UMfe t~mig u ai 1, Scoreboard NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS BUFFALO 4. Pittsburgh 1 ATLANTA 15, St. Louis 0 Hartford 3, N.Y. ISLANDERS 1 ATANAta Lwis series fourCHICAGO 2, Detroit I Atlant a wins series fourVancouver 6, DALLAS 1 games to three ST. LOUIS 6, Toronto 1 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Florida at COLORADO, Inc. KATINA COTB3 ATLEAGUEBoston at LOS ANGELES, inc. Kansas Clty 34, SEATTLE 16 Home team in CAPS 0 Friday October 18, 1996 12 Depleted Black Bears take on Blue at the Joe By Dan Stillman Daily Sports Writer How will the Maine hockey team cope with an interim coach 't the helm, the premature loss of several top players and, bar- ring the success of an appeal, a ban from postseason play? Tonight's 7:30 p.m. meeting between Michigan (2-0) and Maine (0-0) at Joe Louis Arena will provide the Black Bears, d the college hockey world, with preliminary answers. ;Several key players have left the Black Bears since June, hen the NCAA extended Maine's self-imposed probation, ich included a ban on postseason play last season. .The program has been in turmoil since last December when e university admitted to violations involving extra benefits, cruiting, eligibility, financial aid and personnel. 'As a result of the violations, Greg Cronin will coach the flack Bears until late December when the suspension of 12- Year head coach Shawn Walsh expires. On the ice, the player defections have produced major holes §on offense, defense and in goal - the one area that could make or break this season's squad. * Freshman Alfie Michaud, the team's only recruited goalie, dkes over duties in net for would-be senior and 1995 All- American Blair Allison, who bolted for the Canadian National Sam. Backup netminder Blair Marsh was lost to graduation. ;Michaud will not likely receive nearly the defensive help accorded to his previous counterparts. Gone from the Maine defense are two of its best from last sason - Jeff Tory and Brett Clark, both of whom also left early to play for the Canadian National Team. None of the remaining defensemen reached double-digits in sists last season. I "The defensive aspect of the game from our point of view is +ry important," Maine assistant coach Mario Thyer said. "We c n't let (the Wolverines) wheel and deal. You can't try to play t open game, otherwise you'll probably get killed." 41 The unit least harmed by off-season comings and goings swould be the offense, which retains its top two point scorers from last season -junior Shawn Wansborough (27-16 --43)1 and senior Dan Shermerhorn (20-23 --43).1 Despite what has happened to the Black Bears over the past- year, Michigan coach Red Berenson is not looking past Maine, which posted a 26-9-4 record last season. "I don't buy that Maine is a weakened team" Berenson said. IOn the ice, they finished (last season) well. In the 12 years that ;'ve been here, they haven't had a weak team:' The Wolverines come into tonight's game without the ser- *ices of center Bobby Hayes due to his shoulder injury. Hayes pid see limited practice time during the week, but will be kept out of tonight's contest due to soreness. The sophomore suffered a slightly separated shoulder last weekend against Lake Superior when he was checked into the boards. Freshman Andrew Merrick, who did not take the ice against the Lakers, will fill in for the injured Hayes. Merrick joins Dale Rominski and Justin Clark on the fourth line. Michigan defeated the Lakers, 4-2, last weekend in what turned out to be more of a penalty-fest than a game. So far this season, the Wolverines have amassed 72 penalty minutes, compared to 42 after two games last season. "Hockey's an emotional game' Berenson said. "You don't ilan on taking penalties. We need to control our emotions, yet %e also need to play aggressive."1 Pasadena hopes hinge on Hoosiers By Nicholas J. Cotsonika Daily Sports Editor Don't be deceived. To assume that there will be no challenge for Michigan against Indiana tomorrow would be ignorant. It's true that the Hoosiers (0-2 Big Ten, 2-3 overall) aren't good. And it's true that the 13th-ranked Wolverines (1-1, 4-1) are still Rose Bowl con- tenders. But the mismatch doesn't matter. The game is at 12:20 p.m. at Michigan Stadium, meaning it's impor- tant to the Big Ten race. The game fol- lows Michigan'sOct. 5 collapse against Northwestern, meaning it's important to the Wolverines' psyche. The game follows a bye week for the Wolverines, meaning their negative thoughts have had two weeks to fester. "The difficult thing about an open week after a loss like that is that you're constantly reminded about it," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I don't think anybody's gotten it out of their system. It's our job to do that by Saturday." But study recent history, and it becomes quite clear that the Wolverines have a lot to overcome. Emotional loss- es, like the one the Wolverines inflicted themselves with in the fourth quarter against the Wildcats, have a habit of destroying seasons in Ann Arbor. From 1993-95, Michigan's string of four-loss mediocrity was perpetuated by devastation. Big loss - 8-4. Over and over again. There's the challenge. Is Michigan prepared to prevent it from happening again ? If so, what then'? "The proof that we have gotten over (the loss to Northwestern) will come in these next weeks;' Carr said. Exactly. The Wolverines have to prove they are not themselves. They have to prove they are somehow differ- ent from past teams that couldn't han- dle losing. They have to prove they can do it against adversity. Not only are the Wolverines' minds fragile, but their bodies are, too. Defensive end Glen Steele practiced this week, but his back problems haven't been solved. Nearly 3/4 of Michigan's linebackers are less than 100 percent. Rob Swett, Sam Sword and Butkus Award candi- date Jarrett Irons all have foot and ankle problems. And Carr said Clint Copenhaver "banged up" the same knee that kept him out of spring prac- tice. "These kids are so big and so fast, there's a lot of stress on small bones," Carr said. "It's one of the modern-day football problems." Small bone problems suffered by inside linebackers, however, can cause small holes. And that is enough for Indiana's Alex Smith. Smith is perhaps the only Hoosier with big-time football presence, but that may be enough. He is averaging 130 all-purpose yards a game and has scored five touchdowns. "Alex is an extremely tough, hard- nosed guy," Carr said. "He brings dimension of toughness and durability that any coach respects. I have great respect for him as a football player." --- -----, - Indiana's passing game doesn't have the receivers like Northwestern's Dwayne Bates (above). But the Hoosiers do have a super running game led by Alex Smith which should alarm the Michigan defense. The Matchups Wolverines should enjoy bullying weaker Indiana By Ryan White Daily Sports Writer Iowa coach Hayden Fry said it best before his club faced Indiana last weekend. "Bill Mallory, in my opinion, is one of the unluckiest guys I can think of," Fry said. He was probably referring to a couple of close losses the Hoosiers have suffered, but it could have just as easily have been because Mallory coaches at Indiana. Let's face it, because of basketball's popu- larity, coaching football in Bloomington is a lot like playing Mozart at a Metallica concert - nobody cares, and you get beaten up a lot. And Michigan is next in line to play head- banging bully. MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. INDIANA PASSING DEFENSE: For three quarters against Northwestern, Scott Dreisbach looked like one of nation's the top quarterbacks. Dreisbach and his best game in a Michigan uniform against the Wildcats. He caught 12 balls for 150 yards. Indiana is giving up a respectable 165.7 yards per game passing, but has allowed eight touchdowns through the air. Still, unless the cold and rainy weather stops them, the Wolverines should continue to improve through the air. ADVANTAGE: MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. INDIANA RUSHING DEFENSE: Like the rest of the offense, Michigan's rushing game has been gaining ground. The Wolverines are averaging slightly less than 183 yards a game, but the performances have been less than consistent. Clarence Williams leads Michigan with an 85.6 yards-per-game average, and when Chris Howard has played, they have evenly split the workload. Indiana is giving up an average of 138.3 rushing yards, but the key will be fumbles. Don't expect that to be a problem tomorrow. The Wolverines have had two weeks to sew handles on to the footballs. ADVANTAGE: INDIANA PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE: The key here is not really Indiana's offense, but Michigan's defense. The Wolverines are suffering from broken egos after giving up 17 points in the fourth quarter against the Wildcats. Chris Dittoe has completed 52.3 percent of his passes this season for the Hoosiers. However, he has thrown five interceptions and only one touchdown pass. Indiana has been averaging 179.2 yards per game through the air, but it shouldn't expect much success against the Wolverines. ADVANTAGE: last weekend, he became the fourth player i@ Indiana history to rush for over 3,000 yards in a career. Indiana's rushing attack may be helped by Michigan's health, or lack-thereof. Three linebackers, Jarrett Irons, Rob Swett and Sam Sword, are all hobbled. They prac- ticed this week, but Michigan coach Lloyd Carr doesn't know if they will be able to play. ADVANTAGE: EVEN SPECIAL TEAMS: Michigan's only kick return for a score last year came against the Hoosiers, and Carr thinks Michigan is close to breaking another. While inconsistent, Michigan's Remy Hamilton had a good game against -the Wildcats, hitting all three of his field goal attempts. Bill Manolopoulos has made justsix of his 12 attempts for Indiana. ADVANTAGE: The only way this game will be close is if Michigan allows it to be, and after Northwestern, don't expect that to happen. PREDICTION: MICHIGAN 42, INDIANA 10 r The4t~uI The St. Paul Companies is one of the nation's largest and most respected insurance and financial services firms. We are seeking graduates for Information Technology careers from all degree programs. We will share more information about the company and career op- portunities at our Information Session. Information Session Wednesday, October 23rd 7:00pm - 9:00pm Michigan League Building Conference Room 4 Refreshments served If you are unable to attend, please see our home page at http://www.stpaul.com or contact Terry Gorham at e-mail address terry.gorham@spcmail.stpaul.com Throughout our organization, we're reengineering our systems and pursuing ex- citing development projects as we move from mainframe to an advanced client/server environ- ment. Technologies in use include: * C/C++ * Windows 95 * Micrneft Word * Acress receivers have consis- tently improved throughout this season. Tai Streets had his INDIANA RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: This is the area where Indiana can compete. Running back Alex Smith is one of the top backs in the conference, I and with his 81 yards against Iowa I Voter Training The following locations and times are available for City of Ann Arbor registered voters to practice voting on the Optech voting system, in preparation for the November 5, 1996 general election: U of M Family Housing Community Center fAt 1000 McIntyre (Multi-Purpose Room) Tuesday, October 22 Room 254 Noo Wednesday, October 23 Room 250 Noo Thursday, October 24 Room 254 1 p. Friday, October 25 Room 250 Noo Saturday, October 26 Room 254 1 p. Su-nday, October 27 Closed Monday, October 28 Room 254 Noo DEFENDING NATIONAJL COLLEGE HOCKEY&A 'CHEAIMPIONS 0 n - 6 p.m. n - 5 p.m. m. - 5 p.m. n - 5 p.m. m. - 4:30 p.m. n - 6 p.m. Ulrich's Bookstore - 5 Tuesday, October 29 Wednesday, October 30 Thursday, October 31 Michigan Union - 530 r . . a . .-. .--- . 49 E. University 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. S. State St. MIGAN A + S Li13 I I I I I