Monday October 14, 1996 11A w - M6.M. Mo 0 Whistles can't keep 'M' icers from sinking Lakers By Mark Snder Daily Sports Wter SAULT STE. MARIE - The Michigan hockey team went to Lake Superior hoping to escape with a victory. It left happy to escape alive. Michigan defeated Lake Superior, 4-2, in a game that was best defined as brutal. Whistles were the theme of the night as the refer- ees called 43 penalties between the two teams. With the score tied at two in the beginning of the third period, Bill Muckalt took on the role of hero in the penalty-infested contest. With a five-on-three advantage, the right wing received a pass from John Madden and blasted a slapshot from the point past Lakers' goalie John Grahame at 2:51, giving Michigan the lead for good. "Grahame made a huge save on me at the end of the second period," Muckalt said. "It was a 2-2 game, and we needed to step up. They were two men down, and I thought I'd put something on the net, and fortunately it went in for me." Matt Herr sealed the victory with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 14:21. Although the game was a non-conference affair, it was important nonetheless. "Anytime you win up here, you have to feel good," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "The momentum of the penalties in the third period (hurt us). (But) I like the way our team got stronger as the game went on" Grahame got a full view of the action from the beginning. At 8:16 of the first period, Grahame made the mistake of charging out of the net to cor- ral a loose puck. The next thing Grahame knew, he was in the air, pads and all, after tripping over a streaking Madden, the goaltender flipped head-over-heels in the air. While Grahame remained in the game, the play was a sign of the intensity of the contest. Lake Superior opened the scoring when defense- man Gino Pulente's shot glanced off center Terry Marchant's skate and bounced in past Michigan goalie Marty Turco. "We knew they would come out strong and they did," Berenson said. "(Lake State) had us on our heels for the first period. A big part of that was the penalties we took. We were shorthanded too many times in the first period.' Marchant's goal at the 9:03 mark was one of those times. Not only did Lake Superior have a physical edge at the time of the goal, it had two more men on the ice than Michigan. The Wolverines, on the other hand, got'he equal- izer four minutes later at 13:13, when Jason Botterill scored on a five-on-three. Brendan Morrison and Warren Luhning assisted on Botterill's goal, which was a historic moment for Morrison. The senior's assist was his 200th career point. While Morrison had to wait from the Waterloo game last Tuesday until the first period against Lake Superior to get No. 200, No. 201 didn't take as long. At 13:35, Madden scored his first goal of the sea- son on assists from Morrison and Botterill. The score gave Michigan its first lead at 2-1. Lake Superior evened the score with the only even-strength goal of the night at 16:06, as left wing Joe Blaznek set up center Bryan Fuss. The second period was a myriad of strong checks, physical play and fights, but no goals. After a brawl erupted between the two teams at 1:13 of the period, 12 penalties were handed out. Although the benches did not empty, the ice was nearly barren. The penalties were offsetting, so additional play- ers were able to take the ice to resume play. The 26 penalties in the period made it difficult for the players to get into a shooting rhythm, and Michigan and Lake Superior emerged from the chaos still tied, 2-2, heading into the final period. WARREN Z INN/Daily Michigan's John Madden put the Wolverines ahead, 2-1, at the 13:35 mark of the first period with a power-play goal. The score came just 22 se/- 9nds after Jason Botterill put the Wolverines on the scoreboard. Michigan scored three times on the power play, which was a key to its success ast year. Thus far, the Wolverines are converting more than 40 percent of the chances with an extra skater. Blue spikers upset No. 9 Badgers . ; By Kevin Kasiborski and Sharat Raju Daily Sports Writers For the eighth time in 17 matches, the Michigan women's volleyball team played a nationally-ranked opponent. And for the first time, the Wolverines won. On Friday, the Wolverines upset No. 9 Wisconsin, 15-12, 15-7, 15-12, at Cliff Keen Arena in front of 1,383 fans, the third largest crowd in Michigan volleyball history, for "Rock the House" night. "Our hope is that this is the one that ,puts us over the hump," Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "We've played at that level a lot this year, and not had the payoff we had tonight." The Badgers (4-2 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) are the second-highest ranked team that the Wolverines (2-4, 7-10) have ever defeated. Last season, Michigan defeated No. 8 Penn State. In each of the games against Wisconsin, the Wolverines jumped out : to early leads, only to have the Badgers *rally. In game one, the Badgers came back from 8-3 to tie the score at eight. Michigan managed to hold off Wisconsin's final charge. The second game was an easy victo- ry for the Wolverines, but the third game was the toughest one of the match. Although they surged to an early 8-2 lead, the Wolverines soon found out they would have to earn the three-game sweep. Wisconsin fought back to 8-7, and again to 10-9, but Michigan refused to be denied, hold- ing on for the victory. "For me, it was not enough to say anymore 'our stats are good,"' Michigan middle blocker Sarah Jackson said. "If we're in the game, I wanted to beat (a ranked team)." Jackson had a team-high 16 kills and a .483 hitting percentage with only two hitting errors. Linnea Mendoza had 55 assists and was instrumental in directing the offense. "Linnea (Mendoza) was doing such a good job spreading around the offense," Giovanazzi said. "Wisconsin's left front blockers didn't know what to do." Michigan's attackers took advantage of Wisconsin's confusion. Jackson, Linsey Ebert (12 kills, .524 hitting per- centage) and Jeanine Szczesniak (12 kills, 15 digs) had opportunities to make big plays. "I think Jeanine (Szczesniak's) attacking was phenomenal," Giovanazzi said. Friday, unlike previous matches against top-ranked competition, the Wolverines managed to hang on to late-game leads and pulled out a victo- ry. "I never thought we played the scoreboard," Giovanazzi said. "I thought their play fluctuated, but not ours." The Wolverines were not able to carry that momentum over to Saturday's match against Minnesota (4-2, 13-6), losing, 15-12, 15-6 and 15-11. The match was a mirror image of the previous night. This time, Michigan was trailing in each game and Minnesota was getting out to early leads. "We decided to focus on Wisconsin because we match up with them so well, even though they're the better team," said Giovanazzi about Michigan's preparation this past week. The biggest thorn in Michigan's side all night was Minnesota All-American Katrien DeDecker, who had a match- high 19 kills. Leading the Wolverines was Karen Chase with 12 kills. "It was crucial for us to get one of two this weekend," Giovanazzi said. The Michigan vol- leyball team split a pair of home matches this weekend against Wisconsin and Minnesota. The victory over Wisonsin came during Michigan's annual "Rock The House" night. JOE WESTRATE/Daily Michigan soccer drops below P.500 mark with pair of losses ... By Nancy Berger and Mike Rubi Daily Sports Writers The Michigan women's soccer team played solid defense and registered plen- -ty of scoring opportunities in its two matches this weekend. Too bad the Wolverines couldn't put *he two together in one game. "We had great opportunities, but our shots were not killer shots;' Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said. As a result of poor shooting, the Wolverines lost 1-0 to the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions (2-1-1 Big Ten, 8-2-2 overall), in an intense defensive battle. Yesterday, the Wolverines were able to get on the scoreboard by trading chances with No. 17 Minnesota (1-2, 8-3 ). But *~in the end, Michigan (1-3, 4-6-2) found itself on the short end of a 4-2 decision. Unlike Friday's contest, yesterday's game featured several good scoring opportunities for both sides. If not for superb goaltending, the first half threat- ened to turn into a shootout. Michigan resnnfded toi the' first Minnesota end and sent a pass into the box, which Ruth Poulin deposited in the back of the goal. Berendowsky had a clear breakaway early in the second half, but was stoned by Larsen. "When you are coming in on a one- on-one situation you have to rely on instinct," Berendowski said. One-on-one situations were tough to See MINNESOTA, Page 12A Homecoming 1996 #1Parade Appllcation PARTY i! tiw VICTOR{S co~mehoe Applications must be submitted in writing to Homecoming 1996, Alumni Association ASAP. Name of Sponsoring Organization: Is your organization registered with Michigan Student Assembly? Student Contact: 11