The Michigan Daily- Friday, March 19,1993 - Page 11 ICERS' CCHA OPPONENT HINGES ON FRIDAY CONTESTS The waiting is the hardest part _.,: by Tim Rardin Daily Hockey Writer All the arrangements have been made. You've called for reservations at the restaurant. You've conned your parents into letting you have the car. You've even had your best outfit pressed. But, you overlooked one minor detail. You don't have a date. Such is the dilemma facing the Michigan hockey team this weekend. While they are set to play in the semifinals of the CCHA playoffs Saturday at 8 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena, the Wolverines (29-5-3 overall) don't know who they're going to play, and won't know until Friday night's results. Bowling Green (19-20-1 overall) and Lake Superior (25-7-5) square off Friday at 5 p.m. at the Joe, with the winner set to face Michigan. Wolverine coach Red Berenson is not particularly concerned about the uncertainty. "We know we're going to play a good team either way," he said. "We don't play off of other teams, we play our own game. If we play well, it doesn't really matter who we play." The Falcons , who have won five straight, are coming off a mild upset of Western Michigan last weekend, recording 5-4 and 6-3 victories in Kalamazoo. The road sweep marked Bolwing Green's first since the 1989-90 season, when it took a pair of games from Miami in Oxford. "It's difficult for visiting teams to make 'the next round;" said BG coach Jerry York, whose team re- turns to the CCHA championship after a two-year absence. "The teams were very close. Even though we got down in each game, we didn't come unraveled." The Lakers, who also boast a five-game winning streak, easily dismissed Illinois-Chicago, 7-2, and 4-2, at the Soo. LSSU has won the last two CCHA playoff cham- pionships and has appeared in the league championship game five straight seasons. "We're honored to be back," Lake State coach Jeff Jackson said. "At times, we've looked like we're a better team than a year ago (when they won the national title). Other times, we haven't. Our No. 1 focus now has to be Friday night." "Obviously, Lake Superior has the advantage based on the season record (The Lakers won all three meetings between the teams)," Ber- enson said. "But if Bowling Green can beat Lake Superior, then they'll be a tough team to reckon with." Still, the Wolverines might give preference to the Falcons, who they've controlled rather handily this season. Michigan also took three of three from Bowling Green: 4-0 and 12-1 in Ann Arbor, and 8-1 at the Bowling Green Ice Arena. The Wolverines split a pair with Lake Superior in Sault Ste. Marie in November and took a close 5-3 game at Yost three weeks ago. In the other semifinal game at 5 p.m. Saturday, Miami, which cap- tured the regular-season CCHA title, awaits the winner of Friday's 8 p.m. quarterfinal matchup between Ferris State and Michigan State. The finals will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday, but unlike years past, there will not be a consolation game for third place. The change is one that Michigan State coach Ron Mason, among others, is glad to see. "The consolation game was a waste," he said. "Now it's the way it should be. When you lose, you should go home." Player-of-the-year Brian Savage, Miami Coach-of-the-year George Gwozdecky, Miami Rookie-of-the-year Chris Brooks, W. Michigan Best goaltender Steve Shields, Michigan Best defensive forward Chris Bergeron, Miami Best offensive defenseman Joe Cook, Miami Best defensive defenseman Bobby Marshall, Miami Terry Flanagan Award Wes McCauley, Michigan St. Ted Drury, C, Harvard Greg Johnson, C, N. Dakota Mark Kauffman, C, Yale Paul Kariya, LW, Maine Jim Montgomery, C, Maine Derek Plante, C, Minn.-Duluth Brian Rolston, C, Lake Superior Brian Savage, C, Miami David Sacco, C, Boston Univ. Brian Smolinski, C, Mich. St. DOUGLAS KANTEFVOaily Cam Stewart and the rest of the Wolverine hockey team will play for the CCHA title at Joe Louis Dce Arena this l weekend. Michigan plays the winner of Lake Superior and Bowling Green Saturday at 8 p.m. in the semi-finals. k b l .@ OO 1 W l;S O t t by Brett Johnson Daily Sports Writer At the beginning of the season, pitching was singled out as the ', strong point of the Michigan base- 'ball team. Unfortunately, the staff has been marred by inconsistent performances so far this season. Couple that with a porous de- fense, and the fact that the team has faced Top 30 opponents in 13 of its first 15 games, and one doesn't come up with a pleasant answer to the question, "How's the Baseball team doing?" This weekend, however, gives the Wolverines (3-12) a chance to begin to change that answer as they travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama (6-6). The only two unranked teams Michigan has faced, it has beaten, and the Crimson Tide fits this bill. "Their pitching is a question * mark," Freehan said. "They have one outstanding player that we need to be aware of, and they have pretty good speed. I don't think they are the caliber of team of an LSU, Miami, or Florida. I'm expecting to have a good weekend. "We need to throw strikes. We need to win. We've had our starters and our relievers do a half-way de- cent job at times, but we haven't been able put it together." Michigan will be throwing its top three starters at Alabama. Tonight, Eric Heintschel (0-2,4.43 earned run average) will take the mound trying to get his first win of the season. Heintschel has been a hard luck pitcher this year losing two close ball games, including a 1-0 loss to Missouri. Tomorrow, sophomore Heath Murray (2-1, 4.95) takes the mound, and Sunday, fellow sophomore Ron Hollis (0-3, 5.92) will get the start. The Tide's top player is Al Drumbiller. Drumbiller is a force both on the pitching mound and at the plate. The lefty is 3-0 as a starter this season and is also the team's leading power hitter with seven homers and 14 runs batted in. The Wolverines' offense has been led by the outfielders. Sophomore Rodney Goble is leading the team in hitting along with fresh- man Brian Simmons at a .333 clip. Senior Pat Maloney and another freshman, Scott Weaver, check in at .314 and .311, respectively. The final piece to a winning puz- zle will be good defense. The Wolverines have cost themselves numerous games by way of errors, and Freehan feels this must be cor- rected in order to start playing con- sistent baseball and getting wins. PERSONAL SECURITY NON-LETHAL SELF DEFENSE WEAPONS ward .8ady eY a5 'PeQ zert .4a was C" \ i FROM X598 « Men axers fall to Oberlin, 15-12 by J.L. Rostam-Abadi Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's lacrosse team lost its first match of the year to Oberlin Wednesday night, 15-12. It was a learning experience for the Wolverines despite controversial calls, unfortunate injuries and Oberlin's obvious advantage . "This (Oberlin) is the first varsity team we've played," midfielder Matt Muir said. "Basically, (the game) really brings out the essential fact; they're a varsity and we're not." With 13 minutes left in the first quarter, Michigan starting attackman 0 .Tony DiGiovanni twisted his knee, sidelining him for the game. The first half was neck-and-neck, each goal answered by another. In the middle of the third quarter, Michigan's Sten Carlson committed his first of three time-serving penalty fouls, two of which the Wolverines- deemed questionable. "Lacrosse is a contact sport and I'm a rough player," Carlson, who i led the team with five tallies, said. "It helps me to get motivated; it helps me to score five goals. Some people don't agree with that. That's the way John McEnroe plays, that's the way Charles Barkley plays and that's the way I play." Upon the injury of Michigan de- fenseman Steve Bishop, the Yeomen jumped at the opportunity to score, taking a 7-6 lead. By the fourth quar- ter, Oberlin led for good. "It's the same story every year that we play these guys," co-captain Ranjiv Advani said. "We hang with them for awhile, and then we just fall apart." "Consistency is probably the most important thing...and our team does not have that," midfielder Ivan Frank said. Carlson, Dave Reichel and Frank combined to give Michigan its final four goals. Oberlin responded with two more, resulting in a 15-12 final. Oberlin never took the Wolverines lightly. "Michigan played very well; we had our hands full," Oberlin coach James Donovan said. "I thought it was a well played game by both teams. I was impressed with Michigan; they played much better than they did last year, and particu- larly the goalie (Kennon Broadhurst) - I thought he played an outstan- ding game." pER pCC KRONOS QUARTET: Short Stories. Featuring the music of John Zorn, Wilie Dixon, Scott Johnson and more. Elektra Nonesuch YOUNG AT HEART: Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops. Mel Torme, Patti Page, Bob McGrath perform classic recordings for children. Telarc CHOS "HE ge1/EM1 FULL UNE Grmphon SERIES " Elektra Nonesuch OF THESE Erato [ABE " L'Oiseau Lyre A EL " London REGU]LARLY " Philips PRCED * RCA Red Seal/RCA 14.99 victor " . SonyrClassical/ AND Masterworks ABOVE. - Telarc "Teldec " Virgin Classics " . ".*r BAROQUE DUET: Kathleen Battle and Wynton Marsalis. The best-selling classi- cal album of 1992. Bugs Bunny Film Festival Once again, M-Flicks presents the Bugs Bunny Film Festival. The film festival will be all Bugs Bunny; 30 of your favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons will be shown without commercial interruption. For only four dollars you can enjoy four hours of mindless entertainment with no repeats. Such timeless classics as "What's Opera Doc?", "Jack-Wabbit and the Bean Stalk", and "Hareway to the Stars" will be featured. This Friday and Saturday (March 19 and 20) only. \5.A OFRA HARNOY: Trilogy. Cellist Harnoy performs concertos by Boccherini and Myslivicek. Claudio Scimone conducts. RCA Red Seal _ ' :~ 1,.:.: MAD ABOUT OPERA: Selections from "a Boheme Carmen Sun by Domingo Carreras, Pavarotti, Norman. Deutsche Grammophon JAMES GALWAY: James Galway at the Movies. Songs from Home Alone 2, The Rose, Beauty and the Beast, more. RCA Victor CHOOSE FROM THE MIDIJNE SERIES OF THESE LABELS, REGULARLY PRICED 10.99 " Angel/EM lClassics Midline Series " Argo Midline Series " DG Midline Series " ElektraNonesuch Midline Series " L'Oiseau Lyre Midline Series * London Midline Series " Mercury Living Presence Midline Series - Philips Midline Series " RCA Gold Seal/RCA Victor Midline Series "SonyClassical Midline Series " Telarc Digital Midline Series " Teldec Midline Series e ' Hurry, sale ends March 28.