Thursday April 10, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu SPORTS 9A Go- JCers look for revenge against Minnesota Dy Dan Rosen Daily Sports Writer pher it No more call-outs and timeouts for this senior There is no defending champion at the Frozen Four this sea- son. At least not if you ask Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose team took home the national title last season. "It's a completely new team," TON GHT said Lucia of his Golden= Gophers. "And they have to forge Mciga n v' their own identity." Mur Minnesota lost seven players after Tsie: 6 p.m. last year's storied run, including HISBCAAA,; Hobey Baker Award winner Jordan Bulo, N.Y . E$PNZ Leopold and the nation's top scorer- in John Pohl. As if that wasn't enough, the Gophers also lost a four-year starter in goal in Adam Hauser and the nation's second-leading goal scorer in Jeff Taffe. With all that turnover, Lucia said he didn't expect to back at the Frozen Four. After Minnesota started the season 5-3-3, many people might have agreed with him. "We had a whole host of injuries the first half of the season," Lucia said. "So a lot of people kept asking me how good we were, and I kept saying, 'Well, I don't know' We just hadn't had an opportunity to put our full team out on the ice, just to play some games to find out where we were at" Once the Gophers did get going, they were a force - win- ning 16 of their last 22 games. In the WCHA Championship, Minnesota held off Colorado College 4-2 to earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Part of the resurgence was due to the surprising production of freshman Thomas Vanek. The first European-born player to suit up for Minnesota, Vanek led the team in scoring with 29-29-58 totals. The Graz, Austria native finished second among all freshmen in the nation in scoring behind North Dakota's Zach Parise. "I thought he'd be a good player and have a really good year," Lucia said. "I don't think I anticipated that he'd score 29 goals at this stage of the season." "He's just an unbelievable player," said Michigan defenseman See GOPHERS, Page 10A JOE SMITH The Daily Grind J alen Rose once told me that "you never fully appreciate what you have until its gone," and he wasn't kidding. After four years writing for the Daily, I'll leave this place with amazing memories, friends - and hopefully a career. And I'll start my appreciation now by giving you my first - and final - edition of The One and Only Awards, filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. Top five interviews 1) Bo Schembechler - The leg- endary "Michigan Man" had just one free day during this offseason, and he spent an hour of it with me - discussing everything from crazy recruiting trips to the media. And I permanently saved the message he left on my answering machine near- ly two months ago. 2) Lloyd Carr - Trying to get an extra five minutes with Carr to talk about his personal life is about as easy as finding bin Laden. But Carr gave me a 45-minute interview after the season. Believe me, there were plenty of "tremendous" and "out- standing" things to talk about. 3) Bill Martin - In the spring of 2001, Martin - per his usual form - twisted my question around and asked me who Michigan should hire as its next basketball coach. My first choice was WWF superstar "The Rock." And as for my second choice, I'm still waiting for Tommy Amaker's "thank you" note in the mail - along with a hefty "finder's fee." 4) Josh Moore = Discussing everything from Robitussin to his buddy Shaq, this 7-footer was the most eloquent basketball player never to complete two years in the Maize and Blue. Damn those pesky final exams. 5) Jalen Rose - The former Fab Five star tells me how much he "loves the Daily" after he played at the Palace. And then he takes me down memory lane of those infa- mous days of Michigan past. No matter the sanctions, those games sure did exist. Top five times I was called out by athletes or coaches. 1) "What an idiot." Legendary Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said this about me behind my back, just one day after I had asked freshman phenom Jeff Tambellini if he was the type of player that would bolt the Wolver- ines for the NHL early - and two years after I went to practice every day covering his Wolverines, devel- oping what I thought was a unique type of respect with the Red Baron. 2) "You're a mess." Michigan offensive coordinator Terry Malone jokingly (I hope) quipped at me after watching me frantically run back and forth in my interview process. Little did he know how true that statement is. 3) "I didn't understand a word you just said." Former Michigan left wing Josh Langfeld confusingly stated in response to a question that I appar- ently mumbled during a post-game press conference. So, I've been known to talk faster than the speed of light - is there anything wrong with that? 4) "Hey, look, it's Joe Smith, the guy who's gonna write some more negative articles in the Daily." Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards said before blowing me off after his Wolverines won the Out- back Bowl this January. Guess he didn't like my "season is a failure" column after the Ohio State loss. Oops. See SMITH, Page 1A Y DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Last year's Michigan-Minnesota contest in the Frozen Four was a rough-and-tough battle that went down to the wire. The Wolverines try to avenge their 3-2 loss tonight against the Golden Gophers. 'M' hopes for new ending to old story By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer The Michigan-Minnesota hockey rivalry may include Jeff Tambellini and Thomas Vanek instead of Jordan Leopold and Mike Cammalleri, but the two teams are back playing in the semifinals of the Frozen Four for the second-straight year. But tonight's game won't be played in front of 18,000 Minnesota fans in St. Paul, Minn., but in Buffalo, N.Y. in front of a neutral crowd. Also unlike last year, it is Michi- gan which will come in with more experience, as the Golden Gophers have transformed from a senior- to an underclassmen-led squad. As the only non-No. 1 seed in Buffalo, the Wolverines are the darkhorse on paper this weekend. But this is the time of year when Michigan excels, as the Wolverines were also a No. 3 seed when they won their last national title in 1998. No matter who wins tonight between these two Big Ten rivals, it will be Cornell's tournament to lose with an upstate New York crowd and a juggernaut defense. MICHIGAN OFFENSE VS. MINNESOTA DEFENSE: The Gopher defense fea- tures six strong blueliners that shut down the vaunted Ferris State offense in the West Regional semi- final. The Bulldogs had just 20 shots on goal and scored just four goals thanks to two soft ones given up by goaltender Justin Johnson in the first period. The pairing of lone senior defense- THURSDAY NIGHTS Kilas&CoorsLight Pitchers 9 -10 pm $1.50 man Matt DeMarchi and sophomore Keith Ballard is playing some of its best hockey of the season, and Paul Martin has worked well with fresh- man Chris Harrington. Michigan has a clear No. 1 line with seniors Jed Ortmeyer and John Shouneyia playing along with CCHA Rookie of the Year Tambelli- ni, but it has relied on someone coming out of the woodwork to score when needed. 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