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SPORTS IAA
October 15, 2003
SECTION
Edwards: I'll be back here next season
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Editor
After weeks of keeping quiet and dodging
reporters, Michigan wide receiver Braylon
Edwards decided it was time to speak out
about his early-season disciplinary struggles
with Lloyd Carr, his future with Michigan
football, the Michigan offense and the way he
wants Michigan fans to perceive him - and
his message was loud and clear.
"I'm a good guy, and I just want people to
know that," Edwards said. "I respect Lloyd
Carr to the fullest, and I would never do any-
thing to disrespect this program. I'm not an
arrogant or selfish individual, and I don't
want to be perceived that way."
Edwards' biggest statement dealt with his
future with Michigan. The junior said he has
no plans to leave the program after the end of
this season. His decision to come back for his
senior season was based on several factors.
"I want to win the national championship,
and that's not going to happen this year," he
said. "If I have to stay six years to win the
championship, I'll stay. Secondly, I love
Michigan football, and I'm not ready to leave
yet. I love the college atmosphere, it's fun,
and I have to get my degree in time."
Carr's displeasure over Edwards became
public earlier this season, when he stated
that the two were "not on the same page."
After the loss to Oregon, Carr said his major
problem with Edwards was that he had trou-
ble being on time. Then, Edwards sat almost
the entire first half during the win over Indi-
ana.
Edwards said that during two-a-days in
August, he was late for a meeting that began
at 8:30 in the morning.
"I made a mistake, I was a little bit late,
and you just don't do that," he said. "When
you're a veteran guy, especially after just get-
ting the No. 1 jersey, you can't make mistakes
like that, and I understand that.
"That's where all the problems came from.
It all started from that one meeting."
Since the issue became public, Edwards
says he has been dealing with a lot of adversi-
ty surrounding assumptions that have been
made about his selfish attitude and its sup-
posed negative effect on the team.
"Some things are opinions,
like when people say that I don't "I'm not ai
deserve the No. 1 jersey, and I selfish ind
can't worry about that," he said. don't'i
"But when speculations come
out based on assumptions about perceivec
what Coach Carr said, his words--
get misconstrued. Then they say
things like, 'He's a disruption to the team' or
'He's no good for the program,' and that both-
ers me.
"I feel like people are attacking my integrity."
Edwards says he fully understands that the
public holds him to a higher standard, espe-
1it
Nd
cially since he asked to be switched to No. 1,
and he is willing to accept the increased
responsibility that comes with it. He has not
doubted his decision to switch for one sec-
ond.
"I knew it would be hard," Edwards said.
"Coach Carr warned me about it, but I told
him that I love pressure, so I was ready."
Edwards has also been crit-
arrogant or icized for dropping the ball, a
Vdual, and I problem that has plagued him
ever since he came to Michi-
mnt to be gan. Still, he says that
that way." although he has dropped
raylon Edwards passes this year, he does not
feel like he has dropped too
many.
Carr says Edwards has played brilliant football
the last two weeks, especially without the ball.
When asked if the two were currently on the same
page, Carr had just one word to say: "Absolutely."
See EDWARDS, Page 4B
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Michigan's Braylon Edwards claims
that he will return for his senior year.
Icers salvage
split in Miami
By Sharad Mattu
Daily Sports Writer
OXFORD - The Michigan hockey team isn't accus-
tomed to total meltdowns like the one it had Friday
night, but it can take solace in the fact that it knows how
to respond to one.
After allowing Miami to score five goals in the first
10:22 of the third period and convert 4-of-5 powerplays
en route an 8-3 victory, the Wolverines bounced back
Saturday with a 2-1 win.
Junior forward Charlie Henderson scored a goal just
2:19 into the game, and freshman forward David Rohlfs
added one less than five minutes
later.
From there, Michigan (1-1 ( )
CCHA, 2-1 overall) focused on pro- IGANL"
tecting its lead. Michigan shut out MIA_ _ (OHIO) 8
Miami (1-1, 1-3) on its nine power-
play chances, and sophomore goaltender Al Montoya
bounced back with 33 saves.
"Montoya was the difference in the game," Berenson
said. "He came up with the kind of goalkeeping that you
need on the road."
-Montoya,,who had never before allowed six goals and
was pulled 5:50 into the third period on Friday, thought
the Wolverines' focus on killing Miami's powerplays
made a large difference.
"Right off the bat we never gave up," Montoya said.
"Even though we kept getting penalties, we just kept
going at it. We knew their only life would be (on the
powerplay). So if we shut that down, we shut their team
down."
The Wolverines - now ranked sixth and seventh in
the U.S. College Hockey Online and USA Today/Ameri-
can Hockey Magazine Polls, respectively - felt relieved
to have an early lead after trailing nearly all of Friday's
game.
Henderson did everything himself on Michigan's first
goal. With Miami about to clear the puck out of its zone,
Henderson stole the puck and attacked down the right
side. He fired a low shot that Miami goalie Steve Hartley
stopped, but the rebound came right back to Henderson,
and he fired it into the net.
"After the game last night, we all just sat there and
couldn't believe we played so badly," Henderson said.
"We knew we had to come out and get something started
early. The first shift was really important."
The second goal came off another great individual
effort, this time by Rohlfs. On the powerplay, freshman
defenseman Matt Hunwick fired a pass toward the goal.
With a Miami defender draped over him, Rohlfs raced to
the red line and batted the puck toward the goalie. Hart-
ley, who had hesitated clearing the puck, was out of posi-
tion and allowed the goal to score from a nearly
impossible angle.
As the puck trickled past Hartley, Rohlfs, who fell as
he was shooting, collided violently into the boards. He
suffered a concussion and did not play the rest of the
game.
Buoyed by the early lead, Michigan held on with great
goaltending and some luck as well.
While killing a powerplay with less than three minutes
left in the first period, Montoya easily gloved a soft shot
See REDHAWKS, Page 3B
Freaky Friday
MICHIGAN 38, MINNESOTA 35
TONY DING/Daily
The Wolverines celebrate their 15th straight victory over Minnesota by raising the Little Brown Jug. Friday's game was the 100th anniversary of the Jug's introduction to the rivalry.
Can you believ.,e it? Wolverines'-.
stunning comeback saves season ar=
INNEAPOLIS - No chance. No way. Not
going to happen. You had to be thinking that.
dmit it. Even
you diehards out there
must have started to doubt.
Michigan was getting
smoked on the road against
a ranked team. The offenses
was going nowhere. Ther
defense was stopping noth-
ing.
Fourteen to nothing at COURTNEY
halftime? Twenty-eight LEWIS
to seven in the fourth Full Court Press
quarter? You don't come
back from that, not if you've had two road-game
comeback bids fall short already this season.
It's O.K., it's hard to blame you for thinking that.
The Michigan players weren't thinking it. But then,
they couldn't.
"We didn't give up," freshman cornerback Leon
Hall said. "That whole game, our mentality was just
like, 'We're going to come back. It's going to be the
greatest comeback."'
It had to be. The whole season was on the line
here. If the Wolverines could somehow claw their
way back and beat Minnesota, they'd still be in the
Big Ten title hunt, and maybe they could use the vic-
tory to vault themselves back into being contenders.
And if they couldn't, they would have nothing left
to play for, not really. With three losses in seven
See LEWIS, Page 4B
TONY DING/Daily
John Navarre scored the first receiving touchdown of his career off a pass
from sophomore Steve Breaston to get the Wolverines on the board.
' Offensive outburst leads Michigan over Spartans
By Ellen McGarrity
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - Seconds after
scoring a goal against Michigan State,
senior Mike White
celebrated with aMCHA
short jog around
the goal. Along the
way, he deliberate-_
ly flashed his
Michigan jersey to Spartan fans, hold-
ing it out from his chest triumphantly.
"I wanted to show some pride,"
White said. "I like to think about it
the Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten, 9-4 over-
all) netted to rise above the rival Spar-
tans 4-2. Even though Michigan won on
the scoreboard, this game easily could
have been smeared by its opponent's
green-and-white determination.
During the first half, the 1,086-per-
son crowd was forced to look back and
forth from goal to goal.
"Because you're doing so much chas-
ing (against Michigan State), it was
tough to get your rhythm and build out
of that," Michigan coach Steve Burns
said. "You've got to be a team now that
can play over all that pressure."
relief," Taylor said.
Burns cited Taylor as one of Michi-
gan's keys to winning. With his 6-foot-5
frame, Taylor headed many balls back
toward his opponent's side of the field.
Taylor did all this even with fans
harassing him about his dreadlocked
hair. The Michigan State soccer fans are
known to be some of the Big Ten's
harshest.
"When the crowd got on him for
looking like Whoopi Goldberg, he had
a smile on his face, and we knew he
was going to have a huge game,"
Burns said.
n't hurt the Wolverines' confidence.
"I think Knox Cameron did such a
good job for us," Burns said. "He was a
physical force, a goal-scoring presence
and a dominant player in the air."
But two Michigan State goals in the
next 10 minutes quickly caused Michi-
gan to lose its sense of security.
After more almost-goals by Michigan
State, Michigan finally got its breathing
room. Freshman Kevin Savitskie made
his first collegiate goal in the 77th
minute of play to give the Wolverines a
two-goal lead. The team sustained that
lead to give it its second-ever victory
-,1v-- I f w. 4 I