4B - TheMichiganDaily-SportsMonday-_January_8,_2001 Shouts from the point FRIDAY'S GAME YESTERDAY S GAME Key play "It stuck in my mind. I thought about it a lot I Lake Superior 0 ?v Lake Superior Q 20:00 of the first period Sunday going into the weekend. I wanted to punish - Mike Cammalleri, Andy Hilbert and Mike Komisarek that team." step onto the Yost Arena ice after missing the last three Michigan 2 Michigan 5 games while playing in the World Junior Championships. - Senior Scott Matzka on comments made by Hilbert and Cammalleri combined for six points. Lake Superior coach Scott Borek earlier in the week. THE DAILY'S STARS The Michigan Daily hockey writers' picks for Michigan's three stars of the weekend. JOSH BLACKBURN GOALIE Blackburn's 49 saves led the Wolverines to two shutouts on the weekend. CRAIG MURRAY CENTER Murray caught fire this weekend, scoring three goals and centering the first line on Friday night. ANDY HILBERT RIGHT WING Returned from Moscow on Saturday night, only to score two goals yester- day afternoon. M' SCHEDULE This weekend: at Ohio State Fiday: at Value City Arena, 7:35 p.m. Satuday: at Value City Arena, 7:05 p.m. The Wolverines take their act on the road after reasserting themselves in the CCHA race this past weekend. Ohio State is an upstart, posting a 7- 61 conference record in a season filled with low expectations. USCHO TOP 10 No. 1 Michi an State (14-1-4) def. Yale 5- 0, def. Yale 4-0. No. 2 Boston College (13-4-1) lost to Boston University 32. No. 3 North Dakota (14-4-4) did not play. No. 4 Colorado College (134-1) def. Denver 4- 1, def. Denver 5-1. No. 5 Western Michian (14-3-2) def. Ohio State 3-1, def. Ohio State 3-2. No. 6 New Hampshire (13-4-3) tied Maine 0-0, def. Maine 4-1. No. 7 St. Cloud (13-4-1) def. Minn.-Duluth 6-3, def. Minn.-Duluth 5-4. No. 8 Michigan (13-5-3) def. Lake Superior 2-0, def. Lake Superior 5-0. No. 9 Minnesota (12-5-2) def. Alaska- Anchorage 3-1 def. Alaska-Anchorage 4-2. No. 10 Providence (9-5-3) def. Mass.- Amherst 4-0. FRIDAY'S GAME Michigan 2, Lake Superior 0 Lake Superior 0 0 0 -0 Michigan 2 0 0-2 Fast period -1. UM, Ortmeyer 9 (Koch, Shouneyra), 1:45 (pp); 2. UM Murray 4 (Mamza, Langfed) 25 (pp) Pnalties-UM,Jillson (roughrg), :17; LSSJ, McNamara (unsportsmanlike conduct),.:17; LSSU, Knox (elbowing); 1:33; UM, Fraser (tppig), 4:6; LSSU Vince (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:36; UM,ijilson (hold- ing the stick),.5:36; LSSU vince (roughing), 5:36; LSSU, Phillips (slashing), 6:35; LSSU, Davis (tpping), 8:25; UM, Kosick (interference), 10:20; UM, Shouneya (slash- ing),16:25; LSSU, Platt (interference), 17:27. Sec Mnd pettod -no scong. Penalties - UM, Langfeld (obstructionaolding), 3:18; UM, Gassoff (checkig from behind) 5:24;LSU,bench minor (too manymen) 7:18; LSSU, Wilson (holding), 8:55; LSU, Micek (holding), 14:23; UM, Ortmeyer (roughing), 14:49; UM, Matzka (holding),19:02. Thr peald - no scoring. Penltes - UM, bench minor (too many men), 8:53; LSSU, McNamara (roughing after whistle), 15:52; UM, Gassoff (cross checking), 18:11. Shos on gol- UM, 17-57 - 29; LSSU, 612-11 -29. Power Plays - UM, 2 of 9; LSSU, 0 of 9. Saves-UM, Blackburn 612-11-29; LSSU, Platt 15- 5-7-27. Rer ee-John Gosger. Unessnen - John LaDuke, Kevin Langseth. At:Yost ice Arena. Attendance: 6,428. YESTERDAY'S GAME Michigan 5, Lake SuperIor 0 Lake Superior 0 0 0 -0 MichIgan 1 2 2 -5 Fast peotd-i. UM, Murray 4 (Koch), 9:49 (pp). Peafties -UM, Koch (checking from behin), 3:03; LSSU, Wilson (hooking), 9:10; UM, Fraser (slashing),11:52; UM, Gassoff (slashig), 1S19. Second peded - 2. UM, Hilbert 15 (Cammaled), 3:50; 3. UM, Hilbert 16 (ammalleri), 14:20. Penalties- UM, Swistk (obstructionooking), 4:59; LSSU, Thompson (holding), 620;LSSU, Vice (iterfrence), 15:30. pettod-4. LM, Murray 5 (unassisted), 4:55; 5. UM, Cammalleri 13 (Hilbert, Blackbum), 18:26 (pp). Penalties - UM, Bues (obstruction-ooking), 209 LSSU, Phillips (high sticking), 5:31; UM, Muay (roughing), 10:1; UM, Kch Iroijhing), 1=49; LSSU. Phillips (ohing), 149; UM, Mink (high sticking) 14:02; UM, ilsond mir (roughing after the whistle), 16:50; LSSU, Thompson double minor (roughing after the whistle), 16:50; LSSU, Turgeon (elbowing), 17:19; UM, Gassoff (roughing), 19:26; LSSU, Davis (roughng); 19:26; UM, Gassoff (holding the stick), 19:26; LSSU, Davis (holding the stick), 19:26; UM, Gassoff (10-7mnute mrisconduct), 19:26; LSSU, Davis (10-minute Smisconduct), 19:26; UM, Largfeld(10minute misconduct), T19:26; LSSU, Redden (10-minute misconduct), 19:26. 5hob&on gDe - LSSU,10-45 - "20; UM, 12-7-12 -31. wer P opys-LSSU,0of 7;UM,2of5. - LSSU, Platt 11-5-10 - 26; UM, Blackburn 1064 --20. Re ree -Steve Mclnchak. Luenun - Pat Bracco, Brent Gaw. - At Yost lce Arena. Ate nmmc 6,403 A WEEK'S DIFFERENCE The return of missing players, cou- pled with better overall play, helped Michigan to a four-point weekend. Last weekend at Great Lakes Invitational (two games): Opponent's shots: 60 Opponent's goals: 13 Opponent's powerplays: 4 of 10 Michigan's record: 0-2 This weekend vs. Lake Superior (two games): Opponent's shots: 49 Opponent's goals: 0 Opponent's powerplays: 0 of 16 Michigan's record: 2-0 Sweet revenge for Wolverines By Joe Smith Daily Sports Writer Nothing cures the pain of two-game losing streak like the hunger for the sweet taste of revenge. The Wolverines' consecutive shutouts of Lake Superior this past weekend unveiled an entirely dif- ferent Michigan team than the one that came out lifeless in its two embarrassing losses and a last- place showing at the Great Lakes Invitational the previous weekend. The reason? It wasn't too hard to get Michigan's blood boiling for these Lakers after Lake Superior swept the Wolverines last season at Yost Ice Arena for the first time since 1989- including a shutout. Coming into this past weekend, Lake Superior had won four of the past five meetings, which led Michigan to put a sign up in the locker room with Lake Superior's name on it. "We have on our board teams we owe and Lake State was one of them," captain Geoff Koch said. "So it's definitely a big deal to beat them twice in our own barn after they'd done it to us last year." Adding to the drama was some chalkboard mate- rial given by Lake Superior coach Scott Borek this past week. Although senior Scott Matzka never specified what Borek allegedly said, his words were certainly not forgotten. "It stuck in my mind," Matzka said without hesi- tation. "I thought about it a lot coming into the week- end. I wanted to punish that team. Every chance I got I took a hit and I think everybody else did too." Michigan played inspired hockey, and this time at both ends of the ice. With the forwards staying dis- ciplined in their defensive responsibilities, finishing every check, and the special teams shutting down Lake Superior's power play to an 0-for-16 perfor- mance - the opposing coach seemed to change his tune about the Wolverines. "They did a great job with being aggressive and challenging the puck," Borek said. "Hats off to them. They were very aggressive and made a lot of things happen on the penalty kill." But Borek also knows that this is not the same team that he's unleashed in previous matchups with the Wolverines. The Lakers have been decimated by injuries this season, having missed 70 man-games to injury in their first 20 games. This is not something that many teams, even in college hockey, can relate to. "It's like quicksand," said forward Trevor Weisgerber, who was sitting out the game with a concussion. "One guy goes down and then three or four follow. It's definitely hard to play through." Contributing to the Lakers struggles have been the absences of both assistant captains, Jeremy Bachusz and Jason Nightingale, for parts of the season. While Nightingale was in the lineup this weekend, Bachusz is expected to be out for the season with mono. The captain and leader on defense, Ryan Knox, played on Friday but a hamstring injury sidelined him for yesterday's game. He's won't return until mid-February. That's not all. Freshman defenseman Chad Dahlen has missed , DAVID KATZ/Daily John Shouneyla and the other Michigan forwards helped the defensemen by backchecking all weekend" the past two months recovering from surgery, and another freshman standout, Adam Nightingale, just returned from a 17-game absence due to a broken hand - but it is still not completely healed. Not a good sign for a team which faces three games against No. 1 Michigan State - all in a 10- day span. The Lakers' brutal second-half schedule could continue to loom over their worries, as they play the top three teams in the CCHA a total of nine times, including Michigan twice more. "Right now I'm very concerned about our team;" Borek said. "I think we're really fragile with the way our year has gone and our expectations that have been shot by a number of different things - and then to take our heart and soul out with Knox and Bachusz. It's going to be a tough second half. "We're going to have to button our chinstraps and get busy here." Unsung center Murray emerges from shadows By ArunGopal Daily Sports Writer For two years, he was a forgotten man. Amidst a sea of high-powered offensive talent, Craig Murray struggled to define a role for himself on the Michigan hockey team. Coming off a successful career in Juniors, Murray arrived in Ann Arbor in the fall of 1998 with tremendous expectations. Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned for the Penticton, British Columbia native. Hampered by injuries and inconsistency, Murray played only 39 games and scored just two goals in his first two sea- sons. The experience was under- _ standably humbling. HOCKEY "My first two years were pretty frustrating," Murray said. Notebook "You begin to doubt yourself and wonder." All of which makes this season's developments that much more gratifying. Playing on the fourth line, Murray doubled his career output with a pair of goals against Ferris State the weekend of Nov. 10-11. He also carved out a niche as one of the Wolverines' most dependable penalty- killers. Then, this weekend against Lake Superior, Murray had the most productive series of his career. He scored three goals - two of them in yesterday's 5-0 win - and continued his stellar special teams play. It looks as though the forgotten man has finally stepped into the spotlight. "Craig Murray's a character hockey player" sopho- more center Mike Cammalleri said. "He maybe does- n't get the credit he deserves sometimes, but he's out there trying to do all the little things for the team every night. It's great to see a guy like him get some goals." WELCOME BACK: Yesterday's game marked the return of some familiar faces to Michigan's lineup. Cammalleri, fellow sophomore Andy Hilbert and freshman Mike Komisarek rejoined the Wolverines after spending the last several weeks playing in the World Junior Championships in Russia. LAKERS 0 Continued from Page 1B Moscow. The addition of their two top scorers, Hilbert and Cammalleri, would make defending their own goal a little bit easier for the Wolverines. Craig Murray touched off the scoring yesterday at the 9:49 mark of the first period. With Lake Superior's Kevin Wilson in t penalty box for hooking, Murray took a p from Geoff Koch, attempted to slide the puck around goalie Jayme Platt, then poked the rebound past the helpless Platt for the 1- 0 lead. The play remained fluid on both sides of the puck until 3:50 into the second period when Cammalleri lined up to take a faceoff in the Lake Superior zone. In the blink of an eye, Cammalleri won the faceoff back to his linemate Hilbert who wristed a shot towards Platt. The netminder looked surprised a handcuffed by the shot as it eluded h glove-side for the 2-0 Michigan lead. Play turned sluggish after the goal, thanks to numerous play-stoppages. Hilbert reinvigorated the crowd with his second goal of the game at the 14:20 mark. The sopho- more fired a harmless-looking turnaround shot from the top of the left circle which eluded Platt five-hole and gave Michigan the 3-0 advantage. Murray poured it on in the third periO beating Platt up-close, five-hole to make the score 4-0. Appropriately enough, Cammalleri topped off the scoring with a powerplay goal with 1:34 left in the game, walking in on Platt and tapping the puck by him stickside. Friday night's game proved to be a phys- ical, tough-it-out contest, more characterized by referee John Gosger's whistle than a lack of offensive fireworks. Jed Ortmeyer and Craig Murray scored Michigan's goals, both before the half . point of the first period. It was all Michi would need. JE- HU-VIZ/Daily Andy Hilbert tallied two goals and an assist in his first game back from the-World Junior Championships. Hilbert, along with Mike Komisarek, helped the United States to a fifth-place finish in the tournament. The trio arrived in Ann Arbor on Saturday, so expectations were not especially high for their first game back. But, showing no ill-effects of the long flight home, the players looked like they never left. Cammalleri and Hilbert picked up right where they left off before going to Russia, as Cammalleri assist- ed on both of Hilbert's goals. Meanwhile, Komisarek's arrival was a blessing to a depleted Michigan blueline - with Dave Huntzicker and Jay Vancik sidelined by injuries, the Wolverines were forced to use Bill Trainor as a defenseman in Friday's contest. "We have a lot of adrenaline going right now," Hilbert said. "We had no fans over there in Russia, and the fans can carry us, so it's so good to be back play- ing inYost." A NEW FACE BEmD THE BENCH: Fans at Friday night's game may have done a double-take when they glanced at the Michigan bench - there was a "new" face standing next to the coaches. Huntzicker - who has been sidelined since Nov. 17 with a knee injury - stood alongside Berenson for both games this weekend, occasionally wearing a headset to communicate with an assistant coach in the press box. But, there's no need to worry - Huntzicker hasn't traded in his skates for wing tips. He said that he was merely acting as a cheerleader and trying to provide some senior leadership on the bench. Huntzicker is set to return to practice tomorrow Don't close book on Kosick just yet By Jon Schwrtz Daily Sports Writer The Michigan offense can be so frustrating sometimes. There are games when no one on the team can slip anything past the opposing goalie. Then there are games like yester- HOCKEY day's, which featured another shutout from a defense which has not caught a Commentary break for most of the year. And on top of it, a five-goal outburst from the Wolverines' offense. It's all a part of the wildly-confusing world of hockey; what works one day doesn't always accomplish anything the next. It could also be synonymous with Mark Kosick's career at Michigan. Over the course of this season, Kosick has been railed by nearly everyone - the media, Michigan students and even, at times, coach Red Berenson. His performance so far has been worthy of such criticism - 14 points past the midway point of the season is not nearly enough for someone supposed to provide senior leadership. The struggles reached their peak yesterday as Berenson and the coaching staff chose to scratch him from the lineup and to replace him on his line with junior Craig Murray. Even worse for Kosick, his replacement scored two goals, boosting a line that has produced little this season. Kosick hasn't scored a goal since Thanksgiving, and Berenson wouldn't promise that he'd be back next weekend. "Mark was a healthy scratch," Berenson said of his decision. "Right now, things aren't going well for Kosick. "He obviously needs to be more productive. He's an offen- sively skilled player but on the other hand, when you're not scoring, you've got to be better defensively. He's been strug- gling with that part of the game and just the intensity, and he has no confidence. He's a good kid - a great kid - but his game is just not where it needs to be." It's unfortunate that these struggles come during Kosick's senior campaign. Should he fail to turn things around, his name will probably elicit memories of the player who showed so much potential in his freshman year, only to watch his point totals decrease with each subsequent season. It's unfortunate that he will be remembered less for his hero- ic performance in the 1998 NCAA Tournament than for the fact that his play in the first half of his senior year made him replaceable. It's flat-out sad that he could be remembered as unworthy of Michigan's illustrious No. 9 sweater, even though he is, to this point, leading his class with 129 career points -11 more than his nearest classmate, Josh Langfeld. But it's not too late and his envelope has about three months to go before it's sealed. "He's going to rebound fine" assistant captain Scott Matzka - Kosick's roommate - said. "He's rebounded in the past when things haven't gone well for him, and he's been a great player for three-and-a-half years here. So I don't expect that he'll let this get him down. He's just got to stay positive." With a good second half to the season, Kosick could turn around his fate. Maybe he'll be considered a player capable of maintaining the tradition that lives within the No. 9 sweater. Maybe he'll turn around the trend and score more points this season than he did last year. And maybe he'll be ready for a chance to score two goals in the NCAA championship game - again. DAVID KATZ/Daily Mark Kosick is taken down in front of the Lake Superior net on Friday night. His stats have also fallen this season, with only five goals and nine assists in 23 games. CCHA STANDINGS CCHA ROUNDUP CCHA LEADERS REMAINING QC-11h1u I F