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Wednesday
December 4, 1996

9


Fast start
bor Blue
grapplers
yEvui Braunstoin
Dly Sports Writer
q Judging by its performance in pre-
eason meets, you wouldn't think the
Michigan wrestling team was start-
ing seven underclassmen.
The Wolverines continued to post
impressive results in their early sea-
son tournaments, as seven wrestlers
placed in the top five of their weight
class in the Northern Open.
The tournament was held at
Wisconsin over Thanksgiving week-
bd.
w Of the seven wrestlers, five were
either freshmen or sophomores.
Jreshman Damion Logan gained
:anost of the spotlight, as he placed
Qcond in the 126-pound weight
class, losing a close 4-1 match to
"Wisconsin's All-American Eric
Jetton.
Logan was placed in the lineup to
1eplace All-American Brandon
owe, who is out for the season with
injury.
Logan's second-place finish fol-
,-ows titles in Michigan's two previ-
"-6us tournaments.
Logan attributed his loss to inex-
perience.
"I've got nothing to lose," he said.
:-I know I can wrestle with these
_buys, but I need to mature a little."
"Nevertheless, Michigan coach
ale Bahr is pleased with what he
as seen thus far.
"Damion is the best true freshman
See GRAPPLERS, Page 10

'M' icers look to
climb in CCHA
Young Broncos stand in the way

I

By Dan Stillman
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan hockey team has
put together quite a streak since the
last time it faced Western Michigan
at Yost Ice Arena.
The Wolverines were blown out at
home by the Broncos, 7-2, in
Michigan's second game last season.
Since then, the Wolverines are 19-0-
1 at Yost and have trailed their oppo-
nents for a total of 15 seconds during
the unbeaten streak.
Tonight at 7, an inexperienced
Western Michigan (3-4-1 CCHA, 6-
5-1 overall) team, comes into Yost
trying to halt the first-ranked
Wolverines (6-1-1, 13-1-1) who con-
tinue to gain momen-
tum.
After taking four-
of-four from noncon-
ference foes, including t
victories over WesternMi
Minnesota and
Wisconsin this past W
weekend, the
Wolverines return to
league play rankedW
No. 1 in the country, wsthe fast
despite trailing Lake ;.e'at te
Superior, Michigan yct(Oct.
State and Miami
(Ohio) in the CCHA
standings.
"We've got something to prove in
this league," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said.
"How can you be a No. 1 team in
the country and be fourth place in
your league?"
The Broncos, who split a series
with Providence this past weekend,
are sixth in the conference with
seven points, compared to the
Wolverines' 13 points and first place
Lake Superior's 18 points.
Western Michigan is not nearly the
same team that defeated the
Wolverines in Yost last season.
Western Michigan lost seven for-
wards to graduation, including its
four top scorers from last season.
The Broncos also suffered an
unexpected loss when would-be
junior goaltender Marc Magliarditi
jumped ship to return to junior hock-
ey.

Wilkinson said.
"Lack of scoring (has been a prob-
lem this season), but I don't know
that we can score more than we
have."
Sophomore Matt Barnes has seen
most of the time in net this season
and is expected to start tonight. In 10
games, Barnes has a 3.28 oals-
against average.
On offense, Western is led by
senior Justin Cardwell who has a
team high 11 goals. Sophomore
Mike Melas tops the Broncos with
10 assists. Melas and sophomore Joe
Corvo each have five goals thus far.
The Broncos lead the league with
a .327 power play percentage (18-
for-55).
The Wolverines
look to continue their
own power-play- suc-
anS vscess tonight. ^On
aan Saturday, the Wolverines
converted on four-of-
seven man-advantages
in their 8-4 victory
over Wisconsin.
While Michigan
m to . junior Matt Herr con-
ernes at tinues to produce, it is
f.95)senior center Brendan
Morrison who appears
to be returning to the
form that made him a preseason
favorite for the Hobey Baker award.
Morrison earned CCHA Offensive
Player of the Week with two goals,
including an overtime winner against
Minnesota on Friday, and three
assists this past weekend.
The Wolverines will be without
defenseman Bubba Berenzweig
tonight and for Saturday's game at
Ferris State.
Berenson said he is giving
Berenzweig the time off to concen-
trate on his academics.
On the injury front, the
Wolverines are basically
healthy with the exception of sopho-
more Greg Crozier.
He continues to recover from frac-
turing the radius and ulna in his left
forearm against Bowling Green On
Nov. 9.
Freshman Andrew Merrick will
play with a cast on his right wrist.
Berenson said that Merrick does
not have a serious injury, and that the
cast is just precautionary.

JONATHAN LURIE/Special to the Daily
Michigan right wing Bill Muckalt, along with the rest of the Wolverines, will look for revenge against Western Michigan
tonight. The Broncos defeated Michigan at Yost Ice Arena in Michigan's second game last season. Since then, the Wolverines
have gone 19-0-1 at Yost.

Cager Baston returning to form after injury

Will McCahli
Daily Sports Editor
Slowly but surely, junior center
-Maceo Baston is making his way back
from an Achilles tendon injury.
Baston injured the tendon in early
November, and sat out both of
Michigan's exhibition games and the
iregular-season opener against Ball
State.
He saw his first action in last
turday's victory at Cleveland State,
scoring nine points and grabbing two
boards in only 10
minutes of action.
Baston was a key
for the Wolverines
in Monday's 66-64
'7t 44 overtime win over
Bradley.
He came off the
bench and scored
four points in 20
minutes of play.
But it was his rebounding that was
key, particularly in the overtime peri-
od.
With the score tied at 61, Baston
grabbed a Michigan miss off the glass
and was fouled by Bradley center
Adebayo Akinkunle on the putback
attempt.
The foul was Akinkunlels fifth,
4emoving a major obstacle from the
paint.
On the Wolverines' next trip down
the floor, Baston again crashed the

boards, hauling down another offensive
rebound. In the tangled crowd under the
basket, however, he tripped and was
called for traveling.
Baston quickly got back down the
floor and corralled another board, this
time off a Braves' miss. Bradley for-
ward Cameron Rigby fouled him, and
Baston's free throw put Michigan up by
a deuce.
Michigan coach Steve Fisher said
Baston is gradually getting back into
playing shape.
"His stamina, endurance and timing
are not quite there," Fisher said. "I don't
think we're doing anything to cause
potential harm to the injury.
"It's just play him, and when he gets
a little tired, take him out and play
somebody else.'
FOUL FOUL SHOOTING: One of the
reasons the seventh-ranked Wolverines
have had such close games against less-
er opponents lately is poor performance
at the charity stripe.
In Saturday's victory over Cleveland
State, the Wolverines made 20 of 33
attempts from the free-throw line, a
subpar 61 percent.
Maceo Baston, Louis Bullock and
Brandun Hughes each missed a foul
shot apiece in the final three minutes of
the game.
Hughes' miss from the line would
have given Michigan a four-point
lead with under 40 seconds remain-
ing.

Against Bradley on Monday night,
the Wolverines improved slightly at the
line, tossing in 18 of their 27 shots, just
under 67 percent.
However, inaccuracy at the line made
the game a little closer than it probably,
should have been.
Baston was unable to translate his
rebounding success into similar results
at the line, missing two of four free
throws in overtime after picking up key
boards.
Bullock, normally as close to auto-
matic as a coach could wish for,
missed the first of
two shots with
12.4 seconds left
r:in the extra stanza,
and the Wolverines
came out of his
trip to the stripe
with only a two-
point lead.
Fisher took the
blame upon himself
Ward for the Wolverines'
lackluster performance.
"I'm the free-throw coach, so I'll take
responsibility for that," he said. "When
you've got your best free-throw shooter
at the line in Louis Bullock, he's got to
make every om he takes.
"We didn't shoot free throws well
down the stretch at Cleveland State,"
Fisher said. "You win games by being
able to get to the line - which we do.
Our goal is to make more than the other

guy takes."
ON THE RUBBER-BANDWAGON:
During Michigan's first three games,
observant fans may have noticed a little
something on junior swingman Jerod
Ward's right wrist. A rubber band, to be
exact.
Ward said he was wearing it to
give himself little reminders when
things aren't going so well on the
court.
"Sometimes if I don't feel like
things are going the way I like, I give
it a pop," Ward said. "Just to kind of
wake up"
During Monday night's game, how-
ever, he had the band taken away from
him by a referee.
"The ref took it from me" he said.
"He said he wanted to look at it.
"He said he'd give it back, but he
didn't."
HIGH ON HUGHEs: The Michigan
coaches aren't the only people who
think Hughes has a bright future ahead
of him as a Wolverine.
Bradley coach Jim Molinari is also a
big fan.
"The thing you have to understand
about Brandun, he's won state cham-
pionships (in high school) and he's a
great player," Molinari said. "He'll
get more and more confident, more
and more assertive, and he'll be
another real added weapon to
Michigan.
"You can mark that down:'

"Last year we had
and outstanding
Western Michigan

seven seniors
goaltending,"
coach Bill


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- I

Math,
Business,
Marketing
& History
majors.
It's your senior year and time to get to know us.
Do you have...
ecritical thinking skills?
.excellent communication skills?


~~&TW

,#( ~wL,


I