B MELL BI' etbow sbt Why the Champs Sports Bowl could be in Michigan's future. SportsMonday column. Page 2B. The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I November 26, 2007 MICHIGAN 5, REfTRI BUTION Blue gets Golden (Gopher) revenge By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK Daily Sports Writer 1-5. The seniors' career record in the College Hockey Showcase, heading into this weekend. 5-1. Revenge. Michigan's biggest victory of the season, a 5-1win over No. 15 Minne- sota Saturday, snapped both a six- game losing streak to the Gophers and a recent tradition of Showcase disappointment. "There's one team that I really hate, and that'd be Minnesota," Michigan goalie Billy Sauer said. "It was really good to get out there and geta win." The second-ranked Wolverines (8-0 CCHA, 12-1 overall) swept both games of the College Hockey Showcase this weekend, knocking off No.14 Wisconsin 3-2 Friday and No. 15 Minnesota Saturday in their first games against ranked teams See MINNESOTA, Page 4B Porter and Kolarik show senior spark By ANDY REID Daily Sports Writer When Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik returned for their senior seasons, they knew it would make a huge -impact on the Michigan hockey team. But no one expected anything like this. Porter, the team's captain, and Kolarik, Michigan's assistant cap- tain, combined to tally six of the Wolverines' eight total goals this weekend. Their lights-out per- formance helped guide Michigan to two of its biggest victories so far this season, as the Wolverines toppled Wisconsin and Minnesota, both ranked opponents. "We're playing at home," Beren- son said. "We're playing with a team that is being led by you, the senior. You're trying to make a dif- ference, and you've gotta do it out See SENIORS, Page 4B ZACHARY MEISNER/Daily Senior captain Kevin Porter scored two goals and had two assists to help Michigan beat Minnesota Saturday, his first win against the Golden Gophers. Minnfield's change of pace keyswin By CHRIS MESZAROS Daily Sports Writer The games couldn't have been more different. But for the Michigan women's basketball team, it could've been much worse. The Wolverines (4-1) finished third this week- end in Vanderbilt's Thanksgiving Tournament, with a 67-43 loss to Iowa State Friday and a 80-43 victory over Belmont yesterday. MICHIGAN 80 Junior Jessica Min- M N 43 nfield led Michigan - - _-43 against Belmont with 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor. But Min- nfield had a poor game against the Cyclones, tally- ing no points and three rebounds. Michigan coach Kevin Borseth believed her improved play was the big difference between the two results. "She got engaged a little bit better in the offense," Borseth said. "That allowed her to take some better shots." Minnfield was not the only Wolverine to rebound from Michigan's defeat. Junior forward Carly Benson bounced back from a one-point per- formance on Friday to score 11 against Belmont. "We had more rhythm," Borseth said. "We did screens very well, which was something we spent a little time on (Saturday). That was the difference offensively." The Wolverines began the game slowly, per- haps because of the Friday loss. But they quickly See BELMONT, Page 4B Same old Wolverines in Alaska By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Writer How good is the Michigan men's bas- ketball team?_ At this point, W. KENTUCKY 73 the answer is MICHIGAN 69 still up in the - - air. Six games into the John Beilein era, the Wolverines (3-3) haven't done any- thing unexpected. They've beaten their weaker opponents and lost to their stronger ones, most recently a 73-69 defeat at the hands of 1.5-point favor- ite Western Kentucky in the fifth-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday. "We are going to play an awful lot of teams that are as good as Western Ken- tucky," Beilein said through the athletic department. "There isn't a team on our schedule that isn't as good as Western Kentucky or better. From here on out, we are going to have to go in there and play with the same intensity we had today and learn from what we just learned." Michigan showed the same resilien- cy Saturday it displayed all weekend, cutting Western Kentucky's 15-point first-half lead to two in the game's final minute. Junior point guard Jerret Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers between the 10- and six-minute marks to spark the Wolver- ines back into the game. Still, Michigan trailed 71-64 until sophomore forward DeShawn Sims hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 left. On the ensuing Western Kentucky possession, Wolverine junior point guard C.J. Lee got a steal that led to a Manny Harris dunk. With eight seconds between the shot clock and game clock, the Wolverines elected not to foul and forced a Hill- topper miss, but Western Kentucky forward D.J. Magley tallied the game- clinching putback. The Hilltoppers built their big lead with 16 points off 10 turnovers in the first half. "The whole game they pressured us," Beilein said through the athletic depart- ment. "They just rotate 10 guys in there and just try to wear you down. "We knew what they were going to do Effort a beautiful sight This all sounds familiar - a promising beginning fol- lowed by a reality check. The Michigan men's basketball team had two convincing wins over Radford and Brown that could make anyone, myself included, excit- ed for the new season. But as quickly asa H. JOSE 12-0 George- BOSCH town run can - take (which The Bosch lasted 5:06 to Watch be exact), the John Beilein honeymoon ended and the sad realization that a quality win would be hard to come by began. Last season the Michigan men's basketball team's hopeful 12-2 start lasted much longer, but it also came to a crashing halt with losses to North Carolina State, Georgetown and UCLA. The effect of both seasons is the same. This really isn't news for this year's squad. Most people, even Beilein, were expecting a tough season. The team is young, the offensive system is new and Mich- igan's schedule is brutal. But there's futility, and then there's hopelessness. Reaching the postseason may be futile, but the Wolverines are far from hopeless. Even with Michigan starting two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior, I feel more comfort- able with this year's squad than last year's. From more than 3,000 miles away I could tell this Michi- gan team has more confidence and mettle. The Wolverines' youth move- ment - led by freshmen Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady and sophomores DeShawn Sims, Zack Gibson and Ekpe Udoh - gives this squad a hop in its step that it See BOSCH, Page 4B SAM WOLSON/Daly Sophomore DeShawn Sims scored 16 points or 7-of-12 shooting in the Wolverines' loss to Bel- mont Saturday. against us, but it is almost impossible to from Harris. prepare for it, especially with a one-day "We will need to now go back and prep with a young team." find all the little things that we need Michigan apparently adjusted well to change," Beilein said through the as the game went on, holding Western athletic department. "A simple box out, Kentucky to just five points off eight landing on two feet, hit the guy when he Wolverine second-half turnovers. went backdoor, don't go backdoor too But it wasn't enough for Michigan, late, don't go backdoor too early ... all which averaged 13 turnovers per con- the little things that will teach us how to test in the three-game tournament. getbetter. If we would have gotten a few Wednesday, the Wolverines lost their of those things we would have walked opening game of the Shootout 79-65 to away with a win (Saturday). But it didn't No. 22 Butler, which made a tourna- happen." ment-record 17 3-pointers. If Beilein is right about the level of Michigan rebounded with a 61-53 Michigan's upcoming competition, the over Eastern Washington behind 19 Wolverines better solve their shortcom- points, five rebounds and five assists ings quickly. i