6B - Faceoff '96 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 14, 1996 0 q 0 0 Monday, October 14, 1996 - Faceof Once more, two-gether Michigan's offensive stars are in sync on and offthe ice All you need to know about everyone wearing the maiz Brendan 9 Morrison (C) Position: Center Year: Senior int. Wt. 5-1 176 NHL rights: New Jersey By Jim Rose Daily Sports Writer Brendan Morrison, Jason Botterill and Blake Sloan are standing shoulder to shoulder at center ice, patiently having their picture taken. The hockey publication organizing the photo shoot is only one of the numerous media outlets following the Michigan hockey team since it won the national championship last March. After a couple snapshots, the photog- rapher asks Botterill and Sloan to take a step back, so Morrison can appear front and center. Botterill gets a kick out of this, and he can't pass up the opportuni- ty to take a shot at his teammate. He feigns offense at the insinuation that he should appear in the background behind Morrison, and bows dramatical- ly in mock worship of his highly-visible linemate. Morrison chooses to ignore his friend, and breaks into a big grin. "That's all right," he reassures the now-hesitant photographer. "We're used to it." Botterill loses it at this comment, laughing and taking a friendly slash at Morrison's leg. If there's one thing Morrison and Botterill ought to be getting used to by now, it's attention. The pair has received more than its fair share of adulation over the past three years, and the Wolverines' national championship last season has turned this season into something of a media circus. "Oh yeah, there's more recognition," Botterill says. "You win the national title, the whole team's in the paper a lit- tle more than usual:.' While Michigan hockey has steadily progressed toward mainstream appeal over the past few years, last season's accomplishments may just be enough to push the team into the national spot- light. And with all the added distrac- tions, the job of leading this team - which, along with defenseman Sloan, falls squarely on the shoulders of Morrison and Botterill - isn't getting any easier. Fortunately for the Wolverines, the offensive duo is keeping things in per- spective. Morrison is at peace with the extra attention. "It's just something that you take in stride," he says. "That comes with win- ning. You just have to stay level-headed about it and keep an even perspective on things" Morrison's stellar reputation suggests that he has no problem dealing with media and fan attention, but this season also presents circumstances that he may be slightly less suited to handling: the challenge to repeat. Last year's team is the only champi- onship- team of which Morrison has ever been a part. And although he understands the implications of the label "National Champions," he also concedes that this year will be some- thing of a new experience for him. Enter Botterill. The senior winger is no stranger to the winner's circle - in fact, last winter he became the first Canadian ever to win three consecutive gold medals at the World Junior Hockey Championships. It is this kind of expe- rience - knowing what it takes to not just win, but repeat - that may be most valuable to the Wolverines. "I think it'll help out a little bit," Botterill says. "I think I've been in situ- ations where I have been the favorite, and (my teams) have been the defend- ing champions. I think it may help out in key situations." Still, both Botterill and Morrison feel Michigan's biggest advantage lies not in the experience of one or two players, but in the team as a whole. "I think most of the guys understand that we're gonna be getting the best from (the other teams we play)," Botterill says. "Maybe there will be a little more pressure on us, but I think we've got a pretty good group of guys here. "And teams come after us anyway. It's not as if we've been a bad team over the last three years." reacn Dale 2 Rominski Position: Right Wing Year: Sophomore fit. Wt. 6-2 190 NHL rights: undrafted According to Brendan Morrison, Jason Bot "a little riled up on the ice." According to Michigan coach Red Berenson, Botterill and Morrison work together to give the Wolverines the kind of leadership an upper-echelon team needs. "They complement each other because of their different styles," Berenson says. "You wouldn't want three players like Botterill on the same line." Certainly not. You can't score with three guys in the penalty box. But throw in someone like Morrison ... "When you get the two of them together," Berenson says, "they get both ends of the job done." Morrison gives most of the credit for the dirty work to his bigger, more phys- ical linemate, but Botterill is quick to return the compliment. "The way we play sort of meshes together," Botterill says. "He sets things up, and he's very creative with the puck, and that allows me to just do what I do best, which is drive to the net. "I realize that when I go to the net, the puck's gonna be there. I've got con- fidence that he's always gonna deliver it to me." To anyone who's watched the pair in action, that much is apparent. The play- ing styles of these two are as different as can be. But Morrison says there's more to it than that. "At times, Jason gets a little riled up on the ice"he says. "I'm sort of the guy just to calm him down. So there's a happy medium there between us." Botterill laughs when he hears this. "Well, I guess that's true," he says, "but I also know that Brendan's a very emotional guy out there on the ice sometimes. But yeah, he holds me back sometimes. I think Coach has asked terill sometimes has a tendency to get him to do that a bit." It's clear that the on-ice styles of these two stars are quite different. But what about off the ice? "Off the ice - same thing. We're dif- ferent;' Botterill says. "But for some reason, we get along really well togeth- er. It's just something that's clicked." It's something that's clicked so well, in fact, that the pair has lived together for the past two years. Morrison agrees that the two are unique in terms of personality, but he says that the biggest difference between the two - or at least what the public perceives to be the biggest difference - is not quite as big as it used to be. "(Botterill) tends to be a little more outspoken than me," Morrison says. "I think people see me as being sort of the quiet leader, just leading by exam- ple. "But as each year has passed, I've said more and more in the dressing room. And now, even more so, with the title of captain - there's more of a responsibility and leadership role, and it's one that I'm looking forward to." Ask Botterill about Morrison's devel- opment as a leader, and he sounds like ... well, like Morrison. "I think Brendan's always been a very good leader by example" Botterill says. "But I've also been very happy with the way he's stepped up as a vocal leader in our dressing room. I think that can only help our team." There's something funny about these guys. It's one thing for them to be total- ly different, yet perfectly in sync - almost like they know each other's thoughts - when they're on the ice. But off the ice as well? It's almost two much. Sloan Turco THE PRINCETON REVIEW FILE PHOTO/Daily Brendan Morrison has been a steadying influence for the Wolverines over the past three seasons, and his teammates say he has developed into a vocal leader as a senior captain.