*QB -- Faceoff '96 - TheQichigan Daily - Monday, Oder 14, 1996 % AM PREVIEW 9 9 -CCa Mond-October 14, 1996 - Faceos 6h.oB - Faceoff '96 - The~chigan Daily - Monday, Ocer 14, 1996 DEFENSE C nted from Page 9B are freshmen: Sean Peach and Kevin Magnuson. While Peach opened up the season with a banged-up shoulder, Magnuson started in last Tuesday's game against Waterloo. Both players have received high praise from Berenson in practice. And Sloan feels that they could become good college hockey players soon. "Peach is going to be a great play- er," Sloan said. "He's got a good shot ,and he makes the smart play all the time. Magnuson is doing a heck of a job right now. He's just got to build his confidence in each and every game he gets in. He's got to take it one game at a time." The defense looks to be key in Michigan's success this year. Depending on whom fits in where and what roles players are given, the crew could mesh well or take a while to learn to play with one another. But then there is someone named Marty Turco to back them up between the pipes. The junior goaltender had a memo- rable season in 1995-96 for the Wolverines. He had a 34-7-1 record in net, giving him 61 wins in his first two * seasons and putting him ahead of pace to reach 111 career victories, the NCAA record set by Michigan goalie Steve Shields. Turco shined in the NCAA tourna- ment last March and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team after stopping 38 of 40 shots in the semifi- nals and final. He finished the season with a .896 save percentage. It is so much more comforting for the defensemen to know that Turco is waiting behind them if a mistake is made. But the Berenson,i goalie, then you know you are in bad shape. "Your team. starts in g o a I ," Berenson said. "If you don't have con- fidence in your n again, according1 if you can't trust yo "If you duo have con fid I goal, you d4 he can make the difference and back to him up." ur If Turco has a poor stretch of games, Gregg Malicke is the backup goaltender. In 10 games in the net, Malicke had a.919 saves Bence in percentage. Even though Malicke didn't play too o yf much last year, Berenson felt that just by watching, fence in he learned a lot. "Malicke should be a better goalie than he was last year," Berenson d Berenson said. "He grew with our c key coach team, and he got a lot of work at practice. He's n- facing the best shooters in the league Spartans move on without star player have con fkd yourselves. --Re Michigan ho goalie, then you don't have a lot co fidence in yourself. You can ask o defensemen. It makes them play b ter when they have confidence. "When they do make a mistal they have the confidence in Turco, tI cur et- ke, hat day in and day out, so he should become a better goalie." The third-string goaltender is Greg Daddario, who played in just two games last season. There's always something to argue about between Michigan and Michigan State. In a Spartans pamphlet handed out for the media at the pre-season CCHA lun- cheon, Michigan State's sports informa- tion department clearly stated that the Spartans' Munn Ice Arena now has the largest capacity in the CCHA. Because of this summer's renovations to Yost Ice Arena, Munn now holds 6,170, com- pared to 6,150 at Yost Ice Arena. Twenty more seats. But Michigan State coach Ron Mason, in his 17th year, has been to Yost far too many times to take anything away from the old arena. He knows what it is like to play in front of the raucous maize and blue fans. "Yost is a noisy facility to play in, because the sound reverberates around," Mason said. "Munn Arena is a building that softens and deadens the sound. So if I had my druthers, I'd rather play in Jenison Field House in our facility where it's all noisy. But when Michigan and Michigan State play, it doesn't matter." Last season, while the Spartans fin- ished with a 28-13-1 overall record, their 22-7-1 CCHA record was only good enough for third place in the conference. They trailed first-place Michigan and Lake Superior by one point. This year, the Spartans will be with- out last year's leading scorer and Hobey Baker Award finalist, Anson Carter. "Whether we have a go-to player like Anson Carter (this year) remains to be seen," Mason said. "He was a special player who attracted a lot of attention. We'll probably have to rely on a number of different players for our scoring this year." The candidates to replace Carter are the forwards from Carter's line last year - junior left wing Mike Watt and sophomore right wing Mike York. York was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 1995-96 and led the Spartans in assists.1 Bring Home A Box Full Of Safety! mI..INA WF, l The Spartans and Wolverines can never seem to get along. JOE WESTRATE/Daily Sophomore Chris Bogas and junior last year. captain Tyler Harlton lead the defense. Mason is still counting on his squad Junior Chad Alban will be between the to compete for the conference title even pipes for Mason. Alban was named with the loss of Carter. Michigan State's most valuable player "I'd like to be able to maintain the / Attention U of M Employees Special Pricing Just for you $15 Monthly Access $.25 per minute peak-time $.14 per minute off peak-time Free Motorola Contour Phone Free Activation Free Calling Features *Voice mail *Call waiting eDetailed billing "3-way calling 3 year contract required Young Irish nucleus looks for inspiration from it's not a promising sign wnen tne only striking statistic your captain has is his grade-point average. That's the situation this year for Notre Dame, whose junior leader, Steve Noble, is better known for his classwork than for his scoring. The center's statistics - 20 points, minus-11 in 36 games - are less impressive than in the classroom where he has 23 As and a B+ in 24 classes. "His leadership was evident from my first day last year," Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin said. "(That) was why he was captain as a sophomore and will be again." That, and the fact that the Irish had very little help from last year's upper- classmen. Notre Dame returns six of its top seven scorers from the 1995-96 cam- paign, as well as junior goaltender Matt Eisler. Eisler's 4.31 goals-against average placed him eighth out of 10 returning CCHA netminders, and second-year coach Poulin was nice enough to shoul- der some of the blame himself. "I learned quickly in my first year of coaching that I should not be the man to handle goalies," Poulin said. So where did Poulin go for help? ESPN. No, he didn't ask Dan and Keith for help, but he did manage to acquire hock- ey analyst and former NHL goalie Darren Pang as a volunteer assistant coach. Pang will lend experience and hands-on help to the still-developing Eisler. Elsewhere on the ice, the Irish will look to a young nucleus for improve- ment on last year's less-than-fantastic 9- 23-4. Of the 27 roster players, 16 are sophomores or freshmen. SEE OUR ANN ARBOR LOCATION AND WE'LL GET YOU TALKING TODAY! * Pick-up & go pricing plans as low as $15.95 per mo. > Paging as low as $6.96 per mo. 600 S. Main Ann Arbor, MI (313) 669-8079 Taxes, tolls, fees and other restrictions apply. Price subject to change without notice. F SARA STILLMAN/Daily Greg Daddarlo and Gregg Malicke converse during the Blue-White game. While the two backup goaltenders will be on the bench for most of the season behind start- Ing netminder Marty Turco, they will have to be ready If Michigan coach Red Berenson calls on them. " " ". IJ~I TW ..j~c T~hI' r--.r LaffeLritech " Crystal Clear Calling Quality * 24-Hour Customer Service " Nationwide Call Delivery Service " Enhanced Products and Services DRINK THOMAS MANLEY LAGERS - " WE BREW BEER, NOT LEMONADE OR FRUIT DRINKS. OUR BREWS ARE REFRESHING AND FULL-FLAVORED FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY HAND-CRAFTED BREWS. TRY ONE TODAY. THE BEER BEER-DRINKERS DRINK! SHARE YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS WITH US AT (800) 305-0070.