8A -- Friday, October 15, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Blue faces first real test in No. 9 UNH

By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor
The Michigan hockey team's
trip to New Hampshire has been
six years in the making.
The Wildcats played the Wol-
verines to a 4-4 tie exactly six
years ago today.
Michigan
coach Red Beren-
son admitted he
doesn't like going at UNH
to play games on Matchup:
the east coast, Michigan 2-0-
but when New 1, UNH 1-1-0
Hampshire was When: Satur-
in Ann Arbor, day 7:05 P.M.
Berenson prom-
ised them Whttemore
return game in Center Arena
the future. And
on Saturday No. 3
Michigan will take on the Wildcats
at Whittemore Center Arena.
The Wolverines handled Bowl-
ing Green last weekend and blew
a 4-0 lead to tie Mercyhurst in
the season opener. But No. 9 New
Hampshire will be the first real
test of the young season.
"Mercyhurst was the first game
of the year for both teams, and we
got our jitters out," junior defen-
seman Brandon Burlon said this

week during practice. "It's defi-
nitely going to be a test early in
the year ... We're going to have to
embrace the challenge."
New Hampshire graduated its
top scorer from last season, Bobby
Butler, but 14 of its top 16 scorers
return.
It showed its offensive ability
last weekend, getting nine goals
from nine different players in two
games against No. 4 Miami.
For Michigan (2-0-0 CCHA,
2-0-1 overall), shutting down the
Wildcats' transition game will be
the first priority.
"The team we're playing is a
great transition team," Berenson
said. "That's their strength, tran-
sition and attack, so if we can do a
good job in that area it will help."
Stopping the transition will be
harder than usual, as Michigan
will play on its first Olympic size
rink this season. Olympic ice is
13 feet wider than a normal rink,
creating more space for players to
spread out, especially in the neu-
tral zone.
"As a defenseman, you have a
lot more time." Burlon said. "The
forwards aren't on you as quick as
they usually are on a regular sheet
of ice.
"You don't get hit as much. But

by the same token, there's a lot
more room for the forwards to use
and gain speed. So it's a little bit of
a give and take."
The Wolverines haven't had suc-
cess in previous East Coast trips.
The past two years, they have lost
both games to Boston University
on the road. In 2007, Michigan lost
7-2 to the fifth-ranked Terriers,
and the following year, Michigan
scored two goals in the third to tie
the game, but gave up a late goal to
lose.
Despite the long trips and the
unfamiliar teams, the players don't
treat this game any differently.
"It's usually the first real road
trip and it's usually in the begin-
ning of the year so it's fun to get
the team together as bonding in a
way," senior forward Carl Hagelin
said. "It's fun to play some of those
teams.
"They're usually ranked high
and always skilled guys."
NOTES: Sophomore forward
Kevin Lynch, who hurt his shoul-
der in Tuesday's game against
the USNTDP, skated in practice
today with no contact. Berenson is
"anticipating he will be OK to go."
... Senior forward Matt Rust, who
suffered a lower body injury last
weekend will play Saturday.

0l

a

ARIEL BOND/Daily

Junior Brandon Burlon is one of the Woiverines' top-four defensemen in the 2010 season.


Stachel gives 'M' comeback victory

MEN'S SWIMMING ND DiVING
Wolverines strive to .
meet high standards

By EMILY BONCHI
Daily Sports Writer
It must have been something he
said.
Despite outshooting Purdue
(2-4-1 Big Ten, 6-9-2 overall) and
having the clear offensive advan-
tage during the first half on Thurs-
day night
in Ann PURDUE 1
Arbor, the MICHIGAN 2
Michigan
women's soccer team went into its
halftime talk down 1-0. The Wol-
verines had missed six chances on
corner kicks in the half.
"It's been that way a bit this
year," Michigan coach Greg Ryan
said referring to missed opportu-
nities. "We're getting good chanc-
es but we're just not putting them
away."
Still without a Big Ten vic-
tory, the Wolverines (1-1-2, 6-2-
4) looked to Ryan and focused on
leaving with a win.
"I just said, 'Girls, you're doing
everything right, but you've got to
be more determined to get in the
box and score a goal,' " Ryan said
after the game.
That simple piece of advice
worked, as the Wolverines quickly
illustrated their determination to
get their first Big Ten victory.

senior captain Clare Stachel said.
With less than eight minutes
left in the game, freshman Meghan
Toohey sent the ball up the right
side of the box, resting right at the
feet of Stachel. Easily beating the
Purdue defender, she buried the
ball along the right post, tallying
her first goal of the season and
securing a win for the Wolverines.
The victory was certainly a
team effort, as Michigan used
much of its bench - including its
freshmen - throughout the game
to try and spark some action on
the field.
"Our freshmen are matur-
ing and we're becoming a deeper
team, so I'm able to use my bench
more," Ryan said. "The freshmen
and the upperclassmen that came
off the bench, I thought really
added to the energy we had on the
field. That's something we haven't
had in a couple of years."
The Wolverines head to Bloom-
ington on Sunday for a match
against the Hoosiers, continuing
conference play and kicking off
the first of three road games.
"We really are just looking for
more Big Ten wins," Stachel said.
"We have lost one, tied two in the
Big Ten and as long as we just keep
winning, we're looking for that
trip to the NCAAs."

Senior Clare Stachel scored the winning goal in Michigan's 2-1 victory Thursday.

Just 56 seconds into the sec-
ond half, freshman forward Nkem
Ezurike fed off of a quick pass
from senior forward Amanda
Bowery, quickly putting Michigan
on the board.
"We knew that we had to give it
our all the second half," Ezurike
said. "It came quickly, which was
a great thing for us."
It was the third time this season
that Ezurike had buried the game-

tying goal for the Wolverines. On
the two other occasions, however,
neither team ended up capitalizing
during overtime, resulting in two
ties.
But going into overtime for
the fifth time this season was not
something the Wolverines wanted
to do.
"It's getting far into the season.
We can't keep tying. We can't lose.
We need to put these goals in,"


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By ANDREW HADDAD
Daily Sports Writer
In recent years, the Michigan
men's swimming and diving team
has been defined by star power.
Peter Vanderkaay won four
NCAA championships before
graduating in 2006. His little
brother, Alex Vanderkaay, won
two. Thirteen-time All-American
Andre Schultz and 2009 National
Swimmer of the Year Tyler Clary
paced the team last season, lead-
ing the Wolverines to a seventh-
place overall finish at the NCAA
Championships.
This year is a different story.
Schultz and Clary have gradu-
ated, and the Wolverines don't
seem to have the same type of
superstars ready to replace them.
In addition, the team is extremely
young, with just eight returning
seniors to go along with 17 fresh-
men, many of whom are expected
to contribute.
It may be a rebuilding year for
the Wolverines.
But Michigan coach Mike Bot-
tom disagrees. While the team
probably won't win as many
individual championships as in
recent years, he says, it is also
more balanced than usual, which
should compensate for the lack of
star power.
"Losing Tyler and Andre is
definitely tough," Bottom said
on Thursday. "But the team has
been training extremely well. If
we keep improving the way we
are, there shouldn't be a drop-off
from the last couple years."
The closest this team has to
a star is junior Dan Madwed, a
seven-time All-American him-
self. Madwed won Big Ten titles
in four separate events last sea-
son, and he plans on showing his
versatility even more this season.
"My goal is to do whatever
coach Mike wants me to do,"
Madwed said. "I understand that
we have a lot of guys now who do
the same things I do, so my goal is
to be wherever Mike needs me to
be and help the team as much as
possible."
Bottom views Madwed as one
of the three leaders of the team,
along with senior captains Neal
Kennedy and Chris Douville.
Kennedy and Douville both
began their careers as walk-ons.
"They're both great captains,"
Bottom said. "Neither of them
were highly recruited, butthey've
fought their way up the ladder.
They can look at the freshmen
and say, 'Look what we're doing.
We're captains now.' They're
great examples of the blue-collar

culture we have here. Whether
they're a top recruit or a walk-on,
our swimmers come in here and
battle their way to the top."
With such a young team, that
work ethic will be the key to
whether the Wolverines live up to
their high standards.
"I've never coached a team
that's improved quite so quickly
as we have," Bottom said. "Part of
that is exactly because we have so
many young swimmers here who
are excited about being here and
learning fast. Youth and inexperi-
ence isn't always a bad thing."
Michigan's 17 freshmen repre-
sent the largest recruiting class
in the program's history. The
most hyped of the bunch is Kyle
Whitaker, the 2010 National High
School Swimmer of the Year and
No. 1 recruit in the country. He's
expected to be a major contribu-
tor this season.
Several other freshmen have
been receiving buzz, such as dis-
tance specialist Sean Ryan, who
will be going to the world cham-
pionships in Dubai in December,
and butterfly swimmer John
Wojciechowski.
"(Ryan and Wojciechowski)
have both been training well,"
Bottom said. "Wojciechowski
especially has been flying under
the radar a little bit, but I think
he's going to come in and surprise
people."
Despite the high turnover from
last season, the team's strongest
and weakest events appear to be
the same as usual. The 500-m
freestyle, 200-m and 400-m
individual medleys, and the long
distance events are traditional
Michigan strengths and seem to
be in good hands again.
Conversely, the diving team
has always been somewhat of a
weakness for the Wolverines. In
an effort to improve the program,
the school hired KZ Li in August
as the head coach of the men's and
women's teams. Li was the co-
head coach of the U.S. Elite Div-
ing Academy the pasttwo seasons
and, previously, Minnesota's head
diving coach from 1996 to 2003.
With Li on board, along with a
strong freshman class and lead-
ership from Madwed, Kennedy,
and Douville, Bottom sees no
reason why the team shouldn't
have performances similar to
years past.
"(Our goal) is to win all of our
Big Ten dual meets," Bottom said.
"I think we have a great shot at
winning the conference. If we
keep improving at this rate, we
can go toe-to-toe with anyone in
the country."

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