( z I[ IrbigMux d October 27,2003 SECTION B 11111 Jill Purdue-in' it well MICHIGAN 31, P . SETH LOWER/Daily Sophomore Brandon Kaleniecki celebrates with teammates during yesterday's 5-2 win over Northern Michigan. Despite pre-game scare, Wolvennes complete sweep By Brian Schick Daly Sports Writer After blasting 57 shots on Northern Michigan goaltender Craig Kowalski on Friday night, the Michigan hockey team looked to storm into yesterday's rematch and picked up where it left off. But a scary moment kept the Wolverines distracted for much of the first period. Assistant coach Billy Powers collapsed shortly before the game and had to be taken to the hospital. Powers turned out to be fine and was released from the hospital last night. The players had trouble staying focused on the game, registering just NORTHERN MICH. two shots on goal in the first period. "I think it upset our team tremen- dously at the start of the game," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "We're trying to get our team prepared and focused and all of a sudden something like that happens and everyone's (wondering), 'What happened? What's going on?' and we couldn't tell them anything until the game was over." During the first intermission, the team regained its compo- sure and took control of the game and the weekend. Michi- gan (3-1 CCHA, 6-1 overall) swept Northern Michigan (2-2, 3-3) 5-3 yesterday and 2-0 Friday night. The struggling Michigan powerplay managed to notch a goal in each period yesterday. It had been desperate to take advantage of the extra man in this young season. The differ- ence yesterday was the team's ability to work the puck around the offensive zone for long periods of time, wearing down the Northern Michigan penalty kill. See WILDCATS, Page 3B POWERPLAY BACK ON TRACK? Michigan coach Red Berenson has to be happy with his team's powerplay yesterday after a brutal five game stretch. Since going 3-for-6 on the powerplay to start the season, the Wolverines have struggled mightily with the man- advantage. Here's a rundown of Michigan's powerplay success (or lack of): Oct. 4 vs. Mercyhurst: 3-for-6 Oct. 10 vs. Miami: 1-for-10 Oct. 11 vs. Miami: 1-for-9 Oct. 17 vs. Quinnipiac: 1-for-4 Oct. 18 vs. Quinnipiac: 1-for-10 Friday vs. Northern Michigan: 1-for-6 5-game totals: 5-for-39 (12.8%) Yesterday vs. Northern Michigan: 3-for-7 Edwards turns image and Blue's season around ou can't catch. You guys can't stop the run. You are vulnerable to letting short passes become big gains. You have no concept of special teams. You make horrible play calls and don't have your team fired up. You ... well, you are not very good. Somewhere during this 2003 Michigan football season, we forgot exactly how much this team actually can do. After two heart-breaking losses to Iowa and Oregon and three quarters from hell against Minnesota, there weren't many sane supporters of the Maize and Blue who wanted to believe that this was still the national championship-caliber team that many media and fans made it out to be in August and pre-Eugene September. The conquering heroes had taken a valiant fall, and there was much wondering of how San Antonio or Nashvillea- would look during late December. A weird thing happened on KYLE the way down the road of OhNEILL mediocrity, though.ThDalJnio Michigan got its flat ire he as aner fixed. And it all started with the man wearing No. 1. Braylon Edwards - the carjack, if you will - hauled in a bomb for a touchdown from John Navarre in that heavenly fourth quarter against Minnesota, changing the entire sea- son in one play. Then the junior went in front of the media three days later to not only address himself as a person - which he was very open in doing - but to announce he would be back for his senior season. An 11-2 record wouldn't be good enough for him. In those two moves - in addition to the two touchdowns against Purdue - Edwards sent a message. One, he was the go-to-guy; and two, he is concerned with winning, not just himself - which many had perceived him to be. In fact, he'll be the last one to ever talk about himself before his own teammates, but because he doesn't have the same modest quietness that a Steve Breaston has, he'll never be viewed that way. He was asked on Saturday whether he was more respon- sible for getting Jason Avant open or whether it was Avant getting Edwards open, thanks to double coverage on one of the two. Instead of the self-promoting answer, Edwards See O'NEILL, Page 5B DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Cornerback Jeremy LeSueur wraps up Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton in the fourth quarter Saturday. LeSueur, a fifth-year senior, sacked Orton for a 7-yard loss. The Wolverines' defensive schemes were too much for the Boliermakers to handle. 'D' beats up Orton; Blue stays in the Big Ten race By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Editor Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton's actions in the fourth quarter really summed up Michigan's 31-3 thrashing of the Boilermakers. After getting clocked by Michigan corner Jeremy LeSueur and throwing his second interception of the game to Michigan's Leon Hall, Orton picked himself up, stumbled over to the Purdue sideline and leaned on one of his linemen. Having been sacked six times and facing relentless pressure all game, Orton could- n't even support himself. The Wolverines physically beat up the Boilermakers on their way to the blowout win. Purdue coach Joe Tiller felt that the physical dominance of Michigan's defense was something his spread offense couldn't compete with. "I thought physically we got tired," Tiller said. "There were some real mismatches that we never recovered from." But Michigan's win was more than just a big kid bullying a little kid all over the field. It's dominant win came as a result of near-perfect execution of the defensive game plan, flawless special teams play and several big-time plays from Michi- gan's receiving corps. The defensive game plan kept Purdue's offense guessing all game - and the Boilermakers never guessed right. "They did a hell of a job disguising their cover- ages," Purdue receiver Taylor Stubblefield said. "We didn't see a pattern at all in their defensive scheme. It was hard to see when the blitzes were coming. "I give their defense a lot of credit. It was very hard for the offensive line and the quarterback to pick up." With the way Michigan's defense was dancing around all game, Orton could have used about 15 timeouts per half. Effective mixing of defensive sets - moving defensive backs to the line and dropping them back - left him helpless on several occasions. Safety Ernest Shazor was the main beneficiary of this, as he came in untouched twice on safety blitzes and sacked Orton, forcing one fumble. "Our kids played inspired football, and defensively we set the tempo early," Carr said. "We had a great game plan, and it was tremendous execution. We had a group of guys who played hard and stuck together and just refused to give in." Michigan's special teams also deserved credit after the game for winning the field position battle and giv- ing the defense room to work with. Steve Breaston didn't have any video-game punt returns for a touchdown this time, but he still aver- aged more than 10 yards per return and made good decisions with the ball. Punter Adam Finley might have had his best game of the season, punting seven times for an average of 43 yards per punt. "The kicking game was outstanding," John Navarre said. "They gave us great opportunities and field position, and we were able to take advantage of it." Finally, Michigan's receivers used all their tools to See BOILERMAKERS, Page 5B ------------ A Michigan-Michigan State rivalry revived By Daniel Bremmer Daily Sports Writer CHICAGO - Rivalries are what sports are made of, and it doesn't get any better than Duke versus North Carolina. If it wasn't for this heated rivalry, students at the two schools wouldn't camp out overnight for a chance to see these storied basketball pro- grams square off against each other each year. As one of the best rivalries in sports - let alone basketball - the Duke- North Carolina rivalry was at its strongest when two legendary coaches - Duke's Mike Kryzewski and North Carolina's t $oog day in Chicago. "I said that when we were bad. I said that when they were bad. And now that we're both pretty good, I'll say it again." Over the past five years, the Spar- tans have ruled the state of Michigan with an iron fist. Michigan State has gone 8-2 against the Wolverines since 1998, with its last five wins coming by 20 or more points - including a 51-point massacre of Michigan in 2000. But last year in Ann Arbor, Michi- gan showed that it wouldn't back down without a fight in its 60-58 win over the Spartans on Jan. 26. "I think the sky's the limit as far as that rivalry," Michigan senior Bernard Robinson said. "Michigan State will always be a great team, and coach Amaker is doing the things to make us become a great team." time they step on the court, either team could walk away with a 'W.' "It's one of the best rivalries in the country," Torbert said. "It's a big-time rivalry every year coming in. You have to give it your all or you're gonna lose." DAN THE MAN: Michigan sophomore Daniel Horton was named to the Pre- season All-Big Ten team by both the coaches and media yesterday. Horton averaged 15.2 points per game along with 4.5 assists last year. "I would've been surprised if he wasn't (named to the team), given what he's accomplished in his first year," Amaker said. "I think it's a nice thing. It's always nice to be recognized as one of the best in your league, but he knows as well as anyone that you've gotta go and prove that. "People predicted that he'd have a Dean Smith - were at the helms of their respective programs. Now, with coach Tommy Amaker securely holding onto the reigns at Michigan and Tom Izzo leading Michigan State, the Wolverines and Spartans may be poised to have an in- state rivalry similar to the legendary r :r .._ .t vungn av,',.,1.VfW ,y .Ll .5 ' }iPrt ". 3:.. . 4.t ..ht i X" .. . iai15.:{. i. 1. .. h,. . ..4f. 5., r ,.. ' .hi .... .: ' ., v .il