MMMMEI The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 6, 2005 - 7B Montoya and Tambellini leave Icers shorthanded By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer The Michigan hockey team had enough on its hands trying to replace 10 departed seniors. But just as it seemed that it had an adequate fresh- man class to fill the gap, the program lost three more of its stars to the professional ranks this summer - starting goaltender Al Montoya, leading scorer Jeff Tambellini and forward Mike Brown. Michigan fans will immediately see how the new freshman will pan out, but it might be a while before the departed Wolverines reach the NHL -if they make it at all. "I think that Montoya and Tambellini have a good chance to make the NHL," associate coach Mel Pearson said. "But all three will spend time in the minors. So you wonder why they give up their last year of eligibility to play in the minors. Jeff and Al will play in the NHL, but Mike Brown is a long shot." Montoya was the first to leave, signing with the New York Rangers on July 27. The Rangers selected Montoya with the sixth pick of the 2004 draft and encouraged him to join their organiza- tion in hopes that he would benefit from working with their accomplished goaltending coach Benoit Allaire. Montoya will likely suit up for the Ameri- can Hockey League's Hartford Wolfpack after participating in the Rangers' rookie camp at Madi- son Square Garden this week. To replace Montoya, Michigan brought in 17-year-old Billy Sauer from the United States Hockey League's Chicago Steel. Sauer will com- pete for the starting job with remaining Michigan netminders Noah Ruden and Mike Mayhew. "The goalie position is as wide open as it has ever been in the 17 years that I've been at Michi- gan," Pearson said. "Noah Ruden has been here, and he knows the system and has some experi- ence. Billy Sauer is young and talented." While Mayhew is sometimes forgotten in the mix, Pearson suggests that Mayhew is in the com- petition just as much as Ruden and Sauer. "I wouldn't count Mike Mayhew out either," Pearson said. "He was not too far off of Noah's heels last year. The competition is wide open, and after the first month we should be able to deter- mine our starter." Tambellini and Brown's departures came even more recently than Montoya's. Brown signed with the Vancouver Canucks on Aug. 25, just ten days after Tambellini signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Losing the pair so late in the summer left Michigan no time to sign new players, but it was something the coaches have had experience with. "Losing three guys was surprising, but, as a staff, we've been through this before," Pearson said. "As coaches, we know that sometimes you have to wait until the first day of class to see who is staying. We've had guys leave up to three days before classes in the past." According to Pearson, Brown's departure came as the biggest surprise. "Montoya, we kind of knew in the back of our heads that he was the most likely to leave," Pearson said, "Tambellini, we thought about a little because he was a first round draft pick. But Mike Brown, that was sort of off the wall." Pearson is optimistic about the ways the Wol- verines compensated for the losses but suggests that Tambellini's nose for the net will the hardest asset to replace. "Because we had a backup plan for Montoya and because Mike Brown scored only three goals last season, they are a little easier to replace," Pear- son said. "But (Tambellini's offense) will be much harder to replace." In order to make up for the loss of Tambellini, who led the team with 24 goals and 57 points last season, the Wolverines will rely on the contribu- tions of multiple freshmen. Freshman forward Andrew Cogliano was a first round draft pick this year and will take the bulk of that load after lead- ing the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Senior Al Montoya was one of three Wolverines to leave Michigan early in the hopes of playing hockey professionally. with 102 points in 49 games last season. But the weight of Tambellini's absence will likely be too heavy for one freshman to carry, and Pearson said Cogliano will have some help. "We have to replace Tambellini by committee," Pearson said. "Cogliano is a very similar player (to Tambellini). He's a great skater with great stick skills and a nose for the net. We have so many guys up front that it will be interesting to see. (Fresh- man Travis) Turnbull is a bit older and more expe- rienced and might be ready to take off quickly." Tambellini and Montoya were both elected tri-captains for the upcoming season, and their departure left senior Andrew Ebbett as the sole captain. The coaches have named senior Brandon Kaleniecki and juniors T.J. Hensick and Matt Hun- wick as alternate captains to help Ebbett with his responsibilities. "It's a great opportunity for Hensick and Hun- wick as juniors to be leaders this year," Pearson said. "They have always been leaders on the ice, and now they have earned the letters on their jer- seys. They will be a big help for Andrew in helping the freshmen adjust." 0 WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Two-a-days are key on path to success Young harriers gear up for fourth Big Ten title By Ian Robinson Daily Sports Writer By Ian Robinson Daily Sports Writer For the women's cross country team, success in Ann Arbor depends on its preseason training camp in Glen Arbor. For thirteen years, coach Mike McGuire has started the season with an eight-day training camp in the town about four hours northwest of Ann Arbor, on the shores of Lake Michigan, to get in shape for the upcoming season. Including conference titles in the last three years, Michigan has finished first or second in the Big Ten Cham- pionships in 11 out of the 12 seasons that the squad trained in Glen Arbor. "We get some good work in, and there is a laid back atmosphere," McGuire said. "It is not a boot camp, but it is productive." The daily routine includes two prac- tice sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The day begins with a short run at 7 a.m., fol- lowed by strides, core work and push- ups. In the afternoon, the team goes for a longer run that is between six and 11 miles long. "Two-a-day training is tougher because you have a shorter recovery," redshirt junior co-captain Katie Erd- man said. "It's tough to get back in the groove." When not reacclimating to intense training, the team uses its downtime as an opportunity to apprize their teammates of summer experiences. "When we're not training, we hang out," Erdman said. "It is good to catch up because people do so many differ- ent things over the summer, whether it's travel or internships." There is such camaraderie on the team that Erdman considers her team- mates to be friends before she thinks about them as teammates. "We are a bunch of friends," Erd- man said. "We always have a close-knit group of girls, but it seems especially close this year." The camp allowed the team's new- est members - a quintet of fresh- men - to become integral parts of the group. "It allows them to spend a lot of time with the team and gives them a good transition," McGuire said. Every year, coach McGuire holds a team meeting at camp to discuss goals for the upcoming season. First and foremost, McGuire hopes that his team can stay healthy and continue to improve. Last season, Erdman suffered an injury at the end of the cross coun- try season that forced her to miss the entire indoor season. "I want to train at the highest level that I can and still maintain my health," Erdman said. In terms of tangible goals for this season, McGuire hopes that his team will post results similar to those of last year's squad that won the Big Ten Championship and finished sixth at nationals. Expectations will be high since the team returns its top six finishers from last season's NCAA championships, and it will be boosted by a strong class of freshmen, both true and redshirt. The defending Big Ten Champion women's cross country team started its quest for a fourth consecutive title on Friday afternoon when a contingent of five Wolverines competed in the non-scoring Jeff Drenth Memorial 5k meet at University Park in Mt. Pleas- ant. After weeks of training, coach Mike McGuire had been anxiously awaiting the start of the season. "It was good to go out and get a meet under our belts," McGuire said. "You can train all you want, but when you race, it's different." The first of the Wolverines to cross the line was sophomore Laura Glynn, who posted a ninth-place time of 19:19. Three other Michigan harriers posted finishes in the top 25. Glynn, who had been hampered by a foot injury that forced her to miss some practices, was eager to see how her foot would react to the stresses of a meet. "I wanted to see how it would feel," Glynn said. "My foot didn't bother me the whole race." Though encouraged by the lack of pain during Fri- day's 5k race, Glynn is still worried that her foot might not be able to hold up as well during the longer meets. "My next race will be different because it is a 6k," Glynn said. "As I get more work, hopefully it will get better." For three redshirt freshmen, the meet marked their first time competing in a maize-and-blue singlet. The highest finisher among them was Lisa Mont- gomery, whose 11th place of 19:30 was just eleven seconds behind Glynn. "It was a good first race for Lisa Montgomery," McGuire said. McGuire was also glad to see Natasha Luppov on the trail. The Ann Arbor native, who finished in 25th place with a time of 20:20, suffered an injury during the outdoor track season that forced her to miss some cross country training. "She did a good job," McGuire said. "Her fit- ness level is not at the same place as the others." Linda Montgomery, twin sister of Lisa, was the other harrier to make her Michigan debut on Friday. She posted the 38th-pace time of 22:03. The only other Wolverine to compete in the meet was senior Chelsea Homan, the third Michigan to cross the line. The Cincinnati-native ran a time of 20:03, good enough for 23rd place. . Former Michigan cross-country runner Sarah Pizzo also competed in the race. Pizzo, who reg- istered a second-place finish, has exhausted her cross country eligibility, but still has one year of track eligibility remaining. Senior Chelsea Homan, left, finished 23rd at the Jeff Drenth Memorial meet. o I's Cheap! It's Close! 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