48- The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - January 21, 1997
HOcKEY
Despite 'M'
rhetoric, icers climb into first
By Mark Slnyder
Daily Sports Writer
What ruore can be asked of the
Michigan hockey team?
With the best record in the nation
(an eye-ojiening 21-1-3), Michigan
has dominated college hockey this
season.
One nee tis only look at the resume
of the deftnding national champions
for evidenc e:
A nint h consecutive Great Lakes
Invitational championship.
The #iythical College Hockey
Showcase ti tle. k
A first-place tie in the CCHA.
And thet consensus No. I ranking
in the national polls.
But Michian coach Red Berenson
wants more And in recent weeks, his
team has given him less.
At least that's the situation being
portrayed by erenson and his players.
"We were trying to take shortcuts in
the third peri od again, and it cost us,"
Michigan calotain Brendan Morrison
said followin g Saturday's 4-2 victory
over Western Michigan. "Same old
things (Beren son) has been saying all
year ... we need to stay mentally
focused:"'
Like any o ther team, :Michigan is
not without f aults, but its problems
seem less impprtant to victories than
to its psyche. Michigan's main fault,
other than its self-effacing nature, is
its mental laps s.
Unless Michigan can stop what has
become a repoitive trend, upcoming
contests againsl the CCHA's top teams
will prove disalspointing.
This weekenid was a perfect exam,+
ple.
Friday, Morri on salvaged one point;
from a potenitial loss at Western'
Michigan as he scored a timely goal
with seconds left in regulation to force
overtime.
The tie sparked Michigan to a dom-
inant first period Saturday against the
same Broncos, an occurrence that has
repeated itself over and over again.
The trend to begin the game after a
non-win with a powerful first period is
a habit that should continue until the
final horn, but has only once in the
last three home contests, in the 13-1
rout of Alaska-Fairbanks on Jan. 11.
The tendency
to allow the
opposition to
creep back into
games after
Michigan gains
a large lead may
be the
Wo l ve r in e s'
biggest down-
fall.
The 5-2 lead
after one period against the Broncos
on Saturday could just as easily have
been the 5-0 advantage enjoyed over
Ferris State in last Saturday's first
period.
Both leads dissolved into four- and
three-goal victories, finishes tighter
than the opening stanza predicted.
This trend may be the only problem
Michigan has to fear.
The ability to keep the opposition
down will be vital against the top
teams in the CCHA, one of which
comes to town next weekend.
First-place ,Miami, which stands
tied with Michigan with 26 points,
overcame a 4-1 deficit to force over-
time against Ferris State on Saturday.
Against the mediocre CCHA teams of
the last two weeks, Michigan has
allowed them back into the games.
The Redskins' eventual defeat
leaves them hungry - and a two-
game series at Yost Ice Arena next
weekend is their chance to capitalize.
Such an effort will not be enough
against such a powerful opponent.
Could it be that Michigan is achiev-
ing something less than perfection?
Berenson won't say otherwise.
"I don't know that we should be
bored. But maybe we are," Berenson
said. "We don't have the killer instinct,
and we don't take teams out of the
game when we should."
Even if Michigan was lacking in
intensity, it still "survived" the week-
end with three points. A disappoint-
ment no doubt in Berenson's eyes, but
an outstanding success elsewhere.
Yes, the 14 goals allowed in the last
three games are uncharacteristic of the
Michigan defense.
But at the same time, the Wolverines
have scored 21 of their own.
What goes into the record book are
the five points recorded from those
games, enough to vault Michigan into
a first-place tie in the CCHA.
The schedule may be the best ally
Michigan has.
"We play our best hockey against
the better teams," Morrison said.
"Sometimes these games (at Yost) are
the toughest games to play because
everyone expects us to come in and
blow the other team out. It's time to
battle with some of the better teams."
Michigan is not the only team sup-
posedly having problems, however.
"Players and teams get distracted
sometimes in a game," Berenson said.
"I look at what is going on around the
country and it must be in the air."
Despite Michigan's three-point
weekend, it maintained its perch atop
the nation as the teams below stum-
bled. No. 2 North Dakota was stopped
Michigan 5, W. Michigan 5 (OT)
Western Michigan 2 2 1 0 - 5
Mihian 2 12 0- 5
irst period-1. UM, Botterill 18 (Legg, Berenzweig),
1:35; 2. UM,Ritchlin 8 (Legg), 8:05; 1. WM, Melas 9
(Cardwell, Corvo), 11:06; 2. WM, Cardwell 15 (Melas,
Comvo), 13:33 (pp, 5x3). Penalties - UM, Herr (high
stidk),12:07; UM, Madden (charging),13:33; WM,
Andrews (hooking), 14:15; WM, Rucinski (holding the
stick), 19:06; WM, Novock (cross check), 19:06.
Second period - 3. UM, Schock 3 (Muckalt), 0:28
(pp): 3. WM, Novock (unassisted). 3:48; 4. WM,
Melas (unassisted), 19:15. Penaties- UM, Herr
(hook), 4:26; WM, Nordstrom (cross check), 4:49;
UM, Muckalt (delay of game),7:09; WM Nordstrom
(interference), 7:40: Duke (tripping), 11:22; WM,
Kenny (tripping/served by Novock, game miscon-
duct), 12:48; UM, Botterill (holding/ served by
Merrick, misconduct), 17:15.
Third period -4. UM, Muckalt 17 (Schock,
Morrison), 1:41; 5. WM, Melas 11 (unassisted),
14:17 (hattrick); 5. UM, Morrison 15 (Schock,
Botterill), 19:46. Penalties - WM, Melas (cross
check), 1:06; UM, Turco (interference/served by
Ritchlin), 2:09; UM, Luhning (interference), 3:43; UM,
Frescoln (roughing), 4:57; WM, Irving (slashing),
4:57; UM, Herr (roughing), 8:31; WM, Rucinski
(roughing), 8:31; UM, Muckalt (roughing), 8:31; WM,
gDuke (roughing), 8:31.
Shots on goal -AM 1068-2-26; UM 12-11-13-3
- 39.
Power Plays -WM, 1 of 7; UM,.2 of 8.
Saves - WM, Barnes 10-10-11-3 -34; UM, Turco 8
4-7-2 -21.
Referee - Matt Shegos.
Umesrnen - Sean Newell, Scott Sliva.
Saturday's game
Michigan 8, W. Michigan 5
W. Michigan 2 0 3 - 5
Midciig 5 2 1 - 8
Fist perod -1. UM, Morrison 16 (Muckalt, Schock),
1:17; 2. UM, Legg 15 (Crozier), 2:10; 3. UM, Hayes 3
(Madden, Frescoln), 2:26; 4. UM, Morrison 17 (Herr),
8:19 (pp); 1. WM, Corbo 8 (Duke, Cardwell), 10:00
(pp); 5. UM, Morrison 18 (Muckalt, Turco), 11:12 (pp,
4x3); 2. WM, Novock 5 (Duke, Corvo), 18:42..
Penaltes--WM, Nordstrom (tripping), 0:40; UM,
Magnuson (cross check), 4:09; WM,Melas (hitting
after whistle), 4:09; UM, Schock (hooking), 5:54;
WM, Nordstrom (roughing), 5:54; UM; Peach (rough-
ing), 5:54; WM, Irving (hitting from behind), 6:35;
WM, Melas (high-stick, roughing). 6:35: UM,
Magnuson (high-sticking, roughing), 6:35; UM,
Madden (roughing), 6:35; WM, Cardwell (roughing),
6:35; UM, Hayes (slashing), 9:15: WM, Nordstrom
(slashing), 9:15: UM, Berenzweig (interference), 9:50;
WM, Duke (cross check), 10:20; WM, Rucinski (delay
of game), 11:44; UM, Crozier (elbowing), 14:32.
Secad perod -6. UM, Madden 12 (Rominski),
13:55; 7. UM, Botterill 19 (Morrison, Muckalt), 15:11
(pp). Penalties- UM, Frescoln (interference),0:59;
WM, Cressman (roughing), 8:38; UM, Schock (rough-
ing), 8:38; WM, Andrews (high stick), 14:56; UM,
Crozier (checking from behind), 16:43; UM, Schock
(hooking), 18:01.
Thid period- 3. WM, Melas 17 (Cardwell,
Crestman), 1:37; 4. WM, Waring 1 (Rucinski, Irving),
3:30; 8. UM, Madden 13 (Frescoln, Hayes), 14:18
(4x4); 5. WM, Corvo 9 (Kolozsy), 18:25. Penalties -
WM, Cardwell (slashing), 4:52; UM, Frescoln (slash-
ing), 4:52; WM, Mindel (high stick), 13:34; UM, Herr
(high stick), 13:34; UM, Botterill (high stick/served
by Crozier), 16:04; UM, Botterill (roughing, 10-min.
misconduct), 16:04; WM, Lukasak (roughing, 10-min.
misconduct), 16:04.
Shots on goal - WM 7-8-12 -27; UM 17-11-11-
39.
PowerPlays - WM, 1of 7; UM, 4 of 5.
Saves - WM, Barnes 12-9-10 - 31; UM, Turco 5-8-9
- 22;.
Referee - Steve Piotrowski.
Unesmen - John Dobrzelewski, John LaDuke.
Citing problems of focus, the Wolverines'
by Wisconsin, No. 4 Miami lost to
both Ferris State and No. 9 Lake
Superior State this weekend, and No. 5
Minnesota fell to St. Cloud State. No.
6 New Hampshire fell to
Massachusetts-Lowell, as well.
"There are a lot of unusual scores,"
WARREN ZINN/Daily
play is not meeting their expectations.,-
speak to the contrary, the ones coming
from Ann Arbor are not unusual.
"We're proud of this team and proud
of what we've done," he said. "
we're still challenged if we want to
an elite team. We were not an elite
team this weekend."
As Berenson said, in his own words,
maybe he's spoiled.
Berenson said.
And as much as
he would like to
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Not many shots were out of Western Michigan goaltender Matt Barnes' reach Friday as he held Michigan to five goals on 39 shots.
BRONCOS
Continued from Page 303
where Botterill and M iorrison were in
front to whack at the p uck.
Morrison was able t p knock it in the
right side of the net wnth 13.2 seconds
left to send the gane to overtime.
Botterill and Madden h qd good chances
in the extra frame, bit neither could
break the tie.
Instead of celebrating a tie in a game
they could easily 1 have lost, the
Wolverines were disapppinted that they
blew a 2-0 first-period 1 <ad.
"The key to us tying tkis game, which
seemed like a loss, was the chances we
gave them and the goals we gave them,"
said Schock, who has a' goal and nine
assists in the last four ganes. "You give
up five goals on the road, you're lucky to
get a point:'
Michigan easily coulp have scored
more were it not for the outstanding play
of 5-foot-4 goaltender Mz ot Barnes, who
stopped 34 of 39 shots onj goal.
"There was one power ;lay opportu-
nity in the second period when it was
like a shooting gallery, arO he was just
standing on his head," Scd dock said.
Miami (Ohio) lost at Fake Superior
on Friday and lost at FE rris State on
Saturday. The Lakers, lredskins and
Wolverines are all tied wit 26 points.
Michigan, however, has two games in
hand on Miami (Ohio) an l three games
in hand on Lake Superior.
Michigan hosts the Redskins in a two-
game series this weekend.j
Morrison on Hobey track
All-Michigan
balloting marks.
75th anniversary.
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Writer
It's not quite the NHL All-Star balloting, but it'll have ,to
do.
In honor of Michigan hockey's 75th anniversary, the proi
gram is conducting a search to name the best players to d2C
a Wolverine uniform. And fans can help in the voting.
Three teams, broken down into 25-year periods, will be
selected. A panel of present and former coaches, players and
officials will vote for the pre-1972 teams. Fans can vote for
the most recent team, which includes players from the 1972-
73 season up to the current team.
Ballots were distributed at Saturday night's game at Yost
Ice Arena and will continue to be made
available to fans through Michigan's final.........
regular-season home contest, Feb. 22
against Lake Superior. Ballots may be
turned in at any home contest for the rest
of the season. Final selections will be
announced at the beginning of the CCHA ' e ,
playoffs, which start March 7.
The ballot includes five goaltenders
(fans vote for one), 10 defensemen (vote
for two) and 15 forwards (vote for three).
Current Michigan players Marty Turco, Harold Schock,
Jason Botterill, John Madden and Brendan Morrison are all
on the ballot.
Also on the ballot are fan favorites from recent years, such
as goaltender Steve Shields, defenseman Steven Halko,
forwards Danny Felsner, David Oliver and Brian Wiseman.
And for the unsatisfied, know-it-all fan, there is even, a
write-in space for unlisted candidates.
LONG, LONG AGO: When Michigan fell behind Western
Michigan, 4-3, 19:15 into the second period of Friday
night's game in Kalamazoo, it marked the first time -the
Wolverines had found themselves behind on the scoreboard
since the first game of the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec.
27.
It was 400:47 ago when Michigan Tech took a 1-0 lead on
Michigan, only to be dismantled, 6-1, by the Wolverines.*
For you LSA students, that equates to more than six
games.
IN A LAND FAR, FAR AWAY: Need tickets? If it's just too darn
cold to deal with the scalpers outside, there is still a chance
to see the Wolverines in action before the season is over. If
you've got very good eyes.
The Athletic Ticket Office still has standing-room tickets
available for each of Michigan's final seven regular-season
home games, although portions of the 100-ticket-allotments
have been sold for each game.
Tickets cost $6, and entitle the bearer to a prime piece
wall nestled up in the north end of the arena, behind the
row of seats.
A bit far? Perhaps. But it sure beats standing in the park-
ing lot.
OUT OF THE HAZE: Bobby Hayes' re-emergence as an
offensive threat continued against Western Michigan, and
the sophomore center was rewarded by spending much of
the weekend on a line with John Madden and Warren
Luhning.
Hayes was on the ice for several key faceoffs Saturday, and
he picked up a goal and an assist.
"(Hayes) is playing with more emotion and passion and
second effort than in the past," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "I think this weekend was really an 'up' for
him. He's a second effort-type player, so he has to work all-
out or he's not as effective:'
By Dan Stillman
Daily Sports Writer
Brendan Morrison just sent the Hobey Baker
race in to full swing.
The Michigan center staked his claim to the
prize awarded to college hockey's best player at
the end of the season with arguably his most
impressive weekend of the season so far.
With 13.2 seconds remaining in regulation on
Friday night in Kalamazoo, Morrison gave the
Michigan hockey team a tie it did not deserve
after an uninspiring performance against Western
Michigan. With time running out and the
Wolverines down, 5-4, Harold Schock sent a shot
towards the net. The rebound, off Western goal-
tender Matt Barnes, was poked in by Morrison to
tie the game.
Morrison then came out of the gates on fire in
Saturday night's rematch between the two teams
in Ann Arbor. He put the Wolverines on the board
just 1:17 into the game with a skillfully aimed
slap shot from the point.
Morrison would go on to record a first-period
hat trick, helping him earn CCHA Offensive
Player-of-the-Week honors.
"The puck sort of bounced my way tonight,"
Morrison said. "On the second goal (Matt Herr)
made a great pass out front to me in the slot there.
The' other two slapshot goals - had a nice screen
in front on the first one. The second one, we had
a four-on-three ... luckily I just beat Barnes
clean."
What you won't see in the boxscore, however,
is the clutching and grabbing that Morrison con-
tinues to work through - successfully. One per-
son who has definitely noticed other team's
attempts to contain Michigan's star center is
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
"They could call a penalty, literally, every shift
he's on the ice," Berenson said. "If the referee
wanted to take the rulebook and watch what goes
on every time he's on the ice, you could call a
penalty. The fans want to see the best players and
the best teams play well, and not be mugged and
hooked and held and speared and chopped and
whacked and hacked every time they get on the
ice."
"It's nice to see him get through some of it and
put the puck in the net because he is one of the
premier players on our team and in the league,
and in college hockey."
Indicative of his status as one of the nation's
elite is his knack for timely goals.
Besides this weekend's game-tying tally,
Morrison scored the overtime winner against
Minnesota earlier in the season at the College
Hockey Showcase.
And of course no one could forget his overtime
clincher in last season's national championship
game.
As impressive as his statistics are, it may be
Morrison's clutch play and leadership qualities
that put him over the top for the Hobey come the
end of the season.
"I can't tell you that he's a lot better than every-
body else, but he is a great player," Berenson
said. "He's shown it in the past and he showed it
again tonight."
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