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The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 8, 2006 - 15
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BELL
Continued from page 13
title the following year.
But washed away along with an
unreached goal will be the expectations
that come along with it.
Last year, even though the team was
ranked No. 1 prior to the Big Ten season
beginning and kept the ranking all the
way until it hoisted the national cham-
pionship trophy in June, Michigan still
thrived in the underdog role.
The Wolverines ma have been
ranked higher, but they certainly
weren't the favorite against the UCLA
Bruins and the CWS dynasty it had.
The top-ranked status the team had
was overshadowed by the fact that no
team East of the Mississippi had ever
won a national championship.
The team may have had red-hot Jennie
Ritter in the circle pitching in big games,
but all of the so-called experts expected
her to succumb to the pressure of fac-
ing aces like Texas's Cat Osterman or
Tennessee's Monica Abbott.
So maybe what this year's team
needed was the opportunity to fly back
under the radar. The televised games on
ESPN this season are behind them. So '^
is the preseason No. 1 ranking that was
attached to the defending champs.
Now they're just another hungry team.
A team that once again has nothing to
lose and everything to gain.
Watch out, softball world.
- Bell thinks it'sfar too earlyfor Michi-
gan fans to give up on travel plans to Okla-
homa City this summer. He can be reached
at scotteb@umich.edu
MIKE HULSEBUS /Daily
Zac MacVoy will use his time off from the college ranks to play for the Omaha
Lancers of the USHL
MacVoy will leave
team for Omaha
By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Sports Editor
For forward Zac MacVoy, the life of
a Michigan hockey player was great.
"I enjoyed every aspect," MacVoy
said. "I enjoyed going to class, going
on road trips, playing the games
(and) the students (at Michigan). I
enjoyed everything."
But not everything was perfect.
As the long season wore on, Mac-
Voy's playing time declined, and
it became clear that the Livonia
native would not be a regular in the
Wolverine lineup.
It was the prospect of not play-
ing that was the ultimate driving
force behind MacVoy's decision not
to return to Michigan and, opting
instead, play in the United States
Hockey League next fall.
"I knew it was the right decision
for me and I wanted to stay here,"
MacVoy said. "I love this place, I
love the school (and) I love the guys.
I loved playing for Michigan. It's
just that the aspect of not playing
outweighs all that other stuff."
MacVoy was part of a large
incoming freshman class in the fall
of 2005 and was one of six play-
ers to come to Michigan by way of
the Ann Arbor-based U.S. National
Team Development Program.
The start of his Wolverine career
looked promising after he notched
three points in the team's first four
games - culminating with a one-
goal, one-assist performance against
Merrimack on Oct. 16.
"Just to get that first college goal
was a moment in (my) life that I was
proud of," MacVoy said. "I wish I
could've notched more."
Inconsistent play following the
Oct. 28-29 series at Alaska-Fair-
banks prevented MacVoy from gar-
nering another point until Jan. 6
when he recorded an assist against
the Nanooks at Yost. It would be his
last point as a Wolverine.
To close out the season, MacVoy
cracked the starting lineup just three
times during the final 15 games, and
just once in the last 11.
MacVoy will now take a year ofi
from college hockey and play ir
the USHL for the Omaha Lancers
who picked him in the second round
of the USHL 2006 Entry Draft or
May 4. Following his time with the
Lancers, he will look to join another
college team in fall 2007. But a new
college home is the last thing or
MacVoy's mind.
"All I'm concerned with is going
to Omaha and playing hard and con-
tributing," MacVoy said. "I can't
think about college now, because if
I don't do anything in juniors, then a
scholarship won't be there. ... I'm not
really hoping for a college or have
any colleges (picked) right now."
MacVoy said that he hopes his
time with the Lancers will make
him a better player in the future,
one who can contribute every day
for another college.
But his time at Michigan will always
stay with him wherever he goes.
"(I liked) hanging out with the
guys and being with them day in
and day out," MacVoy said. "I
developed life-long relationships
with these guys."
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