4B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - January 20, 1998 HOCKEY Quotable: "Bobby Hayes has stepped up to play at a different level than he has his first two years. He's proven to be our No. 1 center- man." - Michigan coach Red Berenson Michigan 5 oshtKey play: The opening faceoff - Michigan outshot the Nanooks, 45-17. A performance like that can't come down to a single play. Kudos to the Nanooks for even showing up. *1A Alaska-Fairbanks I The "three Stars The Michigan Daily hockey writ- ers' picks for Michigan's three stars of the game: Third Star: Bubba Berenzweig The junior defensemen anchored a solid defense that only allowed 17 shots on goal.' He also added an assist in the third period. Second Star: Bill Trainor Trainor recorded two assists in the game. The freshman left wing assisted Justin Clark's goal in the second period and Bobby Hayes' shorthanded goal in the third. First Star: Bobby Hayes Hayes was all over the ice, rack- ing up four points on the evening. The junior center scored the final two goals of the game and assist- ed on the first two. He was also a key part of Michigan's penalty kill unit, which was a successful 1-9. Hayes provides unexpected offensive punch. Michigan 5, Alaskafairbanks 1 A. Fairbanks 0 1 0 -1 Michigan 2 1 2 -5 First period -1. UM, Crozier 1 (Muckalt, Hayes), 10:33. 2. UM, Kosick 1 (Hayes, Muckalt) 19:06 (5- 0-3 pp). Penalties - UAF, MacFarlane (interfer- ence), 1:24; UAF, MacFarlane (interference), 4:54; UM Trainor (tripping), 10:58; UAF, Coady (slashing), 16:18; UM, Kahler (roughing), 16:18; UAF, MacFarlane (holding), 17:32; UAF, Lawerence (high sticking), 17:32; UM, Peach (high sticking), 17:32; UAF, Jaros (high sticking), 18:22; UAF, MacFarlane (game misconduct), 19:10; UM, Langfeld (tripping), 19:46. Second period -3. UM, Clark 1 (Trainor), 4:22. Penalties - UM, Peach (cross-checking), 7:05; UM, Fox (slashing), 8:53; UAF, Epp (tripping), 9:28; UAF, Fraser (elbowing), 12:48: UAF, McLean (trip- ping), 17:49; UM, Muckalt (hooking), 19:19; UAF, Zinger (slashing), 19:32; UM, Clark (cross-check- ing), 19:32. Third period -1. UAF, Trembecky 1 (Lawerence, Reinheller), 0:27. 4. UM, Hayes 1 (Berenzweig) 10:25 (4-on-4). 5. UM Hayes 2 (Trainor, Crawford) 12:33 (4-on-S sh). Penalties - UAF, Jaros (holding), 1:09; UM, Muckalt (interference), 2:24; UM, Crawford (tripping), 3:06; UAF Jaros (hooking), 4:11: UM Muckalt (high sticking) 8:35; UAF, Barren (holding), 8:35; UAF, Latimer (high sticking) 8:47; UM, Ritchlin (high sticking), 8:47; UM, Muckalt (cross-checking) 11:40; UM, Muckalt (cross-check- ing/Crozier) 11:40; UM, Muckalt (misconduct), 11:40; UM, Clark (interference), 15:42. Shots on goal - UM 18-11-16 - 45; UAF 2-8-7 - 17. Power Plays - UM, 1 of 9; UAF 1 of 9. Saves - UM, Turco 2-8-1 -11; UM, Malicke x-x-5 - 5; UAF, Perkins 16-10-14 - 40. Referee - Matthew Shegos. Unesmen - Dave Kronenberg, Mike Poliski. At: Yost ice Arena. A: 6,477. Click:to pick The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is given annually to the most out- standing college hockey player. Although the selection is made by members of the media and coach-* es, fans may participate in a sepa- rate vote. Last season's award went to Michigan forward Brendan Morrison, but he was not the fans' choice..That distinction went to Clarkson's Todd White.' U.S. College Hockey Online Magazinehas placed the unofficial fan ballot on their homepage. The Michigan players on the ballot are forward Bill Muckalt and goal- tender Marty Turco. To place a vote visit: www. uscollegehockey.com/hobey/ hobey.htm Uprocoming schedule., Jan. 23-24 Miami (Ohio) Jan. 30 Notre Dame By Fred finkI Daily Sports Writer With Matt Herr serving a one-game suspension and Bill Muckalt failing to1 put the puck in the net for the second straight game, the Wolverines neededI someone else to provide an offensive1 spark.I As he has all season, Bobby Hayes1 responded - this time with a career- high four-point effort that included his; 13th and 14th goals of the season. ; Saturday, Hayes performed like a dominant player, creating scoring1 chances and making plays defensively.1 In the first period, Hayes helped Michigan take an early 2-0 lead, assist-I ing on goals by Greg Crozier and Mark Kosick. But Hayes saved his best play for late in the game. With Michigan leading 3-1 early in1 the third period - and the Nanooks1 with a two-man advantage for more than a minute - Hayes played an important role on the penalty killing unit that prevented the Nanooks from getting a good scoring chance. Later in the period, Hayes put the1 game out of reach when he cut in on1 Alaska-Fairbanks goaltender Ian Perkins and stuffed the puck under the sprawling goaltender to give the Wolverines a commanding three-goalI lead. Two minutes later, Hayes scored a shorthanded goal, giving the Wolverines a 5-1 victory. The short- handed goal was his fourth of the sea- son and tied him for the most short- handed goals in the nation. "He has a way of digging down and Clark goes full circle, scores-goa By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer Michigan forward Justin Clark got a help from his friends Saturday night ag Alaska-Fairbanks. After scoring Michigan's goal of the season against Minnesota more three months ago, Clark had struggled to his scoring touch. But in the second period against the Nan Clark received a puck from forward Bill Tr behind the opposing net and wrapped it an Alaska netminder Ian Perkins to give Micli a 3-0 lead. "I've been waiting that one for quite a wi Clark said. And it was a discu with Michigan c Bobby Hayes between first and second periods helped Clark score his ond goal of the season. "Bobby tried earlier i game to go shortside on (Perkins) whei wrapped it around, and we talked about between periods to try and go farside," C said. "So I just brought it around as far could." It was a goal that was well received not by Clark, but by Michigan coach Red Bere as well. Berenson has been looking for a balanced scoring attack the entire season. "I think there are number of guys on the i that have to break out," Berenson said. "It's to see Clark get rewarded with good pati and good hard work - he's had some games." NANOOKS Continued from Page 1B play for their second goal of the period at 19:06. Center Mark Kosick stuck in the puck off the rebound of another deflect- ed shot. Muckalt earned another assist on the play, giving him two assists for the game, despite being held without a goal. Michigan increased the margin of the lead to 3-0 in the second period. At 4:22,. Clark took a nice feed from Bill Trainor, skated behind the Alaska net and scored on a wraparound from the right. For a while, it seemed as if Michigan might pull off the shutout. The Wolverines outshot the Nanooks, 45-17, on the night. But a goal from Alaska center Jeff Trembecky pulled the Nanooks within two just 27 seconds into the third period. If there were any doubts that Michigan would pull out a victory, junior center paying the price," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Whether it's blocking shots or making a play on the short- handed goal or whatever it takes." With four points on the night, Hayes moved into fifth place in the CCHA in league scoring and second place on the team. The points extended Hayes' point-scoring streak to six games. Not bad for a player who had just six goals all of last season, and just 14 goals in his first two seasons. "Bobby Hayes has stepped up to play at a different level than he has in his first two years," Berenson said. "If you looked at his stats last year he was really struggling to score. And yet look at him this year; he's a different play- er." Hayes began the season playing on the fourth line but has quickly moved his way up on the depth chart. Since a home-and-home series against Ferris State in mid-November, Hayes has been playing on the top line with Bill Muckalt. With the departure of nine seniors from last year's team, Hayes has had the opportunity to play more, and he has taken advantage of the opportuni- ty, recording career highs in goals and assists. "He's proven to be our No. 1 center- man," Berenson said. "He's been a top penalty killer from day one, and he's given us leadership. "He's the type of player I'm sure a lot of our players would like to emu- late. He pays the price, and he can help you defensively and he can help you offensively. And he might be our smallest player" :. ,, r , . , : , ... WARREN ZINN/Daily Bobby Hayes scored two goals and added two assists in Michigan's 5.1 victory over Alaska-Fairbanks. For Hayes, the four points marked a career-high and extended his point-scoring streak to six games. Tougher foes l ie ahead for A WARREN ZINN/Daily In Saturday's victory over Alaska, Michigan's Greg Crozier scored the first goal of the game, and his fourth goal of the season, for the Wolverines. PENALTY KILLS: The Nanooks weren't the only ones making a long road trip this weekend. The parents of Alaska captain Eon MacFarlane made the 1,315-mile trip from Nova Scotia to watch their son play. But Rick and Louise MacFarlane might have questioned their decision after their son's dis- play Saturday night. The 5-foot-10 defenseman was ejected near the end of the first period after being called for his fourth penalty of the contest. MacFarlane received two interference penal- ties in the first five minutes of the game, and then, followed with a holding penalty with four minutes left in the period. Four seconds after Michigan forward Mark Kosick scored a power-play goal to release MacFarlane from the penalty box, MacFarlane was slapped with a 10-minute game misconduct penalty, which removed him from the game. Alaska, which leads the CCHA in penalty minutes, had seen MacFarlane rack up 34 penal- ty minutes heading into the weekend - a rela- tively high number when compared to Michigan's penalty minutes. Too bad his parents didn't remember that. LIGHT'S OUT: Michigan's fourth goal of the game was clouded by a bit of confusion thanks to Saturday night's goal judge.. After a Hayes shot dribbled past Perkins in the final period, the Wolverines looked to go up, 4-1. But when the goal light wasn't turned on, there was some debate. Referee Matt Shegos quickly discussed the matter with the goal judge and eventually awarded Michigan the goal. Despite the clarifications, Berenson still seemed to question the issue. "It's hard for the goal judge, too, because some of those pucks go in and out real quick - but that one didn't," Berenson said. "That one just trickled over the line, as I saw." Wolvennes By Sharat Raju Daily Sports Writer For most of the hockey season, two typed signs have been sit- ting along the glass at Yost Ice Arena. Each one reads "Beat 'em in Boston." Although those signs haven't really stood out before, people are now starting to take notice - of both the signs and the Wolverines. At the onset of the season, most fans and even hockey 'experts' were saying that this season was going to be a disa pointment. No chance to make it to the NCAA championship in Boston. No chance for Michigan to live up to the legacy left by the Wolverines of the recent past. The preseason coaches' poll picked the Wolverines to finish third in the CCHA -behind Michigan State and Miami (Ohio) - while the media picked them for second place. Even Michigan coach Red Berenson said it would take at least half the season for the Wolverines to come together as a team. Captain Matt Herr speculated that the team could lose as many as 10 games early in the season before they jelled. What a difference a few short months make. (l' The season has reached the halfway point. And - who woulda thunk it? - Michigan is on top of the CCHA. And suddenly those same people are making hotel reservations in Boston for April 2-4. The fair-weather fans and media are starting to talk about a 30-win season and an ahead-of-schedule return to national dominance. Hold on, not so fast. It's true that the Wolverines have been dominant since fall term classes ended back in December. It's true that goaltender Marty Turco has shown why he's one of the best in the country, keeping the Wolverines alive in one-goal and two-goal games. Michigan has beaten up on the lower half of the conference - 10th-place Western Michigan, sixth-place Ohio State, 1Ith- place Bowling Green and ninth-place Alaska-Fairbanks. It's- true that anyone in the conference can beat anyone else on any given day, but these teams just aren't the competition the Wolverines will face in the postseason. Michigan's only loss since mid-December came to the top ranked Spartans. Although No. 5 Michigan sits atop the con- ference standings, the Wolverines are ranked below the Spartans and just above No. 7 Miami (Ohio) nationally. Until the Wolverines defeat at least one of these teams, they won't advance further in the national rankings. This brings us to the present: the upcoming weekend against the Red Hawks is the most crucial of the season, and the play- ers know it. "This is like the turning point in the season, whether we go forward or we go backward," Michigan center Bobby Hayes- said. "These two games are probably the most important gam of the season for us right now." This weekend the Wolverines can really turn some heads. In Oxford, the Wolverines have a chance to show just how good they are, or just how much work they still have to do. So don't make reservations for Boston just yet. Jan. 31 Feb. 7 Notre Dame Lake Superior*. *at Joe Louis Arena Home games in BOLD CCHA players of the week, - { Offense: Tyson Holly, Northern Michigan (LW) Holly had five points as the Wildcats won twice at home, moving to third place, In the two victories, the sopho- more scored four goals. In Friday's victory over Miami (Ohio), Holly scored Northern's third and fifth goals. Defense: Jeff Kozakowskl, Michigan State (D) The 6-foot-i, 205-pound Kozakowski led the Michigan State defense in two victories, allowing only one goal and 34 shots on goal in the two con- tests. Bobby Hayes quickly erased them. Hayes scored his first goal of the night at 10:25 in the third, giving Michigan a 4-1 lead. Hayes finished off the scoring with just eight minutes remaining in the game. Muckalt - frustrated all night by cheap penalties - had been tossed from the game a minute earlier, after receiving a 10-minute game misconduct. But Hayes answered back, scoring a shorthanded goal on a breakaway shot. Hayes said it's important for Michigan to win without goals from Muckalt, but said Muckalt's two-game "slump" is partly the fault of the Wolverines. "I still don't think our line played up to our ability," Hayes said. "If our line's going 110 percent, then Billy Muckalt's going to score a couple of goals. I got a couple breaks, made a couple moves, was able to put the puck in the net. "We're going to need Billy, but it's good to see some other guys scoring." JOHN KRAFT/Daily Michigan freshman Dave Huntzicker helped back up a solid defensive effort for the Wolverines on Saturday night. Michigan only allowed the Nanooks 17 shots. e -