8 - Friday, October 11, 2013 S o P17" The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom .. Anew beginning I aa ' ' PALSEMA/al Seir owrdLk M fet eerae isscndpwr~lygollestanamnueitotethr ero o u icia aed -,Moft dzld ihtw olsadhadsatn s ihia opldBotnColg Tusaya oI c Aea 0, By ALEJANDRO ZON&IGA3 Daily Sports Editor Andrew Copp made himself a promise. Named an alternate cap- tain by Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson, the sophomore for- ward vowed to contribute more to avoid a BC 1 repeatofthe MICHIGAN 3 crushing disappointment of last season. And on Thursday night, Copp and No. 10 Michigan notched a statement victory at Yost Ice Arena by topping No. 4 Boston College, 3-1, in both teams' regu- lar-season openers. Copp finished with three points on the night, highlighted by a shot deflected off a Boston College player five minutes into the second period to give the Wol- verines (1-0) a 2-0 lead. And just moments into the third period, after the Eagles (0-1) had cut the deficit to one goal beforethe inter- mission, Copp's pinpoint assist to senior forward Luke Moffatt helped restore Michigan's two- goal advantage - one it would not relinquish. "That's what we're looking for," Berenson said. "(Copp) is a big kid, he competes hard, he wants to play at both ends of the rink, and that's how we want our whole team to play. But Andrew Copp is not just a sophomore now - he's one of our captains, and he's play- ing like it." The Wolverines struck early when freshman forward JT Com- pher and Moffatt combined on the power play seven minutes into the first period. Singlehandedly breaking into the offensive zone, Compher avoided two defen- semen before sliding the puck across the crease. Unmarked, Moffatt one-timed it past Billett. "It's definitely good to get the first one out of the way always," Moffatt said. "Definitely good to getJT'(Compher) his first point as a freshman, and I feel like we got the ball rolling early this year." Moffat had a pair of goals, and Compher had two assists as part of Michigan's second line. The Eagles' lone tally came midway through the second peri- od. Forward Johnny Gaudreau fed defenseman Ian McCoshen, and his slap shot from the blue line made its way past sophomore netminder Steve Racine after being tipped by a defender. Ryan Fitzgerald nearly brought Boston College all the way back from the two-goal hole on a breakaway moments later, but his back- handed wrist shot clanged off the frame. The Eagles' threatening sec- ond period highlighted Racine's solid night between the pipes. The goaltender was the benefac- tor of a lucky break when Boston College forward Quinn Smith hit the post despite having an open net in the first period, but he recovered quickly enough to poke away the rebound. When forward Austin Cangelosi snuck in behind the Wolverines' defense and had a prime goal-scoring opportu- nity with four minutes to go in the first period, Racine stuffed him cleanly. And the netminder's quick snag on an odd-man break in the final frame preserved the two-goal lead. "That's what we need from him," Berenson said. "He went through his learning curve last year, and hopefully now he'll be more consistent." After the disappointment of the exhibition against Waterloo, where the Wolverines went 0-for- 5 with the man advantage, Beren- son warned that the power play might not be up to par this early in the season. It was a different story on Friday, as both of Mof- fatt's goals came on a dangerous and versatile power play that fin- ished 2-for-S. Even more reassuring was the fact that Michigan played without junior forward Alex Guptill - last season's leading scorer - who sat out due to an unspecified viola- tion of team rules., It didn't seem to matter, though, as the Wolverines fired 32 shots and found twine in every 4 period as Copp's three-point night secured the win. Following late-season surge, AL Racine shines in opener %.-IF , By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer "'"" i PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Sophomore forward Andrew Copp finished with three points, including a goal. Less than two minutes into the No. 10 Michigan hockey team's season opener against No. 4 Boston College, a lone stick lay unclaimed on the ice after a scuf- fle - a sign of things to come. After 60 minutes of predict- ably brutal hockey and solid play from both teams, it was stellar goaltending - from sophomore Steve Racine that preserved the Wolverines' 3-1 victory. Racine - who allowed two goals in an abbreviated appear- ance in Sunday's exhibition - finished the game with 20 saves, including nine in the first period, and allowed only one goal. Much of Racine's success was a product of limited rebounds. Racine was able to sit on several in-traffic shots, at times with opposing players fallen in goal. Late in the third period, he made a quick glove save on an odd-man rush. In front of him, Racine had the support of the penalty kill all night. The defense held the Eagles to just two shots on the power play and to just 21 on the game. "He was awesome," said soph- omore forward Andrew Copp. "He's been working out all sum- mer so we knew where he was at mentally and physically. It's good for him. It gets him a lot of con- fidence to keep the ball rolling from last year." While Racine was the better netminder, he was also luckier. Three times in the second period, Racine was mere inches from allowing a goal, and three shots in particular could have gotten Boston College back in the game. In the first period, Racine juggled a puck in traffic that all but jumped out of the goal by itself. Racine got an even luckier break in the second period, when a shot from Eagles forward Ryan Fitzgerald bounced off the cross- bar, narrowly misting an upper- corner goal. Once more with three minutes remaining, having made a left-pad save, Racine lost sight of the puck and left the net open for a moment for Fitzgerald, who missed wide. Meanwhile, Boston College goaltender Brian Billett finished the game with 29 saves having allowed three goals - two of which were a result of a sleepy penalty kill, and another off a deflection..Billett also spent 12 minutes defending the net with four men. "I thought our goaltender played really, really well," said Boston College coach Jerry York. "We're going to have a strong year this year in the net." Despite the errors, the stat sheet showed Racine allowed a single goal against one of the nation's top offenses, and the defense held the Eagles' best player, junior forward Johnny Gaudreau, to one shot. It was a game that will build confidence not only inRacine, but in a young Wolverines defense moving for- ward as well. "I think that's what we expect," said Michigan coach Red Berenson. "If you're at Mich- igan, you know you need good goalkeeping. Look what he did last year. I think he was 8-1-1 in the last 10 games. That's what we need from him. He went through his learning curve last year, and hopefully now he'll be more con- sistent." S , I PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Sophomore goalie SteveRacine stuffed Boston College with 20 saves Thursday. I