10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Icers maintain must-win mentality
IIW SWIMMING AND DIVING
Fun and jokes draw
Schroeder to divin
By Daniel Levy
Daily Sports Writer
Entering the CCHA playoffs as the
three seed, the Michigan hockey team
has something neither top-seeded
Miami nor second-seeded Michigan
State can lay claim to - the Mason
Cup, the trophy awarded to the win-
ner of the CCHA Tournament. And
that is why, despite a rollercoaster
season in which the Wolverines failed
to produce a single win in four games
against the Spartans and two on the
road against the RedHawks, they still
believe that the road to the title goes
through them.
"There's the trophy right in there,"
said Michigan coach Red Berenson
while pointing through the door to
the Mason Cup on display in the next
room. "Until this weekend starts it's
ours, and our team would like to bring
it back." '
Last year, Michigan rolled into the
CCHA playoffs as the No. 1 seed after
torching the rest of the league to the
tune of a 23-3-2 record and a regular-
season conference title. After sweep-
ing Notre Dame in the first round, the
Wolverines posted wins over Alaska-
Fairbanks and Ohio State to take the
Mason Cup.
This year has proved more difficult.
As the three seed, Michigan will have
its hands full at Joe Louis Arena. The
team went 0-1-3 in four games against
Michigan State this season, and got
swept by Miami, who faces North-
ern Michigan in the other semifinal
matchup, in the team's only meeting
this year.
But senior goalie Noah Ruden
played in just two of those six games
- a 4-3 loss in Miami on Dec. 3 and
a 2-0 loss in East Lansing on Jan. 17.
The other games weren't freshman
goalie Billy Sauer's fault, but this is a
different Michigan squad with Ruden
in the pipes than the one that failed
to get past Michigan State and Miami
during the regular season.
Last weekend's effort also has
the Wolverines confident heading
into the weekend. Besides sweep-
ing a team for the first time in three
months, Michigan displayed signs'
of what it needs to be successful in
tight postseason games. The veterans
seemingly carried this team for the
last few months, and last weekend
against Ferris State, they were again
the stars. Senior captain Andrew
Ebbett notched two goals and two
assists, and alternate captain T.J.
Hensick chipped in two goals and
one assist in the series sweep. But
the contributions from the fresh-
men - Jack Johnson seemed to be
everywhere all weekend, and Travis
Turnbull scored with less than four
minutes left to seal Friday's game
- combined with the team's ability
to hold on to a one-goal lead for the
final 16 minutes of Saturday's game
are very good news as the Wolver-
ines try to make a playoff run.
"You get confidence after being
able to hold that one-goal lead Satur-
day night," Ebbett said. "You have us
older guys that have been there before,
and we led the way. But the younger
guys played great, especially Satur-
day night."
C
By Anne Ulble
Daily Sports Writer
TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily
Senior goalie Noah Ruden has been solid in the net lately for the Wolverines.
The team shouldn't need any
more motivation beyond playing
in the playoffs with a chance for
revenge against its in-state rival, but
two wins this weekend could give a
significant boost to the Wolverines'
NCAA Tournament seeding.
Although Michigan most likely
sealed a bid with last weekend's sweep
of Ferris State, it doesn't want to leave
anything to chance. The Wolverines
have adopted the attitude that Friday's
game is a must-win to even make the
field of 16.
"If we get in the Tournament,
it will be because we earn it this
weekend," Berenson said. "I'm try-
ing to tell our team not to listen to
all the speculation or all the what-
ifs. The what-if is, 'What if we lose
to Michigan State?' Then we don't
deserve to be in the Tournament."
TICKET INFORMATION: The Michigan
Athletic Department has organized
a CCHA Student Hockey Weekend
bus trip. The trip includes a ticket
to Michigan's Friday night game
against Michigan State as well as a
ticket to whichever game the team
ends up playing on Saturday. The
bus will run from Yost Ice Arena
to Joe Louis Arena and back. Each
spot costs $30, and the deadline is
Thursday at 12 p.m. Call the Michi-
gan Sports Marketing office at (734)
615-2025 to reserve your spot.
When freshman diver Kyle Schroed-
er was in eighth grade, his friends con-
vinced him to join the swim team. He
thrived in sprint events, but the mileage
Schroeder was expected to swim during
practice was not appealing to him, and
he considered quitting the team after
just one year.
One day during practice, Schroeder
hopped out of the pool and told his swim
coach that he was going to go try diving
with his teammates at the other end of
the pool. The coach was surprised, but
he allowed Schroeder to move over to
the diving well.
"The divers always seemed to be
having fun and joking around at their
practices," Schroeder said. "It looked
like more fun than what we were doing
in the pool. I'd always liked jumping on
the board, so I thought diving would be
something I'd enjoy."
After an impressive showing on his
first day, Schroeder was asked back the
next two days by the diving coach. By
the conclusion of his first season with
the team, Schroeder, then a high school
freshman, knew that diving would be
his sport.
"I had a lot of flexibility," Schroeder
said. "So twisting and tucking wasn't
too difficult for me."
Schroeder joined a year-round club
team at Eastern Michigan during his
sophomore year and began training
more seriously. His efforts paid off
when he won the Michigan State Cham-
pionships in his junior season.
"Once I joined the club team and
won state, I knew I was getting into div-
ing for the long haul," Schroeder said.
"Every practice and dive was concen-
trated on helping me get to the college
level."
Schroeder received recruiting calls
from several different universities
around the nation, but he knew that he
wanted to attend Michigan.
"I have family here that I didn't want
to leave," Schroeder said. "I really liked
coach (Chris) Bergere, so I thought this
would be a good fit."
Schroeder's addition to the team this
season has made for an improved diving
squad. In his first collegiate meet, the
Milan native qualified for the NCAA
Zone meet, a feat no Michigan diver
accomplished last season.
"Kyle is an athletic kid," Bergere said.
"He moves well. He has good toe point,
and he's pretty flexible. I think he keeps
the older guys on their toes and pushes
them to perform. I think next year, once
he learns the platform, he'll be much
more experienced for college diving."
Schroeder accounts much of his quick
success to junior Kyle Howard.
"(Howard) has really helped me out
this season," Schroeder said. "He's an
amazing diver to watch. When he gets
up on the platform, it's like he has no
emotions on the board. He's almost like
a robot. He just gets up there and jumps
off, and his dives are almost perfect. He
pushes me every day at practice"
Last weekend, Schroeder, Howard and
junior Jon Donadee attempted to qualify
for the NCAA Championships at the
NCAA Zone C meet in Columbus. It was
the first zone meet for all three divers.
Schroeder competed in both the one-
and three-meter events. Howard took
the one-meter and platform events, and
Donadee was the lone Michigan repre-
sentative to dive in all three events.
Though none of the three qualified for
NCAA Championships, the team's per-
formance in Colombus showed promise
for next year.
S
I. I
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