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2B - Faceoff - October 11, 2006 - The Michigan Daily
FACEOFF 2006
Octoberishere,andthatcanmeanjustonething:
Michigan hockey is back. With Red Berenson at tehelm
for his 23rd season, the Wolverines look to rebound from a
disappointing 2005-06 campaign. T.. Hensick, Matt Hun-
wick and Jack Johnson will lead the Maize and Blue.
Yost Ice Arena will be shaking again as Michigan
welcomes back its CCHA rivals foranotherseason.11I of
the Wolverines' first 13 games will be played at home, so
come out early and often.
In this special season preview, you can read about
Michigan's stalwart defenselearn how goalie Billy Sauer
plans to build on his freshman year and find out our take
on the CCHA. We hope you enjoy it. See you at Yost.-
Amber Colvin " James V. Dowd
Ian Robinson - Nate Sandals
Who are the contenders in the CCHA?
Read our conference preview to find out.
Intact for another season, Michigan's
defense will be the team's backbone.
Goalie Billy Sauer is a year older and a year
more experienced. Now he's the starter.
Who will win the National Championship?
Check out the hockey writer's staff picks.
Fa-coff - Tctoner 1, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 7B
Billy Sauer wore down during
the 2005-06 season. This
year, more experienced and
more confident, he's ready to
take his team back to the top.
PETER SCHOTTENFELS AND FILE PHOTO/Daily
2006-07 SCHEDULE
Date
10/13
10/14
10/19
10/20
10/27
10/28
11/3
11/4
11/10
11/11
11/17
11/18
11/21
11/24
11/25
12/1
12/2
12/8
12/9
12/29
12/30
1/9
1/12
1/13
Opponent
Alabama-Huntsville*
Connecticut
Miami (Ohio)
Miami (Ohio)
Northeastern
Northeastern
Michigan State
Michigan State
Nebraska-Omaha
Nebraska-Omaha
Ferris State
Ferris State
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Minnesota
W. Michigan
W. Michigan
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Michigan Tech
MSU/Harvard
Bowling Green
N. Michigan
N. Michigan
Time
7:35
7:35
8:05
7:35
7:35
7:35
7:05
7:35
7:35
7:35
7:05
7:05
7:35
7:05
7:05
7:35
7:35
7:35
7:30
8:00
TBA
7:35
7:35
7:35
Date
1/19
1/20
1/26
1/27
I2/2
2/3
T 2/9
2/10
2/16
2/18
2/23
Opponent
Alaska
Alaska
Ferris State
Ferris State
W. Michigan
W. Michigan
Bowling Green
Michigan State
Lake Superior St.
Lake Superior St.
Ohi2 State
Time
7:05
7:05
7:35
7:35
P 7:35
7:35
7:35
7:35
7:35
3:00
7:05
WHEN THE
SEASON BEGINS,
CHECK OUT
OUR BLOG,
THE GAME.
THE HOCKEY
WRITERS
WILL BE LIVE-
BLOGGING
EVERY HOME
G AAME
STEVEN TAI/ODly
Notre Dame goaltender David Brown will be a key cog in Coach Jeff
Jackson's effort to make the Fighting Irish the CCHA's surprise team.
No. Name Pos. Wt. Ht. Yr. NHL Team
3 Jack Johnson D 210 6-1 So. Los Angeles
4 Chris Summers D 185 6-2 Fr. Phoenix
5 Steve Kampfer D 197 5-11 Fr.
6 Matt Hunwick (C) D 198 6-0 Sr. Boston
7 T.J. Hensick (A) F 189 5-10 Sr. Colorado
8 Jason Dest (A) D 194 6-0 Sr.
9 Andrew Cogliano F 185 5-10 So. Edmonton
10 Travis Turnbull F 193 6-0 So.
11 Kevin Porter F 195 5-11 Jr. Phoenix
12 Chris Fragner F 183 6-1 Jr.
14 Brian Lebler F 210 6-2 Fr.
15 Anthony Ciraulo F 175 5-6 Fr.
16 David Rohlfs F 239 6-3 Sr. Edmonton
17 Mark Mitera D 213 6-3 So. Anaheim
18 Tim Miller F 190 6-1 So.
19 Jon Montville F 195 5-10 Jr.
20 Eric Elmblad D/F 201 6-4 Fr.
21 Jason Bailey F 208 6 -1 So. Anaheim
22 Brandon Naurato F 193 6-0 So.
24 Chad Kolarik F 180 5-11 Jr. Phoenix
25 Tim Cook D 218 6-4 Sr. Ottawa
26 Danny Fardig F 200 5-11 So.
27 Morgan Ward F 205 6-2 5th
30 Mike Mayhew G 170 6-0 Sr.
33 Steve Jakiel G 190 6-4 Fr.
36 Billy Sauer G 180 6-2 So. Colorado
FACEOFF 2006 PRODUCTION CREW
AmbertColin
James V. Dowd
Ian Robinson
Nate Sandals HockeyWriters
Donn M. Fresard Editor in Chief
Jack Herman ManagingSportsEditor
Jeffrey Bloomer Managing Editor
Alex Dzadosz
Mike Hulsebus Managing Photo Editors
Bridget O'Donnell
Forest Casey Cover
ForestCasey CoverPhoto
Peter Schottenfels Photo Editing
Alexis Floyd Business Manager
Robert Chin Display Sales Manager
Ben Schrotenboer Assoc. Display Sales Manager
David Dai Special Project Manager
Specialthanksto: Lisa GentileJim Rutherford
and Lindsey Ungar
younger goalies the art of the position.
Sauer, who the Colorado Avalanche
picked in the seventh round of the NHL
Draft this summer, thinks the tutoring
helped him better understand his own
game.
"(Fioravanti) has me also teach other
goalies which helps me analyze goaltend-
ing situations,' Sauer said. "So now, when
I see myself in those situations, I can really
tell myself what I'm doing wrong."
Fioravanti was hired as Michigan's vol-
unteer goalie coach last week, partly upon
Sauer's recommendation. He said he was
most impressed with Sauer's improvement
with the basics.
"If you want to break it down, his fun-
damentals got better," Fioravanti said. "My
biggest philosophy is to always watch the
puck.... I think that was a huge improve-
ment for him over the summer, huge."
Student teaching
This season, Sauer says he is a more
mobile goalie, one of the qualities Fiora-
vanti stresses in his students. Sauer is more
confident in his abilities and ready to face
any situation without losing focus.
"I've been a lot more patient and calm;'
Sauer said. "I panicked a lot last year and I
thought over the summer it improved quite
a bit."
Sauer's teammates and coaches agree
that the time he put in over the summer
will pay off in big ways this season.
Another improvement for Sauer over
last year is his established chemistry with
his defense, which didn't lose any mem-
bers to the NHL or graduation and added
two quality freshmen.
"Just knowing a lot of people in your D-
corps helps," Sauer said. "You know their
tendencies and stuff like that. And as far as
just having a friendship with them already
built, that helps too"
This year, Sauer doesn't have to worry
about friendships off the ice either. While
he struggled to fit in socially as a 17-year-
old freshman, Sauer feels more comfort-
able with his teammates this year. He's
especially close with his housemates:
Mitera, Danny Fardig, Tim Miller and
Morgan Ward.
The louder Sauer isn't clear just to his
teammates, but to his coaches, too. When
something is bothering Sauer,he's not afraid
to let his coaches know how he feels.
"This year, I think I've learned to speak
my mind more," Sauer said. "I've already
had a lot of conversations with the coach-
es with some things that I'd like to get
changed or just how I'm feeling:"
Along with a greater general presence
on the ice and in the locker room, Sauer
is happy to take on the leadership role
amongst the team's goaltenders.
Unlike the cold shoulder Noah Ruden
showed him last season, Sauer is trying to
welcome incoming freshman goalie Steve
Jakiel with open arms, and help him as
much as possible.
"I'm trying to help Steve out' Sauer
said. "I know he's actually a couple years
older than me, but I know how it is coming
in as a freshman. Just because he's older
than me doesn't really mean that he knows
what's going on here anymore than I did
last year."
Jakiel, who is Sauer's workout partner in
the weight room, appreciates the help and
is happy to have such a good resource to
work with in his first season on the team.
"It's good to have a guy with a year of
experience in front to watch in practice
and learn from;' Jakiel said. "We get along
well."
On Monday, the first day the goal-
ies worked with Fioravanti, Sauer looked
much more like an assistant teacher than a
student. Having learned Fioravanti's meth-
ods in past years, Sauer used the oppor-
tunity to give quick tips to fellow goalies
Jakiel and senior Mike Mayhew.
Winning every time
Last year, Sauer had to fight to earn
the respect of his teammates. This year,
respect already in hand, he's taking on a
leadership role and looks forward to going
out and proving he's one of the top goalies
in college hockey.
Sauer is aiming to lead the CCHA in one
statistical category: wins. For him, it's the
most important column in the box score.
Sauer thinks he can help an already-tal-
ented Michigan squad to achieve its goals
and have a strong season.
"You don't want tojinx anything,"Sauer
said. "But we're really looking forward to
a good season. Winning a few titles I don't
think is too far out of our reach."
To achieve those goals, Michigan will
need to see further proof of just how
important a year of experience, newfound
confidence and a summer of hard work can
be. For Sauer's part, he is certain the differ-
ence will come through.
"I don't feel like the youngest person
anymore:' Sauer said. "I still am, but just
having that year of experience makes you
feel a lot older"
When he came to Ann Arbor, Sauer was
a 17-year-old kid. Now he's an 18-year-old
man. ,,,,,,,,
2/24 Ohio State 7:05
* Home games in bold
Playoffs
CCHA Tournament
3/2-3/4 CCHA 1st Round TBA
3/9-3/11 CCHA 2nd Round TBA
3/16 CCHA Semifinals TBA
3/17 CCHA Final TBA
NCAA Tournament
3/23-3/25 NCAA Regionals TBA
4/5 NCAA Frozen Four TBA
4/7 NCAA Championship TBA
5
VA/ru&.
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MICHIGANDAILY
_ Como
Sophomore goalie Billy Sauer made 53 combined saves in Michigan's two exhibition games last week.