id~grn ~71a
SPOR
ports desk: 647-3336
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SECTION B
FRIDAY: MICHiGAN 5, ST. LAWRENCE 1
SATURDAY: MICHIGAN 6, ST. LAWRENCE 2
cers enjoy balance in sweep
3y Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
Prior to the start of Saturday night's hockey
contest between Michigan and St. Lawrence, the
fans at Yost Ice Arena were treated to a little
pregame comedy. As he was making his way to
the St. Lawrence bench, one of the Saints'
guipment managers slipped and fell on the ice,
much to the delight of the assembled Michigan
fans.
That incident pretty much summed up the
weekend for the entire St. Lawrence hockey
team - the Saints tried their best, but in the
end, all Michigan could do was laugh.
The Wolverines (7-3-1 CCHA, 13-3-2 over-
all) continued their recent impressive play with a
pair of victories over St. Lawrence (2-1-2 ECAC,
=6-3 overall). On Friday night, Michigan
zed to a 5-1 victory, and the Wolverines fol-
lowed that up with a62 shellacking of the Saints
on Saturday night, highlighted by sophomore
Andy Hilbert's first hat trick as a Wolverine.
"We had some apprehension about playing at
home, particularly in back-to-back games, but I
thought our team had a strong game last night
and then has a good game tonight," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said following Saturday
night's victory.
Unlike previous Saturday nights this season,
where Michigan has fallen behind in the first
period, the Wolverines jumped on top of St.
Lawrence, thanks to a wrist shot from Hilbert.
Michigan captain Geoff Koch managed to
thwart a clearing attempt by the Saints, keeping
the puck in the offensive zone. Koch then fired a
pass to Hilbert, who was standing all alone at
the blueline. Hilbert skated in and beat St.
Lawrence goaltender Sean Coakley with a per-
fectly placed shot high to the sticks side, giving
Michigan a 1-0 lead at the 14:30 mark of the
opening stanza.
"At the beginning of the game, he had an
unbelievable glove hand," Hilbert said of Coak-
ley. "Coach told us a few times to try to go
stick-side, because he was weaker there."
The score remained 1-0 until midway through
the second period, when the floodgates opened
on St. Lawrence.
It started when Scott Matzka notched his sec-
ond goal in as many nights at the 10:01 mark.
Matzka took a pass from Mark Kosick and
streaked down the left wing. As he approached
Coakley, he sent a wrister past the St. Lawrence
goalie only moments before crashing into him,
giving the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.
Just 25 seconds later, sophomore Mark Mink
extended the lead to 3-0 on a tremendous indi-
vidual effort. Mink picked up a loose puck
See SAINTS, Page 4B1
Michigan's Scott Matzka makes a second opportunity worthwhile with a goal off a rebound in the sec-
ond period of Friday night's 5-1 victory over St. Lawrence. The goal broke a 1-1 tie.
i i i oi i i
DUKE 104, MICHIGAN 61
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o Olson pinned Michigan State's Nate Mesyn in his first
match at Cliff Keen Arena since his sophomore season.
Ferocious 'M'
starts off hot
tate, Central fall at Cliff Keen
ByV Riha d ada
Daily Sports Writer
Cliff Keen Arena darkened, fog seeped out of the tun-
nel, a spotlight highlighted the block "M" adorning the
center of the mat and the Michigan wrestling team ran
out to face its biggest rival. As the lineup was
announced Friday night, the ferocity with which Michi-
n sophomore A. J. Grant smacked his teammates'
outstretched hands reflected the intensity of the
moment.
Throughout the weekend, that intensity did not fade.
Saturday, Michigan annihilated Central Michigan 37-
0 in a stunning exhibition of total domination. And in
the weekend's marquee matchup, the spark that ignited
Grant and the rest of the team, the seventh-ranked
Wolverines outlasted No. 9 Michigan State 22-12.
"I was a little concerned how we were going to per-
form coming off of that win (against Michigan State),"
McFarland said after his wrestlers took all 10 individual
itches on Saturday night. "I was trying to keep the
guys fired up, but they really responded well. We were
even sharper (Saturday) than we were (Friday)."
The total control exercised by the Wolverines was
epitomized in heavyweight Matt Brink's match. Brink
allowed Central Michigan's Jack Leffler to stay within
striking distance, humoring his overmatched opponent
for the first two periods. But in the closing seconds of
the third, as if the thought suddenly crept into his mind,
Brink decided to record a quick three points to cement
12-4 major decision, and Michigan never looked
ck.
"We really wrestled with a lot of intensity," McFar-
land said.
But the source of that intensity was the match against
Michigan State. After two Spartans wins, the score was
knotted at nine and the pressure lay squarelyonMichi-
gan sophomore Mike Kulczycki.
See WRESTLING, Page 313
~~abowlprve
Purdue wouldn't head out to
Pasadena without
Heisman finalist
_' Drew Brees.
MARJOHIL MARSHALL/Daily
ABOVE: Duke's Shane Battier took draws a charge from Gavin Groninger. BELOW: The three stars of the game -
Jason Williams, Shane Battier and Chris Duhon.
Duke's Cameron a college treasure
URHAM, N.C. - A stone's throw from where
the Eno River bends its way through Durham
County, the December night turned breath to
mist for hundreds of anxious Duke fans who waited
patiently outside a small gym for
their chance to comprise sports'
most illustrious cheering sections.
Revered by many as the most
spirited and impressive student sec-
tions in all of sports, Duke's
Cameron Crazies have grown into a
legendary collection of enthusiasts
who've given their Blue Devils an
edge so unsurpassed that the term GEOFF
"homecourt advantage" doesn't
begin to do it justice. GAGNON
Saturday night, in the grassy par- A
cel spread out in front of Duke's G-Thang
famed Cameron Indoor Stadium, a
mass of fans shivered away hours
on the manicured lawn that bears the name of Duke's
front of Saturday's line. Undaunted by the prospect of
this week's exams, Elliott and his friends took their seats
on the grass a full 18 hours before tip-off. By midday on
Saturday, the group had grown to encompass a sizable
community of Duke-loyalists preparing for the 9 p.m.
start.
As the fevered pitch of gameday swelled the crowd,
the hours turned Durham to darkness and injected the
Crazies with a heated anticipation they could barely
contain, With military precision, Elliott and his friends
prepared their implements of battle - a bag of paints
and several made-for-TV signs - and took their ready-
positions at the front of the line while a mitten clad line
monitor barked instructions into a megaphone.
Once let loose, the line that stretched past the length
of a city block, ran its way through the old wooden
doors and into waiting bleachers. The court was empty,
but the Crazies seemed to know they had little time to
spare. With painstaking efficiency the most able artists
began thawing paints while others removed shirts and
began to plan the evenings cheer, chants and jeers. With
Why would you
head into bowl
season without
The Michigan
Daily's
preview
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