16A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 10, 2005 'Funny stat' key for defensemen By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer In a world where statistics dominate so much of the judgment about an athlete's play, sometimes the key assets of a hockey defense- man's play get lost in the mix. One of the most popular ways to judge a defenseman is with their plus-minus rating - which gives a player plus-one for being on the ice when their team scores and minus-one for an opponent's goal. But Michigan juniors Tim Cook and Jason Dest have proven this statistic doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. Through the team's first nine games, both Cook and Dest sit at minus-five - worst among the seven Michigan defensemen that have suited up this season. Yet neither of the two, nor coach Red Berenson, is overly concerned. "Plus-minus is kind of a funny stat," Dest said. "It kind of evens out by the end of the year. Sometimes you're out there for a goal and you have nothing to do with it, or, vice versa, it's actually your fault." The explanation for their low ratings lies in the plus part of the statistic - Dest has only been on the ice for one offensive goal, and Cook has yet to be on the ice for a single Mich- igan goal this season. Their minus-five rating as a pair accounts for less than one-quarter of the goals scored by the Wolverines' opponents thus far. "We're not so concerned about the goals against," Cook said. "Five goals against in eight games for me and nine for (Dest) - it's not that big of a concern. Our main concern is helping the forwards out on offense and pitch- ing in that way, as far as getting them the puck and helping them score." Cook attributes the lack of offensive pro- duction when the pair is on the ice to its style of play. "Obviously, Jason and I are not the most offensive defensemen," Cook said. "We just have to help the forwards out more and help get the puck to them so they can score. Are we going to score goals? Maybe, maybe not. But as far as keeping the puck in, we can do a bet- ter job. That's for sure." Both Cook and Dest have spent time after practice this week working on the offensive part of their game. "(Offensive production) starts in practice here," Dest said. "We have to focus on the things we are doing wrong - like passing. We just stay out here for a while after practice and work on things to get our chemistry going. Once we start flowing we'll be good to go." In addition to working the puck into the offensive zone, Cook believes that a key to improving the pair's plus-minus rating will be to get the puck on net, which can result in goals or rebounds that the forwards can knock in. "We just need to try to get better with the puck, working on moving it in and keep- ing it in the offensive zone," Cook said. "It isn't a bad play to dump it in the corner, but you're definitely not going to get the offen- sive production." Though the offense isn't there yet, Berenson has been happy with the pair's contributions on defense. "I think (Cook and Dest have) given us some valuable defensive defense," Berenson said. "They've also helped clear our zone when it's under pressure. When you don't notice them, they are playing well. A lot of good defensive play goes unnoticed." While Berenson has toyed with the thought of switching up defensive pairings, he still plans to start Cook and Dest together for the time being, giving them the chance to feed off of each other on the ice. "I think we bring a lot of intensity to the table together," Dest said. "We both like to play physical and muck it up in the corners a little bit. When we play well together, we can definitely get some momentum going with some big hits." As they ratchet up the intensity in practice and the results begin to show in games, Dest and Cook will likely see improvement in their plus-minus ratings. For their careers, Dest is plus-23 and Cook is plus-eight, suggesting that the offensive production will indeed increase. "(Cook and Dest have) been victimized in certain situations," Berenson said. "Some- times your best defensemen will be minus when they're playing well but are victimized by goals against. We're not at a finger-point- ing stage." W RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Junior defenseman Jason Dest has been on the Ice for just one Michigan goal this season. - Your potential Our passion.* Micosoft 111 fe EDELSON Continued from page 13A first week, he's scoring more points per game than Rasheed Wallace, and he's providing energy, effort and stiff defense off the bench. That's more than you can say about the Miami Heat, a team that underwent a severe face-lift in the offseason. Coach Stan Van Gundy's group now resembles something completely dif- ferent - and markedly less cohesive - than last year's team that took the Pistons to Game Seven of the East- ern Conference Finals. When I started following the Pistons closely in the early- to mid- 1990s, I didn't have much to cheer about. Olden Polynice, Gerald Glass, Isaiah Morris and Mark Macon aren't exactly remembered as NBA greats. I inherited a team in the rebuilding stages after back-to-back championships, and even the arrival of superstar Grant Hill couldn't push the Pistons past the first round of the playoffs. Suffice it to say that, when the team I love finally won the championship, I - along with all Pistons fans - had plenty of reason to celebrate. You can bet I'll be rid- ing this wave for all it's worth. So the next time you out-of-staters start to get annoyed with the Pis- tons fans you know, or happen to be standing next to at the bar, or hear on TV or sports talk radio, try not to label them obnoxious or arrogant. After all, most college students around the country say exactly the same thing about Michigan football fans. Consider the possibility that the team they support might actually be worth watching. I sure think it is. - Gabe Edelson can be reached at gedelson@umich.edu. SPARTANS Continued from page 13A ping up. Fifth-year senior Candace Gay is a perfect example. She moved into the starting lineup to replace injured Megan Bowman and contrib- uted five crucial blocks. The fired-up crowd was a huge factor throughout the game. The student section chanted "sit down coach!" to George numerous times and embarrassed a misfortunate Spartan player with the chant "slow and awkward!" After the game, the players were quick to credit the fans for helping push them to victory. "I absolutely love the fact that peo- ple take the time out of a Wednesday night to watch us play, and it is a huge helper," Selsky said proudly. The Wolverines will get a chance to build on this victory very soon, when they host Indiana on Friday night. DAIwY Spoms. ANYTHING WE'VE. SAID ThAT MAY TH I AELHW 0 , / Use OneNote free for an entire semester. MicrosoftOffice OneNote 2003 is a software program that gives you one place to store, search, and organize the info you need. Download your free trial today!. Visit: w ~ n n tc m u~o MicrosoftOffice O ne ote2003 ) 2005 Microsoft Corporation, All rights reserved, Microsoft, the Office logo, OneNote, and "Your potential.;Our passion' are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.