SPORTS
michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu
MONDAY
AUGUST 5, 2002 L3
Unforgettable
Alumni say
four years
the best
way to go
By Charles Paradis
Daily Sports Editor
It seems that some Michigan
hockey players have been treating
the Wolverine program as a way sta-
tion to the NHL. Recently, premier
players have been coming to Michi-
gan for a few years, getting drafted
and then bolting from college hock-
ey in search of the pro game and the
money it offers. But for many of
those who gathered at the 2002
Summer Hockey Showcase this past
weekend, Michigan was more than
just a stopping point in their hockey
careers.
Before a boisterous crowd at Yost
Ice Arena, alumni of the Michigan
hockey program gathered for a
series of three games. The highlight
of the night was the under-35 game,
which featured NHL talents like
Marty Turco, Steve Shields, Bren-
dan Morrison and Mike Knuble. It
also featured those like Andy
Hilbert, still trying to make an NHL
team.
But the undercard included a
game for the 35-50-year-old alumni
and a game for the over-50 alumni,
which included Michigan coach
Red Berenson - who scored the
first goal of the showcase on a
break away and notched a hat trick
in the day. But much of the success
of the weekend was overshadowed
by the recent departure of Mike
Cammalleri and Mike Komisarek
who chose to leave Michigan early.
Turco, the Dallas Stars' No. I
goalie next season, has been a
vocal advocate of the Michigan
hockey program and the four-year
experience. Amassing 127 wins
from 1995-98, Turco set an NCAA
record that still stands as the win-
ningest goalie in college hockey
history. But it is Turco's love of
Michigan and dedication to the
program that is one of the most
amazing aspects of his personality.
In a time where money lures col-
lege players away, Turco finds the
experience of college is worth
more than money.
"I think it is well documented
how I felt about leaving here and
2,500 fewer
students
will fill up
Big House
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Editor
Another year, another price increase,
another drop in student season ticket
holders.
For the second straight season, fewer
students will be filing into Michigan
Stadium each Saturday as just 16,500
students bought season tickets this sea-
son instead of the approximately 19,000
students who bought tickets last season.
The drop comes after it was
announced that students would be
required to show their M-Cards before
entering Michigan Stadium this year.
Before this season, students could
scalp their tickets or sell them on
EBay, taking advantage of the $17.50
to $43 price difference that students
get in comparison to the public. But
now students will have to pay $25 to
validate their tickets in order for
someone from the general public to
be able lo usethem.
Directoruof Ticket Operations Marty
Bodnar believes that the new ID policy
had something to do with the price
drop, but that it was not the sole reason
forthe decline.
"If you look at it long term, there
are a variety of reasons why students
want or don't want tickets," Bodnar
said. "To say it's just because of the
ID policy, you really can't sit there
and say that because we haven't
done any market research or any-
thing like that."
The new ID and validation policy
was announced in March, after mem-
bers of the athletic department met with
the Michigan Student Assembly to dis-
cuss the amount of student tickets sold
See TICKETS, Page 15
TONY DING/Daily
Top: Michigan hockey alumni go at it
Friday night at Yost ice Arena. Right:
Fans show former Wolverine Andy
Hilbert, who chose to leave Michigan
early, what he missed this past year.
my four years at Michigan," Turco
said. "How much they meant to me
and how they shaped my life, and I
would certainly trade all the money
in the world for another four-year
scholarship. That's how special it
was. I'd give up pretty much any-
thing to do it again, it was that fun
to me."
To Turco, senior year is some-
thing a player should not pass up,
given the chance to play.
"Probably half of my greatest
memories, if not more than in any
of the three previous seasons, came
in my senior year," Turco said.
"That came with not being naive
anymore on campus, growing up,
the tutelage of Red and the other
guys, friends, not only in the hock-
ey program, but all over campus
that I still stay in touch with, that I
wouldn't have met if it wasn't here
my senior year."
As a senior, Turco not only set the
NCAA record for wins by a goalie,
but also won his second national
championship.
"The chance to come back and
be a leader and evolve into a cham-
pionship team - you can't take
that away from any of us," Turco
said.
All of Turco's hard work and ded-
ication were solidified on Senior
Night, when four years of practice,
class and games came to a climax in
front of fans at Yost.
See ALUMNI, Page 14
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