The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - March 4, 1991 - Page 5
I ol A A A XAA A A 410
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HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
*Three 'M' rookies
named Al1-CCHA
by Jeni Durst
)aily Hockey Writer
Michigan center Brian Wiseman, defenseman Aaron Ward, and
rightwinger David Oliver have been named to represent the CCHA on
the league's All-Rookie team.
Wiseman, who is a leading candidate for CCHA Rookie-of-the-Year,
finished the regular season with 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists), the
third highest on the team, and the highest of any first-year player in the
league. His total placed him 17 points ahead of second-place finisher
Clayton Beddoes of Lake Superior. Wiseman started off his first league
playoffs with four goals and an assist, including a hat trick in the
Wolverines second game against Ohio State.
Ward, the youngest player in the league, has proven himself to be
one of the top defenders in the CCHA. He ended the regular season with,
14 points and racked up 107 penalty minutes, second only to his
linemate, defenseman Chris Tamer.
Though his season ended due to a fractured leg, Oliver remains
eighth on the team in scoring with 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists), and
still leads the Wolverines in game-winning goals.
Media personnel from the CCHA choose two defensemen, three for-
wards and one goaltender from all of the leagues first-year players. The
top vote-getters for each position are then named to the team. Lake Su-
perior defenseman Steven Barnes and forward Clayton Beddoes, and
Ferris State goaltender Pat Mazzoli joined the three Wolverines on the
squad.
GOALIES, GOALIES, GOALIES: Michigan goaltender Chris Gordon
posted the first shutout of his career and the first for the Wolverines in
70 games in their victory over Kent State Feb. 22. The last time
Michigan stopped an opposing team from recording a goal was Nov. 11,
1989 when former Wolverine netminder Tim Keough blanked Ferris
State. Gordon tallied 32 saves, tying his career high.
With the two victories over Ohio State last weekend, Michigan
goalie Steve Shields tied the school record for most wins in a season
with 24. Netminder Rick Palmer ended the 1976-77 season with 24
victories.
ANOTHER RECORD BREAKER: Yet another school record has been
broken by this year's Michigan squad. After setting new marks for the
longest winning streak and most road wins, the 1990-91 Wolverines now
own the school record for most victories in a season.
The mark was broken during the Wolverines' 9-2 romp over
Alabama-Huntsville when Michigan posted its 29th victory. The
Wolverines have since increased the number of victories to 31 with the
sweep of the Buckeyes. The previous record of 28 was established by
the 1976-77 squad.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN: With a goal and an assist in Michigan's
game against Kent State and three assists in the victory over Alabama-
Huntsville, defender Patrick Neaton increased his point total to 38.
Neaton is second only to Michigan State's Jason Woolley in CCHA
defenseman scoring and has more than quadrupled his goal output of
three from last season. The sophomore added another goal in Friday's
slim Wolverine victory over Ohio State.
JOSE JUAREZ/Daily
Michigan's Mike Stone mixes it up with two Kent State players during
the Wolverines 3-0 victory over the Golden Flashes.
ICers sweep in break
from rigorous CCHA
Dan Zoch
Put a Zoch in it
Desert Storm flags
don't belong at Yost
Because of the success of Operation Desert Storm, most Ameri-
cans have been on a binge of patriotism. Support for President Bush
has reached an all-time high, and Ronald Reagan movies are coming
back into vogue.
That surge of patriotism reared its red, white, and blue head twice
during Michigan's sweep of Ohio State this weekend. Two large yel-
low banners supporting the soldiers participating in Desert Storm were
unveiled over center ice Friday, and 3000 American flags were passed
out to the crowd Saturday.
The American flags were part of a promotion sponsored by local
businesses and the Michigan hockey program.
The Desert Storm banners were not part of any promotion. Appar-
ently, they represented the feelings of those at Yost Ice Arena and,
therefore, the University administration and the student body.
But this is the University of Michigan, and there has been great de-
bate over the righteousness of the the war. While most students sup-
port the soldiers in some way, others oppose anything regarding the
U.S. stance in the Middle East.
Hanging the 'Desert Storm' flags was wrong. By featuring them at
a Michigan sporting event, they represent the entire University. And td
generalize the attitude of the Michigan population, despite the fact
that the majority may agree with the flags' sentiment, is inappropriate.
Those who don't support the soldiers aren't wrong. They may be an.
noying, but they deserve to voice their opinions. Besides, protests are
the norm at Michigan.
When the banners were first put up, the ground war was not quite
over. There was a great concern around the country and at the Univer-
sity for the safety of the soldiers. It's easy to get caught up in the mo-
ment, and this moment is as good as any to show patriotism. Nonethe-
less, the banners should be taken down.
This is not to say that patriotism is bad. The times, more than ever,
seem to warrant it. The American flags that waved over Yost from
Saturday's promotion were a nice touch because those who waved
them were expressing their opinions over the events in the Gulf. They
were given a choice: wave the flag during the national anthem, throw
it on the ground, burn it, or use it as a Kleenex. Whatever the case,
they were speaking for themselves.
Yost Arena is not like Crisler Arena or Michigan Stadium. Thou-
sands of people don't watch every game. Attendance this weekend
barely snuck over the 4000 mark for each game, and Saturday night's
PASS coverage only added a few thousand extra viewers.
The Desert Storm banners wouldn't hang at Crisler Arena because
of that higher exposure. And due to Yost's smaller environment, hang;
ing the banners was an understandable mistake. Still, it was a mis-
take, and the banners should be removed immediately.
Support for the war, or the peace, should be shown on an individual
or corporate level. People and public relations departments can and
should take stances. But a university, especially the ever-political
University of Michigan, shouldn't generalize the opinions of its stu
dents. Support our troops, but speak for yourself.
by Matt Rennie
Daily Hockey Writer
Since the rest of the student
body was on spring break, the
Michigan hockey team figured it
could take last weekend off, too.
Fortunately for the Wolverines, the
quality of their opponents allowed
them to pick up two victories in
the process.
Michigan defeated Kent State,
3-0, and Alabama-Huntsville, 9-2,
to close out the regular season
with a 29-6-3 record, the highest
victory total in Wolverine history.
Michigan has been striving to
fill Yost Ice Arena's seats all
season, and against Kent State,
the Wolverines truly took an
active role in the process. Six
players watched the game from the
stands, serving suspensions incur-
red during the Wolverines' brawl
with Michigan State.
Also banished from the bench
was Michigan coach Red Beren-
son, who was also handed a one-
game sentence from the CCHA for
the fight. Assistant coach Mel
Pearson filled in for Berenson and
had the unenviable task of juggling
just 15 skaters all evening.
The Wolverines did all the
scoring in the second stanza, with
Patrick Neaton, Jim Ballantine,
and Denny Felsner doing the
honors. Rookie Chris Gordon filled
in admirably for the suspended
Steve Shields in goal. Gordon
stopped all 32 of Kent State's
shots for the first Wolverine
shutout since 1989.
"I thought Chris played very
well," Pearson said. "When we
needed a big save, he came up
with it. He kept us in the game."
Nothing could keep Alabama-
Huntsville in the game the fol-
lowing night. With the last chords
of the national anthem still
echoing off the Yostarafters, Mark
Ouimet drew first blood for the
Wolverines just 27 seconds into
the game.
Alabama-Huntsville managed
to stay within 4-1 after two peri-
ods, but Michigan put the game
away by scoring three quick goals
to start the third period.
HOCKEY
Continued from page 1
Wiseman, also on the power play.
Rightwinger Denny Felsner then
tallied his 37th score of the season
with six seconds left in the first
period to send Michigan into the
lockerroom with a 3-1 lead.
But the Buckeyes surged back
in the two remaining periods,
outshooting the Wolverines, 24 to
14. Ohio State trailed by one, 4-3,
until center Rob Schriner blew a
shot into the middle of the net that
went uncontested by Wolverine
goalie Steve Shields, tying it up
15:51 into the third. The Buckeyes
had grabbed the momentum. Over-
time, and possibly a Michigan
loss, looked imminent until Oui-
met tallied the last-second goal.
"I was really worried (before
the last goal)," Ouimet said. "It
was 4-3 the whole game, they
were pressuring us and they were
taking the play to us. We were just
kind of waiting for the bomb to
drop, just kind of waiting for them
to score, that's the way it was. We
didn't play up to our potential, we
knew that."
The bomb did drop Saturday
night, only it dropped on Ohio
State. Five third period Michigan
goals sealed the seventh-place
Buckeyes' fate. Ohio State had
appeared finished by the first inter-
mission. The Wolverines posted
four goals in the first stanza while
shutting out the Buckeyes.
Wiseman tallied the last goal
of the period, his second of the
night, just nine seconds after
David Roberts scored. Before the
PA announcer could say Roberts'
name, Wiseman sped past the
blueline, skated up the crease and
deposited the puck past Bales'
right side.
But the Buckeyes learned
something from the Wolverines'
performance. As the fans at Yost
Arena put the nails in Ohio State's
coffin, the Bucks rose from the
dead. They scored four goals in the
second period, while stopping all
of Michigan's offensive produc-
tion, and tied the score at 4-4
heading into the second break.
"That was college hockey, four
goals doesn't seem to mean a
thing," Berenson said. "They
completely took the momentum
away from our team. We didn't
check as close, we weren't finisb-
ing their checks, we weren't get-
ting the puck in deep, we weren't
forechecking, we weren't back-
checking with that little edge of
desperation that we had in the first
period."
But leftwinger Dan Stiver, who
hadn't even played Friday night
because of an illness, set the stage
for the game's final rally when he
drew the first blood in the third
period. Stewart passed to the soph-
omore from behind the Ohio State
net and Stiver shuttled the puck
behind Bales from the left side.
Four different Wolverines -
Ted Kramer, Ward, Ouimet, and
Wiseman - followed Stiver's lead
as Shields posted another full
period shutout. Wiseman's power
play goal with only 27 seconds left
in the game gave the rookie the
first hat trick of his career and put
the exclamation point on the
Wolverines playoff advancement.
"A few times this season I've
had a two-goal game, it nice to get
a hat trick," Wiseman said.
Brian Wiseman skates past an Ohio State defender during the first period of Friday night's game. The
Wolverines won the game 5-4 en route to a weekend sweep of the Buckeyes.
.. .. .. ..::.. .:. :.:.... ................. .. .... ..... .. _.. A
* The CCHA's 'Road to
from staff reports Western square off at 8 p.m. in
There definitely is no place like
home for a CCHA school in the
playoffs. The home teams swept
all four of the best-of-three series
this weekend in the first round of
the conference playoffs.
In addition to Michigan's vic-
tory over Ohio State, other winners
included Western Michigan, Lake
Superior State, and Ferris State.
The Wolverines face Ferris at 5
p.m., while Lake Superior and
Friday's semi-finals at Joe Louis
Arena.
Since the victorious teams
earned their home-ice advantage
by finishing higher in the regular
-season, these results come as little
surprise, but Western's sweep of
Michigan State did turn some
heads.
The Broncos won, 4-3, Friday
night in a hard-fought struggle. The
game was knotted at 1-1 until
The Joe'
Chris Clarke gave We
edge with 4:32 left in t
period. Three and a hal
later, Keith Jones pa
Broncos' lead with his s
of the game.
The Broncos used an
late in the second peri
the following night, as;
row broke a 2-2 deadloc
seconds left. Mikel
scored his second goal of
to give the Broncos a c
they skated off with a 4-2
Rookie goaltender Cr
posted both the wins for
who improved its record t
The Spartans ended their
a disappointing 17-18-5.
"I was surmised by
starts at home
-stern the the finishing touches on the sweep
he second for the Bulldogs by scoring the
if minutes game-winner with 37 seconds left
dded the in the first overtime period. Dan
econd goal Rolfe and Rod Taylor scored the
Bulldogs' other goals, which were
other goal enough to offset a pair of goals by
od to win Falcon Matt Ruchty. All-rookie
Scott Gar- goaltender Pat Mazzoli notched
k with 27 the victory for Ferris.
Eastwood Friday, John dePourcq broke a
f the game 2-2 tie late in the second period,
ushion, as and the Bulldogs went on to take a
Z victory. 5-2 lead in the third period on a
aig Brown pair of Taylor goals. Marc Felicio
r Western, made 47 saves between the pipes
o 21-16-3. for the Bulldogs.
rseason at L AKE SUPERIOR VS.
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO: After the
that a lit- Lakers jumped out to a 3-0 lead
CCHA FINAL FOUR
~ Ticket Inform ationf hi
Tickets for the CCHA semifinals and finals at
esse ..x.:2*,