The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 21, 1995 - 9A
Halko leads icers as coaches remain in waiting
By John Lerol
Daily Sports Writer
Practice has started and Steven
Halko is the coach.
The Michigan hockey team began
unofficial skate-arounds Monday, but
coach Red Berenson and assistants
Mel Pearson and Billy Powers can't
take the ice until Oct. 2.
Until then, Halko, the 1995 team
captain, is in charge. And the senior
from Bolton, Ontario likes that re-
sponsibility.
"I enjoy doing it," Halko said of his
new on-ice respon-
sibilities. "It's not
really that diffi-
cult. Ijust tell them
when to start and
end a drill. They
all know how to do
them."x
But Halko
knows how impor-
tant informal prac-
tices are. Just four
days after Haiko
Berenson takes
over where his captain left off, the
Wolverines will play the Blue-White
game, Michigan's annual intra-squad
scrimmage. Eight days later, the Wol-
verines open up their season against
Guelph.
With only 12 days of official prac-
tice before the season-opener, Michi-
gan has to be prepared to play hockey
when Berenson returns.
"It's important to keep the prac-
tices high-paced," Halko said. "We
need to get used to skating fast with
the puck."
Halko has never been the Wolver-
ines' most talented player - but he's
always been one of the hardest-work-
ers on the team. Last year he was
named the CCHA's best defensive
defenseman.
So it's no surprise that the first two
weeks of Michigan's practices require
a lot of hard work and dedication.
For four years, the Wolverines have
been on the threshold of winning their
sixth national championship, but they
haven't hoisted the trophy.
And that is Halko's goal. The 1995
season will be his last. He is the cap-
tain and he expects to succeed.
"I want to have my best year at
Michigan," Halko said. "But I want
Michigan to have its best year since I
got here, too.
"It's easy to say 'national champi-
onship', but there is so much more to
a season than that. The 40-some game
regular season games aren'tjust prepa-
ration for the final four."
But Halko said that everyone knows
the job at hand. And so far, he's seen
plenty of progress at practice. He said
the freshman class looks impressive
and the veterans are all healthy.
Michigan's newest captain said he
hopes to provide leadership for the
team. He wants to set a good example
for the underclassmen on and off the
ice and show them what it means to be
a hard worker.
Halko wants to get the most out of
practices - even though they've just
begun. And even when he isn't run-
ning practice, Halko knows he'll have
to provide some leadership for a team
that has been saturated with talent for
years.
The Wolverines embark on the
1995-96 season as one of the best
teams in the country. They return na-
tional scoring leader Brendan
Morrison, a first-team All-American,
to lead a potent offense. Marty Turco,
an All-CCHA selection as a fresh-
man, anchors a solid defense and the
freshman class is loaded with promis-
SPORTS INFORMATION
Steven Halko is the captain of the 1995 Michigan hockey team.
ing players.
But Michigan has always had the
ability to win games. Last year the
Wolverines posted an impressive 30-
8-1 record and held on to the No. 1
ranking in the country for the bulk of
the season.
Halko doesn't know what went
wrong - if anything - but he thinks
a good team gets good with hard work
in practice.
"Each practice we should get bet-
ter," he said. "With each drill we do
and each stride we take, we should get
better.
"You won't make leaps and bounds
in a week, but it's the little things that
are important."
AP PH
OtisThorpe came over to Detroit yesterday in a deal with the Portland Blazers.
Ba, Pistons puli
off long-awaited deal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - In a deal aged 13.5 points in 34 games with P
hat had been expected since June, the land. He averaged 14 points spd 1
ortland Trail Blazers traded forward rebounds in the Rockets' champi
tis Thorpe to Detroit Wednesday for ship season of 1993-94.
ookie guard Randolph Childress and Childress was the second-lead
econd-year forward Bill Curley. scorer in Wake Forest history with 2,2
The Pistons chose Childress, a sharp- points.
hooter from Wake Forest, with the The Blazers expect him to play po
9th pick in the June 28 draft. guard but also are counting on his o
At the time, Detroit coach Doug side shooting, an area in which the te
ollins made little attempt to hide the has been sorely deficient in recent yea
act the pick was made for Portland and He averaged 18.4 points per game
.deal for Thorpe was imminent. Wake Forest and 20.1 as a senior.
"We are excited aboutgettingaplayer "He can score. He's a good ass
fOtis' ability and just as important, he man and I think most importantly h
rings championship experience to our a money player," Portland coach P
eam,"Collins said. "He brings durabil- Carlesimo said. "He's a guy who st
ty and toughness to a team which des- up and takes big shots."
erately needed these qualities." Curley was the 22nd pick in the 19
The trade couldn't be made until a draft, but was part of a preseason tra
ew collective bargaining agreement that sent Sean Elliott from Detroit to
ith the league's players was com- Spurs.The 6-foot-9 Curley averaged:
leted. points and 2.3 rebounds in limited dt
Thorpe, an 11-year veteran, aver- for the Pistons last season.
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