MM" Wednesday, November 27, 2002 ntichigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu ORTeidSigaBail, 8 leers reset for 2002 0C e showdown By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer As Michigan goes into the 10th annual Col- lege Hockey Showcase against Wisconsin and Minnesota on Friday and Sunday, respectively, the Michigan coaching staff has made wholesale changes to each of its lines. Head coach Red Berenson and his staff have been considering changing up the forward pair- ings for about a week now, as the Wolverines haven't been as explosive offensively. After Notre Dame defeated Michigan 4-3 last Satur- day, the coaches decided that now was the time for the change. "Maybe some of the little things caught up with us on Saturday night that we were getting away with and winning," Assistant coach Billy Powers said. "Unfortunately, in sports, some- times those things take a loss to really register." The changes come right before playing a Min- nesota team that ended Michigan's season last April in the NCAA Frozen Four en route to a title. "There's definitely going to be some emotion in that game," forward Dwight Helminen said. "They beat us twice last year and we have some- thing -to prove." The Gophers are a lot younger this year, but their freshmen - led by nine-goal scorer Thomas Vanek - have outscored all of the other freshman classes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, The Badgers have been by far the least suc- cessful team in the history of the College Hock- ey Showcase - going 2-15-1 over Thanksgiving weekend the last nine years. Despite bringing on USCHO TOP 15 Team (First Place) Record Points 1. Boston College (11) 9-1-1 541 2. North Dakota (9) 11-1-0 526 3. New Hampshire (10) 8-2-2 518 4. Maine (7) 9-1-1 463 5. Denver (2) 10-2-2 444 6. Colorado College (1) 9-1-2 444 7. Cornell 6-1-0 343 8. Michigan 9-2-1 340 9. Minnesota 7-3-3 254 10. Ferris State 11-3-0 244 11. Boston University 6-3-2 212 12. Miami 12-3-1 189 13. Harvard 5-2-0 106 14. Providence 8-4-1 54 15. Ohio State 8-4-1 52 fAOAP GM)NOTES Varsity lands four on first team All-Big Ten all received the honor. Baas, Hobson and Jackson also were named to the first team by the media. Tight end Bennie Joppru and kick- er/punter Adam Finley received second team honors from the coaches and +I '', 5 On the heels of a 9-3 regular season, media. The coaches also voted wii the Michigan football team had four receiver Braylon Edwards to the se players named to the All-Big Ten First ond team. Defensive lineman Da Team by the conference's coaches. Rumishek earned second team hono Sophomore left guard David Baas, on the media's All-Big Ten team. junior offensive tackle Tony Pape, sen- B.J. Askew, Grant Bowman, Ca ior linebacker Victor Hobson and June, John Navarre, Shantee Orr a. sophomore cornerback Marlin Jackson Chris Perry received honorable mentio Blue desperate after ide c- an Drs to nd )n. V return fromParadise By Chris Burke Daily Sports Writer The phrase "Paradise Jam" turned out to be quite ironic. The Michigan men's basketball team finished the tournament with an 0-3 record - the team's first 0-3 start since 1970-71 - was hardly "Par- adise" and shooting just over 35-per- cent left the Wolverines without many opportunities to "Jam." So as the holiday weekend approach- es, the Wolverines have little to be thankful for - other than the fact that their game against Western Michigan on Saturday won't be in the Virgin Islands. Michigan headed to its first presea- son tournament since a trip to the Maui Invitational in 1994. Unfortunately, the Wolverines were easily handled in the first round by St. Bonaventure, and were unable to regroup, subsequently dropping contests to Virginia Tech and Kansas State. "I think, obviously, we'd like to be 3- 0 instead of 0-3," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker told the Ann Arbor News after Monday's 82-71 loss to Kansas State. "One of the reasons why we scheduled (the tournament) was to make sure that we would find out about ourselves right away. Obviously, we have a lot to work on" Michigan has less than a week to fix those glitches, because Western Michi- gan will enter Saturday's game as a confident bunch. After dropping its opener to Prince- ton, Western Michigan has rolled over Cal.-Irvine and Fordham - the latter CRISLER ARENA Who: Michigan (0-3) vs. Western Michigan (2-1) When: 2 p.m. Latest: According to College RPI.com, the win- less Wolverines are two spots ahead of 1-0 Michigan State in the latest RPI rankings. being a 70-51 trouncing on Monday. A plus for the Wolverines is that the Broncos do not possess a lot of team size. Their starting center in Monday's win, junior Anthony Kann, stands at just 6-foot-7, and there are only three Broncos who top the 6-foot-8 mark. Michigan was knocked around by Virginia Tech's center, Terry Taylor, to the tune of 23 points in the Hokies' 65- 53 victory on Sunday. Kansas State then continued the trend, as Pervis Pasco poured in 14 points as Michigan's start- ing center, Chris Hunter, found himself in foul trouble. Before the Wolverines departed for the Paradise Jam, Amaker had expressed concerns about exactly that problem. "I'm hoping our defense will lead to our transition. I'm not completely sold on all of that yet," Amaker said. "I do feel like scoring on the interior, defending on the interior I'm con- cerned about." Last year, the Broncos led Michigan by 19 at halftime, and held on 79-73. After a miserable tournament trip, getting revenge on the Broncos is some- thing that Michigan desperately needs. And while everyone in the Midwest groans 'over the freezing cold and snow, the Wolverines probably couldn't be hannier to be out of "Paradise." 01 BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Michigan freshman Jeff Tambellini is just one the many Michigan forwards changing lines this weekend when the Wolverines head to Wisconsin and Minnesota for the College Hockey Showcase. new coach Mike Eaves from the U.S. National U-20 Team, Wisconsin still sits in last place in the WCHA with a 1-5 conference record. Michigan, the winningest team in the history of the College Hockey Showcase, has not lost to the Badgers in their last eight meetings. The Wolverines are 12-5-1 in the nine-year histo- ry of the showcase, and have yet to lose a road game in Thanksgiving weekend event. Michigan will try to combat these Big Ten rivals by moving freshman Jeff Tambellini back to left wing. The freshman will be back on a line with sen- ior Mark Mink and Helminen, who he's played with the majority of the season. The British Columbia native started the season as Michigan's hottest player, scoring six goals in his first six games. But Tambellini hasn't lit the lamp since. "You go through slumps and you go through droughts," Tambellini said. "You usually get some bad goal somewhere, and it kind of kick starts again. "Hopefully we can get lucky in the first game and get going again." Berenson believes Tambellini's new position will make it easier for him to generate scoring opportunities, as left wing is his natural position. MADISON AND MINNEAPOLIS Who: Michigan (6-1-1 CCHA, 9-2-1 overall) vs. Wisconsin (1-5-0 WCHA, 5-7-0) and Minnesota (4-2-2 WCHA, 7-3-3) When: 8:05 p.m. Friday, 3:05 p.m. Sunday Latest: The Wolverines will travel to two Big Ten cities over the Thanksgiving weekend to take part in the 10th annual College Hockey Showcase. "You can see more of the ice when you're coming down on your on wing than you can when your on your off wing," Berenson said. "We know we've been a little bit slow, and hopefully that shakes us up a little bit," Tam- bellini said. "We can't lose between now and Christmas for sure." This weekend, the forwards should get more scoring opportunities, as they will be playing on an Olympic-sized ice surface for the first time this season. Wisconsin's Kohl Center and Minnesota's Mariucci Arena each have 100-foot wide sheets of ice, making open-ice skating more important than before. "You've got to use your speed," Helminen said. "There's plenty of open ice so you can get something going out there." SCOREKEEPERS SPORTSGRILL & PUS MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL $2 Pints All 25 Drafts Tuesdays NO cover! Seth's Summer Slam $4 Import Pitcher of the week $2 Dos Equis/Corona Techno/Tranz With DJ Mark C. Wednesdays Half Pound Angus Burger and Ale Night Oniv $415 I And 'til Close $2.50 Pints/All 25 Flavors Thursdays $2.50 Pitchers Killians ~ Coors light '1C'rg a DI JOHN KING Friday Grill opens for Lunch @ 11am fo a ukeL, en aeat 4-7pe, $1.75 Heineken/Amstel Light SATURDAYS COLLEGE FOOTBALL A nnr 1-AV19 %k1 A V Kickers set for NCAA quarteiinals WOMEN'S SOCCER SANTA CLARA, CALIF. 0] By Michael Nisson Daily Sports Writer It's time for round four in the David versus Goliath chal- lenge, otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament. After handling No. 3 seed Pepperdine 2-0 Saturday, the Michigan women's soccer team travels to Santa Clara, Calif. this weekend to take on the fifth- seeded Broncos of Santa Clara in quarterfinal SANTA CL action of the NCAA Tournament. Who: Michig Although the Broncos are seeded lower than Santa Clara ( the Waves, that doesn't tell the whole story. When: 4 p.m Santa Clara (18-4-1) is the defending national Latest: If theV champion and also has one of the best players in want to adva the country in senior midfielder Aly Wagner, national semi who won the Honda Award as the nation's best need to defea female soccer player last year. national cha "They also have a pretty good supporting team. cast," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "We really have to produce together as a team and have some strategy of countering their strengths with our strengths." With Wagner leading the way, it should come as no sur- prise that Santa Clara's strength, much like Pepperdine's, is its offense. Santa Clara is "a similar type of team to Pepperdine, but probably with a little bit more size and strength," Rademach- er said. "They try to move the ball around and spread teams m AP an (18 n. 1We nce ifin At I mpi out and play a possession type of game on the ground. "Their speed of play is quick." While some might immediately doubt the Wolverines' chances, the team is playing its best soccer of the year and that's a valauble aspect of tournament play. "We're peaking at the right time," Rademacher said. "The team set a goal at the beginning of the IE A year, and each game gets us more and more RA, CALIF. excited at the possibility of winning a national (16-6-1) vs. championship." 41) Michigan (16-6-1) has shut out its last three opponents, bringing its season total to an olverines astounding 10 blankings. The Wolverines have e to the also outscored their opponents 44-17 this year. als, they will Much of the scoring can be credited to the ast year's dynamic duo of Big Ten Player of the Year Abby onship Crumpton and freshman Therese Heaton. The pair has combined to score 21 times. "If Abby and Therese can get an early service (in the box) behind Santa Clara, they going to give them problems," Pep- perdine coach Tim Ward said. The Wolverines also impressed Pepperdine freshman goal- keeper Anna Piccarelli. "I think that Santa Clara will have some trouble playing Michigan," Piccarelli said. "I think the size factor, and (the fact that) they go through every ball will be a problem for Santa Clara." JASONOUOPER/Daily LeeAnn Bles has been steady in the middle for the Wolverines so far, but it has been Michigan's bench that has enabled the team to nail down a 2-0 record. Deep bench helps 'M' cagers in close wins By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer M' still hoping for NCAA berth When scouting the Michigan women's basketball team, coaches often look at the roster and see a team that relies heavily on its bench, a possible sign of inexperience. As Michigan was facing at an eight- point deficit with four minutes remain- ing, Cal.-Santa Barbara coach Mark French saw the Wolverines slowly los- ing control of the game. "As they started to turn the ball over and our pressure was picking up, we went up by eight and I was thinking 'They're just about to crack,"' French said. "It would have been very under- standable; they're young (players). But they didn't - they hung in there and they did what they needed to do." As it turned out, Michigan coach Sue Guevara stuck with the same lineup, which included two bench players, in crunch time and pulled out a 70-64 win against the 25th-ranked Gauchos. CRISLER ARENA Who: Michigan (2-0) vs. Massachusetts (2-0) and Detroit (0-2) When: 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday Latest: The Wolverines will conclude their sea- son-opening, four-game homestand before heading to the Xavier Invitational on Dec. 7. emotional leader on the team. "We have (Gandy) coming off the bench who gives us that emotional ener- gy and she gets us going," Guevara said. "We need to get that experienced depth and it's a good boost for our team." With the game tied at 64 in the final minutes, Andrews calmly hit two free throws to put the Wolverines ahead for the first time in the second half. Although Andrews was only playing in her second game, Guevara wasn't con- cerned about her remaining on the floor, as well as the rest of her young lineup. "I thought they did a really nice job of maintaining their composure and (I) didn't see them panic," Guevara said. 0. 4, By Albert Kim Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's volleyball team will fight for a chance to extend its season this weekend at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines will face No. 15 Wis- consin on Friday night and Northwestern on Saturday in their last two matches of the Big Ten regular season. Michigan (9- 9 Big Ten, 15-13 overall) must win both matches to even have a chance at secur- ing a spot in the NCAA Tournament. "It will all be determined this week- end," Michigan coach Mark Rosen said. "If we play great this weekend, it CLIFF KE gives us a shot, but maybe not a great shot"Wh:Michig I .a ctvar the team was 15-13 overall Michigan is 10-1 at home this season, and only 5-12 on the road. "We've certainly played much better at home all year, and it's nice to be home during Thanksgiving," Rosen said. "We're going to have to be a lot more consistent N A REN A than last weekend." Saturday night will also (9-9 Big Ten, be senior night for the s. No. 15 Wolverine .Lone senior EE? an ) v: .1