10 - The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, January 9, 2002 Blackburn's legacy will depend on his late-season performance By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Writer The trademark of the Michigan hockey program over the years has been the success of its seniors during each season's stretch run -- on and off the ice. With just four seniors returning to this season's team, everyone expected HOCKEY goalie Josh Black- burn - the starter Commentary for each of his first three seasons - to emerge as the team leader, a player the Wolverines could count on during the season's grind. After playing his best hockey at the end of last season and guiding his team to the 2001 Frozen Four, Blackburn was named Michigan's Most Valuable Play- er. In the Wolverines' 4-3 victory over St. Cloud in the NCAA West Regional USCHO top 15 Team Record Points 1. St. Cloud 18:2-1 593 2. Denver 18-2-0 566 3. New Hampshire 15-3-2 508 4. Minnesota 15-3-3 462 5. Mass.-Lowell 14-3-0 454 6. Michigan State 15-4-2 416 7. Boston University 12-5-1 326 8. Michigan 12-6-4 269 9. Northern Michigan 12-6-2 258 10. Boston College 11-6-2 223 11. Maine 11-6-3 221 12. Colorado College 11-7-2 175 13. Cornell 8-4-1 159 14. Ohio State 12-7-1 57 15. Alaska-Fairbanks 12-7-1 47 Final, he made save after save, keeping his team ahead. To fully take the wind out of the Huskies' sails, Blackburn lunged across the net, saving a point- blank scoring opportunity that would have tied the game in the final five minutes and could have kept the Wolverines out of the Frozen Four. But clutch stops such as this have been missing from Blackburn's game thus far in his senior season. In the "Cold War" game at Michigan State, Michigan was in position for a monumental upset over the top-ranked Spartans in front of 74,000 fans, lead- ing 3-2 with less than one minute left in regulation. But with 47 seconds remaining, Michigan State's Jim Slater tied the game at three, sending a bullet top shelf past Blackburn. When Northern Michigan beat the Wolverines 1-0 in the first game of the teams' October series, Michigan des- perately needed another big perform- ance from the Oklahoma native. The Wildcats ended up tallying five goals . on Blackburn the next night, clinching their sweep at Yost Arena. Against then-No. 1 Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase, the Golden Gophers ripped the Wolverines for three goals in the first eight minutes, assuring a victory before Michigan even had a chance to get into a rhythm. The climax of Blackburn's troubles came against a struggling North Dako- ta team during winter break in the Great Lakes Invitational. He gave up five goals for the third time this season, and Michigan was forced out of the championship game for the second straight year. Michigan coach Red Berenson, obvi- ously disappointed in his netminder's performance, pulled Blackburn for the second game of the GLI against Michi- gan Tech and fellow senior Kevin O'Malley earned the 7-4 victory over the Huskies. Not every game has gone this way for Blackburn. His dominance in the Alaska-Fairbanks series - in which he gave up just one goal - was exactly what the team (1-3-1 in the CCHA at that point) needed to find its way back into the conference race. . And this past weekend at Notre Dame - without four of the team's top players - Blackburn made the neces- sary stops to earn the Wolverines a 2-1 victory Saturday. The series with the Irish was a microcosm of his up-and- down season, as he squandered a 3-1 lead in the third period Friday night forcing his team into a 3-3 stalemate. No one expects Blackburn to be per- fect in every single game. That's unrea- sonable. But Michigan is expected to maintain its perch atop the CCHA. The team needs Blackburn in order to secure a spot in the NCAA West Regional, which it will host this year at Yost Ice Arena. He must find the edge that he dis- played in tough situations down the stretch. He needs to make the stop that will save two points for his team in the standings. And eventually, Blackburn's ability to stone the opponent in crucial situations will be the difference between Michigan making it to the Frozen Four in Minneapolis or watch- ing it on ESPN. Everyone is counting on him to bring his game to a new level - espe- -low TOM FELDKAMP/Daily After finishing last season by playing the best hockey of his career, senior goaltender Josh Blackburn has struggled to perform In key situations this year for Michigan. cially Berenson, who has seen his goalie go through some hard times before. "This is the time when he should be at his best,' Berenson said. "He's played strong in the playoffs, but he's a senior now and he obviously needs to be a leader on this team. He's got to do everything on the ice and off the ice." Blackburn agrees. "I need to step up more than I have this year. I need to step into that leader- ship role more being a senior." Making Blackburn's second-half performance even more important to him is the legacy that he will leave behind. The last two Michigan goalies prior to Blackburn (Steve Shields and Marty Turco) each started all four years for the Wolverines, and each has also made his mark in the NHL. It's now or never for Blackburn. If he doesn't improve in his second semester, his chances of being called up by the Phoenix Coyotes, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 1998 NHL Draft, will be greatly diminished. And his legacy? People will remember him as the goalie who couldn't win the big one. He'll leave Michigan with two fewer national championship rings than Turco, which is the true measuring stick of goaltending success at Michi- gan. "How he plays this semester will dic- tate what people think of him as a hockey player," Berenson said. "I don't think he's proven anything to anyone at this point one way or the other. He could be a player with a future in the game or a player without a future." Said Blackburn: "People remember the last game that you play. I've got to play better in the second half." "Blackie'" as his teammates call him, came back to Michigan for two rea- sons: To improve his skills and win a national championship. Indiana names former XFL coach to replace Cameron BLOOMINGTON - Former Louisiana and Vanderbilt coach Gerry DiNardo was named Indiana's new football coach yester- day, a month after Cam Cameron's firing. DiNardo has been signed to a five-year contract paying him $225,000 a year, Hoosiers athletic director Michael McNeely said during a news conference at Memorial Stadium. DiNardo, who could make nearly $800,000 a year if he meets performance incentives in his contract, said he is eager to put his mark on the Hoosiers' football pro- gram. "Our mission is simple: Move the student- athlete toward championships on the field, success in the classroom, and success with people when they leave campus," DiNardo said. DiNardo, who coached the Birmingham Bolts of the XFL last year, was selected by McNeely after a 34-day search. Cameron was fired Dec. 5 after going 18- 37 in five seasons with no bowl appearances and no winning seasons. DiNardo said he would meet with Cameron's assistant coaches, but stopped short of making any commitments to keep them on his staff. "I will keep in mind staff chemistry is of criticql importance," he said. DiNardo said he would aggressively recruit in Indiana. "I personally will be in every high school in the state of Indiana, whether there's a prospect there or not," he said. DiNardo, 49, has a 51-49-1 career record as a college head coach. At Louisiana State, DiNardo led the Tigers to three straight bowl appearances, from 1995-97. But he was fired 10 games into the 1999 season. DiNardo was-32-24-1 in five seasons at Louisiana State. DiNardo went 19-25 in four years at Vanderbilt - their best four-year span in 25 years. DiNardo was selected from a group of four finalists that included former San Diego Chargers head coach Mike Riley, South Indiana president Myles Brand welcomes Gerry DiNardo yesterday. DiNardo previously coached Louisiana State and the XFL's Birmingham Bolts. Florida coach Jim Leavitt and former Okla- homa head coach and current Louisiana State defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs. DiNardo also was an assistant at three schools: Maine, Eastern Michigan and Col- orado. He played football at Notre Dame from 1972 to 1974 and was a member of the 1973 national championship team. HROVAT Continued from Page 9 new mentality has given Hrovat the edge he needed. In the regular season, Hrovat is unde- feated and his perfection has earned him a No. 2 national ranking. But success has not come easily for the two-time All-American. Hrovat was born to wrestle and has done so since the age of five. When he was younger, he used to wrestle 200 matches a season, even traveling outside of Ohio to see tougher compe- tition. While out of season, Hrovat maintains a daily workout routine and wrestles as much as possi- ble. This past summer, Hrovat competed at the Pan Am Games, in which he captured the silver medal at 187.25 pounds. Hrovat was also named to the U.S. National Team after his third- place finish at the World Team Trials. "I think my success just comes from the fact that I've wrestled so much in my life," Hrovat said. "It's just become second nature now to do the moves right, and scramble." Many wrestlers hope to make the Olympics one day, but for most, it's just a dream. For Hrovat, it's a realistic possibility. The senior hopes to compete internationally in freestyle after graduation, including the World Champi- onships and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. ft AU