CCHA.
The Edmonton Oilers chose him in
the seventh round of the 1991 NHL
draft.
Though excited, Oliver
tempered his enthusiasm with the
reality that over 250 hockey
players are drafted each year and
cannot all make the NHL. His
family was more pleased.
"It was incredible, really nice.
We were so pleased for him,"
Carol Oliver said. "The whole
family was really pleased because
he had worked hard for so long."

low-key nature - praises his
teammates as much as his own
work ethic.
"A lot of my improvement is
because of being healthy, but you
are going to improve when you're
playing with guys as good as they
are."
THE NEW SEASON
Oliver had a season-ending
injury once before. While playing
with the Vernon Lakers he broke
his wrist in the playoffs. The
following year closely paralleled
this season's situation.
"His first year at Vernon he
played great but he wasn't a
dominant player," David's father
Joe Oliver said. "He followed that
season with an MVP year. I saw
this season was a lot like that, and
that this season would be very
important."
This season began with a bit of
surprise, as the Michigan coaches
decided to mix up the top
Wolverine lines by teaming Oliver
and Wiseman with Hobey Baker
candidate Denny Felsner. -
"I figured we'd be back
together," Oliver said. "It's great
either way. It doesn't really
matter. Either way I get to play
with two great players."
The results of the new line were

the two games.
Although he scored three goals
in each game, Oliver was more
impressed with his linemates than
himself.
"I didn't have to do anything
(to get Saturday's hat trick),"
Oliver said. "On the second goal,
Wiseman made a great play, and the
others Felsner put the puck right
on my stick."
Although Oliver resists self-
adulation, his talent does not go
unnoticed by opposing coaches.
"For most of last year he was
the only wing I played with. I
would consider him one of the
purest goal scorers in the league,
Stewart said. "His quick stick and
his accurate shot always seem to be
able to find the open spot. Some
people think that lie scores because
of who he plays with, but he gets
shots off that a lot of players
couldn't."
Oliver was reunited with
Stewart and Wiseman this weekend
in an attempt by Berenson to add
more scoring depth.
Even though the threesome had
not played together since last
season, they made strides to return
to the high standards they set for
themselves last year, tallying 11
points this weekend. Berenson was
not surprised by the line's quick

MICHELLE GUY/Daily
David Oliver chases down the puck Saturday against OSU. Oliver has
overcome a broken leg and jaw to become one of the CCHA's finest.

OLIVER
Continued from page 1
played competitively despite being
one of the youngest players on a
team primarily composed of 18- to
21-year-olds.

older players knew that was the
reason he would be going forward.
MAKING A WOLVERINE
Oliver decided to play Jr. A tier
two hockey for the Vernon Lakers.
After earning rookie-of-the-year