HOCKEY The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 8. 1998 - 5E All that matters is ,final result heMichigan hockey team did a T clot of losing in the 1997-98 sea- son. But, in the end, who really cares? The Wolverines dropped their first game at Yost Ice Arena in 36 games. They lost to Michigan State four times, including the Great Lakes Invitational championship game - *Michigan's first time falling short of *at title in a decade. The Wolverines didn't win the CCHA. Even when they had a chance to capture the conference playoff °crown, they fell short to upstart Ohio State in the semifinal round. Does any of that matter? None of those losses - none of them - will jbe remembered by the players, coach- es; or especially the fans. The short- *omings of last season will be totally Wped clean from memory. An NCAA Championship will do that for you. It cleanses the brain, makes all the good memo- ries seem lucid and clear while erasing the bad ones. SHARAT There were AJU plenty of good harat memories. In the Dark Really good ones. Goaltender "Marty Turco shattered the NCAA all- time victories record. Michigan rallied from two goals behind against defend- ing champion North Dakota - twice in the NCAA West Regional cham- pionship game in Ann Arbor. The young Michigan defense shut town the high-octane New Hampshire offense behind blueliner Bubba Berenzweig's heroics in the national semifinal game in Boston. All those memories would be won- 4erful keepsakes for any ordinary sea- son. But nothing -nothing - will top that April 4 evening at the FleetCenter when Josh Langfeld found the back of the Boston College net in overtime, threw off his helmet and 'ped into the arms of his teammates -that's what will stand out vividly. The silent Boston crowd. The jubi- lant Michigan fans who made the road trip. Turco and captain Matt Herr pounding on the glass towards the Michigan crowd. The scene still lingers for old Michigan fans. But for new Michigan fans, there l more memories in store for the next four years. There will be more scenes like the one in Boston. There will be more ,astonishing performances and heart- breaking finishes. This team will fill you up with hope and emotion, but will drain you of all energy and optimism - often, in a single weekend series. New mem- ories will be made with friends at Yost nd across the nation, taunting refer- Us and opposing goalies. Will the memories be as easily remembered as the spring of '98 was? No one knows, obviously. Now is an exciting time to be a Michigan hockey fan. Instead of being a time of new beginnings, now is merely a continuation of its dominance in col- lege hockey. With 10 freshmen on the roster last season, the Wolverines were pposed to let the rest of the NCAA Mtch up to their level. Too bad no one told Michigan coach Red Berenson. He knew his team wasn't as experienced or talented as the other top squads. He said it often, as a matter of fact. But his team showed that hard work can never be underestimated, sever be doubted in athletics. And in life. Michigan hockey embodies all that is the University - if you work 0rd, good things will happen. Hopefully, for Michigan hockey fans, good things will continue to hap- pen. - Sharat Raju is a Daily Sports editor He can be reached via e-mail at at sraju@umich.edu. Former freshmen set an extraordinary standard By SharatRa Daily Sports Editor BOSTON - It's going to be all downhill now for the freshmen. After winning an NCAA championship, the remainder of their careers might be anti-climactic. But for now, the 10 freshmen who grew up and lived together for an entire season can revel in their most recent accomplishment - the national title. "I'm so happy," freshman forward Mark Kosick said. "When I came down here I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know one player on the whole team. I met all the freshmen and they're all my best friends. I have friends at home, but these are all my best friends now." The Wolverines, stacked with 10 freshmen this season, appeared to be skating on thin ice. And when the postseason started, it seemed logical that Michigan would be led by its battle-tested seniors. Logic doesn't always work in sports, however. All three Michigan goals in the championship game were scored by freshmen. Mark Kosick recorded the two regulation goals and Josh Langfeld netted the game-winner in overtime. "I just shot it low, it went into the net - and we're national champions," Langfeld said. All season, the freshmen have grown and built themselves into strong players. The upperclassmen have often said that during the season they were no longer freshmen, that they were playing with a maturity beyond their years. Langfeld, who started the season as one of the marquee newcomers, was in somewhat of a slump in the second half of the season. The big forward recorded 19 goals and 18 assists and was named to the all-CCHA second team. Although only making the second team upset the Coon Rapids, Minn. native, Langfeld got his redemption with the game- winner. Other freshmen came up huge in the champi- onship game as well, especially on the defensive end. Defenseman Dave Huntzicker was a force all season, playing on the first line with Bubba Berenzweig. On numerous occasions, the Ann Arbor native was the lone defender in the Michigan zone and refused to get beat, keeping himself between (Boston College forward Marty) Reasoner and his own net. "We've played these kind of games all year," Huntzicker said. "They had us on our heels a little bit, but we knew that all it takes is one shot to win it." Two other freshmen defensemen, Mike Van Ryn and Scott Crawford, also played significant roles on defense. Van Ryn, arguably the best offensive defensemen (with apologies to Berenzweig), con- tinued his strong play until sustaining a concussion late in Saturday's game. The all-CCHA rookie team selection Van Ryn recorded 18 points on the season along with scoring five assists in a single game, against Colgate back on Oct. 18. And when Van Ryn went down with the con- cussion, the little-used Crawford stepped up and filled his shoes during the overtime. While the freshmen blueliners were the biggest question marks heading into the season, the for- wards weren't necessarily a sure thing either. Although the coaches knew that Langfeld would be a force offensively, the other freshmen were virtual shots in the dark. And as the season developed, the coaches soon found out that Kosick, Geoff Koch and Scott Matzka were each scoring threats. Kosick's achieve- ments were well-known, earning him a spot on the all-CCHA rookie team. Koch, Langfeld and Matzka - the freshman line - proved to be invaluable to coach Red Berenson. He felt secure pairing that line up with any other line in the coun- try. "I didn't feel uncomfortable playing them against Reasoner's line, which might be one of the best lines in the country," Berenson said. "But that line can skate." Another unsung Michigan freshman this season was Bill Trainor. Trainor was an instrumental part of the second penalty-kill unit. Michigan's penalty kill was somewhat effective allowing a single power play goal in four chances. As outstanding as the freshmen have played this season, the coaches attribute much of their success to the more experienced Wolverines. "I think our upperclassmen did a great job of taking them under their wing, as well as coach Berenson," Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson said. "I'm just happy for them. We keep talking how it could be anybody and that we're a chain-link. You're only as strong as your weakest links." JOHN KRAFT/Daily Mark Kosick and nine other freshmen from last year's Michigan hockey team decided to skip a rebuild- ing year and take the national championship instead. Kosick scored two goals in the title game. Defense is name of game for 'Bubba' By Fred Link Daily Sports Writer At the age of two, young Andrew Berenzweig was already quite an enter- taining child. Ever since he was a baby, Andrew had done things that were a lit- tle bit different. "I would do all sorts of stupid and funny things," Berenzweig recalled. "Like, I jumped into a pool not knowing how to swim. And people had to save me. Things like that." And so when he visited his relatives in Texas, his uncle came up with a nick- name for Andrew - Bubba. "My uncle told my father that he had the perfect nickname for me, and it hap- pened to be 'Bubba,"' Berenzweig said. "My dad liked it so much he put it on my hockey helmet at age five and ever since people have been calling me Bubba. And now my mom doesn't even know who Andrew is anymore when people call me at home and ask for Andrew." Off the ice, this year's captain still has the same sense of humor that made Bubba such a perfect nickname. In the lockerroom, Berenzweig can be counted on to relax his teammates before games. "He adds a lot to the team," said Matt Herr, last year's Wolverine captain. "Sometimes the team is nervous and you can always depend on Bubba to lighten up the mood a little. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad - he's still working on his timing." When he's playing hockey, however, Berenzweig's personality is different. "I'm pretty intense on the ice, Berenzweig said. "I'm pretty focused when I'm playing. Away from hockey, I need to be kind of a clown and really relaxed - otherwise I think I'd go insane. Because if I was as intense about life as I am about hockey I'd go nuts." To those who know him, there's more to Berenzweig's personality than just the intense hockey player and the light heart- ed guy in the locker room. To his friends, Bubba has a serious side. "He's got a lot of sides to him," Berenzweig's housemate Bobby Hayes said. "Bubba's a great friend of mine. If you have any problems, Bubba has a solid head on his shoulders, and you can talk to him about anything. "He's always good to be around whether it's for serious issues or just to hang out and be comical," Hayes said. And for Berenzweig, friendship is one of the most important reasons that he chose to play college hockey rather than junior hockey. "The most relaxing thing for me is just hanging out with friends," Berenzweig said. "That's why I chose college and prep school and the route I've gone. The best part of college is being around friends such as the people of this team." When Berenzweig came to Michigan as a highly touted recruit from Loomis- Chaffee Prep School in Connecticut, his decision making was sometimes less than ideal. Like jumping into the swim- ming pool as a child, Berenzweig had a tendency to take unnecessary risks. "There were times in his career where he's been off the wall," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "He's done things that I couldn't believe, and he realized it too." In his first two years, at Michigan, Berenzweig played a supporting role on an experienced defense. His freshman year, he was paired with senior Steve Halko, Michigan's most consistent defenseman. "When Bubba came up as a fresh- man, he played well for us," Berenson said. "And he played with Steven Halko, I think he gained a lot of confidence and a lot of experience playing with a guy like Halko. And with the team we had, going all the way - that was a great way to start a college hockey career." As a sophomore, Berenzweig's role on the team expanded, but on a defense which featured four seniors, Berenzweig wasn't counted on to be a leader. With experienced players to back him up, Berenzweig often took chances pinching in or joining the rush. And often, he was caught up ice, giving oppo- MARGARET MYERS/Daily Defenseman Andrew "Bubba" Berenzweig helps guide his younger team members on the ice in practice and was given more freedom last year to play offensively. nents excellent scoring chances. This season, however, things have been different. With the graduation of four senior defensemen, Michigan was left with only three experienced players on the blue line. As a result, Berenzweig has been called on to take on a much larger role and he's responded. "This was Bubba's year to step up and lead our defense," Berenson said. "And I think in the second half of the season, Bubba developed and played so much better than he has ever played before. He's really starting to mature as a defenseman. Now he has his game under control more and he is becoming a real force on our defense." With four freshman defensemen on the team, Berenzweig changed from stu- dent to teacher. At different points during the year, Berenzweig was paired with freshmen Bob Gassoff, Scott Crawford and Dave Huntzicker. And Berenzweig took it upon himself to help his partner adapt to playing college hockey. "My first two years, I was expected to sit back a little bit and to observe the older guys," Berenzweig said. "I learned a lot from them, especially how to play defense. My role this year has been a lot different. I'm not observing as much any more as I am showing people?' Berenzweig also was more assertive in the lockerroom. "He's not afraid to say what needs to be said," Herr said. "Some guys will just sit back, but if there's a problem, Bubba will address it." Berenzweig has also been a leader by example. He has been more responsible defensively and has been the physical presence on the blue line that the Wolverines need. And even when he makes mistakes, he has the speed and the strength to recover. "Coach has always been on him for the past few years about how he's a high- risk defenseman;" Herr said. "But I think in the last year, Bubba has really learned when to go and when to stay back. He's really learned how to adjust his game to the way coach wants him to play." As he's become more responsible, Berenzweig has been given more free- dom to move up in the play offensively. "This year, I'm allowed to do more with the puck," Berenzweig said. "Rumor has it that every once in a while when I get the puck, the players will hear coach say 'go Bubba go' I don't know if that's true, but I get the feeling that I'm allowed to do more offensively." Late in the season, with Sean Peach out with his third concussion of the sea- son, Berenzweig played nearly half of each game - extraordinary in hockey. And with the added responsibility, Berenzweig played some of his best hockey of the year. "I see him as an important factor on our team," Berenson said. "If Bubba doesn't play well, we're not going to win." Michigan surprises opposition with ninth title CHAMPS Continued from Page 1E like captain Matt Herr and assistant captain Bill Muckalt were bottled up by the Boston College defense. Wolverines. Kosick banged away at a Bubba Berenzweig rebound and deflected the puck off Clemmensen's mask - after the netminder went down to block Berenzweig's initial shot. After Michigan's score, it was Turco who took over for the Wolverines, as the goaltender virtually, This time, Fox sent a puck goal-bound, which was redirected by Muckalt. Stopped by Clemmensen, the puck came out to Kosick, who again took advantage of being in the right place at the right time, knotting the game at two. "Mark Kosick showed a lot of resilience for a vn 1 id Par~~crnn said "rnminp in and nhavin ., . ... . ....... , " _ .