SSPOF Legends, By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer Former Michigan goaltender Marty Turco Michigan's 1998 NCAA championship hockey s received some closure last night. In a defining moment for Michigan players, fan *aches, Turco returned to Yost lee Arena to help the 1998 NCAA championship banner before a C game against Lake Superior. Rumors about Turco returning for the celeb were heard all week around Yost. The invitatior there, Michigan officials said, but with Turco p1 with the Michigan K-Wings on Friday and Sat nights, there was some doubt as to whether or n former Wolverine could make it. As it turned out, the banner raising was on top W erary. I was invited, and I was only so far away, and really thought twice about it," Turco said. "I playe games this weekend and I was more excited fo night, because it gives the season some closure." Rink announcer Glen Williams opened the ce ny recounting the road to the championship, j I 73 f'YI .t *Ichigan forward Dale Rominski scored the first score, the first of the season, turned out to be t 1948I1951 at Balig ITS ONDAY hopefuls reive deam h ope u s reie dream o and eason ns and raise CHA ration n was laying turday ot the of his never ed two or this remo- , then introduced Turco. The carpet was laid out for the former Michigan goalie - who led Michigan to two championships in three seasons - and he helped senior captain Bubba Berenzweig lift the drapes hanging over the big blue banner, which then was lifted up into the rafters at cen- ter ice, joining countless others. . Turco then shook the captain's hands and gave him some words of encouragement. "I told Bubba 'best of luck' and 'enjoy your year and make the most of it,' because your senior year is the best of the four years," Turco said, "Bubba knows what he's getting into." Last season was supposed to end last season, and not last night, with a new blue banner to join the other nine But a team that was thought to be in a rebuilding season proved critics wrong, with a march through the NCAA tournament and a Josh Langfeld overtime goal that led to a cinderella ending. "We're really proud of what we did last year and it's a great motivator," senior forward Dale Rominski said. "You think of all the stuff we went through last year, and it's the beginning of this year - it was really excit- ing. Fans were greeted at the door by a plethora of free goodies. Michigan officials gave out mini blue cham- pionship banners and posters of last season's champi- onship team, plus a note from coach Red Berenson thanking the fans for their support. "It's a great day for Michigan hockey," Berenson said. But the real treat was a celebration most fans will remember for a lifetime. "I thought it was beautiful, it was something I'll remember for a long time," LSA sophomore Josiah Silverstein said. "I feel more connected to Michigan hockey." The fans roared - when Turco's name was announced, and throughout the rest of the 10-minute celebration. "It was just awesome," LSA sophomore Katie McLaughlin said. "I felt very nostalgic and just very happy about last season, and it was great to see Marty back here." It was fitting for Turco to return to the Yost ice See BANNER, Page 4B WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan raised its ninth national championship banner to the rafters of Yost Ice Arena last night before a crowd of 6,587 for the CCHA opener with Lake Superior. Emotion helps 'M' outmuscie Lakers By David Den Herder Daily Sports Writer In a physical CCH A opener last night, the Michigan hockey team defeated Lake Superior, 2-0, at Yost Ice Arena. Pregame emotion gave rise to a penal- ty-ridden first period, as six Lakers and two Wolverines were sent to the box. Michigan capitalized early on a four-on- three power play when senior assistant captain Dale Rominski took a feed from Scott Crozier to dump in the 1-0 goal. "Either Crozier was going to score, or it was gong to deflect my way," Rominski said. "So I just backed off the net and I basically had the whole net - I actually caught the top of (the goalie's) pad." Rough play continued to dominate the period, allowing for just 7:06 of five-on- five action from the drop of the puck to the first intermission. A total of 52 penal- ty minutes were handed out by the end of the game. "This team (Lake Superior) is so dirty and so physical that it was a little bit expected," Michigan captain Bubba Berenzweig said. The roughing eventually resulted in a frightening stop in the action late in the third period. With the puck deep in the Laker zone, Lake Superior center Blaine McCauley threw Michigan sophomore Scott Matzka back-first into the boards. Matzka bore most of the impact with his head, and collapsed onto the ice in a bloody, motionlessiheap. The Yost crowd fell silent as Matzka slowly regained consciousness. His movement drew cheers of relief, but Matzka could not skate off the ice with- out assistance. He was later diagnosed with a minor concussion and required stitches. "He's fine now, but there's no question he didn't know where he was for a few minutes," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "It was a clean hit, it wasn't a dirty hit. He just got his head hit pretty hard." Before coming out of the game, Matzka set up freshman Mike Comrie for a second-period goal that all but put the Lakers away. The goal was the first of Comrie's NCAA career, but second in the eyes of the Michigan faithful, who also saw him score against Guelph Oct. 3. "When (Comrie) has the puck, he's like a veteran already," Berenson said of his talented freshman. Although no points were officially recorded on power plays, Lake Superior goalie Rob Galatiuk felt the punishment of his team's 32 penalty minutes. The Wolverines pummeled Galatiuk with 40 shots on goal, and he turned away all but two, including several stiff one-timers to the glove side. Michigan goalie Josh Blackburn, on the other hand, enjoyed a nearly impene- trable defense much of the game. Blackburn faced just 14 shots, but still had the opportunity to make some smart and impressive plays. "You've got to stay focused," Blackburn said after the slow night, "Watch what's going on at the other end, and be ready for anything" Overall, Berenson was content with the outcome of the battle. "We generated, maybe, more shots than we did good scoring chances ... but we didn't give up much, and when we did, I thought Blackburn was sharp." WARREN ZINN/Da~iy t goal of the game at 3:26 In the first period, putting the puck past Lake Superior goaltender Rob Galatiuk. Rominski's the winning goal in Michigan's 2-0 victory. o,-,r N 1f9* vul1lU4I mu" u i Orange barrels can't slow women's cross country record-setting match By Uma Subramanian Daily Sports Writer Two different teams showed up to play vol- leyball at Cliff Keen Arena on Friday night. But Owasn't just Michigan's opponent who changed Tor the seventh annual Rock the House game. A new-look Michigan squad solidly swept No. 22 Minnesota (2-3 Big Ten, 12-4 overall), 16-14, 15-5, 17-15, in a match that was charac- terized by intensity, emotion and some record- setting performances. This new team was dramatically different than the team that was swept by No. 23 Michigan State last Wednesday. In Friday's victory - its first over a ranked $ponent - Michigan (2-3, 10-5) played with an intensity that had not been seen this season. In the final game of the match, the Wolverines jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. They then led 14-10 before Minnesota respond- ed with a late rally. The Wolverines couldn't manage to get that sophomore setter Alija Pittenger served, closing the door on the Gophers, 17-15. The very nature of game three was indicative of the revamped Wolverines. Versus the Spartans last week, the Wolverines led 5-0 early in both game one and the critical game two. But Michigan State came away with both games. On Friday, that just wasn't going to happen. "They were tired of losing," Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "They seemed to take more individual responsibility, especially the seniors. They were exceptional. "I thought in the third game that we were completely in control. They came back by play- ing good ball, not because we broke down, which has been a problem in the past." Szczesniak took things into her own hands, recording 18 digs in the match. With that total, she crossed the 1,000 dig mark - becoming only the fourth Wolverine to do so. "I think we were really sick of losing out By Ryan C. Moloney For the Daily ' KALAMAZOO - To say that everything went the way of the Wolverines in Saturday's Michigan Intercollegiate would be to stretch the truth. Granted, the fifth-ranked Wolverines packed up the entire race and placed five of their run- ners among the top 10 overall finishers, en route to a 29-point team performance and the title of the state's best team. In fact, about the only thing the Wolverines couldn't control was the construction on 1-94, which affected their pre-race preparation. "It gets you out of your routine a little bit," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said in refer- ence to the team's late arrival. "Normally we get to a site an hour and 45 minutes before a race and we got here less than an hour before the race. So it affects a little bit of your prepara- tion." The runners felt the effects of the lengthy dIrive or mall Not that the team was complaining - peren- nial front-runner Katie McCregor added to a season full of accomplishments with a c:ourse- record time of 16:38. "We were just going out there to compete," McGregor said. McGregor separated from the pack at the mile mark and spent the rest of the race in cruise con- trol while her teammates focused on keeping in a pack behind her and closing the time gap. "It's not fun running up there all by yourself," McGregor said. "You try to remember that there are other runners behind you. It's mental." McGregor was followed by Elizabeth Kampfe, who finished second overall, clocking an impressive 17:02. The rest of the top five was filled out by Michelle Slater (5th, 17:28), Lisa Ouellet (7th,17:34) and Katie Clifford (10th, 17:52). Particularly encouraging to McGuire was the team's response to the season-ending stress frac- ture suffered by Katy Radkewich nearly two wfxPkaairn DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Jeanine Szczesniak's single-game attack per- centage record was shattered by teammate Karen Chase on Friday. record-setting performance last weekend. She was joined by seniors Linsey Ebert and Karen C'ncflanthlt a tn. {