The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - Tuesday, January 18, 1994 - 7
no Blue relentless in
pursuit of perfection
By PAUL BARGER
DAILY HOCKEY WRITER
NOTRE DAME - Every week it seems that the
Michigan hockey team is primed for an upset. The squad
travels to small arenas that are about as loud as the UGLi
to play against teams that win as many games in a season
*s Michigan wins in three weeks.
Teams are sky high when the Maize and Blue comes to
town. The Notre Dames and Ohio States of the world wait all
year for that one miraculous moment when they can finally
pull the "upset of the season" against the Wolverines.
But this year, those upsets don't seem likely to happen.
The Wolverines have been able to avoid the unthink-
able, unlike the other big guns in the CCHA. Just this past
Friday, Lake Superior State had to come from two goals
down to tie Ohio State and Bowling Green lost to Notre
Dame.
Saturday, the Irish, fresh off their upset kill, prepared
to take on Michigan in front of a packed, albeit deathly
quiet, Joyce Fieldhouse. Michigan was dull after last
week's tremendous effort against Lake State. This was
Notre Dame's big chance. And, of course, it got blown
out.
The fact Michigan came away with the victory cannot
be explained by talent alone. It can also be explained by
the fact that the Wolverines are not getting caught up in the
rankings or their hefty lead in the league standings. Every
*ight, the team gives a total effort no matter what the
caliber of opponent.
"We're not thinking about where other teams are
rated," senior David Oliver said. "We're just coming in
and playing our game. As long as we can do that, I think
we will be successful."
When one part of the team lets down, another plays
even harder.
Saturday night, for example, the defense did not give
its best effort. The goaltenders picked up the slack, as
teve Shields had two of his best periods this season and
Al Loges played a perfect third.
With this type of depth it will be tough for anyone to
defeat Michigan this season. But don't tell the team that.
The Wolverines realize that the only way to keep the
winning streak alive is to give 100 percent every night.
"Good teams should, and they do, win games like this,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Teams that just
think they're good will lose games like this, because they
think they're better than everyone. We know we have to
work as hard as they (Notre Dame) work, and if we do we
should come out on top."
The problem now is that every team in the nation is
gunning for Michigan. Any loss will be considered an
upset. The Wolverines will get the opposition's best effort
throughout the rest of the season, and when you get the
best you must give your best, no matter how good you are.
Opposing coaches like to talk about the skills of Brian
Wiseman, Oliver and Shields, but that is an injustice to the
rest of the Michigan players and the team as a whole. The
respect that the team's stars receive is well-deserved, but
it takes a lot more than two or three guys to tally a 21-I-
I record.
"We've had a lot of different guys contribute, more
than one or two players," Berenson said. "Oliver and
Wiseman are leading the team, and Shields will come up
with a big save in goal, and Mike Stone has done a great
job for us wherever we have put him. Players like Kevin
Hilton, Mike Knuble and Steven Halko have all come up
and done a good job as well."
The players expect a lot from each other, but they do
not sit around and watch as someone else wins the game
for them. On any given night, the scorers may be off, the
power play could stall or the defense could collapse. That
is when the complete team effort will be needed most.
Instead of waiting for that moment, the squad is play-
ing every game like it is its last and leaving nothing to
chance. It is that intensity, more than its talent, that should
carry Michigan for the rest of the season.
EVAN PETRIE/Daily
Notre Dame defenseman David Welch lays a hit on Michigan center Kevin Hilton. The Wolverines defeated the Irish,
6-1, extending their win streak over Notre Dame to 15 and their CCHA win streak to 16.
ICERS
Continued from page 1
Notre Dame would not catch
Michigan on the ice or on the
scoreboard as the Wolverines added
two more goals to up their lead to 6-0.
The first came when Wiseman
made a pretty feed from behind the net
to Warren Luhning for a chip shot out
front.
Harold Schock followed that at
the 18:31 mark on a whirling shot
with his back to the goal that went off
the left post and into the net for his
sixth of the season.
Schock's tally came on yet an-
other beauty of a pass, this time from
Luhning, who skated into the zone
with Kevin Hilton and Schock on a
three-on-two.
"When they come into the zone,
they have some tremendous passing
skills," Schafer said. "When we come
into the zone, it's a crash, a clunk and
maybe it will get where it's going."
The puck finally did get where it
was going when Jamie Morshead
ended Shields' shutout hopes with a
score at the 19:16 mark of the second
period.
At that point, the scoring was over
and so was the game for all intents and
purposes.o
Schafer hopes that after the Irish's
Jan. 29 meeting with the Wolverines
at the Palace of Auburn Hills, his
season with the Wolverines will also
be mercifully over.
"I would like to see us finish
high enough so we don't have to go
to Ann Arbor (for the CCHA play-
offs)," Schafer said. "With all due
respect to the beautiful city of Ann
Arbor, we don't want to go there
again."
Vrrw /~t*7 is a showcase of Asian Americans today to e
presented April 9 during the 1994 Midwest Asian American
Students Union Conference here at Michian. Tryouts, as well as
informational meetings, will be 7pn Janaury 18th and 19th in the
Nik i Giovanni Loun&c in Mojo. No experience neccessary. Just
natural character. Women interested in trying out for the formal
wear portion of the production should bring Heels.
Injury-plagued 'M' tennis
comles up shy in Tennessee
A
W
By JOSH BRAYER
FOR THE DAILY
Mission denied.
Last-minute injuries kept the
men's tennis team from winning the
Volunteer Classic in Knoxville, Tenn.,
and gaining national respect.
In their first-round loss to Okla-
homa, the Wolverines not only lost 5-
but they also lost their No.4 player,
dam Wager, who suffered a pulled
stomach muscle midway through his
singles match.
"There wereafew games that went
down to the wire and could have gone
either way," Michigan coach Brian
Eisner said. "With a full lineup I feel
that we could have not only defeated
Oklahoma, but we could have won all
f our matches."
Wager was able to play in his
doubles match against Oklahoma and
then returned the next day against
Murray State to win both his singles
match (6-4,6-3) and his doubles match
with Mike Nold to aid in Michigan's
lone victory of the tournament, 5-2.
Also adding key singles victories
were Peter Pusztai, Brad Kramer and
Chris Wyatt.
Then, after a close two-set loss to
urray State's Martin Jansson, the
Wolverines' No. 1 player Dan Brakus
caught the flu and was unable to play
in Michigan's third-round, 5-2 loss to
Michigan State.
"It's hard to win when you have to
go that deep into your lineup, and
shuffle things around at the last
minute," Eisner said.
The loss of a couple of key players
during the tournament, coupled with
the earlier loss of No.2 singles player
John Costanza, gave younger players
the opportunity to gain experience.
"You must have depth so people
canstep up when the top players can't
play," Eisner said. "Even though we
didn't win we were able to give some
of our younger players experience so
that they will be able to step up and
get the job done in the future."
F-it Period-1. UM, Botterill 14 (Wiseman,
Oliver), 5:32 (pp). Penalties - Dal Grande, ND
(holding), 4:43; Welch, ND, (elbowing), 12:15;
Schock, UM (holding), 17:22.
SecondP.deod-2, UM,Oliver19(Botterill):41.
3, UM, Willis 5 (Arnold), 3:17. 4, Knuble 23 (Oliver),
7:59 (pp).. 5. UM, Luhning 6 (Wiseman, Oliver),
1524.6 Schock 3 (Hilton, Luhning),18:31. 7, ND,
Morshead 5 (Gruber, Ling), 19:16. Penalties -
BruininksND (hooking), 6:25; Sloan. UM (hooking),
838;Knuble, UM (slashing), 12:58; Ling, ND (elbow-
ing),13:17; Gruber, ND(high-sticking), 15:32: Welch,
ND (roughing), 17:12; Botterill, UM (holding and
roughing), 17:12; Osiecki,:ND (high-sticking), 18:00;
Arnold, UM (holding), 19:00.
Third Period - None. Penalties - Luhning,
UM (double minor for roughing), 1:41; Rushin, ND
(roughing), 1:41; Oliver, UM (checking from be-
hind), 12:42; Willis, UM (high-sticking), 19:24;
Bales, ND (high-sticking), 19:24.
Shots on goat - UM 11-137-31. ND 8-13-
11-32.
Power-plays - UM 2 of 5; ND 0 of 7.
* le saves--UM,Shields 8-12-x-20,Loges
x-x-11-11. ND, Salzman 10-8-7-25.
Referees- Jim Breach, Matt Shegos.
ynes Fian - Larry Lulich.
At: Joyce Fieldhouse. A: 3,368.
It C 3 SI2C P*F iNT- N a
" MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS
* ARTIST ON STAFF
+ RUSH ORDERS
* NEAR U OF M CAMPUS
1217 PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-1771
FF with this ad.
MULTICULTURALISM
& THE UNIVERSITY
"Empowering the Underrepresented
or Stifling Academic Freedom?"
Y Y \6
I a 9 s . IN W