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.