February 15, 2006 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com PRTiSiganBailu 9 . . .....9 * Depleted Cagers look to end skid By Kevin Wright Daily Sports Editor Unique rituals xhelp leers focus When Michigan traveled to Minnesota on Jan. 21 to take on the Gophers, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker opened with the guard trio of Daniel Horton, Dion Harris and Lester Abram. That was the last game the three started together. In the Wolverines' 16-point victory, Horton, Harris and Abram combined to score 54 of the team's 71 points. Oh, how things have changed. Just minutes into the second half of that game, Abram landed awkwardly on his ankle - an injury that has sidelined him ever since. The trio was reduced to a duo. Then, against Ohio State last Thursday, Harris left with an ankle injury late in the second half. Suddenly, what had been a dangerous backcourt trio was down to just one. And it showed on Saturday. Horton shot just 2-for-10 from the floor in limited action because of a deep-thigh bruise. Without legitimate scoring threats around the perimeter, the senior couldn't find an open look. "Any success we're going to have is going to be centered around Daniel Horton's play," Amaker By H. Jose Bosch Daily Sports Writer Sports and superstitions are as syn- onymous with each other as Canada and Labatt's beer. In hockey, players are notorious for having strange rituals. Some lay out their entire uniform on the ground before games, and others tape a cross in a locker. This type of conduct doesn't escape the Michigan hockey team. And as the hockey season comes to a close, everything from the CCHA stand- ings to the power play can be magnified. But behind closed doors, the pre-game ritual of a player can, in his own mind, make the difference between a good and bad day. "I just think when guys play well, they want to keep repeating that," fresh- man defenseman Mark Mitera said. Fellow freshman Tyler Swystun had the same sentiment. "I think guys just want something they can attribute (their success) to," he said. Senior goaltender Noah Ruden doesn't believe there's magic behind these per- sonal traditions, but he does admit that it can help a player calm down and focus. "I've tried to talk myself out of it," said Ruden, explaining that it is similar to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Ruden admits he listens to the same music before every game. He also wraps the knob of his stick 34 times - his jer- sey number. Those two activities are just a sampling of the many different things he does before a game, some of which he was unwilling to discuss. Some players on the team stick to cer- tain routines before the game to ease their minds before the puck drops. According to Swystun, senior Brandon Kaleniecki is one of the most focused players on game day, talking very little in the locker room. Freshman Travis Turnbull follows his alternate captain's lead. Turnbull says he doesn't like to talk to anyone besides his parents right before a game. "It's more about routine," Turnbull said. "You feel comfortable." The Wolverines aren't the only ones with strange pre-game rituals. The play- ers say they have come into contact with many other players whose eccentric activities stuck with them. According to Mitera, the strangest activity he ever witnessed was per- formed by his teammate on National Team Development Program. Before each game, the goalie put on his head- phones, closed his eyes and went through a save routine. Ruden remembers a player from his junior team who arrived at the arena four hours before the game, sat at his locker and did absolutely nothing. And Swystun had a teammate in midget AAA who flipped out whenever anyone tried to talk to him. Michigan coach Red Berenson said he doesn't believe in superstitions, but he had his own personal itinerary before games both as a player and coach, including taking a walk and napping before game time. "My whole game day is (focused on) game day," Berenson said. Though each player's individual ritu- al may not be the key to Michigan's suc- cess for the rest of the season, they can calm the players down, make them feel comfortable and give Wolverine fans one more aspect of the game to pick apart come playoff time. RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Daniel Horton is likely to be the only of the top three Michigan guards that will play in tonight's game. the Gophers (3-7, 12-9) tonight at 7 p.m. But Minnesota isn't the same team that Michi- said. "He is a player that has to pro- duce and produce big for us. Partic- ularly now as we're going down the stretch, with Dion, Lester and Jerret being out, he has to give us a big shot in the arm.' With their NCAA tournament hopes fading after three straight loss- es, the Wolverines (6-5 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) desperately need a win. And now is the perfect time for a pick-me- up. Michigan returns to Crisler ArenaI * MEN'S GLF TONIGHT Criser Aen ESPNPs to take on prove that gan faced in Williams Arena. Coach Dan Monson now has his team play- ing at the level it was expected to at the beginning of the Big Ten season. After starting 0-6 in conference, Min- nesota has posted a 3-1 record over its last four games, the most recent a 79-55 home victory over No. 16 Michigan State. "We have never felt that we belonged (at the bottom of the conference)," Monson said. "Our guys are trying to we're not a bottom team. We got hit in the mouth and didn't respond to it.... It's a lot eas- ier to improve when you're 0-6 rather than 6-0." Against a streaking Gopher team, the Wolver- ines will need to focus on defense. During the three-game losing streak, Michigan has continu- ally failed to close out on 3-point shots, and it has struggled to stop penetration. And the score- board mirrored the Wolverines' woes. Michigan surrendered 94 points twice and 84 once - its three highest totals this season. "It starts in practice," Horton said. "We got to come in and work hard in practice everyday and set a tone for how we want to finish the rest of See GOPHERS, page 10 . Rusty'M' By Nate Sandals Daily Sports Writer golfers stumble out of the gates in Florida Most metal objects remaining unused for four winter months will rust. The Michigan men's golf team's clubs didn't, but the Wolverines' play did. Michigan finished 13th out of 18 at the UCF/Rio Pinar Inter- collegiate in Orlando, Fla. It was the team's first tournament since competing at the 49er Collegiate Classic in October. Michigan's three-round total score of 907 was 30 strokes behind the tourna- ment winner, Lamar University. In a tournament that featured weather more commonly associ- ated with a Michigan February than a Florida one - frost on the course delayed play at the start of both days - the Wolverines struggled to get back into the flow of competition. "We were a little disappointed going out there and showing the rust that we did," Michigan coach Andrew Sapp said. "We missed too many eight- and 10-foot putts." Michigan sat in a tie for seventh place at the end of the first day, which ended with the second round suspended with four holes to play. The Wolverines shot 304 in each of the first two rounds before improving their team total to 299 in the final round. Some individuals did show improvement similar to the team's over the course of the tournament, especially Michigan's low- scorer, Brandon Duff. The senior finished in a tie for 18th place. He shot a 5-over par 77 in the first round, but improved to shoot 74 and 73 in the second and third rounds, respectively. It's too early in the spring season to tell how much the players have improved as a result of winter training, but there were posi- tive signs amid the unpracticed showings. Senior Christian Vozza returned to competition after miss- ing the final tournament of the fall season with a shoulder injury. Vozza completed his first tournament back with a three-round total of 228 and was "pain free" according to Sapp. Despite the team's struggles, the coach was glad to have his team return to competitive play. "It was good to get out of the snow and come down (to Flori- da)," Sapp said. "Hopefully, this will help us prepare for the rest of the spring season. The Wolverines will have two weeks to shake off the remain- ing rust before they fly south again for the Puerto Rico Classic. it, l NOTES Varsity welcomes new linebackers and cornerbacks coach Michigan coach Lloyd Carr official- ly named Ron English as Michigan's defensive coordinator yesterday. Two new assistant coaches, Ron Lee and Steve Szabo, were also named to the coaching staff. They will coach corner- backs and linebackers, respectively. Lee is a graduate of Washington State University where he lettered four years as a cornerback. He comes to the Wolverines with 17 years of experience as a coach, and spent the last three years as secondary coach at Wisconsin. Szabo played running back and defensive back for four years at Navy. He has spent the last 12 years as an assistant coach in the NFL. During that time, he worked as an assistant for Buf- falo, New England and Jacksonville. Szabo was also a defensive coordinator at Colorado State and Boston College in the 1980s. Gain real world experience at FRESHMEN! .BUILD YOUR SOPHOMORES! JUNIORS!I RIESUME!! Work as a Daily Advertising Account Executive for The Michigan Daily. 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