Page 6-.The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - April 6,1992 z;r:;r " " a :I i i i 'M' h witho by Ken Sugiura Daily Hockey Writer Michigan coach Red Berenson, in his opening statement to the press after his team's 4-2 loss to Wisconsin at the Final Four, gave this observation: "It's disappointing when you lose, especially when you don't play well." Okay, with that es- tablished, here's the $64,000 question: Why did- n't Michigan play well? Players, any comments? "The reason is unbeknownst to me because if we knew it, I think we would have changed it," senior Mike Helber said. "No idea at all," rookie Tim Hogan said. Perhaps in a fitting end to a crazy season, which saw Michigan ride the so-called roller coaster ad nauseam, the Wolverines perplexed even themselves in falling to the-Badgers. So what is the answer? Perhaps it wasn't one reason in particular, but the sum of a couple of factors. The pressure of playing at the Final Four might have gotten to the Wolverines. They en- tered the Final Four with the unenviable position of being, along with Lake Superior State, a co- favorite to take home the trophy. Pressure is like a cup of coffee: Taken in normal amounts, both will keep you alert and sharp. Too much of it makes you a little crazy, as well as take repeated trips to the washroom. However, coffee only stunts your growth. Against Wisconsin, it was obvious the pres- sure did not help Michigan. "I guess a lot of the guys were nervous, and it carried out onto the ice," Hogan said. "We were ready, but I just think, in our minds, there was a lot of tension and pressure." The pressure could only have been exacer- bated by the fact that, of the four teams in Albany, N.Y., Michigan had the least tournament experience, or more importantly, had less than Wisconsin. Wisconsin was the 1990 titlist, and Michigan State has appeared in six of the last seven tour- naments taking the 1986 national title, along with a berth in the 1988-89 Final Four. Lake Superior State is a perennial tournament team. The Wolverines' trip to the Final Four marked this squad's second straight appearance in the tour- nament, and first time in the Final Four since bellbottoms were in style (1977). "Obviously, Wisconsin had been there before recently, and Lake Superior had, and Michigan State had. I definitely think we felt like new kids on the block," David Harlock said. "I think that we certainly did get a little bit caught up in what was going on." "In our minds," Hogan said. "We built it to be so big and everything, that we thought physi- cally, it was just going to happen. But it just did- n't." Lastly, while Michigan bore the brunt of the pressure, Wisconsin had little placed upon them. The Badgers were the lowest seed in the tourna- ment and were hardly expected to be in Albany, let alone win. And whatever pressure was ap- plied, they were oblivious to it. Before they played Michigan, the Badgers watched the highlight film of their 1990 champi- onship and sang and danced along with the ac- companying music. Asked his impression of Wisconsin, Harlock confirmed this notion. ockey left' ut answers "They play with a lot of confidence and a def-, inite arrogance on the ice," Harlock said. 20 The fact that the Wolverines were without senior Doug Evans could not have helped, either.,,; The senior defenseman suffered ligament damage;;, in his right knee eight days ago against Northern, Michigan and was unable to play this weekend., It wasn't that Evans' talent was irreplaceable,. because Michigan's depth has been a strength alL- year. Evans' backup, Hogan, played admirably. What might have been missing was the se,. nior's leadership and presence on the ice,. Berenson is a firm believer in seniors leading his team, and Evans was a perfect example. "Timmy stepped in and did a fine job as far as play is concerned, but having Doug as a senior leader would have helped," Helber said. "It may have had an effect as far as our attitude goes, be, cause Doug is a senior leader on the ice." Another explanation could be simply that Wisconsin was a much better team than Northern,, Michigan. The Badgers foiled the vaunted Michigan power play all seven times it took the,, ice, unlike Northern, which allowed th-e Wolverines to score on five of 12 opportunities. "Northern gave us more opportunities than- Wisconsin did," said Helber, he of the game- winner vs. NMU. "The whole team truly believed' we would come back in the third period. And I believed that until they scored their open-net W goal." However, whatever the reason, it is now aca demic. All that is left to do is look to next season. "We gained some valuable experience,", Harlock said. "If we get back to the Final Fout- next year, we'll know what to expect." KHIaI. UI+ LH "ILL I IIaiiy Aaron Ward (left) and Mark Ouimet appear dejected after Michigan's loss to Lake Superior in the CCHA finals. The Wolverines ended the year 32-9-3. HOBEY Continued from page 3 Flying became a perfect succes- sion to his athletic career, and he displayed much of the same grace in the air, as he did.on the ice or the football field: Hobey reveled in the American armed forces. Hobey viewed the war much as he did sport, and when the game ended in November 1918, Hobey felt lost. There was nothing to replace the thrill of war in his life. Hobey received his orders to go home Dec. 21, but before going he wanted to Hobey became a hero immediately at Princeton, starring for the freshmen football, baseball and hockey teams. However, school rules prohibited Hobey from playing three varsity sports, so he concentrated on hockey and football. honor of. fighting. There were no take "one last flight in the old Spad." cheap shots in these one-on-one bat- This went against tradition which tles to the death. During his short said, never take a "last" flight lest it stay in France, Hobey registered be just that. Tragically it was. three kills, leaving him two short of Instead of taking his plane, he becoming an official ace. Hobey was tested a newly repaired one. Through promoted to captain and received " heavy rain, Hobey took off, and after awards from both the French and a quarter mile, the engine stopped. However, the Spad was an easy plane to crash-land, and Hobey had successfully done that a month ear- lier. But he did not attempt a crash- landing, instead opting for a normal landing. The plane crashed nose down close to the hangar, and Hobey died in an ambulance shortly there- after. A national day of mourning marked his death. People who knew Hobey well, did not believe the crash was acci- dental. Hobey knew he could never achieve the level of joy he had in the war or on the playing field and es- caped the only way he could. Hobey Baker is probably the finest example of the true sportsman in American athletics. He never earned a dollar while playing, and actually paid for the right to play at St. Nick's. He always played first and foremost for the joy of the sport. While Scott Pellerin is a great hockey player in his own right, he or no other player of today can com- pare to Hobey Baker. BLUELINES Continued from page 1 Michigan never had to search for determination. The whole season boiled down to three goals - win- ning the CCHA regular-season title, winning the CCHA playoffs, and winning the National Champ- ionship. After opening slowly, giving three points to Michigan State in the opening weekend, the Wolverines quickly rebounded. Dropping a pair to the Lakers proved to be only a minor setback as Michigan sandwiched it between 10 and eight-game unbeaten streaks. In December, the Wolverines continued their dominance of the Great Lakes Invitational by winning their fourth straight title. Spurred by the line of Denny Felsner (42 goals, 52 assists), Brian Wiseman (27, 44), and David Oliver (31, 27), the offense thrived through the first half of the season. Michigan scored at least five goals in 13 of its first 19 games. When the potent power play cooled and the scorers went into a lull, the defense picked up the slack. In a five-game span in late January, the Wolverines won 2-1 over Illinois-Chicago, 4-2 over Ohio State, and 4-3, 1-0 over Lake Superior. After the gems against the Lakers the Wolverines had gained a full head of steam. But yet another bump was ahead - back-to-back losses to Bowling Green. Two big victories over MSU at Joe Louis Arena elated the Wolverine spirit further and ele- vated them to the top spot in the NCAA hockey poll. But the primrose path still had its thorns. After a Tuesday toppling over troublesome Bowling Green the Wolverines headed to Ferris State. Only after a 6-5 loss Friday night and consequent gut check, Michigan clinched the CCHA title - its first goal - with a 4-3 decision. The playoffs started against Ohio State and despite rusty wheels from a 10-day layoff, Michigan dispatched the Buckeyes, 4-2, 9-4. In the semifinals the Wolverines knocked off Miami, 6-2. The final against LSSU resemb- led their regular-season games, bulb the Wolverine shooters could no C, bury their chances and lost, 3-. However, the pain of losing to tom: Lakers was cushioned by the numb one seed they received from thC NCAA selection committee tlib same night. The importance of the CCHA,, playoff loss dwindled as they began., to concentrate on the NCAAs. After the first-round game, Michigan learned it would play defending, champion, Northern Michigan. The Wolverines fell behind, 6-3, but refused to quit. Showing the mettle built from a season of hard, work, they climbed to a 7-6 victory They lost to Wisconsin, 4-2, last 9 Thursday, so goal three is left in- complete. "When I came here we were lucky to finish fourth and get home-ice ad- vantage," senior Ted Kramer said. "Now I'm leaving and we were in the Final Four. I hope the guys that come back can continue to improves like we did." However, now that the season:, has ended and Lake Superior has won the National Championship, Mich- igan should take a well-deserved break and enjoy the season's accom- plishments. U I SWIMWEAR You just want the right one. From Sweden with love .. * Sweden's Top Selling Condoms Y :!NOW Available in the U.S. Choose from four styles: Kilroy. The Spermro dal Condom Okeido. The Multi-feature Condom - tSrds.'n tees. The Pleasure Textured Condom. Profil. 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