The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - February 3, 1992 - Page 5


HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Fan support makes
d1ference in sweep
by Andy Do Korte
Daily Hockey Writer
What is 15,240?.
The number of penalty minutes referee Steve Piotrowski has assigned
this year? No.
The number of saves by Steve Shields at Michigan? Not quite.
While Piotrowski handed out 38 penalties for 103 minutes, and
Shields has made 1163 career saves, 15,240 is the total attendance in the
third and fourth consecutive capacity crowds.
The 7,651 fans who watched Saturday's contest was the largest crowd
Lake Superior had played in front of this season. Laker coach Jeff Jackson
said that could have been a factor in the outcome.
"(The atmosphere) certainly could have been a key," Jackson said.
"We've got 11 or 12 freshmen and sophomores, this was the first time for
a lot them in this building."
Defenseman Aaron Ward said he felt the crowd played a real role.
"It's hard enough when your opponents get on you, but when your oppo-
nents' fans get on you, it's even worse," he said.
FINALLY: While Jackson would have liked to continue the Lakers'
dominance over the Wolverines at Yost, he knew the end was inevitable.
"Michigan's a great team," Jackson said. "They lost only two or three
guys from last year's team, so they should be first. That's where I pre-
dicted them.".
The Michigan contingent was also ready to beat the Lakers in Ann Ar-
bor.
"It's about time," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Before
(Friday's game) I asked (senior Doug) Evans how many times this year's
seniors had beaten Lake in this building. He was embarrassed. He just told
me they beat them twice."
ANOTHER SHUTOUT: When Michigan travelled to Sault Ste. Marie
in early December, its 10-0 shelling was the first time the Wolverines had
been shutout in 123 games. Whitewashing the Lakers has not been as rare
an accomplishment - Saturday's 1-0 nailbiter came only 15 games after
Michigan State damped them by the same score.
GET OUT THE BROOM: After Michigan finished its sweep of the
Lakers, no household cleaning aids found their way onto the ice. It could
not have been expected, as the Wolverines had not won two games in a
row against the Lakers since the 1988-89 campaign.
On the prospect of a sweep, Berenson said, "We were really concentrat-
ing on the first game. We knew if we won Friday, anything could happen
and it could be a great weekend. It was a great weekend."
HOCKEY PACIFISTS?: Before Saturday's game began, a small skir-
mish broke out between the teams as they skated around the ice. Although
no punches were thrown, the melee foreshadowed the game's heavy hit-
ting. However, not all the players wanted to don the boxing gloves.
Goalies Chris Gordon talked with LSSU's Darrin Madeley just 10
yards from the fracas and neither moved a muscle toward the donnybrook.
STREAKING: With the weekend victories, Michigan ran its regular
season home unbeaten streak to 20 games. The Wolverines last loss was to
the Lakers, 4-3 on Dec. 13, 1990. After scoring in both games, Denny Fel-
sner pushed his goal streak to four games - one game off the season mark
held by Felsner and David Oliver. Felsner now needs only 21 points to
pass Dave Debol (246) and become Michigan's all-time leading scorer.
LOOK OUT DENNY: In Friday's game Shields was awarded an assist
on Ward's goal. It was the second straight game a Wolverine goalie could
be found in the scoring ledger. Gordon tallied an assist against Ohio State
last Saturday. The points were the first for the goalies this year.

I

lobey displayed at Yosi
Feisner, Madeley battle for more than just CCH A title

t

by Rod Loewenthal
Daily Hockey Writer
Not only did two of the top
hockey teams in the country meet
this weekend at Yost, but a pair of
the nation's premier hockey players
went head-to-head as well.
Michigan's Denny Felsner and
Lake Superior State's goaltender
Darrin Madeley proved to sellout
crowds Friday and Saturday why.
they are two of the leading candi-
dates for collegiate hockey's Hobey
Baker Memorial Award.
The Hobey Baker Award, an-
nounced April 3 in Albany, N.Y.,
has been given for the past twelve
years to the "outstanding collegiate
hockey player in the United
States..." Modeled on football's
Heisman Trophy Award, the candi-
date, so says the award committee,
must "exhibit strength of character
both on and off the ice, contribute to
the team effort and display out-
standing hockey skills..."
Lake Superior coach Jeff Jackson
thinks that there are very few others
beside Madeley who merit the
award.
"Madeley kept us in the game
tonight. He's definitely the best
goalie in the league," Jackson said.
"Anyone who saw the game tonight
should know who should win the
award."
However, Michigan defenseman
Aaron Ward failed to see the logic
in Jackson's argument.
"(Saturday's) game came down
to one play between Denny and
Madeley," Ward said. "Tell me,
who was more involved with the
play of the game. Madeley got
scored on; Denny did the scoring."
After the game, a glowing
Michigan coach Red Berenson reeled
off a list of Felsner accomplish-
ments longer than an undergradu-
ate's resume.
"During the last four years he's
been a dominant player. The team

has progressed -along with his suc-
cess," Berenson said. "He's done all
the right things since he's been here.
And the abuse that he has to take ev-
ery night is unbelievable. Players
like that don't come along very of-
ten."
On many nights, especially this
weekend against Lake State, Felsner
is not only covered on Michigan
power plays but also shadowed
when teams are at even strength.
One of Felsner's great attributes,
however, is his ability to see the ice
like few others. This vision has led
to a league-leading 35 assists for

Felsner.
"Wherever you are, he finds you.
Felsner puts the puck right on the
stick," Michigan's David Oliver
said. "Probably, I've never played
with anyone that good in my entire
life. He's leading us the whole way.
Everyone's looking up to him."
While admitting that the extra
attention he gets from opposing
teams tires him, Felsner also thrives
on it.
"I guess it's a compliment to
me," the senior said. "It motivates
me. .
As a senior contending for the

award and a leader of the team, Fel-
suer puts the pressure in perspective.
"I just put (the Hobey Baker
Award) at the back of my mind. If
they think I deserve it, then great."
One of Felsner's close friends,
defenseman Doug Evans, plays a
good public relations role for his
quiet teammate.
"He's going to let his goals and
stats speak for themselves," Evans
said. "Even though he puts the team
before the Hobey, I'm sure that by
the end of the season he'll have it
sitting on his shelf."

Lake Superior State goaltender Darren Madeley stops a shot as Michigan's Patrick Neaton looks on. Madeley
could not stop the Wolverine attack this weekend as he suffered both losses in goal.


DUBOW
Continued from page 1
penalties at a crucial point of the
game, I don't know where we'd be."
Stone and Helber were not alone
in their tight defensive play, as the
rest. of the Michigan squad also con-
tributed to a total team defensive
effort. Not only did the Wolverines
kill penalties, they rarely even al-
lowed quality scoring chances. The
Michigan defense allowed only two

shots from the slot area all game,
forcing LSSIJ to beat Michigan
goalie Steve Shields from the point.
"All I had to do was stand up
and challenge them," Shields said.
"I didn't have to do anything ex-
traordinary."
While the defense helped make
Shields' job easier, the sophomore
netlninder also gave the defense the
confidence to take chances offen-
sively, leading to three goals from
defensemen in Friday's victory.

The key for Helber and Stone is
knowing their roles on the tem.
Neither tries to be a flashy offen-
sive player, but instead sticks to a
tight-checking defensive gmne.
"Mike Stone and I have taken the
job of penalty killing for the team,"
Helber said. "We have much more
of a defensive role. We've got guys
who can score, but my job is to play
defensive hockey."
While Stone acknowledges his
role as a defensive player, he also

credits the defensive play of his
teammates.
"The shutout was a reflection on
the whole team's defensive effort,"
Stone said. "They have some big
horses who can score, so you can't
foresee a shutout against these
guys.
Michigan completely neutral-
ized Laker leading scorer Mark
Astley. In Saturday's game, Astley
was limited to one shot on goal de-
spite being the quarterback for
LSSU's 10 unsuccessful power
plays.
Laker coach Jeff Jackson credited
the Wolverines' strong defensive
play to their propensity for holding
his players' sticks.
"We couldn't get anything
started because of the blatant stick
holding," Jackson said. "My guys
needed two sticks out there, one for
the Michigan player and one for
themselves. The new rules were
supposed to stop that. My guys un-
derstand the rules, and you won't
see them holding sticks anymore."
Stone wasn't surprised that
Jackson could detect that tactic.
"He knows to look for that, be-
cause his temn is always doing it,"
Stone said.
But who held sticks and who
didn't was not the difference in this
weekend's sweep. The difference
came down to a total teai effort by
Michigan. The Wolverines main-
tained composure and cohesiveness
throughout the series while the
Lakers lacked discipline.
While Helber and Stone have
provided Michigan with solid de-
fensive play throughout. the season,
the help from the rest of their
teammates this weekend proved to
be the difference.

Michigan center Mark Ouimet fights off Laker center Jay Ness in front of LSSU goalie Darren Madeley Saturday. Ouimet helped lead the Wolverines to
victory with four assists, increasing his total to 12 for the season.

SWEEP

e

Continued from page 1
several Wolverine opportunities, 31
shots in all, many of them close-
range, and defended all but one.
"He plays great when he needs
to," Laker coach Jeff Jackson said.
"He kept us in the game."
While it was, in Berenson's
words, "a classic college hockey
game," the game was marred by 38
penalties meted out by referee Steve.
Piotrowski, including four 10-
minute misconducts.
The hitting began before the
game did, during the pre-game skate.

"There's no business skating in
the other team's end," Berenson
said. "You just know something
like that's going to happen,"
At the end of the second period,
as both squads headed off the ice
toward their exits, Lake State's
Mark Astley and Shields briefly
scuffled before being separated.
While Friday's game contained
the same physical play, there were
no incidents of escalated violence.
However, Michigan did manage to
escalate Madeley's goals against av-
erage. The all-American entered the
weekend sporting a NCAA-best
2.03 average, which the Wolverines

the puck gpt kicked back to me and I
just shot it in."
Astley's power-play goal at 7:20
of the third made the score 4-3. The
Wolverines then withstood a furi-
ous Laker comeback attempt, which
included a power play and a harrow-
ing 68 seconds with an extra at-
tacker in place of Madeley.
"I was hoping the last 11 sec-
onds that one of those flukes wasn't
going to happen again," Berenson
said of the play after a faceoff at
19:49 in the Michigan zone.
For awhile, it appeared Berenson
wouldn't be able to have such wor-

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