4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 13, 1995
Icers' Morrison nets
Ali-CCHA selection
.By Tom Seeley
Daily Hockey Writer
So far this season, Michigan center Brendan Morrison has done his best to
dispel any fears of a "sophomore jinx."
Last season, Morrison was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year and has
only improved his numbers in his second season of collegiate hockey.
Yesterday, Morrison was rewarded for his efforts when he was named to
the All-CCHA first team. He received seven first-team votes and garnered 85
out of a possible 100 points.
"It's nice to get recognized as an individual, but in no way is it an
individual award at all," Morrison said. "It reflects on the team's performance
throughout the year, and if your team is doing well, then individuals get
recognized."
Bowling Green forward Brian Holzinger was the only unanimous selec-
tion to the team.
Morrison currently has 72 total points (22 goals-50 assists) and leads the
nation in scoring.
Last season, Morrison had 48 points (20-28) in 38 games.
"I felt last year that I could have played a little better at times," Morrison
said. "This year I just wanted to focus on being consistent throughout the
whole year and not play in spurts here and there."
Joining Morrison and Holzinger on the conference's first team were
goaltender Chuck Thuss from Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green's Kelly Perrault
and Lake Superior's Keith Aldridge on defense, and forward Anson Carter
from Michigan State.
The Wolverines also placed two players on the second team -defenseman
Steven Halko and forward Mike Knuble. It was the second year in a row
Knuble was named to the second team, while Halko made honorable mention
a year ago.
"I thought I had a better year last year overall, but I've had some good
games this year," Halko said. "It's an honor that the coaches in the league
looked at me and considered me for the second team."
Michigan goaltender Marty Turco, fresh off being named to the CCHA
All-Rookie team, center Kevin Hilton and defenseman lake Sloan were also
recognized by the league. All three achieved honorable mention status.
1994495 AII-CCHA
Senior Ron Sacka scored
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
the final goal in the Wolverines' 4-0 blanking of the Buckeyes' Saturday at Yost.
Second-seeded Falcons oust Irish
Assosciated Press
Jason Clark's powerplay goal in
the second period broke a tie Satur-
day as Bowling Green went on to a 5-
4 win over Notre Dame and advanced
to the second round of the CCHA
playoffs.
The Fighting Irish (11-25-1) took
a 1-0 lead at the 3:12 mark of the
first period after a goal by Tim
Harberts.
But the Falcons (25-10-2) an-
swered with goals by Mike Hall and
Brian Holzinger to take a 2-1 lead.
Notre Dame fought back, scoring
three consecutive goals in the first pe-
riod. Harberts, Jamie Morshead and
Lyle Andruslak gave the Fighting Irish
the 4-2 lead. Todd Kelman made it, 4-
3, at 16:53 of the first. -
In the second period, Bowling
Green came out on top, 5-4, after a
goal by Curtis Fry and Clark's game-
winner.
Bowling Green defeated the
Fighting Irish, 7-2, Friday night.
Michigan State 4, Illinois-Chi-
cago 2
Four different players scored for
Michigan State Saturday as the Spar-
tans went on to a 4-2 win and a
weekend sweep over Illinois-Chi-
cago to advance in the CCHA play-
offs.
The Spartans won, 6-4, Friday
night.
Lake Superior State 5, West-
ern Michigan 0
Wayne Strachan scored two
goals Saturday as Lake Superior
State shut out Western Michigan, 5-
0, and advanced to the second round
of the CCHA playoffs.
The Broncos (17-18-5) and the
Lakers (19-11-6) were scoreless in
the first period.
The Lakers beat the Broncos, 7-
2, Friday night in the opening game
of the playoffs.
Miami (Ohio) 4, Ferris St. 2
Chuck Thuss made 32 saves as
Miami (Ohio) beat Ferris State, 4-2,
Saturday and advanced to the sec-
ond round of the CCHA playoffs.
The Redskins won the best-of-
three series after defeating the Bull-
dogs, 10-2, in the first game Friday
night.
(Blu i Jnues
Conference
playoffs
in need ofI
overhaul
By Barry Sollenberger
Daily Hockey Writer
It's hard to imagine two more oppo-
site hockey teams than Michigan and
Ohio State.
The No. 1 Wolverines have as good
achanceas anybody towin the National
Championship. Michigan leads the na-
tion in goals per game (5.75) and is 9-2
against teams ranked in-the top 10 of the
WMEB hockey poll.
The Wolverines can beat anybody.
The Buckeyes, on the other hand,
couldn't beat egg yolk. Ohio State won
only seven of 36 games this year, one of0
which came against Guelph (whatever
that is). So why did these two teams
face each other this weekend?
Welcome to the CCHA, where ev-
eryone makes the playoffs.
Under the current format, the first
round of the playoffs pits the No. I seed
against the No. 10 seed, the No. 2 seed
against the No. 9 seed and so on. Last
Tuesday, the Buckeyes defeated Alaska
Fairbanks in apreliminay playoffgame
to grab that coveted last seed.
Ohio State ended the regular season
dead last in the conference in overall
scoring (3.09 goals pergame) and goals,
allowed (5.2). And, yet, there they were
Friday and Saturday at Yost Ice Arena.
Notre Dame also made the playoffs.
While Michigan handled the Buckeyes,
Bowling Green took two from the 9th-
seeded Fighting Irish this weekend.
Ohio State and Notre Dame fin-
ished their seasons a combined 17-54-
3. Both teams deserved a post-season
berth about as much as Charlie Manson
deserves to be let out of prison. Indeed
it's difficult to see the point in allowing
everyone into the CCHA playoffs.
Doesn't it make sense to cut them
down to eight teams? If that were the
case this season, Michigan would have
opened Friday at Yost against Illinois-
Chicago.
A Wolverines-Flames series was
potentially much more interesting than
the Michigan-Ohio State matchup. The
Wolverines struggled to take two of
three from Illinois-Chicago this season.
Attendance at Yost Ice Arena may
have benefited from a better matchup.
Since these were the "playoffs," you
might expect Yost Ice Arena to be so
full that the building's officials would'
need to bribe the fire warden.
Not so.
The Michigan-Ohio State matchup
drew only 11,389-aYost season-low
for a two-game series. The No. 1 Wol-
verines certainly deserved a better send
off to the CCHAs and the NCAAs. The
weekend marked the last home appear-
ance for a distinguished senior class
that finished its four years at Yost 60-6-
5.
First-team
Position
Goaltender
Defense
Defense
Forward
Forward
Forward
Player, School
Chuck Thuss, Miami (Ohio)
jelly Perrault, Bowling Green
Keith Aldridge, Lake Superior State
Brian Holzinger, Bowling Green
Anson Carter, Michigan State
Brendan Morrison, Michigan
Second-team
Position Player, School
Goaltender Mike Buzak, Michigan State
Defense Andy Roach, Ferris State
Defense Steven Halko, Michigan
Forward Mike Knuble, Michigan
Forward Kevyn Adams, Miami (Ohio)
Forward Rem Murray, Michigan State
HOCKEY NOTEBOOK:
Seniors bid farewell to Yost
By Tom Seeley
Daily Hockey Writer
The seniors on the Michigan
hockey team certainly picked an op-
portune time to flex their muscle.
In their final appearance at Yost
Ice Arena, the seniors were respon-
sible for seven of the 11 goals that
the Wolverines scored over the
weekend.
The bulk of the scoring came off
the stick of Mike Knuble, who re-
corded six goals on a pair of hat
tricks during the two-game sweep
of Ohio State.
After Saturday's 4-0 victory over
the Buckeyes, the 6,006 fans at Yost
Ice Arena paid tribute to a class that
currently stands as the second
winningest in the history of Michi-
gan hockey. The current core of
seniors has been a part of 124 Wol-
verine wins - a total second only to
last year's senior class that finished
with 129.
The Yost faithful gave the entire
team a standing ovation in the wan-
ing moments of the game.
Once the final horn sounded,
captain Rick Willis, who sat out the
game with a knee injury, skated out
to join fellow seniors Knuble, Ron
Sacka, Al Loges, Tim Hogan,
Mark Sakala and Alan Sinclair on
the ice.
Willis started waving a Michi-
gan flag and led the seniors around
the rink. They stopped to acknowl-
edge each section of fans before
gathering at the center faceoff circle
where they individually kissed the
4M1.
Willis also received a Willis
Road street sign from a dedicated
fan.
RACKING 'EM UP: Sophomore cen-
ter Brendan Morrison is making a
Octopus
late push for the Hobey Baker Award,
given annually to the nation's top
collegiate hockey player.
Against Ohio State, Morrison
bested his own mark for most points
in a weekend by a Michigan player
this season.
He tallied eight assists in the two
victories over the Buckeyes - five in
Friday night's 7-2 win and three dur-
ing Saturday's 4-0 shutout.
Morrison surpassed the record of
seven points that he set Feb. 3-4
against Western Michigan and Michi-
gan State.
Last Sunday, Morrison tallied six
points on a goal and five assists against
the Buckeyes, and his 14-point total
in the last three games has made him
the nation's overall scoring leader.
Morrison now has 72 total points (22
goals-50assists) and is one point ahead
of Vermont's Martin St. Louis, who
has 71.
The finalists for the Hobey Baker
Award will be announced this Friday,
and the winner will be named Mar. 31
in Providence, R.I.
BEWARE OF FLYING OBJECTS: The
Wolverines could have an opening
for an air traffic controller given the
number of things flying around in
Yost over the weekend.
Friday night, an octopus was
thrown onto the ice after Knuble's
goal gave Michigan a 4-1 lead. Then
when Knuble scored again four min-
utes later, about five hats were thrown
from the stands to signal his third goal
of the game.
Knuble's hat trick Saturday night
brought another assortment of
headwear from the stands.
About a dozen baseball hats came
flying out of the stands, but the most
notable hat was a sombrero that came
floating out of the student section.
Michigan's John Arnold picked
up the large straw hat and twirled it on
his stick before an official removed it
from the playing area.
Knuble claimed one of the hats
but said it wasn't a keeper.
"I just grabbed the first one I saw
and hoped it would be a good one, but
it wasn't," Knuble said. "It was all
sweaty inside."
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: Satur-
day flight, an industrious Ohio State
fan stuck a picture of former Buckeye
coach Jerry Welsh to the glass behind
the Ohio State bench.
The black-and-white photocopy
was about eighteen inches tall and
was clearly visible from across the
ice.
Welsh was fired as coach of the
Buckeyes Feb. 14. after 19-plus sea-
sons at the Ohio State helm. He was
replaced by John Markell who com-
piled a 2-7 record as the team's interim
skipper.
Michigan's Jason Botterill fights with Ohio State's Sand
Friday's game. Both were suspended for Saturday's con
ICERS
Continued from page 1
eventually, the barrage of Wolverine
shots found their way into the net.
"We couldn't give much more
than what we gave tonight," Ohio
State coach John Markell said.
"Askey played great. That's the
potential he's got and when he comes
up with games like that, there's no
question he can play in the National
Hockey League."
The Wolverines played without
sophomore Jason Botterill who was
suspended for exchanging bare-
knuckled blows with Ohio State's
Sandy Fraser Friday night.
Botterill and Fraser were ejected
for fighting 7:07 into the second stanza.
with Michigan leading, 2-0. Three
minutes later, a
pass deflected
defenseman Tim
sailed past Turcot
the scoreboard.
For the weeke
netted as many
Buckeye team.
"Overall, we
against ourselv
"We're just trying
ready for next w
better competitio
The Wolverine
the contest but
Knuble's hat tri
from sophomote
"We were sl
said. "(We did) th
done since the fi
season. Wheneve
Knuble and Morri
It's tough to find fault with the fans,
though. They knew, like every other~
college hockey fan in the nation, that
the Buckeyes had no chance of stealing
one, let alone two games, from the
Wolverines. Infact,Michiganrightwing
Mike Knuble could probably beat Ohio
State by himself. HeoutscoredtheBuck-
DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily eyes, 6-2, this weekend.
y Fraser during Still, Ohio State coach John Markell
test. wasn't complaining about the format of
the playoffs. He was pleased to get,
--- another shot at the Wolverines.
Buckeye centering "We fight all year and we want a
off Wolverine chance at the very best,".Markell said.
Hogan's elbow and "There is nothing wrong with the Ohio
to put Ohio State on State-Michigan rivalry.Thematchup is
always a great rivalry."
end, Hogan's elbow Markellused theword "great"pretty
goals as the entire loosely. In reality, the only thing"great"
about the Wolverine-Buckeye rivalry
e're just playing is the amount of Michigan wins in the
es," Knuble said. series during the past five seasons. The
g to play well to get Wolverines unbeaten streak over Ohio
eek when we play State now stands at 25.
n." While Michigan wasn't complain-
es struggled early in ing about the playoff format after wax-
rebounded behind ing the Buckeyes twice, this was hardly
ck and five assists playoff-caliber hockey. Don't expect,
Brendan Morrison. however, to see the current format
uggish," Berenson changed anytime soon.
ings that we haven't "I see no reason to change it," CCHA
rst weekend of the commissionerBill Beagan said. "It ain't
r we needed a lift, broke."
son made the plays. Ifitisn'tbroken,Bill,thenitsurethe
;.. .