12 -The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 11, 1998 a Michigan goaltender Josh Blackbum made this stop, and in recent games, he's stopped most of he shots that have come *is way. The last #eam to beat the Wolverines was Northern 1Mchigan, which visits Yost Ice Arena tonight. WARREN ZINN/Daily 'M' hockey looks to pay back Wildcats tonight t 3 _ , k 4 4 I Wolverines will miss holiday to prepare for GLI W By David Den Herder Daily Sports Writer Finding the last time the Michigan hockey team lost a game would require a little digging. Dig past a weekend in Ohio, past a Thanksgiving Showcase, past a homestand with Notre Dame and Michigan State. Dig even further past a Saturday in South Bend and past a drubbing of Alaska-Fairbanks. Dig, if still interested, all the way back to a Halloween night at Yost Ice Arena, a night when the top team in the CCHA rode a bus into Ann Arbor, and then drove away after manhan- dling the Wolverines in a 6-1 shooting circus. That team? Northern Michigan. And it's safe to say Michigan is still interested. The Wolverines will have their shot at redemption tonight at Yost. "I have something to prove," said Michigan goaltender Josh Blackburn, who gave up four goals on 10 shots before being relieved Halloween night. "My big motivation factor is that I played bad against these guys - and I've got to play better." Kevin O'Malley, who came in in relief of Blackburn, had little more luck with the Wildcats, taking on 14 shots and letting two in the net - including a puck that seemed to defy the laws of physics by taking a strange bounce off the boards and into the net. That goal seemed to sum up a night in which nothing went the Wolverines' way. On Halloween night - which constituted the only meeting between the two teams so far this season - Northern outshot Michigan 24-14. The Wildcats converted two of seven power plays while Michigan was mute on I I chances. Despite the unusual embarrass- ment at home, Michigan coach Red Berenson said the team did not circle tonight's rematch on the calendar, but now that time has arrived the team is eager to face Northern again. "It's not just who you want to get even with or who you're mad at," Berenson said. "It's a matter of where you're going, and what your obstacles and challenges are." Nevertheless, Berenson recog- nizes the Wildcats as an important hurdle along that road to success. "Northern, obviously, is going to present an obstacle and a challenge for us. They are a team that beat us - at home - so they'll come in here with a little more confidence than maybe we'd like them to." In addition to having its hands full with Northern, The Wolverines are also juggling illnesses and final exams as the semester draws to a close. Senior forward Dale Rominski has been recovering from strep throat, and forward Justin Clark is also recover- ing from symptoms that kept him off the ice on Wednesday. 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The Levi's' Online Store is now open. yesterday, and are probable fo tonight's CCHA matchup. As for finals, the players share the same frustration as the rest of the stu- dent body, but hockey seems to offer some release. "I'm sick of studying," Blackburn said. "But it's nice to get out here on the ice and just forget about it for a couple of hours" H.O.M.E.S.: Everyone remem- bers the mnemonic device for the Great Lakes, but it is the Great Lakes Invitational that will keep the Wolverines from their homes over the holidays. Because of the timing of this year's tournament, which begins or Dec. 26, Michigan players will have to spend Christmas day with each other, preparing for a first-round matchup with Michigan Tech at Joe Louis Arena. Some of the Wolverines with later exam schedules will not even have the, opportunity to go home before they are due back at Yost, two days before Christmas. Berenson said it is sometimes a challenge for the team to be in sync on the ice after being away from each other for so many days, making te GLI a unique competition. "The timing of the tournament comes at the end of a break - we really won't have any team activities or practice,' he said. "After (tonight's game), they're on their own until the night of the 23rd." RECORD Continued from Page 11 lowing an uplifting win over Michiga State a week ago. If Saturday's opponent has been inconsistent, the Wolverines this season have been anything but. In tallying wins in every game since their season-open- ing loss to Vanderbilt, the Wolverines have staked a claim as force to be reck- oned with as the Big Ten season nears. Entering Wednesday's game, Michigan found itself leading the Big Ten in some six statistical areas while claiminga first-place position in the conferet standings. Despite the strong start, the tea, according to assistant coach Yvette Harris, has begun to feel the effects of a punishing travel schedule that currently finds the Wolverines in the midst ofa four game road tour. "We know it's tough to be on the road, and to go into Illinois State is going to be a challenge" Harris said. "But we know it's something we've got to do ar we feel we can get the job done." Junior guard Stacey Thomas, who netted her 800th career point on Wednesday, said she feels the'grueling road schedule shouldn't have any impact on the team's performance. "Being on the road and traveling isino excuse for us to play poorly. We know what we've got to do," Thomas said fo- lowing Wednesday's game. Yet despite the inconveniences O travel, the Wolverines have yet to see t effects keep the team from winning, and the wins have come quite handily at times, as evidenced by a 55-point win over Coppin State on the road late last month. Nevertheless, as the team sets Is sights on Illinois State, it will most cer- tainly be focusing on senior guard Jenny Schmidt, whose 18 points per game tis season have paced Illinois State in sco* ing. She's become only the fou. Redbird to ever manage 400 career assists to go along with 200 steals. "Illinois State has a great 3-point scorer in Schmidt." Harris said. "She can do a lot of things and we worked on some different ways to try to shut her down. We tried some combinations of zones and man defenses that we can use against her, but she's tough." Whatever the outcome of Saturday's contest, the team will travel t Bloomington to face Indiana and ope the Big Ten season on Dec. 28. The trip will mark Michigan's fourth straight road game, and will mean a trip to their third different state in as many games. "We love Crisler Arena because we just love being at home and having the support of the fans. Going to Indiana to open the Big Ten is going to be big,' Harris said. "But I think the bigges thing to remember is that we've gp finals and Christmas between now an then, which will give the kids a full week off before the game. So the important thing to do is have our players go home, but come back ready to play." Following their matchup with aw.. lot""