6B - The Michigan Daily - SPQRTSWednesday - January 8, 1997
M' icers survive Lake State
Ninth straight trophy is reward at season's halfway point
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Writer
Lake Superior goaltender John
Grahame stood a few feet from the goal
mouth, hunched over, hands on his
knees, head bowed between his legs.
His net was off its moorings, both
magnets dis-
placed from
their slots. His
stick was shat-'
tered in three
pieces. A stray
glove lay near-'
by.Chaos.
Another pile
formed nearby.
This- one con-
sisted of i
,Michigan
hockey players, yelling and cheering and
jumping on one another. Again, chaos.
And there was the puck. The only
object in its rightful place, exactly where
Matt Herr put it. Just across the goal line,
right where the net had been.
The score: 5-4, Michigan. Another
Great Lakes Invitational championship.
Nine in a row.
lierr's goal, with 51.2 seconds remain-
ing, won the tournament for the
Wolverines and shattered Lake Superior's
chances like a failed goalie stick.
The Lakers came into the Dec. 28
contest on a roll. Winners of eight of
their last 10, the guests from the Upper
Peninsula were a surprise for most of the
18,209 fans at the Joe Louis Arena, who
purchased their tickets expecting the
now-familiar Michigan-Michigan State
matchup in the final. Lake Superior's 5-
0 blanking of the Spartans the night
before relegated highly-touted Michigan
State to consolation game-status and had
the Lakers looking for their first GLI
crown in only their second appearance.
But more important, it gave the
Lakers another shot at Michigan.
Just because the Lakers live way off
near the Arctic Circle doesn't mean they
don't read the newspapers. They knew
about the Wolverines. They knew every
major poll available listed the Wolverines
as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Remember, it was only Oct. 12 that
Michigan traveled to Sault Ste. Marie to
open the season and rudely defeated
Lake Superior, 4-2, on its home ice.
Oh, the Lakers wanted this one. They
wanted it bad.
And why not? What better way to gain
respect than to journey to the rest of civ-
ilization and beat the defending national
champs in front of a huge crowd?
And for a brief moment - less than
37 seconds, actually - Lake Superior
had a lot of people believing that this
would finally be the year when
Michigan's reign of GLI dominance
would come to an end.
Lake Superior senior Mike Peron tied
the game with 1:28 left, and suddenly, the
Lakers had life. All they had to do was
tread water for 90 seconds, and then look
for a break in overtime.
But they skipped the 90 seconds part.
Grahame did the first part right. He
made a brilliant save on a streaking Bill
Muckalt. But he gave up a rebound. And
Herr buried it. And Michigan won the
GLI. For the ninth straight time.
Lake Superior coach Scott Borek tried
to play down his team's disappointment.
He made no mention of Grahame's
defeated pose at the end of the final peri-
od. He even referred to the game as an
"exhibition."
Someone should tell him they don't
give out trophies for exhibition games.
"There's another championship in this
building that we hope to carry the trophy
from," Borek said, referring to March's
CCHA tournament.
Sour grapes, anyone?
But no matter. After the game, there
was another pile of discarded sticks and
gloves and helmets, this one in front of
the Michigan net. For just a few minutes,
the Wolverines were able to throw aside
their tools and enjoy the first tangible
results of what was an amazing first half
of the season, as the seniors collected
their fourth GLI championship trophy.
And even so, you couldn't help but
think that Borek was at least coming
from the right direction. Because after
all, there's only a month and a half until
March ...
JUNAI HAN LURIE/Special to the Daily
Dale Rominski and the Wolverines pushed aside Michigan Tech, 6-1, on Dec. 27 in the first round of the Great Lakes
invitational. Michigan defeated Lake Superior, 5-4, the following night in the championship game to win its ninth straight GLI
tournament title. Three Wolverines were named to the All-Tournament team.
Cornell's 3-3 tie with Michigan. 'a great.
oportunity to gain respect' nationally
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Writer
Before his squad faced the Michigan hock-
ey team last night, Cornell coach Mike
Schafer was frank about his team's expecta-
tions.
"This is a great opportunity to gain respect
on the national scene," he said.
Cornell needn't worry about national
recognition any longer.
The Big Red left Yost Ice Arena with a 3-3
tie against the defending national champs,
leaving a lasting impression on the
Wolverines and quieting the Michigan faith-
ful.
"(Cornell) really impressed me," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "They work hard
and check well. They're a good team."
The Wolverines, who had won every game
at Yost since the beginning of last February,
were impressed with Cornell's physical play.
From the beginning of the game, it was
Cornell's intention to play Michigan tight.
"I thought we came in here ready to win,"
Schafer said. "And not (just to) hang on."
in the first period, it was Cornell's physical
play that kept the game close.
The Big Red sent six players to the penalty
box, repeatedly thwarting Michigan scoring
chances.
According to Schafer, however, his team
had a different game plan to keep the game
within reach.
"(The Wolverines) are very good at going
for the jugular,' Schafer said. "We have to be
ready to rise to that challenge for four to five
minutes after they score a goal."
Cornell's patience was rewarded time and
time again.
While Mike Legg's goal was the sole score
of the opening period, Cornell had held the
Wolverines at bay.
At 3:46 of the second period, Cornell got
the equalizer and kept on the attack.
"We controlled the momentum and didn't
let (Michigan) get away from us," Schafer
said.
After another Michigan score, Cornell per-
severed and came back once again to even the
score.
The tie after two periods was the same as
the result at the end of regulati.on as each team
netted one more goal in the third period to
force the overtime.
The two teams went scoreless in overtime,
and the game will go down as one Michigan
captain Brendan Morrison would rather not
remember.
"For us, the tie is disappointing," he said.
"It's almost like a loss. You've got to give
Cornell credit. Yost is a tough place to play."
Michigan had won every contest on its
home ice this season, often in dominating
fashion. But Cornell put an end to the
Wolverines' 11-game home-winning streak
dating back to last season.
While Yost is often perceived as a difficult
arena for visitors, Cornell had a more than a
few supporters on its side.
A large contingent of Cornell fans made its
presence felt, waving signs and inciting
cheers, despite being hundreds of miles from
its home rink.
As one of the more vocal visiting crowds to
visit Yost this season, its taunts follow
through until the very end.
One Cornell student, Larry Weintraub,
traveled more than 600 miles just to take in
this contest.
"I think (this trip) is pretty representative of
what Cornell fans will do to support their
team," he said.
Following the game, cheers from the
Cornell fans rained down from the perch atop
of the north end. It was not the first time Yost
has felt the presence of these die-hards.
It was in the spring of 1991 when Corne*
made its mark on Yost Ice Arena and sparked
many of the chants common to the arena
today.
The NCAA best-of-three regional series
that season was the last time the Big Red vis-
ited Yost. While Michigan advanced in the
tournament, the Big Red left an indelible
imprint on Yost with its cheers.
But when Cornell departed last night, all it
left behind was a disappointed Michiga
team, and it was the visiting fans who werl
happy.
When asked whether the trek was worth it,
Weintraub was quick to respond.
"Without a doubt," he said.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Cornell celebrated after last night's 3-3 tie with Michigan. The Wolverines, however, treated the tie on
their home ice as a loss.
DEVILS
Continued from Page 3B
literally and figuratively. Pasadena is
a suburb of the City of the Angels,
and you don't go to the Rose Bowl
without beating the Bruins and
Trojans.
The Sun Devils beat both, but it
wasn't easy.
They came from three touchdowns
down to beat UCLA and needed dou-
ble overtime to dispatch the men of
Troy.
Arizona State was 7-0 and the Pac-
10's Rose Bowl favorite.
Two victories later, the Sun Devils
welcomed California to Sun Devil
Stadium with a Rose Bowl berth on
the line.
What was supposed to be a tight
game turned into a rout early in the
fourth quarter.
With just a couple of minutes
remaining and Arizona State leading,
35-7, an announcement was made
that with the victory, the Sun Devils
would represent the Pac-10 in the
Rose Bowl.
Bad move.
The game never even finished.
As delirious fans rushed the field,
the officials had two options - to be
trampled or to race to the locker-
room. Fortunately, they chose the
latter.
Arizona State fans tore down the
goal posts with :21 still showing on
the clock.
The Sun Devils were 10-0 with
just one regular season game remain-
ing - at Arizona.
Arizona State's recent series with
Arizona makes Ohio State look suc-
cessful against Michigan. Prior to
this season, the Sun Devils had
defeated the Wildcats just twice
since 1981.
And after the Wolverines upset the
Buckeyes earlier in the day on Nov.
23, many predicted Arizona State
would meet with similar misfortune.
Instead, the Sun Devils van-
quished Arizona, 56-14, in a game
that wasn't even that close.
A break here and there and
Arizona State would have won the
game 77-7.
From there, it was on to Pasadena,
and you know the rest.
Disappointment is sure to linger in
the desert Southwest for sometime.
You don't come that close to the
national championship, fall short,
and then feel good about it.
But a year after Northwestern rose
from the ashes to conquer the Big
Ten, Arizona State did the same to
the Pac-10. The Sun Devils became
the rags-to-riches story of 1996.
So, chin up Tempe.
This season, you were more than a
part of something good.
Heck, you were more than a part
of something great. '
You were a part of something spe-
cial.
- Barry Sollenberger can be
reached over e-mail at
jsol@umich.edu.
CORNELL
Continued from Page 11
Vinnie Auger, in front of the
Michigan net, received a pass fror
behind the goal and beat Turco top-
right to tie the game at two.
Turco kept Cornell in check
throughout the period with several big
saves. Early in the period, Cornell's
Tony Bergin was alone in -front of the
net with the puck, but a sprawled out
Turco blocked the puck wide left. And
with two minutes left in the period,
Turco slapped away a lose puck that
was sitting in front of a- wide opee
right side of the net, just inches from
the goal line.
Before Cornell tied the game for
good in the third period, the Wolverines
went ahead 3-2 just over six minutes
into the period when right wing Warren
Luhning grabbed a lose puck in front of
the Cornell net. Luhning hesitated, and
then skated to the right and scored
behind Elliott.
On Dec. 31, Michigan trounce
Ferris State, 11-1, but couldn't contin
ue its winning ways.
Cornell 3, Micnigan 3
Cornell 0 2 1 0-3
Michigan 1 1 1 0-3
First period -1. UM, Legg 9 (Crozier,
Schock), 16:09. Penalties - CU, Auger (trip-
ing), 0:43; UM, Sloan (cross-checking), 4:04;
CU, Bergin (interference), 4:27; UM, Madden
(unsportsmanlike conduct), 4:46; CU, Auger
(cross-checking), 5:44; UM, Botterrill (hook-
ing), 6:19; CU, Papp (holding), 10:06; CU,
Cooney (slashing), 14:09; UM, Ritchlin (rough-
ing), 14:09; CU, Auger (roughing), 14:09.
Second period-1. CU, Wilson 4 (Knopp),
3:46); 2. UM, Morrison 12 (Schock, Muckalt),
8:14; 2. CU, Auger 5 (Cooney, Dailey),.14:45
(nn) Penalta - IIM Merrick (rnghing\.
9.
U U
747-9400 1220 S. University
Above McDonalds, Kinko's
TANNING
FYr
'V. "T"I 4" 1WA T ('I II
11I
I