The Michigan Daily- SPORTSMonday - March 23, 1998 - 5B 5 ........... Key play: wr No room for error inz Blue .postseason Although he made the CCI all-rookie tean Michigan defenseman Mike Van Ryn was unable t prevent Ohio State from sc ing four goals The Wolverine couldn't rebound from two crucial errors which i to third perio goals. JOHN KRAFT/ HA 'm, I MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW, BUT IT'S BUBBA BERENZWEIG, t would be so easy. The mistakes the Wolverines made against Ohio State were so glaring, so blatant, that i o could easily go on and on about what Michigan did wrong. About what or- could've been or should've been ifjust a few key errors hadn't happened. es Goaltender Mary Turco - a senior with three years of CCHA playoff experience - making the kind of slop- led py plays that would embarrass a rookie. d Turco has a reputation for leaving the crease to play the puck, but Friday Daily night was just ridiculous, and Michigan gave up a goal directly because of Turco's love of living on the edge. Junior center Bobby Hayes, who Michigan coach Red Berenson said is one of Michigan's most consistent play- ers, making one of the Wolverines' most 4 perfect passes of the evening. Unfortunately, it was directly to Ohio State's CHRIS Louie Coisant for FARAH the Buckeyes' Farah's second goal of Fauraeh' the evening. Faucet eStar forward Bill Muckalt - a Hobey Baker candidate - missing the net entirely on slapshot after slapshot. The list really could go on and on. But there wouldn't be much of a point. After almost every single loss this season, one of the Wolverines has said that Michigan would learn something from its mistakes. Even after Michigan's loss to Notre Dame in the first game of the CCHA Tournament's opening round, Muckalt said the Wolverines would be able to take something away from the defeat. And Michigan did end up winning the series against the Fighting Irish. But time was running out on Michigan's educational experience. The Wolverines lucked out in the CCHA first round. They got another chance. They were able to learn, and adjust and prepare. But during the postseason, learning should be the lowest priority. Playoffs should be the time to practice what you know, what you fine-tuned over the regular season. Sure, playoff experience will be valuable for freshmen in future seasons, but if the 1997-98 Wolverines are still finding things out about them- selves as a team, then their problems are just going to continue. And in the NCAA Tournament, there is no best-of-three series. If Michigan's problems do continue, they won't be continuing for much longer - one final game is all it will take. So the real question is: Are the Wolverines ready to put it all behind them? Can they bring everything together for one last, great run in the NCAAs? The pressure in this situation doesn't lie on the freshmen. The pressure lies on the upperclassmen, particularly the seniors. This is their season. This is their last shot at glory - their last shot at their own legacy, one that isn't inter- twined with names like Morrison and Botterill and Sloan. Their last shot didn't seem to matter too much to them in the CCHAs, at least not against the Buckeyes. As easy as it would be to think that, though, they did care. Turco refused to talk to the press, mumbling something about being late as he walked towards the bus. Muckalt answered questions with a glassy stare, rarely making eye contact. A visibly emotional Hayes - not a senior, but still a team leader - barely choked out a statement and seemed to bear the full weight of Michigan's loss on his shoulders. No, these Wolverines did care. They Ohio State center Hugo Boisvert scored with nine seconds left in the second period to tie the score, 2-2. The goal, coming 1:10 after a Michigan score, gave the Buckeyes momentum heading into the final period. Hockey conference championships Hockey East No. 3 Boston College (26.8-5) defeated Maine (17-15-4), 3-2 ECAC Princeton (18-10.7) defeated No. 6 Clarkson (24-7-3) 5-4, in 2 OT Consolation game: Harvard (14-17- 2) defeated No. 7 Yale (23-8-3) 4-1 WCHA No. 10 Wisconsin (26-13-1) defeated No. 2 North Dakota (30- 7-1), 3-2 Consolation game: No. 9 Colorado College (25-12-3) defeated, St. Cloud State (22-16-2) 6-1 The NCAA Regionals Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29 West Regional, Ann Arbor Game 1, Friday, 5 p.m. No. 5 Yale vs. No. 4 Ohio State Game 2, Friday, 8:30 p.m. No. 6 Princeton vs. No. 3 Mchigan Game 3, Saturday, 6 p.m. Winner of Game 1 vs. No. 1 Michigan State Game 4, Saturday, 9 p.m. Winner of Game 2 vs. No. 2 North Dakota East Regional, Albany, NY Game 1, Saturday, 12 p.m. No. 6 Colorado College vs. No. 3 Clarkson Game 2, Saturday, 3 p.m. No. 5 New Hampshire vs. No. 4 Wisconsin Game 3, Sunday, 2 p.m. Winner of Game 1 vs. No. 2 Boston College Game 4, Sunday, 5:30 p.m. Winner of Game 2 vs. No. 1 Boston University Hobey, oh Hobey The Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists were announced on Friday. This year's recipient will be the 18th. Last year, Michigan's Brendan Morrison captured the tro- phy given to the NCAA's top player. Name Chad Alban Dan Boyle Chris Drury Ray Giroux Eric Healey Jason Krog Mark Mowers Bill Muckalt Curtis Murphy Mike York School I Mich. State Miami Boston Yale Rensselaer New Hamp. New Hamp. Michigan N. Dakota Mich. State Pos. G D F D F F F F D F USCHO Poll As of March 16 Team RecordI 1. North Dakota (20) 30-7-1 2. Michigan State (10) 31-5-5 3. Boston College 26-8-5 4. Boston University 28-7-2 5. Michigan 29-111 6. Clarkson 24-7-3 7. Yale 23-8-3 8. Ohio State 25-12-2 9. Colorado College 25-12-3 10. Wisconsin 26-13-1 Pts. 290 280 200 192 185 144 110. 103 57 53 (First place votes in parentheses) Others receiving votes: New Hampshire (26), Maine (4), St. Cloud State (4), Miami (Ohio) 2 Got tickets? A --A +Io r+rn n+ to C'nnri v r{ l^"cr isn sr"