12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 8, 2003 ICers want to make this chance count Hutchins heading for milestone No. 800 * By Sharad Mattu Daily Sports Writer By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Editor After advancing all the way to the Frozen Four the last two seasons, only to be sent packing after the first game, Michigan junior Andy Burnes has learned one thing. "Looking back at (the last) two years now, (making it to the Frozen Four) is nothing - just being there is nothing," Burnes said. The Wolverines are no longer satis- fied with just getting to the Frozen Four - they want to take the next step. They said the difference between playing for the ultimate prize or going home as just a semi-finalist for the third straight year will be the opening minutes of Thurs- day's game against Minnesota. In both last year's loss to the Gohpers and its 2001 loss to Boston Coilge, Michigan trailed from the first period. "I think it all comes down to our start," captain Jed Ortmeyer said."The last two years, we put ourselves into a hole the first 10 minutes of the game. We came back, and I felt like we might have controlled the game from that point in the game, but we were too far in a hole." The importance of a good first peri- od could be magnified Thursday because Minnesota has opened up early leads in its last four games. "That's good - it's good for a wake up call for our team," coach Red Beren- son said. "The whole game could be on the line in the first five minutes. So we need to be ready for that." Michigan's upperclassmen have all been to the Frozen Four twice, and just the freshmen and goaltender Chris Gart- man have never been there, so that expe- rience could help the Wolverines be ready to play as soon as the puck drops. Also, the team has been focusing on being mentally prepared and brushing aside any distractions. Much has been made of Michigan's senior leadership lately, and Burnes said he thinks that leadership will help the rest of the team stay focused. And getting another crack at the team that ousted them last year could give the Wolverines some extra motivation. TONY DING/Daily Michigan captain Jed Ortmeyer hopes to change his recent Frozen Four results. "Last year's game is in the back of going into the weekend than in the our head," Burnes said. "Nobody for- past two years. gets the feeling of losing (after) being "We're going there on a mission," right there on the doorstep. It's a terri- Burnes said. "We've got just one goal ble feeling, and you don't forget the in our minds and it starts Thursday tears you shed." night. Our first goal is to put our- Both Ortmeyer and Burnes said selves in a position to win a National Michigan has a different attitude Championship." It turns out the Michigan softball team has played some games lately. But its weekend opponent wasn't Iowa - instead, the Wolverines scrimmaged against themselves. And, with today's scheduled dou- bleheader versus Central Michigan pushed back to tomorrow due to snow, coach Carol Hutchins had the team do the same. "We're simply trying to create game situations for the team," Hutchins said. "On Saturday, we basically had a scrimmage for our pitchers. They each pitched seven innings of competitive ball and were excellent, and we're going to contin- ue to do that until we get back on the field." When the Wolverines manage to get back on the field, Hutchins will be just two wins shy of 800 - a number reached by just 14 Division I coaches. Of the 798 wins she has, 775 have come with Michigan. As is often the case when coaches reach milestones, senior captain Marissa Young expects everyone to be excited when it happens - everyone other than Hutchins that is. "We haven't talked about it at all," Young said. "Hutch always tells us take it one game at a time, and not look ahead to things like that. "It will be great to get it for her, but knowing Hutch, she'll treat it as just another win. She's just not the type of person to make a big deal out of it." According to Young, the team appreciates the fact that Hutchins focus is always on the team. "Hutch is a great player's coach," Young said. "She really relates well to us. One thing I've really taken in from her is to never be satisfied. Now I'm always challenging myself, and it's helped me a lot." During games Hutchins usually displays a steady, steely demeanor. With the team, she knows when to push them to improve and when to ease off and have some fun. "When I think about how Hutch is different from other coaches I've had, I remember when we were approaching the Big Ten Tourna- ment, and we were struggling badly with our hitting," Young said. "Hutch went to a store and got some old fruit. When we saw her, we had no idea what she was doing. She had us take batting practice with the fruit. It loosened us up and the idea really worked because we went on to have a good finish to the season." The team has been scrimmaging to avoid any rustiness, but at the same time hasn't enjoyed facing each other. To address that, Hutchins is trying to add games to the schedule. "It's been frustrating and disap- pointing, but if we let it affect us that would be unacceptable," Hutchins said. "Since this isn't the first time this has happened, I know my kids will handle this the right way. When we're back on the field, I know they'll be ready." y 31 N. WASHINGTON @ PEARL YPSILANTI 734/487.2110 REBECCA SAHN/Daily Michigan senior Marissa Young and the rest of the Wolverines were forced to practice and scrimmage Indoors thanks to the tarp of snow covering Alumni Field. THE EFFECT OF 1m ABED A-BASAT UDAIS MARCH 27TH SUICIDE ATTACK 0 ON HIS PALESTINIAN FAMILY: '' s $25,000 IN CASH In FURNISHED APARTMENT PENSION FOR LIFE CELEBRITY STATUS C 0 C 0 t) G 0 4! n 19 0 0 (TIME, APRIL 15, 2002 AND FOX NEWS APRIL 4, 2002) m m