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THE MICHIGAN DAILY SATRDAY, MARCH 2

24, 1951

ucksters Annex

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itle

Determined Michigan Six
First To Win Two Playoffs

For the first time since its in-
ception four years ago, one team-
Michigan-won the NCAA hockey
championship playoffs for the sec-
ond time.
For the Wolverines it was a well
deserved team victory-a victory
they had been- favored to take
every year of the national cham-
pionrhip playoffs after having won
the first tournament back in 1948.
BUT THE two years after that
Michigan victory in the first NCAA
playoffs, the Wolverines had been
beaten in their opening game and
had had to settle for consolation
honors in both 1949 and 1950.
So it was that the Wolverines
left Ann Arbor last week for
Colorado Springs and the fourth
vnnual tourney. A two-year los-
ing jinx (and both had come on
St. Fatrick's Day, oddly enough)
faced the 14 man strong Wol-
A
Michigan Daily
PICTURE
FEATURE
Photographs by
J. M. EGBERT,
Broadmoor Hotel
Story by
JIM PARKER

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN ACTION-Brown's great goalie, Don Whiston, turns back another
shot in the Bruins' 8-4 conquest of Colorado College. 'Whiston's 36 saves in this game and his 45
against Michigan in the championship game were instrumertal in his being rslected the "most
valuable" in the tourney.

verine club that had won 20
games in regular season play as
against four losses and onetie
But anybody who had seen
Michigan play this year would
have sat in awe as they saw the
Wolverines, working with methodi-
cal precision, defeat Boston Uni-
versity in the opening game, 8-2,
and then smother Brown, 7-1, for
the national title of collegiate
hockey.
* *
"KEEP THE pressure on them
all the time," said coach Vic Hey-
liger, and that bit of strategy was
just as effective as its seeming
simplicity.
Michigan played its best hock-
ey of the year and followed
Heyliger's instructions to the
letter. Boston and Brown were
helpless to stop the Michigan of-
fense and neither of them could
dent a terrific Maize and Blue
defense.
Johnny McKennell came up with
probably the best goal of the entire
tournament against Brown's great
goalie, Don Whiston, in Saturday
night's final.
McKENNELL studied Whiston's
technique in the Brown-Colorado
College game the previous night
and decided on his strategy in
event he got a breakaway on the
Brown goal keeper.
The next night the breakaway
came and McKennell swept in
on Whiston, who, as McKennell
had figured, left the cage to
meet the fast skating Michigan
wing. Directly in front of the
nets the two collided and headed
for the ice, but not before Mc-
Kennell backhanded the puck
into the open cage.
Whiston didn't even know the
goal had been scored until he
turned around to see the red light
star'ng him in the face.
Football coach Bennie Ooster-
raan was out at Colorado Springs
as were several other ardent Michi-
gan rooters. Oosterb iphdrew the
unanimous apprediation of the
Michigan players for his steadying
talks vith the team.
Wes Moulton, Brown's professor-
coach, was enthusiastic in his
praise of the Michigan club. "They
are the finest bunch of hockey
players we've met all year-a truly
great team," he said.
AND BOSTON'S COACH, Harry
Cleverly, was just as much In-
pressed with Michigan when he
stated, ",they were a beautiful
team to watch-fas, aggressive
and with a will to win tht just
couldn't be denied this time."
Colorado scenery, some of the
best in the country, didn't get
much atention from the Michigan
players-they have all ben cut
there so many times that it's
strictly routine with them.
To the man the Wolverines went
out to Colorado to win the na-
tional hockey crown. They were a
serious group of players who knew
they had the "stuff" to win it and
went on the ice to prove it.
There's a three-foot high first
place trophy down at the ice rink
to show for their effods.

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QUEEN OF THE TOURNAMENT-Debbie Greiner, a nineteen- THE BIG MOMENT-Michigan coach, Vic Heyliger, and the
year-old Colorado College sophomore, was voted to reign as Wolverines' captain, Gil Burford, are all smiles as they accept
Tournament Queen by the participating players. That's the first the first place trophy from Queen of the tournament, Debbie
place trophy on the right. Greiner, after the final game.

MATCHEFTS SCORES FOR MICHIGAN-Johnny Matchefts (4) pushes the puck past Boston Uni-
versity's Dick Bradley on an assist to John McKennell (10) for Michigan's second goal in the
playoff opener. Matchefts paced the Wolverines with two goals and one assist in this 8-2 victory over
the Terriers.

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