A U The Michigan Daily I michigandailycom I March 17,2008 2008 CCHA PLAYOFFS QUARTERFINALS MICHIGAN 10, NEBRASKA-OMAHA 1 MICHIGAN 2, NEBRASKA-OMAHAI -1, WELCOME ACK Kolarik's energy will spark playoff run here was no way Chad Kolarik could have ended his career at Yost Ice Arena with a sickening spill against a team like Lake Superior State. After the injury was diagnosed, coach Red Berenson said he thought the senior forward had played his final game at home. But instead, Kolarik deliv- ered his encore COURTNEY during the RATKOWIAK most exciting weekend of the season. And spurred by his emotional leadership, the Wolverines proved this weekend they are a playoff team. It only took 10 minutes for the energy that had been behind the bench for the past three weeks to finally become visible to the Yost crowd. Kolarik let loose a gor- geous, high shot that hit the back corner of the net. He raised both his arms and skated right into the boards in front of the student sec- tion, his mouth guard dangling as he disappeared into the mob of celebratory teammates. "'Til I got that puck, and the guy fumbled it, I wasn't really into it," Kolarik said. "I was lost, I was winded, and then I got a lucky bounce and it went in. And you know, I'm an emotional kid, so once I get one, then more are coming." Michigan was 0-2 in the games when he sat in the stands, watch- ing the action from afar - and 2-0 when he motivated his teammates while standing next to the Michi- gan coaches in dress clothes. Once he completed his hat trick Friday, it was obvious the Wolver- ines would win this weekend. After Kolarik's third goal, the hats flew onto the ice. So did the penguin suit and the Frankenber- ry head, staples of the Yost crowd attire all season. The passion Kolarik pumped into Yost transferred to Satur- day's game, even when he wasn't on the ice. After the high of a nine-goal thrashing, the Wolverines' secopd See RATKOWIAK, Page 4B Michigan's depth demolishes UNO By NATE SANDALS Daily Sports Editor Seniors Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik have carried the Michigan hockey team all season, so they weren't surprised when Nebras- ka-Omaha keyed on them in the CCHA quarterfinals. The Mavericks found no suc- cess stopping the duo Friday night, when Kolarik lit up the red-and- white clad defense for a hat trick in his first game back from a ham- string injury. Porter also netted one in the 10-1 Michigan win. But on Saturday, the seniors were held off the score sheet. That didn't stop the rest of the Wolverines from picking up the slack. Junior Brandon Naurato and freshman Carl Hagelin each had a goal in Michigan's 2-1, series- clinching win Saturday night. The series victory earned Mich- igan its 19th straight trip to the CCHA's final weekend at Joe Louis Arena, where it will face Northern Michigan in a semifinal matchup Friday. "They've done a great job this year scoring goals, important goals, too," Hagelin said of Porter and Kolarik. "But we can't rely on two guys, everyone needs to be contributing." Hagelin has now scored a goal in three straight games, and his tal- lies were the most electrifying of the weekend. On Friday, Hagelin wowed the Yost Ice Arena crowd with a shorthanded goal that showed off his blazing speed and precision shot. Hagelin caught a Maverick defenseman off guard at center ice, then picked up the puck and blew into the offensive zone. After curl- ing behind the net, he hesitated before firinga laser over Nebraska- Omaha goalie Jerad Kaufmann's glove. On Saturday, Hagelin put on another one-man show, skating into the zone and cutting across the slot before backhanding the puck through Kaufmann's five-hole. "That was the goal of the game, really," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "I thought that put them on their heels and was just a really good individual effort on a backhand." See MAVERICKS, Page 2B ZACHARY MEISNER/Daily Senior Chad Kolarik (left) celebrates after tallying the first of three goals in his return from a hamstringinjury Friday night. The hat trick was his third of the season. Long season ends in record-setting fashion New offense troubles Blue By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor INDIANAPOLIS - Sitting on the bench, his season just seconds away from ending, freshman Kelvin Grady didn't want to think about the troubles that have plagued his team all season. Hedidn'twant to think about MICHIGAN 34 the Michigan WISCONSIN 51 men's basketball team's having another poor shooting game - 10-for-50, leading to 34 points, which set a Big Ten Tournament record for few- est points in a game and was Michigan's lowest output since scoring 32 at Michigan State in 1951. He didn't want to think about how the Wolverines reverted back to their sloppy old habits, turning the ball over 14 times. And he didn't want to think about how Michigan (5-13 Big Ten, 10-22 overall) broke the program record for losses in a season with a 51-34 loss to No. 8 Wiscon- sin (16-2, 27-4) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. So the point guard turned to redshirt freshman Anthony Wright, who was sit- ting next to him, and said, "We'll be right back nextyear." "You don't want it to sink in that you lost," Grady said. "You want to have the thought in your mind on your way back that we'll be back. Why not havea positive thought instead of a negative thought?" And there were plenty of negatives - like the fact that Wright was the only Wol- verine to makea basket in the second half. But when he hita 3-pointer after a time- out midway through the second frame, Beilein found a positive in the shipwreck of a game. He turned to his bench and, like he often does during a game, explained what he saw on the court. See BADGERS, Page 3B ByDAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez had totake extra Tylenol before Saturday's practice, the first of the spring. And before he addressed the media afterward, a media rela- NOTEBOOK tions official asked him if he wanted any juice. He declined, asking instead for water and more Tylenol. Rodriguez, in his first official practice in Ann Arbor, began the slow and often pain- ful process of teaching the spread option to players who were recruited to run a pro- style offense. The practice in Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, during which players donned shorts and helmets but no pads, went longer than Rodriguez would've liked because the team had to repeat drills until they were done properly. "It was ugly at times," Rodriguez said. "I was encouraged at times. It was a typical first practice." Losing seven offensive starters won't make installing the new system any easier. Quarterback Chad Henne, running back Mike Hart, wide receivers Mario Manning- ham and Adrian Arrington, left tackle Jake Long and left guard Adam Kraus were all multiple-year starters. Their replacements are short on experience. "I'm having a hard enough time sleeping now at night," Rodriguez said. "You want me to think about that?" SCHEMING ABOUT DEFENSE: When Rodriguez was hired, fifth-year senior defensive tackle Will Johnson assumed Michigan's base defense would be the same 3-3-5 system West Virginia ran. But new defensive coordinator Scott Sha- fer is bringing his 4-3 base from Stanford. Rodriguez said the Wolverines would also incorporate some of the odd sets he used with the Mountaineers. "I don't know how good the 3-3-5 would've been in the Big Ten because it's a big run-dominated conference," said John- See SPRING PRACTICE, Page 3B Freshman Kelvin Grady went scoreless as part of Michigan's record low 34 point total Friday.