The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I October 12,200 ol Nir UAF blanks 'M' in Anchorage Michigan rebounds * with five-goal win the next night By TIM ROHAN Daily Sports Writer ANCHORAGE - The Michigan hockey team may want what hap- pened in Alaska to stay in Alaska - well, at least part of it. The fourth-ranked Wolverines were shut out in their season open- er for the first time in program history, losing 2-0 to the Alaska- Fairbanks Nanooks on Friday. Dating back to last year's 2-0 loss to Air Force in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan was shutout in consecutive games for the first time since the 1942-43 season. The Wolverines played in the 19th annual Kendall Hockey Clas- sic in Anchorage this weekend. They took second place out of four teams after topping the Alaska- Anchorage Seawolves at Sullivan Arena on Saturday night, 6-1. On Friday, Michigan (1-1) knew See NANOOKS, Page 2B Gregg and Co. post strong startto 2009 SAID ALSALAH/Daily Junior Chad Langlais ,seen here in Michigan's exhibition win over Windsor, notched two assists against Alaska-Anchorage in the Wolverines' 6-1 win Saturday. The day before, Michigan suffered a 2-0 loss in its season opener to Alaska-Fairbanks. By RYAN A. PODGES Daily Sports Writer Michigan freshman Evan Gregg waited anxiously on the starting block, ready to swim the final leg of the 400-yard medley relay in his first race as a member of the Michi- gan men's swimming and diving team. The competition in the first three legs of the relay were tight, and by the time he entered the water, his three relay teammates had given him a narrow lead of just over a second and a half. With the other swimmers in his lane rooting for him behind the blocks and his coaches and teammates screaming and cheer- ing on the pool deck, Gregg not only maintained that lead, but increased it by over three seconds to secure first place and set a new meet record. It was an impressive start to the meet for the Wolverines and hope- fully a glimpse of what they can expect to see from this season's freshmen class. This year, Michigan has 16 freshmen, which represents just less than half the team and is the largest in the program's 88-year history. Friday night was the first chance for coaches and upperclass- men to see the freshmen perform in a competitive situation. By the end of the meet, nine freshmen had scored points for Michigan. The meet was hosted by Notre Dame and featured all relay events. It was Michigan's first competi- tion of the year, and the Wolverines took first place by winning every swimming event and outscoring the Irish by 32 points. Oakland, Valparaiso and Cleveland State also participated. "For me it was really nice to see the guys were workingtogether and appreciated each other's efforts," Michigan assistant coach Josh White said. "It was a great way to introduce our freshmen to Michi- gan and a great way for our upper- See SWIMMING, Page 2B * The Michigan women's tennis team was led by a freshman this weekend at the Kentucky Invitational. Page 2B. The Michigan men's soccer team was served a bitter 1-0 defeat after a last-chance attempt to score fell short. Page 2B. I A A