MENS NCA BASKETBALL! OHIO STATE 72 (16)Purdue 43 Georgia Tech at (5) MARYLAND, Inc. (t2 New Mexico at NEW MEXICo ST., inc. Team We're not in 1996, we' It's 1999 and the Michiga As much different. Gone is the prolific lead Muckult, Brendan Morris 'Botterill. Gone are the stops of Steve ---- Shields and Marty H0 Turco. Gone are the teams that Co 'destroyed oppo- ---- nents in the first 10 minut and-never looked back. But as old heroes leave must arrive. Starting Saturday nig takes to the road to battle it est opponents yet -- Michigan State and Notre The Wolverines squeez ries against the Sparta Fighting Irish in front of f Arena crowds last Novem need to prove that they same teams in more un roundings. And Michigan fans wi there will be heroes in 99. So far this season, Bubb has guided this team to se toties over top teams. But lot three straight away fro Now it's time to see if more than just a captain, teammates from a great tea pionship team. He'll definitely need hel hitest road losses, Michig just one goal total. NHL HOCKEY TAMPA BAY 2 Buffalo 1 Ottawa at NY RANGERS, inc. Vancouver at NASHVILLE, Inc. St. Louis at PHOENIX, inc. Detroit at CALGARY, inc. Colorado at LOS ANGELES, inc. the fah a SPOR'E'S rtacking 'M' teams Watch the Michigan men's tennis team battle Williar & Mary tomorrow at the Varsity Tennis Center. The first serve is at 3 p.m. Wednesday January 20, 1999 12 will need its this month Opposing defenses have swamped centers Mike Comrie and Mark Kosick, e not in 1998. and have stifled the fire-powered line of n hockey team Josh Langfeld, Bobby Hayes and Dale Rominski. dership of Bill Seniors or freshmen, it doesn't matter, son and Jason if any of them want to hold up another unbelievable championship trophy, someone must ------------- step up and take the torch. To make offensive matters worse, Scott Matzka, Geoff Koch and Greg mITMentaiy Crozier are in deep slumps and have ------------- combined for just five goals this season. es of the game And all three have the potential for heroics. e, new heroes « The Michigan power play has improved since September, and looks to ht, Michigan improve more. ts three tough- But when the ref holds up his hand in Ohio State, the third period and points to a defender, Dame. will the Wolverines turn on the red light ed out victo- against a Michigan State team with the ans and the most stifling defense in the NCAA? rantic Yost Ice And even if the referee points to ber. Now they Michigan, can the penalty killers hold can battle the off the Irish offensive threat? ipleasant sur- Josh Blackburn has had as good of a season as can be asked. The No. 3 goalie ill find out if in the nation has stopped the necessary shots, and hasn't let freshman butterflies a Berenzweig bog him down. veral key vic- But when the game is tighter than a Michigan has Hooters uniform, will the young fresh- m Yost. man perform like his predecessors? Bubba can be While the question marks surround- and push his ing this team still create a small cloud of am to a chain- doubt, once the heroes of the season show up, the sky will clear. p. In the three Brendan Morrison did. Bill Muckult gan mustered did. Marty Turco did. Who's next? We'll find out this month. O- he the oa Michi an has chance to beat another top team By Rick Freeman Daily Sports Writer Darn it, just when the semester and Michigan's bas- ketball season were humming along smoothly, now this. After playing two games on two consecutive Saturdays, the Wolverines (3-2 Big Ten, 9-9 overall) are about t embark on the first truly crucial stretch of the season -- two more games in just four days. And wouldn't you know it, both games are on the road. And as luck would have it, most Big Ten teams going on road trips this season have wound up as road- kill. But not a single Wolverine is getting out a spatula yet, even though they face No. 17 Minnesota tonight in Minneapolis (2-2, 11-3) and No. 16 Purdue Saturday in West Lafayette (2-2, 14-4). "We feel comfortable and we play our best basketball at home," Michigan guard Louis Bullock said. "But th*. biggest thing for us is we've got to finish that and do that on the road." So far this season, Michigan's only road victory has come as close to home as possible, on Dec. 9 when the Wolverines sank lowly, then-winless Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti. That win came between two avert-your-eyes road loss- es, to Western Michigan in Grand Rapids and, in the worst defeat in Michigan basketball history, to Duke in Durham, N.C. But Williams Arena, as imposing as it can be, is n Cameron. And Michigan's frontcourt, as unimposing as it once was, is no longer an afterthought for Michigan's opponents. "This is one team I think that has obviously struggled a little bit early but they seem to be in a position that they're finding themselves right now," said Ohio State each Jim O'Brien, whose Buckeyes learned first-hand just how much the Wolverines have improved this sea- son. "When you break their team down and you have as good a guard combination as they have - as there is i the conference - and a rapidly improving frontcourt, I think that these guys are going to be very formidable as the season progresses," O'Brien said. Praise from the defeated is nice, but it won't help Ellerbe sleep any easier. Not with Minnesota on his See GOPHERS, Page 14 Hobey Blackburn? While the young freshman isn't very close to win- ning the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey's most valuable player, he's still having a fine freshman seasoni thanks to one' of the top defenses in the CCHA and a mental toughness that has left the freshman jitters in the closet. Here are the stats of the top goalies in the NCAA: BIekburn NCAA Division Rk Name, Yr 1 Ty Gonklin So 2 Joe Blackburn So 3 Josh Blackbur nFr 4 Dave Stathos Fr I Goaltending Leaders Team GP W-L:T New Hampshire 10 10-0 Michigan State 18 12-3-3 Michigan 22 16-4-2 Princeton 9 6-11 SVG 0.939 0.927 0.914 }.923 GAA 1.21 1.37 1.99 DANA LNNANE/Daily Twin towers Peter Vignier and Chris Young soar high above the competition to pull down a rebound. The two hope to have the same success on the road against Minnesota and Purdue. Memck, Crozier may sit tomorrow Women try to halt mid-season disaster By Chris Duprey Daily Sports Writer Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said Andrew Merrick and Greg Crozier should've showed bet- ter discretion before involving them- selves in fights last Friday against Ferris State. So, after serving the league-man- dated one-game suspension last Saturday night, Merrick and Crozier won't be guaranteed spots in the starting lineup for tomorrow's home contest against Bowling Green or this Saturday's game at Ohio State's new Value City Arena. Instead, the two forwards will have to compete for positions with Krikor Arman and Bob Gassoff - the play- ers who took their place Saturday night against Western Michigan and turned in solid performances. "I'm not quick to put them back in the lineup," Berenson said. "They took themselves out - they're going to have to work their way back in." Berenson indicated that his deci- sion was not a disciplinary measure - just a decision yet to be made on the players' lineup status for this weekend's pair of games. With just 1:36 remaining in the third period of Friday's debacle against the Bulldogs, Merrick smacked into Ferris State goalie See LINEUP, Page 14 By Geoff Gagnon Daily Sports Writer The snowing and blowing has calmed down considerably since Michigan was, forced to postpone its Jan. 3 matchup with Michigan State due to poor weather. But conditions have taken a deci- sive turn for the worse for the Michigan women's basketball team. The Wolverines have found them- selves blown off course, reeling from a six-game skid and awaiting a break in the storm that has become their season. Michigan coach Sue Guevara is hoping that break will come tonight , when the Wolverines host Michigan State at 7 p.m. "There isn't a better team in America for us to take out all of our frustrations than the team that is coming in here today and that's Michigan State." After breezing through their first 10 games of the season, Michigan coach Sue Guevara and her squad found themselves atop the confer- ence standings and carrying the momentum of their finest start in school history when they were set to host Michigan State earlier this month. The forecast, however, has grown gloomy for the Wolverines ever since. Stumbling to a 1-3 mark in the conference on the heels of Sunday's home loss to Penn State, Michigan is hoping tonight's make-up game will help the 9-6 Wolverines begin to make up lost ground in the Big Ten. "We're going to win a game in January, we are going to win another game," Guevara said. "It's just taking a little longer." If Michigan is to get back on track, or at least win a game in January, Guevara knows standout Stacey Thomas will likely have to improve her performance. Though only the ninth Wolverine to tally 900 points and 500 steals in a career, Thomas has struggled finding her touch from the floor. "With Stacey Thomas going 3-for- 14 with six points, it's really hard for us to win a game," Guevara said. "That's not putting it all on Stacey, but right now she's really struggling from the floor. "And with her struggling like she is, we need other people to pick up that scoring." The duty of picking up the slack, it seems, has fallen on the shoulders of guards Anne Thorius and Alayne Ingram. Combining for 31 points Sunday against Penn State and 25 against Wisconsin last Friday, Michigan's rejuvenated backcourt has boldly staked its claim as a force to be reckoned with. "Anne and Alayne, the last two games, they have done everything they can as far as scoring-wise," Guevara said. "They both have found p in smoke? The Michigan women's basketball team's current six- game slide is the worst since Guevara took over as head coach -s. so why the turnaround? Strength of -J schedule is a likely cause. Compare: First Nine Games Wins over marginal foes, included: Central Michigan (10340) Detroit (96-73) Coppin State (104-49) Alabama-Birmingham (73-55). Illinois State (86-43), Last Six Games Against better opponents, Michigan hasn't been as fierce, losing six straight, and three against ranked opponents: No. 5 Louisiana Tech (84-66) No. 20 Penn State (74-66) then-No. 20 Vanderbilt (55-45) 2, r I *' " 5\ -pmi r Spring.Break Coupon, ALL TRIPS INCLUDE: TAKE $25 OFF Round trip Air YOUR VACATION RT Transfers W H I Staff Assistance LW---ITH TH-IS AD Free Side Excursion Hotel Accomodations From Party Pack e o 21 Hours of Free Drinks * nbreaker" 1 A Frede MAnls their jump shots, they're both creat- ing for other people, they're driving to the basket." And Guevara is hoping that con- tinues, as her squad readies for Michigan State, a school Guevara herself helped coach from 1987 until taking over in Ann Arbor in 1996. The 9-7 Spartans find themselves in the midst of a grueling week - tonight's game will be followed by two more this weekend. Boasting a 3-3 record in the Big Ten, the Spartans linger in the con- ference's fifth spot. Michigan, meanwhile, dwells in the cellar of the Big Ten and hopes to take out its frustrations of a five- game losing streak on its intra-state rival. To do that, however, Guevata says her team-will have to rely on what the trials of losing have taught it. "We were a better basketball team than we were a week ago, we are a better basketball team than what w4 were Friday and we have to keep get- ting better," Guevara said. "They've played with a lot of intensity, a lot of heart. "I can't fault their work ethic, but now we have to play smarter." I Hnmp tei the "Su Cancun's only party package with over 75 hours of open bar and 2 T-shirts! E-MAIL YOUR CLUB SPORTS NEWS TO CLUL.SPORTS@UMICH.EDU l . 747-9400 1220 S. University SPRING ImmdaeOeig m