The Mchan Daify -Wednesday, ocmber6,1993-9
BRETT FORREST
Forrest Fires
DOUGLAS KANTERIDaty
he Michigan women's soccer team will try to increase its current winning streak to a school-record 11 games when
it takes on Schoolcraft this afternoon. The Wolverines play again tomorrow when they host Eastern Michigan.
S1
:Women s soccer goesa for reodsra
By BRIAN OBERMILLER
FOR THE DAILY
The Michigan women's soccer
Seam ison the vergeof breaking aclub
9°record. With a win today at
Schoolcraft Junior College, the Wol-
verines will have won 11 consecutive
games for the first time ever.
When the battle begins at 3 p.m.,
Michigan will be attempting to im-
prove its record to 13-1. However,
senior Carrie Taylor says the team's
focus is not on the record.
"The game at hand is our first
consideration," Taylor said. "We tied
Schoolcraft last year 1-1,even though
we dominated the game."
One area ofconcern for the Michi-
-pan squad is its inability to put a game
away after it takes a lead. This
afternoon's contest could test the
Wolverines in this area.
The Wolverines have a solid core
of offensive standouts. Seniors Lisa
Ashton, Alicia Stewart and freshman
Nicola Amster lead the team in goals
with nine apiece. Senior Karen Jones
trails the front-runners by one.
Defensively, the Wolverines have
been equally impressive. The team
has consistently stifled opposing of-
fenses, although it sometimes fails to
preserve shutout opportunities.
"We are now entering a critical
part of the season," Taylor said. "The
team is practicing harder in prepara-
tion for the Midwest tournament. As
a result, fatigue seems to set in faster.
But increased conditioning will in-
sure that the team will be in top con-
dition in November."
Schoolcraft comes into the con-
test with a deceiving 2-3-3 record. It
is currently No.9 in thej unior college
poll and last weekend in St. Louis, the
team battled to a tie with St. Louis
Merrimac Junior College. Merrimac,
beaten by the Wolverines, 1-0, earlier
in the season, is currently the top-
rankedjunior college team in the coun-
try.
"We typically don't scout four-
year schools," SchoolcraftcoachNick
O'Sche said. "I plan to play a lot of
people, and our back-up goalie will
be starting.
"As of late, we've been playing
better. These games give us a chance
to tune up for our first playoff oppo-
nent, the Central College of Kansas."
Last night the National Hockey League dropped the
puck to start its 77th season. The crack sports staff
at the Daily engaged in deep research and
discovered something pretty wild about the new year.
Don't tell anybody, but there are now more NHL
teams residing in the states of Florida and California
than in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
That's not all we unearthed.
There is a team called ... don't laugh now ... the
Mighty Ducks. HA! Sorry, I couldn't help it.
On top of that, somebody in the NHL's Toronto
office thought it would be neat-o to borrow a few names
from that other winter sport. They tossed all of the out-
dated, meaningless monikers such as Patrick and
Adams, Campbell and Smythe. Who were these fellas
anyway, the forefathers of the NHL?
Soon, the league may even slash and burn the Hart,
Norris and Vezina trophies in favor of the Poulan Weed
Eater Most Valuable Player, Sharps Best Defenseman,
and Depends Top Goaltender Awards.
Even though the sport's best league is in the midst of
a grand transformation - good or bad - some
consistency remains in the hierarchy of the NHL. After
all, the Habs did win the Cup last year, and you can't
get more consistent than that.
This is how the teams will finish in session No. 77.
Bank on it.
Western Conference
Central Division
1. DETRorr Ra WINGs -The Wings made a critical
move in tapping Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach
in NHL history. Bowman just may be the catalyst the
team needs to rid itself of the playoff doldrums. Detroit
has too much talent not to succeed under this helmsman.
2. CmcAGo BLACK HAwKs - OK, the Hawks got
swept by St. Louis in last year's playoff first round. It
won't happen again. Eddie Belfour is all smiles with his
new contract and Jeremy Roenick is too fervent a
competitor to let the memories of the playoff
disappointment subside.
3. WINNIPEG JETs - Is Teemu Selanne a flash in the
pan? We'll see. New forwards Paul Ysebaert and
Nelson Emerson will give coach John Paddock more
weapons as the Jets improve.
4. ToRONTO MAPLE LEAFS - Last year's playoffs
were a fluke for this team. The Leafs - aside from All-
World Doug Gilmour - are too old and slow to
succeed in the 1994 version of the NHL.
5. ST. Louis BLuES - The addition of high-scoring
backliner Phil Housley will undoubtedly compliment
the Golden Brett's lamplighting abilities. However,
beyond Housley and Jeff Brown, the 'D' is weak.
6. DALLAs STARS - Yeehaw! Dallas finally gets an
NHL franchise after being denied by the league in the
past few expansion decisions. Even though the Stars are
not an expansion team,they may look like it at times
this year.
Pacific Division
1. VANCOUvER CANucKs - Pavel Bure will be huge
once again. He can dangle like no player this side of the
Pens' Jaromir Jagr. Kirk McLean is oh-so-solid between
the pipes.
2. CALGARY FLAMEs - The Flames look primed to
rebound from the playoff defeat at the hands of "The
Great One" and the Kings. Look for Gary Roberts to
have another exceptional season.
3. Los ANGELES KINGS - The Kings were fairly
fortunate to get as far as they did last spring. The
Wayner will be unreal again, but that usually is not
enough for this club.
4. EDMONTON OILERs -Owner Peter Pocklington
often seems to be fighting too many office wars.
Perhaps if he gave coach Ted Green a few more quality
players, the Oilers could actually make an impact.
5. SAN JOSE SHARKS - Maybe they can leave the
memories of the last'two years at the Cow Palace as
Penguins, Wings
to vie for Cup
they move into their new digs. This team cannot get
much worse. Pat Falloon should be a big player in his
third year and former Michigan defenseman Jeff
Norton will come close to leading the team in scoring.
6. ANAmi DUCKs -Mighty Ducks of Anaheim?
Forget it. Even if Hobey Baker winner Paul Kariya
plays for the team, they will finish last.
Playoff Champion-- DETRorr RED WINGS
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. PmLADELpA FLYERS - This is the first year of
the rest of the Flyers' life. They feel most of the pieces
are in place for a resurgence back to prominence. Eric
Lindros will be a god, Mark Recchi just a demigod, and
Tommy Soderstrom a faithful servant in the 4' x 6".
2. NEw YORK RANGERS - With a new slave-driver,
ah I mean coach, in Mike Keenan, Mark Messier will
have close to a career year. He scored nearly 100 points
last season and will not let a team with this much talent
lose as many games as it did a year ago.
3. NEW YORK ISLANDERs - Sure, Hextall is with the
team. And sure Pierre Turgeon is one of the game's
most skilled players. However, the Isles just don't have
what it takes. Give them a few more seasons.
4. WAsH wmNON CAwrAis - Strong defense here, led
by Al Iafrate and Cale Johansson. The Caps added
some toughness to their lineup and should be pretty
competitive.
5. NEw JERSEY DEvn s - The Devils are headed in
the wrong direction. When Claude Lemieux is your
team's best player, you have a problem.
6. TAMPA BAY LIGNirmNo - After averaging nearly
a trade an hour as the Rangers' GM in the mid-' 80s,
Phil Esposito has put together the best of the five
expansion franchises. The Lightning will beat some
good teams this year - and may even be one, too.
7. FLORIDA PANTHERS - Once they get rid of the
ugliest uniforms in professional sports, we'll talk.
Bobby Clarke is GM of his third team, but this time can
start from scratch. Remember, his teams have been to
the Cup finals three times. Hiring Roger Neilson as
coach was his first move - and a quality decision.
Northeast Division
1. PITrSBURGH PENGUINS -Mario, Jaromir, Kevin,
Rick, Ron, Tom. This team will not falter - for a few
more years. Just like the Wings, they have way too
much talent.
2. QUEBEc NORDIQUEs - Stephan Fiset will be the
man now that he knows he has the No. 1 job. Owen
Nolan, Mats Sundin and Joe Sakic will do the rest. Petr
Forsberg would be rookie-of-the-year if he had not
opted to play in Lillehammer.
3. BOSTON BRUINS - Time will tell if Jon Casey can
be a solid netminding replacement for Andy Moog. If
he can't be, Adam Oates and Joe Juneau should cook
enough biscuits in the opposition's nets to make up for
it.
4. MONTREAL CANADIENS - Les Habitants don't
have it this season. Patrick Roy and the team's defense
will probably always be in the top five in goals against.
But Paul DiPietro just is not a great player.
5. BUFFALO SABRES - Alexander Mogilny should be
unreal again - if his leg heals from the hideous
playoff break. The defense looks to give aging-goalie
Grant Fuhr little support. That spells trouble.
6. HARTFORD WHALERS - This team should be in
good shape in a couple of seasons. This year, though,
the defense looks porous and there will be a lack of
goal scoring.
7. OTTAWA SENATORS - If Alexandre Daigle is
everything people say he is, they may finish with 20
wins. Bob Kudelski will be a huge power play goal
scorer.
Playoff Champion - PIrrSBURGH PENGUINS
Stanley Cup Champion - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
HE SPORTING VEws
Reverse the call - bring back the replay
"aft:
W y TIM SMITH
FOR THE DAILY
When is instant replay going to
,be reinstated into the NFL?
I have struggled through one and
a quarter seasons of football
wnwithout replay, and I can't take it
.any longer.
I've seen enough blown calls to
make my head spin and enough
1rclueless referees to make me switch
.the channel to Speedweek. Granted,
vreferees are not perfect, but some of
etheir calls are outrageous! Replay
4must be reinstated.
Fans' concern with replay is that
2it takes the officials too long to
make a call, but this could be
amended with stricter time limits.
If the time issue is such a
problem for everyone, there should
be a limit on the number of replays
a team can have over the course of a
game.
Give each team one replay per
half, so like a time-out, they have to
use it wisely. A team will not use its
replay on a debatable two yard
completion/incompletion call.
When watching a game on TV, I
can instantly tell whether or not the
call was correct. I assume that the
replay officials have the same
capability.
Right now, the NFL owners
should be holding their collective
breath. Any week, an incorrect call
could drastically alter the year for a
team, and the season would be
labeled tainted.
What will happen when a call in
the Super Bowl is blatantly wrong
- like Redskins wide receiver Art
Monk's apparent touchdown against
Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI that
was reversed by instant replay -
and is the deciding factor in the
biggest game of the year?
Will the fans be leaving the
stadium saying, "I'm so glad we got
to leave the game five minutes early
because there was no instant
replay." Obviously not! The fans
will be leaving the stadium saying
the game was a farce and a joke.
Where have you gone instant
renlav...
.Vater polo looks to qualify
for Big Ten Championships
Offense stymied as men's
soccer ties Ferris State, 0-0
By CHARLIE BREITROSE
QAILY SPORTS WRITER
Michigan's club water polo team
has enjoyed success in the past, win-
ning three straight Big Ten and Mid-
west championships. This year, the
Woverines hope to take their play to
the next level.
This is the first year of the Na-
tional Collegiate Club Championship,
and Michigan is looking toqualify for
the tournament this weekend in Co-
lumbus.
Ohio State is hosting the second
half of the Big Ten Qualifying Tour-
nament, which is a bit of a misnomer
because the two weekends merely
Jdetermine the seedings for the Big
Ten championships. A first-place fin-
ish in the Big Tens would give Michi-
gan a berth in the club champion-
ships.
Last weekend, the Wolverines (6-
0-1 Big Ten, 7-3-1 overall), along
with Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana
and Ohio State, played the first half of
the Big Ten qualifiers, held in East
Lansing. Michigan came out with
three wins and a tie. The 10-10 tie
with Michigan State was especially
painful for Michigan, according to
Wolverine Drew Hansz.
"I was pretty disappointed with
Michigan has two key attributes
towinning -speed and depth. Coach
Scott Russell's biggest concern was
his defense. However, last weekend's
performance was very encouraging.
"The biggest thing that I was
pleased with was our improvement
on defense, specifically with our
goaltending," Russell said. "Michael
Roeder had 37 saves in three games.
All three were very competitive
games.
"We had been giving up almost 13
goals a game. This past weekend we
cut that almost in half."
Hansz felt a change in tactics ac-
counted for the improvement.
"When we came down on defense
we were putting the press on," he
said. "Before it was always a sluff
defense. (We were) sluffing off apoor
offensive player to help in the middle.
But we didn't do that this time. We
pressed out everywhere and everyone
tried real hard, so it worked out pretty
well."
Speed is a key in water polo, and
co-captain Ben Ewy feels that no one
in the conference can keep up with the
Wolverines' speed.
"There are many guys on the team
who swam for Michigan," Ewy said,
"and there are guys on the team that
By SCOTT BURTON
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
Expecting to dominate last night's
match with Ferris State, Michigan
men's soccercoach Steve Bums didn't
plan on taking much of an involved
approach to the game.
Burns simply hoped that his team
would take charge of the game on its
own, in much the same manner as last
year's 8-1 rout.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines
didn't live up to Burns' expectations,
playing the overmatched Bulldogs to
a 0-0 tie.
"This was kind of an experiment
for me to see if they could let them-
selves get into the game emotionally
without me being on the sidelines -
without being a cheerleader, being a
more focal kind of coach," Burnssaid.
"But there just wasn't a union be-
tween the guys on the bench cheering
and the guys on the field. Once you
getdown andonce theother team gets
intoit, itshard to change that pace and
momentum:"
Both teams had several good
chances to score in the game. In the
firsthalf, aFerrisState shotrebounded
off goaltender Andy Germak into the
outer crest of the goalpost before
Michigan could clear the ball.
In the second half, the Wolverines
barraged the Bulldogs with several
tough shots, including a shot by cap-
tain Brian Rosewarne thatcaromedof
the sidebar.
"A 0-0 tie is not a good result for
any soccer team especially when we
were hoping to come in and score
some goals and put them away early,"
Burns said. "We had numerous
chances, and it was a decent game
more in the secondhalf and in the end
of the first half."
Despite the disappointing out-
come, Burns hopes that if good things
can come from losses, great things
will come from this tie.
"It was a bit of a setback because
the season had been going very well,"
Burns said. "But I think this will
bring us stronger together as a team.
I think our freshman and our upper-
classman, our starters and our second
and third teams are really going to
come together quite a bit more. It's
going to help us build for the Big Ten
Club Tournament."
IiIFSTFOM V&NOS I lbLDIESI
l
.. .... .....