Page 4- The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday- March 11, 1991 Matt Rennie Michigan senior center Don Stone carries the puck up the ice in Friday night's 4-2 victory over Ferris State. Stone, the Wolverines' co-captain, scored two goals in Saturday night's championship game against Lake Superior State. ICERS Continued from page 1 Michigan on the defensive for most of the extra time. "I thought we were very domi- nant in overtime," Jackson said. "But in a lot of cases, what hap- pens is you go down and dominate in overtime and the other team gets a breakaway and scores." Unfortunately for Michigan, that didn't happen. "We lost the game, we didn't' get beat," Ward added. "The team comes back from' a 5-3 deficit against a team that's supposedly ranked number one in the nation - that's an accomplishment right there." Berenson agreed. He was en- couraged by the effort Saturday and he was pleased with Michi- gan's 4-2 semifinal victory Friday over Ferris State, when the Wolverines came back from being down 2-0 with second period goals by Jim Ballantine, Dan Stiver, and Mike Stone, and an insurance goal by Helber in the third. "I feel very proud that we're in this tournament, that we nearly won, and I think we proved that we're as good as any team in this league," Berenson said. Memory of loss may * lead to better memories DETROIT - Entering Saturday's CCHA Championship game, Lake Superior State was the top-ranked team in the country, while Michigan was ranked fifth. The Wolverines had won 20 of their last 21 games; the Lakers were 25-0-2 in its last 27. The irresistible force was meeting the immovable object. Each team was speeding down its Road to the Joe, and a collision was inevitable. 0 The collision was a memorable one. After each team overcame two- goal deficits in regulation, the score remained tied, 5-5. But the score doesn't tell the whole story. This was a good game, not just a close game. For every great play made by one team, the other had an answer. Lead changes, momentum swings - it was all there. It was one of those games that people say nobody deserved to lose, and during the regular season, nobody would have. The score remained tied after the normal five minutes of overtime, but this was not just any game. This was for the title. Two teams. One trophy. Keep playing. The Lakers dominated the overtime, pummeling Michigan goaltender Steve Shields with a barrage of shots. The Wolverines were hanging on for dear life. Eventually, inevitably, their grip slipped. Clayton Beddoes blasted the puck past Shields to give the Lakers the title, 6-5. Is Lake Superior a more talented team? Maybe a little. Maybe. But whatever the miniscule difference, the Wolverines make it up in heart. Lake Superior fans often view Michigan with all the negative connotations that accompany a large, public university. In the past, the Lakers have skated against the Wolverines as if they had something to prove. They seemed to want to show everybody that the big-city kids couldn't do everything better. However, the roles were reversed this season. Today, everyone recognizes Lake Superior as a national powerhouse, while Michigan hasn't played championship-caliber hockey in more than a decade. The Wolverines are the ones with the point to prove. Although the Wolverines are 1-3-1 against Lake Superior this season, they have established themselves as the prime threat to the Lakers' supremacy. Sure, this loss was disappointing. This loss was heartbreaking. But by no means was this loss demoralizing. The Wolverines went toe-to-toeo with the nation's top-ranked team and held their ground. "I think that we had them back on their heels," Wolverine Aaron Ward said. "They know that we can not just play with them, but beat them." Of the last four games between the two teams, three have been decided by one goal. The fourth? A 4-4 tie. Certainly the Lakers won't welcome the possibility of facing the Maize and Blue in the NCAA tournament. And that is what lies ahead - the NCAA tournament. Michigan is making its first trip to the Big Show since 1977, and this has been the. focus of'the entire season. Everything up to this point, including the CCHA tournament, has been a preparation for what still lies ahead. As much as this loss hurts, it really just amounts to a forgotten line in dress rehearsal. So when the curtain finally goes up this Friday, the Wolverines will remember the lessons they learned at Joe Louis Arena. Perhaps even more vividly than if they had won. Maybe this is a case of sour grapes. Maybe we're just trying to justify the loss. Maybe &if Michigan had won, we would be looking backward, savoring, instead of forward, anticipating. However, the games these two teams have played this season make any fan of the sport wishing for an encore. There's no guarantee that they will square off again. Both have to face some great hockey teams before making their hotel reservations in St. Paul. Yet should it come down to another Michigan-Lake Superior matchup in the Final Four, the Wolverines will remember Saturday's game. They will remember that no lead is ever safe and that no deficit is ever insurmountable. And if they do, history may remember them as national champions. SATURDAY'S BOXSCORE: Michigan 2 1 2 0 5 Lake Superior 1 4 0 1 6 First Period-1, Michigan, D.Stone (Roberts), 9:32. 2, Michigan, Felsner (Ouimet, Sorenson), 10:49. 3, Lake Superior, Beddoes (Harris, Wetherill), 13:04. Penalties-Evans, Michigan (hooking), 6:14; Johnston, Lake Superior (holding), 6:27; Tamer, Michigan (checking from behind), 9:11; Harris, Lake Superior (roughing), 9:11; Beddoes, Lake Superior (tripping), 16:20; Evans, Michigan (high- sticking), 1922; Moger, Lake Superior (high-sticking), 19:22. Second Period-4, Lake Superior, Faucher (Barnes), 1:35. 5, Lake Superior, Johnston (Weight), ppg, 7:54.6, Lake Superior, Moger (Beddoes), 8:27. 7, Michigan, Ward (Helber, D.Stone), 9:58. 8, Lake Superior, Johnston (Beddoes, Beslin), 13:47. Penalties-Constantin, Lake Superior (tripping), 4:16; Harlock, Michigan (slashing), 7:14; M.Stone, Michigan (roughing), 7:14; Divita, Lake Superior (roughing) 7:14); Harlock, Michigan (interference), 8:50; Weight, Lake Superior (hooking), 9:35; Moger, Lake Superior (checking form behind), 16:18. Third Period-9, Michigan, Tamer (Helber), 1:24. 10, MichiganD.Stone-(Roberts, Felsner), 4:01. Penalties-Ward, Michigan (holding), 10:25; Harris, Lake Superior (high-sticking), 13:02. Overtime-1, Lake Superior, Beddoes (Barnes), 6:39. Shots on goal-Michigan 14-11-5-2-32. LSSU 7-15-10-5=-37. Power-play Opportunities-Michigan 0 of 6. Lake Superior 1 of 4. Goalies-Michigan, Shields, 25-4-3 (37 shots-31 saves). Lake Superior, Madeley, 28-1-3 (32-27). Referee-Matt Shegos. Linesmen-Mark Shegos, Terry Schug. A-17,682. Bubble teams await destiny DETROIT - Now that the reg- ular season and league playoffs have concluded, CCHA coaches are turning their full attention to- ward the 12-team NCAA tourna- ment field. The pairings will be announced tonight. Regular season and playoff champion Lake Superior State is the top-ranked team in the country and is assured one of the tourna- ment's four byes. Michigan, run- ner-up in both the regular season and the playoffs, is also a tourna- ment lock and should host its first- round match. That leaves Ferris State and Western Mi higan on the bubble. Although F~ris finished higher in the regular season standings, Western seems to have the edge based on its 2-1 overtime victory in Saturday's consolation game and its 3-1-1 advantage in head-to- head competition. While there is some debate over which team de- serves to be selected, the consen- sus is that the conference is worthy of three bids. - Matt Rennie SHIELDS Continued from page 1 moments - that's part of goal- tending." But Shields' rollercoaster ride continued and the car was headed straight downhill. After surviving a 3-2 overtime matchup with Ferris State, Shields hit bottom. During Michigan's second gamewith the Bulldogs, the frosh made only seven saves while letting in four goals. Keough replaced him in the third period. The ensuing 7-3 loss was Michigan's second in only nine games and the worry lines began to furrow the brows of Wolverine supporters. Thelines would get even deeper. After missing Michigan's weekend competition in Boston, Keough announced his resignation from the team, citing his studies as the reason. That left Michigan two goalies with only 17 games of col- legiate experience between them. As the leader in that category, Shields was left with the responsi- bility of anchoring the Wolverines' success, and the unenviable posi- tion of accepting much of the blame for the team's losses. "The biggest disappointment was when we were in Boston and we played (Boston University) in the first game and I didn't play well at all," he said. "My confi- JOSE JUAREZ/D~aily Michigan forward Brian Wiseman stick checks Lake Superior State's Dean Hulett in the first period of Saturday's CCHA Championship game. dence was really down for a few weeks after that - that's probably the most down I've been since I've been here." 4 Yet as winter break approached and students left failures and suc- cesses of the previous term behind them, Shields did the same. His greatest moment in Maize and Blue occurred during the hiatus at the Great Lakes Invitational. The rookie stepped in the driver's seat and steered his team to its third straight GLI title. He stifled the offense of the nation's sixth-ranked squad, Maine, stop- ping 31 Blackbear shots-on-net, and allowing one lone goal. "I knew it was going to be toughigoing in there whendwe were missing Harley and Neat (Michigan defensemen David Har- lock and Patrick Neaton)," Shields explained. "And I thought it was a good opportunity to prove myself and prove I could be a good goalie in Division I. "After the Great Lakes I had a lot of confidence and it felt like I could go out there and win the games for the team every night. It was a different feeling than the start of the year when I was ner- vous and screwed up." As Michigan picked up the vic- tor's trophy, Shields was handed the prize for the tournament's Most Valuable Player. The tracks of the coaster seemed to have finally leveled off. "His attitude didn't really change after GLI, but it was his confidence that changed," Shields' roommate and fellow rookie Cam Stewart said. "His ability to play and confidence were a lot higher - they had been building since September. The way he had to handle the pressure was to go out and play. He took advantage of the time to play and proved a lot of people wrong." Shields went on to capture vic- tories in Michigan's next 13 matchups and posted the team's longest winning streak in the pro- cess. He ended the regular season with the best record in the league (22-3-3) and set a school record for the most victories in a season (32). Rumors that Shields would be a first-round pick in thewNHL draft this summer surfaced. But the season is far from over. Michigan is on the verge of its first NCAA berth in 14 years. Shields could be the anchor the Wolver- ines need sailing into the national9 tournament. But should Michigan sink, it remains that Shields has been a big part of the wave the Wolverines have been riding. "There's a lot of pressure put on me (going into the NCAA tourna- ment)," Shields said. "But I think Coach has enough confidence that the goalies can come through and do a good job. "All you can ask is that the goalies work as hard as we can and if we come up short, well, there's nothing you can do about it. Everyone's going to work hard, it'll just be a matter of how bad we want it in regards to how far we'll go:" Shields has already gone pretty far. He began the year as a ques- tion mark. But he will end it as an@ exclamation point. I I FOR A HOT TIME THIS SUMMER, IT'S. . . I f . r _ - ., WJ. ix C AMV You CAN make the difference! Located on Cheat Lake outside of Morgantown, West Virginia, EKC is a full service co-ed camp. 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