The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 9 REPORT CARD: Daily hockey writers hand out midseason grades to the hockey team. B-. Defense Goaltending Offense Young guns get eyed by scouts Two things are certain when you look at the Michigan defense: - On paper, it's a group teeming with talent. - On the ice, that talent doesn't always translate into performance. But the most recent and pressing problem plaguing the blue line is health. Last weekend, three defensemen missed playingtimebecauseofshoulder injuries (senior Jason Dest, sophomore Jack Johnson and freshman Steve Kampfer). Sophomore Mark Mitera has been playing with a cast on his wrist, and though the defenseman scored his first career goal this weekend, you can't help but notice the injury is hurting his performance. With last year's goalie controversy behind him, sophomore Billy Sauer started the season as the clear-cut, undisputed No. 1 option in goal. And until recently, he has done nothing to lose that position. Even though he has yet to stand on his head in any game, the Walworth, N.Y., native has turned in some performances that have kept Michigan in close contests - notably in back-to- back late-November games against Michigan State and Wisconsin. After those two victories, Michigan was Going into the season, there was never a doubt Michigan would produce offensively. With players like T.J. Hensick, Kevin Porter and Andrew Cogliano, it's practically impossible not to score goals in bunches. Through the first half of the season, Michigan ranks No. 3 in scoring nationally, averaging 4.21 goals per game. Much of the credit has to go to Michigan's top line of Hensick, Porter and David Rohlfs. The trio has contributed more than one-third of the team's scoring output thus far, The Wolverines' second line also deserves credit. Andrew Cogliano, Chad Kolarik and recent addition Tim Miller have gelled well and kept up the energy Michigan's power play has been like a stand-up comedian this season. Some nights, as goals pour in at a torrid pace, the crowd eats up every moment. Other times, as pucks bounce over sticks and passes go astray, the hecklers can be heard from the rafters. The power play's capricious effort hasn't always mirrored the path of the Wolverines' up-and-down season. As the rest of the team excelled during Michigan's seven-game November win streak, the power play struggled to keep up with the rest of the team's pace going 8-for-39, just above its season average (19.3 percent). But before the group was all banged and bruised, the play wasn't as phenomenal as a roster lined with NHL draftees would suggest. "We left (goalies Billy Sauer or Steve Jakiel) out to dry a few times" was a common statement in post-game press conferences. The stretch during November's seven-game winning streak was good, but much of the confidence and all-around play crumbled after Michigan's 8-2 loss at Minnesota. Tack the injuries onto that, and the holiday break could not come at a better time for the defense. The blue liners must use this time to get healthy and get back to where they were a month ago. riding a seven-game win streak, thanks in large part to its young netminder. But since an 8-2 meltdown at Minnesota snapped the streak, Sauer has allowed 22 goals in11 periods and is not even in the CCHA's top 10 in goals against average. With Sauer's recent struggles, freshman back-up netminder Steve Jakiel has had some opportunities to show off his talents. Although he made some key saves in a tough win at Western Michigan, he has not been dazzling in his time between the posts, either. once Hensick and Co. leave the ice. Although the third and fourth lines struggled in the early going, recent weeks have also seen them contribute offensively. The hard work of sophomores Brandon Naurato and Travis Turnbull deserves much of the credit for the emergence of the lower lines. Michigan would get full marks for offense,but in games like Sunday's loss to Notre Dame, it has failed to show the urgency required to come back in the closing minutes. Perhaps because scoring usually comes so easily, the Wolverines assume they'll be able to get the equalizer just as casually. The reality: College hockey doesn't reward laziness. While the first power-play line is full of talent - T.J. Hensick, Kevin Porter, Andrew Cogliano, Chad Kolarik and Jack Johnson - it struggles when pressured by opposing penalty killers. Michigan's short-handed play isn't at an elite level, either. At times, it's downright awful. Watching Notre Dame's 3-for-7 power-play output Sunday makes it easy to see why the Wolverine penalty kill is third worst in the CCHA (79.7 percent), Too often, Michigan's penalty killers lay back and let the opponent take it to them. It's one thing if you're at the end of a shift, but such play often starts from the power play's initial faceoff. TOP: Redshirtjunior Jake Long has gotten a lot of attention from pro scouts. BOTTOM: Junior Alan Branch projects as a top-10 pick in this year's NFL Draft. By SCOTT BELL Daily Sports Editor Every year, the bowl game serves as the end of the road for more than a handful of seniors for the Michigan football team. This season, the upcoming Rose Bowl is no different. Key players like seniors Leon Hall and LaMarr Woodley will be forced to hang up their jerseys fol- lowing the Jan. 1 contest. But four-year contributors may not be the only Michigan athletes to say "sayonara" to Ann Arbor fol- lowing the team's matchup with Southern Cal. Juniors Alan Branch, Mike Hart and Chad Henne and redshirt juniors Shawn Crable and Jake Long have all had their names tied to NFL Draft speculation over the past few months. Even though the interest in jumping to the professional level varies from athlete to athlete, the distraction is still there. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is in the awkward position of balancing the individual players' best inter- est with the team's. "If they need me to facilitate them in any way, as far as that decision or any information I can get to them, I'm happy to do that," Carr said. "I'm happy to give them my opinion if they ask for it. But the most important thing for our team is to deal with that in a pri- vate way, so it does not become a distraction for us as we pursue this bowl game." The Rose Bowl could serve as an especially crucial point in one Wolverine's decision. Many professional scouts will have their eyes on Long, who will DAILY SPORTS. T-SHIRT PRINTERY A2'S FINEST & FASTEST PRINTED & EMBROIDERED TEES, SWEATS, CAPS, TEAM SHIRTS, SHORTS -UM PDO#SACCEPTED- -CALL FOR OUR LOW PRICE QUOTE 5-DAY TURNAROUND 1002 PONTIAC TR. TEL. 994-1367 U adrianstshirts.com BECOME A DOCTOR FROM TOTAL $35,000 Total for all 4 years after 12 grade in China in English Eligible for USMLE Resideny in U.S. No MCAT- U.S.R(MLB leand Top Mdkli/ 105 rear Untn Ready Admission - Print application on: wwwAmerkanDreamAbroad.com email: MdicneAbroad@yahoo.com 248.851.3449 248.635.1110 match up with Southern Cal's explosive defensive end Lawrence Jackson as Michigan's starting left tackle. Jackson leads the Trojans with 11 tackles for loss this year, and has 20 career sacks in three seasons. If Long can protect Henne's blind side, it could be enough to raise his stock in a draft class already stacked with offensive tackles. Branch is the Wolverine argu- ably receiving the most buzz. Nearly all projections place the Rio Rancho, N.M., native in the draft's top 15. The defensive tackle is listed as the No. 6 player in the draft by NFLdraftcountdown. com. The same website has Long going ninth overall. Branch, a first-team All Ameri- can, corralled both an intercep- tion and a fumble recovery against Ohio State on Nov. 18, and has been described as the heart of the highly touted Michigan defense on several occasions. Carr acknowledged that a num- ber of Michigan players could potentially leave for the NFL, but would not talk about anyone indi- vidually prior to the Rose Bowl. "First of all, you care about him because you've gotten to know him," Carr said on Friday, not men- tioning a specific player. "You want to have him around. You want him to do some more things here. And yet, I always tell them that I'm not going to talk anyone into staying. I don't want to do that. I want that to be their decision." Safety Ernest Shazor, the last underclassmen to leave and test the NFL's waters, went undrafted (2004). Even though Branch and Long are the two Michigan players whose names pop up most in NFL conversations, other Wolverines have been mentioned, too. Henne made sure his status wasn't up in the air for long. On Nov. 19, just a day following Mich- igan's 42-39 loss to Ohio State, the three-year starter came to Carr's office and assured his coach that he'd return for his final year at Michigan. Hart said after the Ohio State game that he would stay on for his senior season. "I've got one year left, and I'm going to get them next year," Hart said at the time. Crable is the final Wolverine who could potentially make the jump. He's the lowest ranked Michigan underclassman in NFL draft projections, but also has something that can't be taught: size. His 6-foot-5 frame, along with his speed, could be enough to have an NFL team draft him as a long- term project. "What I want to be able to try to do, if they care aboutmyopinion, is tell them what I would tell my son if he were in that same position," Carr said. "So you try to remove the bias out of it because when you can get drafted at a certain position, you have an opportunity to do some things financially that you'll never get a chance to do again. But it's a complicated issue 'for a coach." And it is for the players, too. Just in case, Michigan fans watchingthe Rose Bowl in a couple weeks might want to keep a special eye on a couple juniors - it may be your last time you'll ever see them donning maize and blue. Special teams t