HOCKEY .Winning goal breaks Langfeld' s rought By Fred Unk Daly Sports Writer It was Michigan's first game of the year. The Wolverines were playing at Minnesota - Michigan freshman Josh Langfeld's home state. He knew all the Minnesota players. He knew the Minnesota coach. He had friends and family at the game. 4e also had a breakaway shot during the me. He blew it. Michigan went on to win, 3-2, t Langfeld was still kicking himself about the missed opportunity after the game. The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - December 1, 1997 - 5B Effort and emotion fuel Wolverines in 'heart-attack hockey' oC~0 Months later, on Friday, Michigan played Minnesota again, this time at Yost Ice Arena. Langfeld had anoth- er breakaway shot. He missed that one, too. Again, Michigan won, 4-3. Again, Langfeld was kicking him- self. h UI EMILY NATHAN/Daily Michigan defenseman Sean Peach and the Wolverines out-fought Wisconsin yesterday. The sixth- ranked Badgers, known for their physical play, were beaten at their own game by Michigan. "I don't know what it is," Langfeld said after Friday's game. "It's been about six games since I scored. I'Wbeen trying harder and harder but it's just not goiig in." Ih his first seven games, Langfeld scored five goab. Since scoring a power play goal Nov. I against Alaska-Fairbanks, Langfeld has had trou- ble putting the puck in the net. Entering this weekend, Langfeld had gone six games without a goal. OBut yesterday, against Wisconsin, Langfeld ia another chance. This time he scored, banking in-ashot from behind the net off of Wisconsin goaltender Mike Valley. Langfeld wasn't kicking himself after the Wisconsin game. He had finally capitalized on a scoring opportunity - and without his goal, Michigan wouldn't have won. Langfeld's goal was the last scored by either team, as the Wolverines went on to beat the Badgers, 2-1. "I just shot it off of his leg and it went in," *ingfeld said. "It wasn't very pretty, but it went By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer Describing what the 'little things' are in sports isn't easy. Coaches and players alike talk about them endlessly, but the question remains - why are they so important? In hockey, little things such as crisp skating, bounces of the puck and timely hits make the difference in close games - maybe more so than in any other sport. And this season more than ever, they have been playing a vital role for the Michigan hockey team. Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson has called his team's style of play "heart-attack hockey," and he couldn't be morej correct. Fifteen games into this season, the Wolverines are 6-2 in one-goal games. Not bad for a team that played in only five such games in last year's 43-game slate. For last year's team, little things were an afterthought. With stars such as Brendan Morrison, Mike Legg and Jason Botterill suit- ing up every night, mental lapses and even sub- par efforts were offset by sheer talent. But the same cannot be said this year. This bunch of Wolverines has its lion's share of tal- ent. It's just that their talent is raw and needs refining. Therefore, effort and emotion have to carry this team until solid execution becomes rou- tine, rather than a distant goal. "We're working hard, but we're not execut- ing as well," Berenson said. "We're a pretty good team, but we're not a real good team." With the pressure of a loss present every night, Michigan has responded well this season to the parody involved in its games - relying heavily on the play of assistant captains Bill Muckalt and Marty Turco, as well as center Bobby Hayes. In fact, Michigan's success as a team has been so dependent on the three that it prompt- ed Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer to comment on the depth of the Wolverines "They've only got three players, and that's about it," Sauer said. "They've got Muckalt, that center Hayes and their goaltender - they play all the time." While it may be true that Michigan has only three stars, to say that the Wolverines have nothing else is dead wrong. And though Michigan's supporting cast may not capture the headlines, it is their effort that has put the Wolverines over the top the past few weeks. Their effort has provided the little things. Little things such as forward Dale Rominski taking a slapshot in the knee and deflecting it away from the Michigan net, while falling to the ice in pain. Little things such as freshmen defensemen Dave Huntzicker and Mike Van Ryn clearing the puck from their zone on a penalty kill. Or little things such as freshman forward Mark Kosick tallying four assists in the College Hockey Showcase. So despite the lack of numbers, Michigan as a whole has been playing effectively - well enough to pull out a series of close games. And according to its players, the tight games now will pay dividends towards the end of the season, when the team expects to begin click- ing. "It's good for the team -- it shows a lot of character on our part," Turco said. Freshman forward Josh Langfeld echoed his teammate's statement, and added his take on the future of the Wolverines. "These games are close, and hopefully it will help us down the stretch," he said. So until the stretch run comes around for Michigan, at least it knows it can count on one thing - the little things. in. Maybe that's what I needed tojump start me." NOT SO SPECIAL: In close, tight-checking games, special teams play can often make the difference between winning and losing. This weekend, it was no different. Of the 10 goals scored yesterday and Friday, nine were scored on special teams. In Friday night's contest, Minnesota scored all three of its goals on the power play, while the Wolverines had two power-play tallies and a short-handed goal. In yesterday's game, all three goals came on the power play. Despite winning both games, the Wolverines were not happy with their performance on spe- cial teams. "For the most part, our power play was not a strong, consistent force in terms of puck control or generating good chances," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "And our penalty killing was fair. Again, I don't think we're at the top of our game in terms of our penalty killing or our power play." MORE OF THE SAME: For the Wolverines this weekend's two victories in the College Hockey Showcase extended their winning streak in Showcase games to four. "It was a great weekend for us," Michigan goaltender Marty Turco said. "One of our season goals was to sweep the Showcase. We were real- ly pumped up for this weekend and we came out strong and played some of our best hockey of the year." Meanwhile, the Badgers endured their ninth straight loss in the Showcase. Wisconsin's only victory in the series came four years ago against the Wolverines in the series' inaugural game. HERR UPDATE: Michigan captain Matt Herr, who has not played since injuring his groin in the season opener against Minnesota, will begin skating with the team in practice this week and could be back for Friday's game against Lake Superior State, according to Berenson. SHOWCASE Continued from Page 1B After Wisconsin's T.R. Moreau was given a five-minute major for cross- checking, Michigan's Josh Langfeld scored his sixth goal of the season on a shot from just behind the net. Mark KoIck and Mike VanRyn - two more chigan freshmen - were credited With the assists. "The goal tonight helped," Langfeld said. "Geez, it's been about since Alaska sine I scored ... I was pretty happy about it:" Wisconsin has a reputation as a phys- icalAteam, but the Wolverines were able to'match the Badgers' physical style of play and came out primed to knock them from their high ranking in the polls. "Coach Berenson said, 'Don't worry about it, you guys can go out there, and you can be more physical than them. We're in our own building, don't let them run us out of our own building,"' Berenzweig said. "That's what we went out there to do, and we took it to them, instead of them taking it to us" Friday night, Michigan didn't come out quite as strong. Minnesota opened up the scoring at 16:39 in the first period with a goal from Wyatt Smith during a Minnesota power play. Each of the Gophers' three goals on the night came with a man advantage. Muckalt had his own success on the power play, however, beating Minnesota goaltender Steve DeBus top-shelf 15 seconds later during a Michigan power play. After a Minnesota goal late in the first put the Gophers up, 2-1, Muckalt made himself heard again. At 2:41 in the sec- ond, Muckalt snuck a backhander by DeBus to tie up the score. Michigan's Greg Crozier gave the Wolverines the lead in the opening of the third period, after his shot from behind the net deflected off a Gopher and trick- led in over DeBus's shoulder. Kosick racked up an assist on the power-play goal, giving the center four assists on the weekend - the most impressive offen- sive performance from a Michigan freshman in the Showcase. A shorthanded goal by Michigan's Bobby Hayes at 10:44 in the fourth was enough to put the game out of reach. After Hayes blocked a Minnesota shot from the point, he skated ahead of two Gophers, beating them to the goal and beating DeBus with a pretty deke. Although the Gophers managed to tally a goal of their own just 30 seconds later, the goal from Hayes gave Michigan the edge over Minnesota - barely. "I don't look at it like we beat them," Berenson said. "I look at it like we played in two real good games, and we found a way to win. But we didn't beat Wisconsin or beat Minnesota. "We're lucky we didn't get beat." 1chigan 4, Minnesota 3 Minnesota 2 0 1 - 3 Michigan 1 1 2-4 First period -1. Minn, Smith 1(Miskovich, Kraft), 16:39 (pp); 1. UM, Muckalt 12 (Kosick), 16:54 (pp); 2. Minn, Miskovich 1 (Anderson, Mills), 17:57 (pp); Penalties - UM, Ritchlin (hold stick), 6:40; Minn, Trebil (holding), 8:59; Minn, Lyons (holding), 1x;18; UM, Kocn (holding), 13:18; Minn, Spehar (tripping), 14:18; Minn, Hankinson (roughing), UM, PWkh (slashing), 15:57; UM, Peach (roughing), 15:67; Minn, Trebil (hooking), 16:50; UM, Kosick (cross-checking), 17:13; UM, Langfeld (holding), 19:10. Second period -2. UM, Muck aft 2 (Koch, ttzicker), 2:41 (pp); Penalties - Minn, Miller (holding), 3:54; Minn, Abrahamson (high sticking), 7=72; UM, Fox (holding), 10:10; UM, Hayes (unsportsmanlike), 11:44; Minn, Abrahamson (hold- ingY, 15:03. hird period - 3. UM, Crozier 1 (Kosick, Van Ryn), 3:33 (pp); 4. UM, Hayes 1 (unassisted), 10:44 (sh); 3. Minn, Kraft 1 (Anderson, Miskovich), 11:17 (pp). Penalties - UM, Peach (cross-checking), l:5; Minn, Bench (too many men), 2:24; UM, Huntzicker (cross-checking), 9:25. $ws on goal - Minn 6-16.10 - 32; UM 11-64 - 2d..= Power Plays - Minn, 3 of 8; UM, 2 of 7. $aves - Minn, DeBus 10-5-2 - 17; UM, Turco 4- 69 -29. ree - Matt Shegos. Linesmen - John Dobrzelewski, Dave Kronenberg. At Yost Ice Arena. A: 6,498. Michigan 2, Wisconsin 1 Wisconsin 1 0 0 - 1 Michigan 1 1 0 -2 First period - 1. UM, Muckalt 1(Kosick), 5:43 (pp); 1. UW, Anderson 1 (Bianchi), 15:32 (pp); Penalties - UW, Bianchi (charging), 4:36; UW, Peterson (roughing), 5:43; UW, Granato (roughing). 5:43; UM, Berenzweig (roughing), 5:43; UM Langfeld (roughing), 5:43; UM, Ritchlin (charging), 9:43; UW, Moreau (roughing), 11:24; UW, Peterson (high-sticking), 13:34; UM, Kosick (high sticking), 13:34; UM, Kosick (interference), 15:41. Second period - 2. UM, Langfeld 1 (Kosick, Van Ryn), 3:55 (pp). Penalties - UW, Moreau (cross- checking). 1:55; UM, Muckalt (high sticking), 8:52; UW, Rothering (interference), 12:47; UW, Dessner (unsportsmanlike), 16:59; UM, Fox (unsportsman- like), 16:59; UM, Huntzicker (tripping), 19:14. Third period - no scoring. Penalties - UW, Sabo (roughing), 6:29; UW, Sabo (misconduct), 6:29; UW, Brooks (high sticking),11:28. Shots on goal- UW 10-7-9 - 26; UM 15-6-8 - 29. Power Plays - WU, 1 of 4; UM, 2 of 7. Saves - UW, Valley 14-5-8 - 27; UM, Turco 9-7-9 -25. Referee - John Kelly. Linesmen - Tony Molina, John Pearson. 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