10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 4, 1998 Fox, other defensemen jump into the holes left by 'M' blueliners from past seasons i By Pruisy Reddy Daily Sports Writer Coming into this season, the Michigan hockey team's biggest concern was youth. But just as troubling might have been the lack of experience along Michigan's defen- sive front. With Hockey the departure of Notebook names like Steve -.....-..-.---... Halko and Harold Schock in the past two seasons, a hole was left within the defense. - The success or failure of this season's defense rested squarely on the shoulders on the defensemen left behind - senior Chris Fox,junior Bubba Berenzweig and sophomore Sean Peach. Luckily for the Wolverines, the trio has responded well to the challenge of preparing this season's defensive unit. All three have freshman partners, and have taken it upon themselves to make sure any transition goes smoothly for their younger linemates. "That's really where the crux of the defense is made up - our returning players," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "Fox is playing the best hockey of his career, and so is Peach." "I think those three ... have really stepped up this year, Berenson added. Berenzweig, paired with Ann Arbor- native Dave Huntzicker, has made a con- certed effort to lend a helping hand to his linemate whenever he feels it's neces- sary. "I try to lead mostly by example," Berenzweig said. "Once in a while, if I see someone doing the wrong thing, I might say something to them. "We have faith in each upperclassman to work with their freshmen." Although Fox may have had an easier time dealing with his younger partner, defenseman Mike Van Ryn, the fresh- man still knows the importance of an all- out effort in practice every day - espe- cially with the increased speed and strength of the college players he regu- lar faces now. "At the start of the year, we had so many young players who really weren't used to the pace of the game," Van Ryn said. "But as the year has gone on we have gotten used to the speed." In addition to the speed of the game, Van Ryn noted the advantage his regular weight-training - which he attributes to Michigan conditioning coach Jim Plocki - gives him in games. And when things do go wrong, every defenseman on the team knows that hav- ing a goalie like Marty Turco is a pretty good safety net. The senior netminder has been a major factor in the defense's maturing process and has stepped up to the challenge. "Marty is one of the best goalies in college hockey, so he gives us a lot of confidence back there," Berenzweig said. "If we slip up, sometimes it doesn't show up against the defense because Marty backs us up. CONFERENCE CHALLENGE: Berenson has always been one to encourage strong play from top to bottom in the CCHA, and this season is no different. In fact, for the first time in a few years, the confer- ence race is a close one - and Berenson doesn't seem to particularly mind. "We're playing all the teams that we're trying to finish ahead of," Berenson said. "Obviously you have to win those games. You can see the race that's emerg- ing - one bad weekend and you're a step behind and one good weekend puts you a step ahead. Every game is crucial. "I've said all along I think it will all be decided on the last weekend. Every game is crucial for home-ice advantage." Curently, just seven points separate the top five teams in the conference. Included in those top five are surprise teams Northern Michigan and Ohio State, who are fourth and fifth in the conference, respectively. The Wildcats, in their first season in the CCHA after a 14-year absence, are faring much better than their preseason ranking indicated, considering they were slotted to finish ninth in the conference. ROAD WOES AT THE JOE: Michigan is in the comfortable position of playing Lake Superior State this Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena. Why comfortable? Considering the fact that the game is counted as a road game for the Wolverines, they are in luck. The 50-minute ride to the Joe saves Michigan the headache of the consider- ably longer trek to Sault Ste. Marie to face the Lakers. The Wolverines already traveled to 'the Soo' this season, beating the Lakers, 7-0, on Dec. 5. JOHN KRAFT/Daily Michigan left wing Matt Herr is not a defenseman, but his goal in the Wolverines' S4 overtime victory over Notre Dame on Saturday would havedmeant a lot less the defense hadn't buckled down in the overtime period to hold off the Irish. Hawkeyes come back on Badgers, 79-76 West Virginia hands Pittsburgh Big East loss behind West's 3-point shooting U I WEDNESDAY BURGER DAY $3.49 Cheeseburger & Fries 11:30 - 3:00 pm plus $1.00 Off Pints of English Beers 9 pm - close MADISON (AP) - Freshman Ricky Davis scored 25 points as 24th-ranked Iowa rallied in the second half to snap a four-game losing streak with a 79-76 victory over Wisconsin last night. Davis provided the crucial basket down the stretch when he grabbed the rebound off a missed Iowa free throw and scored on a dunk to give the Hawkeyes a 76-69 lead with just more than a minute remaining. Iowa (5-4 in the Big Ten, 16-6 overall) then hit five of eight free throws to maintain its lead. The Badgers made it close in the final seconds, pulling to within three on a 3-point basket by Mark Vershaw with eight seconds left. Henssy Auriantal then stole the ball, but the Badgers could only manage a desperation shot at the buzzer that missed. Wisconsin (3-7, 10-12) was led by Sean Mason with 14 points. Mike Kelley and Sean Daugherty added 13 each as the Badgers suffered their fifth consecutive loss. Davis scored five points in a 16-3 Iowa run at the start of the second half, as the Hawkeyes erased a nine-point halftime deficit and took a 47- 43 lead. The Badgers came back to tie it at 49-49, but Iowa then hit three straight 3-pointers - two by Kent McCausland and one by Ryan Luehrsmann - to open up a 58-51 lead. Wisconsin cut the deficit to 65-61, but Iowa's fullcourt pressure took its toll. The Hawkeyes stole the inbounds pass twice in a row, resulting in layups by J.R. Koch and Darryl Moore, to stretch the lead to 69-61. Kelley, whose previous high was 12 points against Michigan, scored 13 in the first half to lead the Badgers to a 40-31 lead. Wisconsin was trailing 21-19 when it started a 13-2 run, fueled by five points by Andy Kowske and four by Kelley, to open up a 32-23 lead. WEST VIRGINIA 90, PITTSBURGH 72 Jarrod West scored 18 points and Damian Owens added 16 last night, leading No. 15 West Virginia to a 90-72 victory over Pittsburgh. West made three 3-pointers as the Mountaineers (9-3 Big East, 19-3 overall) handed the Panthers their fifth loss in a row. Pittsburgh (2-8, 7-10) closed to within 57-52 at 1 1:14 on Stephen Flores' 3-pointer. But that was before West Virginia used an 1 1-2 run, highlight- ed by West's third 3-pointer, to put the gamE away. Marcus Goree added 14 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for the Mountaineers. Jarrett Lockhart scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Panthers. Attila Cosby added 18 points and Isaac Hawkins had 14. The Mountaineers shut down Pittsburgh's lead- ing scorer, Vonteego Cummings, who finished with one field goal and four free throws. Facing a Pitt team ranked last in the conferenc in scoring defense, West Virginia, which leads th Big East in scoring, improved to 14-0 when scor- ing more than 80 points. West Virginia frustrated the Panthers with 12 steals, including five by Owens and four by Jones. The Mountaineers also outrebounded Pitt 42-32. The Mountaineers, who hung on for a 76-72 win at Pittsburgh six days earlier, started the game with a 15-2 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by West. Pittsburgh closed to within 27-25 before Jone sparked a 14-2 run as West Virginia opened a 4. 32 halftime lead. 1I Take a break and learn about the challenges and possibilities facing students in the nation's most under-resourced urban and rural public schools. University of Michigan Thursday, February 5th @ 8:30 p.m. Kuenzel Room-Michigan Union