be irltiga&n ilg S RSMNA December 1,2003 SECTION B) 'M' musters escape from Indy r By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS - Going against a squad without a starter taller than 6- foot-6, Michigan was looking to pound the ball inside and roll over the Butler 1 GER6® Bulldogs. What it got was a dogfight. The Wolverines (3-0) survived a slug- gish and sloppy offensive performance to escape from Conseco Fieldhouse yes- terday with a 61-60 overtime victory. Michigan turned over the ball 19 times, pulling down just six total rebounds from its top four post players and getting very few fast-break points. "We grew up a little bit tonight," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "There's no question about it." In overtime, guard Daniel Horton gave Michigan the momentum with an NBA-range 3-pointer with 1:57 remain- ing to put the Wolverines up by three, but Bruce Horan hit an open 3-pointer later on, which put the Bulldogs (2-1) up by one with just 35 seconds to go. Lester Abram drove down the baseline was fouled by Bruce Horan on the next Wolverine possession and made both free throws to retake the lead. But Duane Lightfoot found Avery Sheets wide open in front of the basket, and Sheets put in an easy lay-up, putting the Bulldogs up 60-59. Then, Horton drove inside and appeared to knock over guard Avery Sheets with 6.7 seconds left, but Sheets was called with a blocking foul, giving Horton two free throws. Horton made them both, leaving Butler with the final possession. "I told myself I was going to make those free throws, and I told my team- mates I was going to make those free throws so they could stop worrying about that and worry about playing defense,' Horton said. Forward Brandon Crone found him- self with a wide open 3-pointer at the buzzer. It missed, and Brent Petway pulled down the rebound, leaving the Wolverines with a deep breath to take on the bus ride home. Michigan had just two field-goal attempts in overtime, as it relied on a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to lead it to victory after shooting 56.3 percent from the line in regulation. "It wasn't a pretty game," Amaker said. "But (it was) a game we fought hard to win." Butler also had a chance to win the game in regulation - as well as numer- ous opportunities to take the lead throughout the second half - when it had the ball with 38 seconds left. The See BULLDOGS, Page 5B JASON COOPER/Daily Sophomores Graham Brown and Chris Hunter celebrate during the Wolverines' 61-60 victory over Butler yesterday. Freshmen: Take my advice, savor this precious time hris Perry summed it up. Surreal, he called it. As stu- dents poured onto the Michigan Stadium turf to cele- brate an outright Big Ten championship last Saturday, he was thinking the same thing I was. 'Embarrassing' Wisconsin 3, MICHIGAN 1 Minnesota 4, MICHIGAN 2 Somebody, pinch me. I don't know about the rest of you seniors, but even today, nine days later, it still hasn't sunk in for me. We've been through it all together, haven't we? I won't spend time regurgitat- ing the past four years. We all know what happened. Way too many losses to teams Michigan shouldn't have lost to. That just about sums it up. But somehow, someway, these Wolverines, built on heart, determination and a butt- J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH The S ortsMonday olumn load of talent, have sent us out on top. And it's the sweetest feeling ever. Why? Because we've suffered. Because we've endured three years of frustration and heartache. Watching the pandemonium on the field last Saturday (I can't celebrate, I'm supposed to be an objective journalist), I felt like a kid again. But oddly, at the same time, it made me feel old - like a proud father realizing his firstborn son had finally come of age. I began to think about what it would be like to be a fresh- man watching the celebration from row 89. Imagine it, seniors. Imagine how different our four years would have been if Michigan had met our expectations and won the Big Ten title outright our freshman year. Would we have appreciated it? Would it have felt this good? No way. As an out-of-stater, I remember not caring that much about the Big Ten championship when I was a freshman - all I wanted was a national title. Michigan winning the Big Ten was to be expected, especially with Drew Henson, Anthony Thomas and David Terrell leading the offense. After last Saturday, the class of 2007 must be thinking big. Two or three national championships, definitely three more Big Ten titles, a Heisman Trophy for Braylon Edwards, a Heisman for Stevie Breaston the next year, another Heisman for Matt Gutierrez his senior season and at least five or six more rushes of the field before it's all said and done. Please, freshman, let me give you some friendly advice. Slow down. Don't get ahead of yourself. Soak this one up and realize how lucky you are to win a Big Ten champi- onship in your first try. Six years went by before this one, and another six could expire before Michigan wins another one (2009?!). So gloat like you've never gloated before. Savor it like a senior would. The same goes for everything you do until you lose that once-in-a-lifetime title ... college freshman. I'm serious. It's sad to say, but the best memories I have from college will be from freshman year - because they were novel memories, See MCCOLLOUGH, Page 6B leers swept In Showcase for first time By Gennaro Flice Daily Sports Writer During the second intermission of Friday's Michi- gan-Wisconsin College Hockey Showcase matchup, a small pocket of Yost Ice Arena attempted to start Michigan's football wave. The infamous wave quickly died at the beginning of the third period, but it was a sign - when the Yost faithful have to reference Michi- gan Stadium, they're off their game. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the lackadaisical approach in the stands reflected Michigan's play on the ice. "I don't know if it was the week off or too much turkey last night, but they were ready. to go, and they took it to us," Michigan captain Andy Burnes said fol- lowing the Wolverines' 3-1 loss to the Badgers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. "They took it . to us." Although Michigan players and fans alike exponen- tially increased their energy for Saturday night's contest against Minnesota, in the end, the result was the same: another close loss, 4-2, at home to a WCHA team. The WCHA's collective sweep of the Wolverines marked the first time in the 11-year history of the Col- lege Hockey Showcase that Michigan lost both games. It also gave the Wolverines their first three-game los- ing streak since 1999. "We're not as good as we think, and we've got a lot - of work to do," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. As cited by Burnes, the Wolverines looked like vic-: tims of bird overdose on Friday, sleepwalking through - the weekend opener against Wisconsin. The Badgers entered this weekend with a 1-8-1 - record against Michigan in the Showcase. "I don't like reading our record against Wisconsin: in this Showcase because that's just ammunition for the other team, and it makes our team think we're just going to roll over them, and obviously that's not going to happen,' Berenson said. The Badgers lit the lamp first with 2:13 left in the first period. Robbie Earl grabbed a loose puck and started a 2-on-1 down the right side of the ice. Earl tried to flick the puck cross-ice to John Funk, but See SHOWCASE, Page 4B TDD TONY DING/Daily Michigan's Eric Nystrom dives toward the boards for the puck in Michigan's 3-1 loss to Wisconsin. Blue 's offensive inconsistency must be addressed BRIAN SCHICK ON IE HOcKEY Sitting at the press conference after Saturday's 4-2 loss to Minnesota, Brandon Rogers and Al Montoya had blank looks on their faces, trying to figure out what had happened this past weekend. Both players obviously didn't want to be talking to the media about how they and their teammates had become the first Michigan team in the 11-year history of the College Hockey Showcase to be swept. The most troublesome aspect of this weekend's games is the inconsistent play that has plagued the team, and the powerplay has been the perfect incarna- tion of Michigan's inconsistency. With a 9-5 record, it may appear that nothing is seriously wrong and that strength, and the powerplay was the only thing keeping the team afloat. The last time Michigan scored a pow- erplay goal was when it scored all three of its goals on the man-advantage in a 3-2 win over Ferris State on Nov. 8. In the four games since then, Michigan is 0- for-16 on the powerplay. Coach Red Berenson has admitted that the power- play has struggled because players are trying to do too much. After the initial success earlier in the season had run out, Berenson began to tinker with the powerplay units in hopes of finding a spark. "We've got to find the right mix and the right chem- istry too on our powerplays," Berenson said on Satur- day. "That's why I've been changing it around, because I didn't like the chemistry. I think it's a work in progress." It seems to be pretty late in the season to be blaming the best win of the season - two weeks ago when the Wolverines traveled to Columbus to take on a steadily improving Buckeye club. On Friday night, Michigan put forth its most dominant performance of the season with a convincing 4-0 win. Montoya was nothing short of spectacular, making 30 saves and standing on his head several times to protect the shutout. Four differ- ent players scored a goal - all at even strength - and three of the four lines had a hand in scoring them. Dur- ing that game, Michigan played like it was the best team in the country. Fast forward to the next night. The momentum from such a victory would crush any attempt by Ohio State to salvage the weekend. Michigan scored the first goal just 21 seconds into the game and seemed to close the door. But somewhere, Lee Corso said "Not so fast, my friend." Ohio State went on to score the next five goals tohn 4,han i7lc m I