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TUESDAY
DECEMBER 4, 2001

9

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Cammalleri will try to
rejoin Team Canada

RAPHAEL
GOODSTEIN

By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
With 20 points in just 15 games, jun-
ior Mike Cammalleri has led the way
offensively for the Michigan hockey
team. But on Dec. 10, he will try out
for a chance to lead his country's team
to a gold medal.
Cammalleri, along with 35 other
players, was invited by the Canadian
Hockey Association to Team Canada's
selection camp for the 2002 Interna-
tional Hockey Federation World Junior
Championships. The camp, which will
be held in North York, Ontario, is
scheduled to open up on Dec. 10 and
will last one week. Cammalleri, who
was a member of last year's team, will
be competing for one of the 22 open
spots.
Because of the tryouts, Cammalleri
will miss Michigan's game against
Harvard on Dec. 15. If Cammalleri
makes the team, he will miss the
annual Great Lakes Invitational tour-
nament that is held at the end of
December, and would likely be out for
the Notre Dame series on Jan. 4 and 5.
"It sucks having to leave your team,
but this is the kind of experience that I
wouldn't give up for the world," Cam-
malleri said. "I had the best time of my
life last year playing in this thing."

In seven tournament games last year,
Cammalleri recorded four goals and
two assists and helped Canada win the
bronze medal. He is one of five return-
ing forwards, and one of just two col-
lege hockey players invited this season
(Duncan Keith from Michigan State is
the other).
Cammalleri says that the members of
Team Canada whom he watched grow-
ing up were his heroes, and he hopes to
help his team win the gold this season.
"It's a dream come true for me," he
said. "In Canada, making this team is
such a huge deal, it's magnified to the
degree that people in the U.S. don't
understand."
The week-long camp will feature
two intrasquad games and two exhibi-
tion games. Without much time to
showcase their talents, Cammalleri says
that the players must really be on their
game.
"It's tough," Cammalleri said. "Basi-
cally you do whatever you can to prove
to the coaches that you can help Cana-
da win a gold medal."
Although it's difficult without his
best players on the ice, Michigan coach
Red Berenson has always been sup-
portive of his players' individual oppor-
tunities. Last season, Cammalleri,
Andy Hilbert and Mike Komisarek all
went to Moscow for the tournament,

Columnist desperate to
help long-lost pal Ellerbe

ALYSSA WOOD /aily
Mike Cammalleri has already proven his worth as a member of the Canadian Youth
National Team, last year in Moscow. He'll try again to make the team.

and Michigan was swept in the GLI for
the first time ever.
"As much as it does take away from
our team, I think it's important that
(Cammalleri) gets this chance," Beren-
son said. "If he plays the way he's play-
ing now, he should be selected. In
Canada, it's such a huge honor to make
that team, and I think it's good that we
support his opportunity to play on a
team like that."
Cammalleri might also get an oppor-
tunity to play against some of his cur-
rent teammates who could be named to
the U.S team. Last season, he played

against Hilbert and Komisarek, who
both played on the U.S. team. This sea-
son, it is likely that Komisarek will be
named again, and freshmen Eric Nys-
trom, Jason Ryznar and Dwight Helmi-
nen all have a good chance of being
selected.
The official announcement for U.S.
team tryouts will be made tomorrow.
"We're in different pools, so we usu-
ally play against each other in the play-
offs," Cammalleri said. "But it's such a
huge deal to play against them. I can't
lose to them, I'd never hear the end of
it."

Young defensemen step up for M' hockey

was watching the Michigan
basketball team lose Saturday
and couldn't help but think of
my long-lost friend Brian Ellerbe
and what he could be up to these
days. Typically keeping your name
in the spotlight isn't too difficult
after you've been the head coach
of the Michigan basketball team.
Of course, typically if you're the
head coach of the Michigan bas-
ketball team, qualifying for the
NIT isn't too difficult either.
Well, we all know that neither of
these is the case, so the question
still remains, what's he doing?
A few possibilities:
MOVED BACK HOME: The econo-
my's bad and the job market's
worse. The good news: He can
have a kegger every weekend when
mom and dad go out of town. The
bad news: Mom and dad nag him
to get a job during the week.
SITTING AT HOME WATCHING TV,
WAITING FOR A JOB OFFER: This pos-
sibility is my guess for the reality
of this situation. Brian's sitting on
his coach wearing mesh Rutgers
lacrosse shorts, with the kid crying
in the background while he's sip-
ping Faygo Rock 'n' Rye mutter-
ing to himself about how great
Tom Goss was.
Of course, under this particular
scenario, he's poker buddies with
Gary Moeller and John Cooper.
This motley trio searches for a
fourth ...
AUDITIONING FOR A ROIE AS THE
PENGUIN IN "BATMAN": I covered
Brian and the basketball team last
year and every time I interviewed.
him, I couldn't help but think he'd
make a great Penguin, if the movie
was ever redone for a seventh time.
His qualifications include: Rotund
build, suspenders, a waddle more
than a walk and a knack for aggra-
vating Batman, Catwoman and
Maize Ragers everywhere. All he

really would need under this sce-
nario is a cigarette holder, pincher
hooves instead of hands and
umbrellas that shoot people,
become knives and can hypnotize
onlookers.
CAMPUS METER MAID: You can
imagine what the job interview
would be like.
Boss: "I don't know Brian, while
you have an impressive resume,
being a meter maid can be pretty
taxing - you're hated by every-
one."
Brian: "Hated by everyone?
Nobody was more hated on this
campus than me."
Boss: "You got a point there.
You're hired."
Like meter maids, lonely Brian
walks the streets of Ann Arbor
with few friends.
(By the way, meter maids, I
don't really hate you. Please don't
give me another parking ticket.)
RUN FOR MSA PRESIDENT: Of all
the worthless jobs in this country,
few are more impotent than this
one. With Matt Nolan's term com-
ing to a close, Brian makes a big
sign and takes advantage of this
opportunity for employment.
WALLOWING IN HIS OWN SELF-PITY:
Brian grows a beard, takes a job as
a professor at Columbia, and then
becomes the Vice Chairman of
Metropolitan West Financial.
Under this scenario, Brian,
Mpeller and Cooper find their
fourth poker buddy.
LEADER OF MICHIGAN STATE'S
STUDENT SECTION, KNOWN AS THE
"IZZONE:" Hey, he'd be a natural -
he's already hated by Michigan,
loved by Michigan State and he
has a presence in Crisler.
To offer Brian a job, contact his new
agent, Raphael Goodstein, at
raphaelg@umich.edu.

By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Writer


When the Michigan hockey team's season began, it
expected heavy contributions from
freshmen such as defenseman Eric HOCKEY
Werner, forward Milan Gajic and center Notebook
Dwight Helminen.
But over the last three games, the
Wolverines have been pleasantly surprised by the positive
contributions from other members of their freshman defen-
sive unit, namely Nick Martens and Brandon Rogers.
Martens has played the last three games for Michigan

since replacing junior Mike Roemensky in Michigan's 5-3
win over Wisconsin on Nov. 24.
"(Nick) played that game against Wisconsin and seemed
to be comfortable and confident," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "I thought he played pretty well over the
weekend - he made mistakes but all of our defensemen
made mistakes."
Then on Saturday, Martens was joined in the defensive
rotation by Rogers. After junior Brad Fraser struggled in
Michigan's 5-4 win Friday night against Ferris State, Rogers
was inserted into.the lineup and paired with Werner.
"Rogers came in for Fraser, who struggled, and I thought
that he handled himself well," Berenson said. "That really
helped us, because if Martens had failed the test or if Rogers
had failed the test we might not be talking about having got-
ten two wins"
With the two young stoppers in the lineup, Michigan
managed to shut down the powerful Ferris State offense, en
route to a 6-1 blowout victory.
Changes to the defensive rotation can threaten to take
away from the sense of continuity built up between fellow
defensemen. But Martens is convinced that no matter who is
in the lineup for the Wolverines, the defense is capable of
being successful.
"We've got eight or nine guys that can play all the time
and we're pretty comfortable with each other going into the
games," Martens said. "It's easier when you know the guys
you're playing with, but we work with the guys all week and
everybody knows how everybody plays and we're able to
feed off each other."
AND THE AWARD GOES TO Two Wolverines were hon-
ored by the CCHA for their performances in Michigan's
See YOUTH, Page 10

USCHO top 15
Team (First Place Votes) Last Week
1. St. Cloud (37) 2
2. Minnesota (2) 1
3. Denver 4
4. New Hampshire 5
5. Michigan State 3
6. Massachusetts-Lowell 7
7. Boston University 6
8. Northern Michigan 8
9. Cornell 10
10. Nebraska-Omaha 11
11. Michigan 13
12. Colorado College 12
13. Ohio State 14
14. Boston College -
15. Maine 15


REC.
SPORM

The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM

WHAS
HAPPENING

Nick Martens leads a tremendously strong (and tremendously
large) freshman corps of Michigan defensemen.

INTRAMURALS
Intramural
Pre-Season Basketball'

Mastodons of IUPU-Ft. Wayne
should help Blue recover tonight

By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan basketball team
has been dealt a difficult hand:
More than half of the team's return-,
ing contributors
are dealing with
injuries and the CRISLE
entire squad is Who:Michigan(2-3)vs
working to adjust When: 7 p.m.
to its new offen- Latest: IUPU-Ft. Waynei
sive and defen- Division I basketball so<
sive systems. Mastodons will not do N
On top of that, the RPI rankings.
the addition of new coach Tommy
Amaker has led many people out-
side of the program to expect of a
drama'tic turnaround from last
year's 10-19 finish.
Amaker was brought to Ann
Arbor to turn this team into a win-
ner, but at this point he is still try-
ing to teach his team to how to win.
"I do feel we're close," Amaker
said. "For us to battle a team like
that, we were down and we fought
back and I think we got it to within
one basket (against Boston College
Saturday)."
At times the Wolverines' motion
offense has looked impressive, with
penetration leading to open outside
jumpers and easy buckets in the
paint.

less of how much talent you have."
Nagging injuries have prevented
the 2-3 Wolverines from playing
with a full deck this season.
Senior tri-captain Leon Jones has
been forced into street clothes

R ARENA
s. IUPU-Ft. Wayne (0-6)
is in just its first year of
a win against the
Michigan any good in

since the first
game because of
a broken thumb,
but he has been
targeting this
week for his
return to practice.
Amaker has not
played 7-foot-2

The RPI, which the NCAA uses
extensively in its tournament selec-
tion process, doesn't consider a
team to be Division I until the third
year of the process.
Since the Mastodons are in their
first year of Division I, this game
can only serve as a confidence
booster for a Michigan team that
has lost its last three games and
faces No. I Duke this Saturday.
Last year in Division 11, Indiana-
Purdue Fort Wayne was 7-23 over-
all and 4-15 in the Great Lakes
Valley Conference. Earlier this sea-
son Michigan State easily handled
the Mastodons, 81-68.

" No Experie
Necessary

Officials Needed!!
nce .4
-

Get a Free
=Shirt

center Josh Moore in either of the
last two games, citing Moore's lack
of mobility caused by his chronic
back troubles.
The injury bug is also affecting
players on the floor. LaVell Blan-
chard and Bernard Robinson each
missed significant time during the
preseason because of an ankle
injury and mononucleosis, respec-
tively. .
The two have not lived up to
their expectations this season, scor-
ing just a combined 24.5 points a
game compared to the 32.2 they
posted last year. Lingering effects
from Robinson's illness and Blan-
chard's ankle may be partially
responsible for that decline.
After a 2-3 start against the

SPORTS
" Officials are -
Paid for All INTRAMURALS
Games Worked

Flexible
Fours

Training Clinics Begin
17 * WAyhmn o u eaov v hpr A