Hockey
vs. Lake Superior
Tonight, 7 p.m.
Sault Ste. Marie
S
Football
vs. Purdue
Tomorrow, 1 p.m.
Michigan Stadium
Blue hits the road again for CCHA tests
'M' faces Lake Superior, Ferris
1
By ANTOINE PITTS
DAILY HOCKEY WRITER
The Michigan hockey team re-
turns to a familiar place this weekend
- the road. The Wolverines journey
to Sault Ste. Marie tonight to face
Lake Superior State and Big Rapids
to play Ferris State tomorrow.
This continues a stretch in which
Michigan (1-0-1 CCHA, 3-0-1 over-
all) plays five of its first six confer-
ence games on the road before oppos-
ing Ohio State at Yost Ice Arena Nov.
19. Factor in the trip to Alaska-
Fairbanks three weeks ago, and the
Wolverines have done more than their
share of traveling.
"It's a little tougher to play on the
road but I think it's been good for us,"
Michigan coach -Red Berenson said.
"The last ten years we've been a great
team on the road. I think it's impor-
tant for us to maintain a winning record
on the road."
The current trip begins with a
matchup against the top-ranked Lak-
ers (4-0-0, 4-0-0). The Lakers put the
CCHA Defensive Player of the Week,
freshman goaltender Paul Sass, be-
tween the pipes.
Junior Blaine Lacher, who led the
Lakers to the NCAA Finals last April,
will sit out the contest with a ham-
string injury.
"We got an injured goalie and two
backups," Lake Superior coach Jeff
Jackson said. "Right now Paul Sass
has stepped in as our No. 1 goalie for
the time being until Blaine Lacher
returns."
The Lakers are led offensively by
left wing Kurt Miller and right wingers
Wayne Strachan and Sean Tallaire.
Miller is second in the league with
eight points while Strachan and
Tallaire follow closely behind with
seven points each.
It will be up to the CCHA-leading
defense of the Lakers to stop the po-
tent Michigan offensive attack, which
scored 18 goals last weekend.
"I think they're a very talented
offensive team," Jackson said. "They
have filled a lot of holes with a lot of
good young players. As the year goes
on they're going to get better and
better."
The seven goals-per-game aver-
age the Michigan offense has main-
tained through the first two league
games is sure to come tumbling down.
Through four games Lake Superior's
defense has allowed a minuscule 1.75
goals-per-game to lead the league.
"They've always been strong de-
fensively, so obviously we're not go-
ingto get the shots and scoring chances
that we've been getting," Berenson
said. "I expect that they will be the
best team that we play. It will be a
good test for ourteam."
The Michigan-Lake Superior se-
ries has produced some close, inter-
esting games over the years. Last year,
the Wolverines won two of three regu-
lar season contests. However, the
Lakers managed revenge with a 5-3
victory in the CCHA semifinals.
"We developed a pretty good ri-
valry between Lake Superior and
Michigan," Jackson said. "Every time
we play it seems to be a barnburner.
"We've developed a fun rivalry,
not a vicious rivalry by any means."
After departing the Soo, the Wol-
verines travel to Ferris State. The
Bulldogs (1-2-0, 1-4-0) dropped all
three contests last year to Michigan
See HOCKEY, Page 11
OUUG~LAS KANT y R/ily
If Michigan is to come away victorious this weekend, Wolverine forward Mike Knuble will have to continue to put the
puck in the net as he did against Notre Dame. The junior winger notched a hat trick against the Fighting Irish.
.
Michigan looks to find answers vs. Purdue
By ADAM MILLER
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
What's wrong with this picture?
The Michigan football team
outscores its opponents by an average
of six points per game. The Wolver-
ines outrush their opposition by 20
yards per game, outpass everyone by
30 yards per contest and dominate the
scoring in the second half, with a 79 to
41 advantage.
-So what's wrong with this pic-
ture?
Michigan coach Gary Moeller and
his team would sure like to know,
because the Wolverines (2-3 Big Ten,
4-4 overall) are mired in their worst
season since 1984 and are looking at
the possibility of their first Ann Arbor
holiday - no bowl -- since 1974.
"It's frustrating, because we re-
ally don't know what's going on,"
senior defensive tackle Steve
Rekowski said. "All I know is that
this is the most frustrating experience
in college sports."
"This is the toughest thing I've
had to go through in sports," junior
quarterback Todd Collins added.
Tomorrow's 1 p.m. game against
Purdue (0-5, 1-7) will likely give the
Wolverines a win. Michigan has a
six-game winning streak in the series,
but a victory may not provide the
answers the Wolverines have been
looking for.
Purdue should hardly test Michi-
gan, as statistics don't lie when look-
ing at the Boilermakers. In fact, punt-
ing yardage is about the only stat Jim
Colletto's club can claim as an advan-
tage in. However, Moeller has held
the party line.
."We know they're good enough to
win," Moeller said. "Plus, they think
they're catching Michigan at the right
time, when we're down."
Just one year ago, Purdue looked
promising. The Boilermakers gave
Michigan everything it could handle
and then some at West Lafayette, tak-
ing a 17-7 advantage into intermis-
sion before succumbing to a 17-point
Wolverine outburst in the third quar-
ter. Michigan held on, claiming a 24-
17 victory.
But the road has followed a down-
ward spiral since then for the Boiler-
makers. Scrambling quarterback Eric
Hunter graduated. Matt Pike, Hunter's
replacement couldn't match Hunter's
play-making ability and after falling
to injury ,was replaced with freshman
Rick Trefzger.
Big Ten defensive player-of-the-
year Jeff Zgonina and last year's lead-
ing tackler, linebacker Eric Beatty,
graduated as well, and this year's
defense lacks their skill and intensity.
Purdue gives up over 31 points a
game.
Additionally, Purdue has suffered
a rash of injuries this season. Twenty-
eight players have been injured at
some point, and eight of those are out
for the season.
If that wasn't enough, rumors have
circulated in West Lafayette of
Colletto's pending ouster. Athletic
director Morgan Burke finally settled
that issue this week, with a public
show of support for the coach at the
weekly Quarterback Club meeting.
Even with a second-half shutout
of Iowa last week, Purdue is not a
very good team. Colletto said he real-
izes this but believes his team can
improve.
"Our young players have done a
great job, haven't backed off, and I
see no fear in their eyes," Colletto
said. "This is very encouraging.
"The next game will be a great
chance and challenge to see how they
compete against another good team."
Some Wolverine fans haven't been
so kind in labeling the Wolverines.
Back-to-back conference losses to
Illinois and Wisconsin have all but
eliminated any chance of Michigan's
appearance in a New Year's Day bowl,
with only the Hall of Fame Bowl
expressing any interest.
Michigan must win two of its next
three games to finish with an overall
winning record; the Wolverines' last
losing season was 1967, when they
finished 4-6. Michigan's bowl choices
are limited to those it usually scoffs
at: the Freedom Bowl, Liberty Bowl
and Independence Bowl.
The Wolverines seem like a lock
to return to the victory column tomor-
row, even if injured tailback Tyrone
Wheatley (listed as doubtful) does
not return. With the exception of safety
Pat Johnson, Purdue's defense does
not boast any standout performers,
and Collins should find success. Full-
back Mike Alstott is an All-America
candidate but he can't carry the of-
fense himself.
Furthermore, Michigan hasn't lost
to Purdue in Ann Arbor since 1966.
On the other hand, that may not be
such a good statistic. Another team
that hadn't won in Ann Arbor since
1966 recently visited Michigan Sta-
dium.
Everyone knows how that game
came out.
EVAN PETIRE/Daily
The Michigan ground game must imporve its production against Purdue
tomorrow after weak performances against Illinois and Wisconsin.
Wolverines attempt to
qualify for nationals
DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily
Michigan, in a must-win situation this weekend, has never beaten either of
its opponents, Northwestern and Penn State.
i "
Stickers In 1 ire Straits
against Penn State, NURYNWHT
By RYAN WHITE
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
It's do or die, now or never, a must-win situation.
This is the last weekend of the regular season and all of the above apply to
the Michigan field hockey team. The Wolverines face No. 2 Northwestern at
3 p.m. today and No. 1 Penn State at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Both games are being
played at the Wildcats' Dyche Stadium.
Michigan (3-5 Big Ten, 12-5 overall) has never defeated either team, but
the Wolverines will have to beat both this weekend if they want their season
to continue.
Only the top 12 teams in the national coaches poll qualify for the NCAA
Regional Tournament. For Michigan to break into the top dozen, it would have
to sweep the Wildcats and Lady Lions.
If the Wolverines are concerned about their lack of success against this
weekend's opponents, they are not showing it.
"We're not intimidated at all. We're ready for a big game on Friday and
then another big game on Saturday," Michigan coach Patti Smith said.
Forward Gia Biagi agreed with her coach.
"We're more focused on ourselves and our game and not worrying about
them," Biagi said.
Today's game against Northwestern (6-2,11-3-1) is a rematch of a game
Oct. 23. Northwestern narrowly won the first contest, 4-3. In that battle, the
Wolverines had numerous chances to tie the score late in the contest, but they
failed to convert on penalty corners.
Converting on those chances is one of the keys, according to defender
Keely Libby.
"Against Northwestern, we have to play our game which is solid defense,
getting lots of shots and corners and converting. We have to play smart," she said.
One player that the Wolverine defense is going to have to look out for is
forward Gretchen Scheuermann. In 15 games this year, Scheuermann has
racked up 16 goals and five assists for a total of 37 points.
Scheuermann's 37 points are 18 more than Michigan's leading scorer,
forward Kalli Hose, who has six goals and seven assists for 19 points.
by SCOT BURTON
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
There is one main difference be-
tween the Michigan men's soccer team
of last year and the far-more-success-
ful team of this year - direction.
Though this ingredient may ap-
pear too abstract to make an impact
on any team, improved direction is
one of the reasons why the Wolver-
ines (10-4-5) feel they are well posi-
tioned to finally qualify for the Na-
tional Club Championship in two
weeks.
"We've been working much
harder, working with a lot more direc-
tionals.
The Wolverines open play tomor-
row against the Rockets and will play
the Buckeyes shortly afterwards.
Michigan finishes play Sunday against
the Redskins.
Michigan, with a No. 2 seed, may
well have a clean route for- qualifica-
tion due to a variety of factors.
First, the Big Ten teams don't
play each other in the tournament, so
Michigan won't be tested by their
nemesis and No. 1 seed Illinois. The
Fighting Illini have tied the Wolver-
ines twice this year. 3-3 and 2-2.
tV.