Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State Tonight, 7 p.m. Yost Ice Arena SPORTS Men's and Women's Swimming Speedo Collegiate Cup Today and Saturday, 10 a.mJ6 p.m. Canham Natatorium I ------- ------- The Michigan Daily Friday, December 4, 1992 F Page 11 M' to clash with Spartans in ice war Rivals face-cffor by Brett Forrest Daily Hockey Writer This is it. It is the game, the big enchilada, the whole ball o' wax. While there are important contests sprinkled throughout the Wolverines' 35-game regular season schedule, none are bigger than this weekend's matchups with the Spartans from Michigan State. The series dates back to MSU's first game on Jan. 11, 1922 and Michigan holds an overall advantage of 104-90-6. Last season the Maize and Blue garnered a record of 2-1-1 against the Spartans, losing the opening game of the year and,-then sweeping MSU at Joe Louis Arena later in the season. The rivalry will continue tonight at Yost Ice Arena and Saturday at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. The Wolverines sputtered earlier this season and have yet to put forth back-to-back intense weekends of quality hockey. The Spartans had a rough start to their season but have come on strong as of late. With only one point separating the two teams in the CCHA standings, both squads know this weekend could go a long way toward determining the rankings at the close of the season. "We've played well lately, but on the whole it has not been a banner year," Michigan State coach Ron Mason said. "We're improving. "Michigan is very talented in every area, goaltending, defense and offense. They know what it takes to get the job done. They are starting to hit their stride." Mason, the NCAA's winningest active coach, has owned Michigan coach Red Berenson's number, going 201st time tonight 24-11-3 against the Wolverines during Berenson's tenure. The importance of this weekend's series is not lost on Berenson. "It's important in the standings, with State being right behind us," Berenson said. "It could be a deciding week- end. When we get down to the end of the season, these points could be important." "Anytime you play MSU, it can be pivotal," Michigan captain David Harlock said. "We really can't prepare for the emotional mood swings that happen in these games. It's going to be a big weekend." Beyond the points at stake in these games, there is the emotion, the tension, and the rivalry. The players on these teams really do not like each other, they often dream about rubbing the other team's faces in the Zamboni snow fermenting outside the rink. "It's MSU. You don't need any more incentive," Wolverine David Oliver admitted. "No matter what sport we play them in, it's always a big game. We're all pumped." "It ranks just behind the CCHA championships in importance. It's just the rivalry itself that's important," Michigan junior Aaron Ward said. Even the coaches know how crucial these yearly matchups are to their respective schools. "When you've got two big schools in a state like this, it transcends all sports," Mason stated. "It is a very in- tense rivalry. The series always has great emotion and great fans."~ "It can really help us in recruiting and can also be a measuring stick of where our team stands," Berenson said. "It is always important to play well against Michigan State." KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Daily Michigan takes on intra-state rival Michigan State for the first time this season tonight at Yost Ice Arena. The weekend series will continue tomorrow night when the two teams face off in East Lansing. Wrestlers hope for honeymoon in Vegas by Michael Rosenberg Daily Sports Writer Las Vegas casinos take wagers on everything from pro football to presidential elections. Presumably, the casinos don't invite bets on col- lege wrestling tournaments. If they did, odds makers would be hard pressed to measure Michigan's chances in the Las Vegas Classic this weekend. The Michigan grapplers enter the tournament hoping to end their pre- season the way they began - with an impressive showing from most of the wrestlers. Three weeks ago, the Wolverines had an outstanding sea- son-opening performance at the Ohio Open, giving coach Dale Bahr reason to believe that Michigan could contend in the Big Ten. Last weekend, though, the team struggled in the Northern Open in Madison. In Las Vegas, Michigan will try to shed its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality and establish itself as one of the top teams in the Big Ten. Unlike the Ohio Open, which fea- tured teams from the eastern part of the country, or the Northern Open, which featured teams from the northern United States, the Las Vegas Classic is a national tourna- ment. It will feature teams from many different parts of the country. Like the previous two tourna- ments, Las Vegas will not tally team scores. The main purpose of partici- pating for the Wolverines is to an- swer some questions concerning several wrestlers. One of these questions involves all-American Lanny Green. Green moved down in weight from the 177-pound class to 167, and he has struggled at his new weight. If he doesn't perform well in Las Vegas, Green may move back to 177 for the start of the regular season in January. For now, sophomore Jesse Rawls, Jr. occupies the 177-pound spot. If Green moves back to 177, Rawls could be redshirted. Rawls posted a 22-10 mark in his rookie season with the Wolverines. Rawls' brother James is a senior on the Michigan squad. He will move down a weight class from 142 to 134 to start the season. The vet- eran went 31-9 a year ago, including a fourth-place finish in the 1991 Las Vegas Classic and a seventh place finish in the Big Ten Champ- ionships. Big Ten contenders Iowa and Penn State will also compete in Las Vegas this weekend. The Hawkeyes, who have won the conference title for 19 straight years, are once again a national powerhouse. Iowa won six of the 10 individual crowns at the Big Ten championships last spring. Penn State returns four all-Amer- icans and six other letter winners from a team that went 18-4-1 in 1991-92. Rookie coach John Fritz leads the Nittany Lions in their first Big Ten campaign. For the Wolverines, junior Brian Harper will wrestle at 150 pounds. Harper placed third in Las Vegas a year ago and placed fourth at the Big Tens last year. The top three finish- ers were all among the top five NCAA qualifiers last season at 150, and two of them have graduated. At 158 pounds, redshirt junior Sean Bormet hopes to improve upon his third-place showing in the 1991 Las Vegas Classic. Bormet's only losses in that tournament were to Wisconsin's two-time national champion Matt Demaray and Arizona State's Ray Miller, who was ranked fourth in the country at the weight. The heavyweight division serves as another Wolverine stronghold. Steve King, a transfer from Notre Dame, is expected to place high at Las Vegas. Two seasons ago, King came within one victory of ach- ieving all-American status. Two-time all-American Joey Gilbert will not wrestle in the Classic. Because Gilbert is being redshirted this season, he has to pay his own way to tournaments. This is not as financially feasible for Las Vegas as it was for the Columbus and Madison tournaments. Gilbert wrestled in each of those tourneys. The squad does not compete again until January 9, when it takes on Ferris State and Morgan State at Cliff Keen Arena. 7 Days-6 Nights Dec. 27-Jan. 2 from DETROIT $124900 Per Person Double Occupancy COMPLETE Round trip chartered jet from Detroit Metro Airport. Accommodations for 6 nights at the beautiful Holiday Inn-Torrence. (Across from LA's largest shopping mall, with many fine restaurants nearby.) Reserved seat at The Rose Bowl Game. Choice reserved seat for the Tournament of Roses Parade, including transpor- tation to the parade and game. 6 Continental breakfasts. Bus transfers and luggage handling in Los Angeles. Optionals include Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Diego, Palm Springs, etc. P.O. BOX 130264 Ia1Mguugr± ANN ARBOR, MI 48113 Call (313) 668-2424 We have taken hundreds of people to the Rose Bowl over the past 21 years! The Michigan wrestling team seeks to close the preseason tournament schedule on a positive note this weekend atthe Las Vegas Classic. 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