The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 7A
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Wolverines look for
redemption at home
against Penn State
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Former Michigan forward Brian Wiseman celebrates a goal in his senior campaign in January 1995. Wiseman scored 413 goals in a season as a 10-year-old.
Wiseeman remembers 413-goal year,
legacy as Canadian hockey prodigy
'M' assistant coach
made headlines
as goal-scoring
phenom
By MATT SLOVIN
Daily Sports Editor
You've probably heard about
Michigan hockey coach Red
Berenson's phenomenal six-
goal game with the St. Louis
Blues in 1968. But what about
the record-breaking season of
one of his assistants, who aver-
aged over five goals per game en
route to a 413-goal campaign?
"They didn't even keep those
stats when I was a kid," Beren-
son said.
About nine years after that
magical season, when Berenson
began to recruit Brian Wiseman
to join the Michigan program,
he couldn't avoid hearing the
legend of the Canadian center
who went from typical adoles-
cent to national prodigy.
Wiseman, now a Michigan
assistant coach, was 10 years
old at the time. And no, his
opponents weren't half his age.
In fact, after Wiseman - then
a rising star in the hockey-hun-
gry town of Bothwell, Ontario
- rewrote the record books, he
joined his older brother's team,
who's three years older.
"There was no secret about
Brian Wiseman when we
recruited him," Berenson said.
"He was gifted all the way up....
We knew this kid was prolific."
The winter of 1981 is one
Wiseman won't ever forget.
The national media probably
came calling at about the time
Wiseman scored 17 times in a
single game. Believe it or not, he
wasn't shooting on an empty net
all night.
Local papers took notice
first. But it wasn't long before
Don Cherry wanted to meet the
youngster. So Wiseman went
to Toronto for Hockey Night
in Canada - a wide-eyed boy
excited to meet some of hock-
ey's best, and viewers anxious
to meet a kid with a knack for
scoring goals.
"It was quite the interesting
season, to say the least, with
some of the production that I
was able to achieve," Wiseman
said. "I was a 10-year-old in
some different situations that
a normal 10-year-old wouldn't
be in."
Wiseman adjusted to life as a
child star. He couldn't compre-
hend the novelty of it all, doing
his best to look as comfortable
and answer as professionally
in front of the camera as a kid
in fourth grade possibly could.
Wiseman's penmanship also
had to adapt to his new lifestyle
- autographs were just part of
the gig.
But the highlight of the
season wasn't appearing in a
national hockey magazine or
even meeting the eccentric
Cherry. It was when Wiseman
met the man whose record he
broke. You may have heard of
him - Wayne Gretzky. "The
Great One" once scored 378
goals in a season. It was a nov-
ice-level record never to be bro-
ken - or so everyone thought.
But Wiseman made it look like
child's play, and Gretzky had to
meet the kid that left him in his
dust.
While Gretzky was busy win-
ning Stanley Cups and MVP
awards, he took time off to
meet Wiseman. Wiseman can't
remember any specific words
of wisdom Gretzky had to pass
along, but said Gretzky didn't
have any hard feelings over
having his record snatched
away. The meeting is something
that Wiseman will remember
forever.
"(He) flew to my hometown
for a baseball charity event,"
Wiseman said. "I was then
introduced to him and we had
some time together."
His teammates also reaped
the benefits of playing along-
side the prodigy. An opposing
team, eager to test itself against
the scoring prowess of Wise-
man, flew his team out to New
Brunswick for a series.
"We did a lot of different
things because of...,",Wiseman
hesitated, "my goal production,
I guess."
When you're 10, you don't
understand why the world is
the way it is. To Wiseman, he
was just another kid - the
phone at home just rang a little
more with media requests and
he went off to press conferences
while others were finishing up
homework.
"You just ... do it," Wiseman
said. "Answer a couple ques-
tions - probably not intelli-
gently, obviously, as a 10-year
old. It was kind of fun. ... But it
was obviously not your normal
10-year-old going to the rink to
play hockey."
Obviously. And though play-
ers eventually "caught up," as
Wiseman says, he remained a
good enough scorer to catch
Berenson's eye. Many under-
sized scorers go unrecruited,
but Wiseman was a special kind
of sniper.
Today, he leaves the auto-
graph signing to the athletes
he coaches and the press con-
ferences to Berenson. But the
childhood he enjoyed, along
with the 413 goals he notched
that season, remain extraordi-
nary.
"I did some good things when
I was younger," Wiseman said
sheepishly.
Yeah, 413 of them.
Defense tasked with that te
Gray a
slowing Nittany 27 poin
Wolver
Lions point guard Alon
Nittany
Maggie Lucas alsopus
usingth
By MICHAEL LAURILA open lo
Daily Sports Writer Ansv
and ab
When the Michigan women's tion wa
basketball team traveled to State Michig
College on Jan. 12 to play then- The
No. 25 Penn State, the result was decent
a78-63 loss. It wasn't the Wolver- domina
ines' night, according to junior 24-3. I
guard Jenny Ryan. a defe
But this Thursday, exactly two guarde
weeks later, Michigan will look will us
to avenge the loss when the 22nd- to stop
ranked Nittany Lions travel to "(Pe
Ann Arbor. sitionr
The biggest difference in the ward R
upcoming game will be the Wol- where(
verines' home-court advantage, the cou
Michigan enters the game unde- as a tea
feated at home, compared to its tant)."
mediocre -4 away record.
Both teams are riding streaks
that started after the first show-
down. Penn State has a four-
game win streak since the win,
and since Michigan lost, it has g
won three straight.
"We've played them and we U
recognize what they're good at,
and they've played us and they SC
recognize what we're good at
it," said Michigan coach Kevin
Borseth.
"Now we have to go back and The
adjust the game plan and make they c
some things change from last combin
game." Ohio St
One aspect of the game that of Sam
the Wolverines will definitely Hill to
need to change is their defense their co
of Penn State sophomore guard Even
Maggie Lucas. right t
Lucas has averaged 19.6 points the hi:
per game in the 2011-12 season attack,
but scored 22 against Michigan struggl
in the team's first matchup. ketball.
"We have to really defend The
Lucas," said junior forward 34 per
Nya Jordan. "If we can stop her, 32 pert
they'll have to find anotherwayto Improv
beat us, because right now, she's and st
pretty much leading their team." ability
Added Borseth: "Lucas can will be
score at any point and any time Michig
in the gym. She scores going left, But
going right, standing up, sitting defense
down. She can flat out score the import
basketball." Borsetl
But the Nittany Lions have way tot
other offensive weapons. Lucas, "I k
senior guard Zhaque Gray and win ut
junior guard Alex Bentley form a he said
three-headed offensive monster them, t
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rrorizes opposing teams.
nd Bentley combined for
ats last game against the
-ines.
g with scoring at ease, the
Lions' perimeter players
shtheballupthefloorwell,
heir speed to getlayups and
oks in transition.
wering Penn State's speed
ility to score in transi-
s the biggest struggle for
an two weeks ago.
Wolverines - usually
on the fast break - were
ted in fast-break points,
n the half-court, Ryan,
msive specialist, mostly
d Lucas, but Michigan
e a help-oriented defense
the Nittany Lions.
nn State) had alot of tran-
points," said junior for-
achel Sheffer. "Knowing
(Gray and Lucas) are on
urt, and coming together
m to stop them (is impor-
You're not
Dng to win
inless you
ore points."
Wolverines have shown
an shut down dangerous
ations - they limited
ate's explosive guard duo
antha Prahalis and Tayler
nine fewer points than
tmbined season average.
if Michigan does all the
hings defensively to stop
gh-powered Penn State
it still has to overcome the
es it had to score the bas-
Wolverines shot a mere
cent from the floor and
cent from behind the arc.
ing those low numbers
tpping the Nittany Lions'
to score in quick bursts
the key to success for
an on Thursday.
when asked about whether
or offense would be more
ant against Penn State,
h said he knows only one
ensure a victory.
now you're not going to
nless you score points,"
. "If you score more than
hen you win."
" Athletic Department dispels OHL rumors
OHL team source
says alternate
rink location in
Detroit likely
By MATT SLOVIN
Daily Sports Editor
Rumors swirling that an
Ontario Hockey League double-
header would be played next
winter at Michigan Stadium in
conjunction
with the First reported on
NHL's Win-
ter Classic MichiganDailycom
are "not
true," Associate Athletic Direc-
tor David Ablauf told the Daily
Wednesday morning.
A Tuesday-evening tweet from
* a London, Ontario reporter cover-
ing the OHL said that the outdoor
doubleheader was confirmed and
would be played at the Big House
on Dec. 31.
Since then, an OHL source
with one of the teams involved
informed the Daily that the
league is, in fact, planning an out-
door doubleheader. The source
went on to name Detroit's Comer-
ica Park as the most likely venue.
While an official announce-
ment hasn't been released by
either the Michigan Athletic
Department or the NHL regard-
ing the Winter Classic, the
Detroit Free Press confirmed
earlier this month that the event
would, indeed, be held at the Big
House.
A major sticking point remains
as to whether any smaller events
will supplement the Winter Clas-
sic. It now seems likely that any
other games to be played would
take place at an auxiliary venue.
The speculation is just the lat-
est in the outdoor frenzy sweep-
ing all levels of hockey. Just two
weeks ago, the Michigan hockey
team faced off against Ohio State
at Progressive Field in Cleveland
for the Frozen Diamond Faceoff.
--UO
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan hockey team played in two outdoor games in the past 13 months.
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