~1mt~A~ ~ V*W ZJUUTTI 1TUU Braves a game away The Atlanta Braves took firm contro of the Word Series with a 5-2 win over the Cleveland indians last night. Atlanta now holds a 3- edge in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is tonight in Cleveland. Ulm,.., Page 11A Thursday, October 26, 1945 Blue icers head to Palace to avenge loss to Maine By John Lerol -aily Sports Writer Everyone knows this is a big game. The newspapers in Bangor, Maine, have had a front-page "Countdown to the Showdown" every day for two weeks. And when Michigan steps onto the ipe at 7:30 tonight at the Palace of ,Auburn Hills in the Faceoff Classic .against Maine, fans can expect a heated battle. The game, which will be nationally ,,elevised on ESPN2, was organized as an exhibition rematch of last year's ;:CAA semifinal game by the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Black Bears .Inocked off the Wolverines in that _,game, 4-3, in the longest NCAA play- off ever - a triple-overtime thriller. In it's first 22 years, the Face Off- Classic was known as the Enshrine- ment Game and was played in Eveleth, Minn., a small town in northern Minne- sota where the Hall of Fame is located. Before today, no team outside the WCHA has participated in the annual season-opener. But last spring, organizers decided to move the game around the country in an effort to give college hockey more ex- posure. Spokesman Bob Vallen said the Hall of Fame is striving to get two top-ten teams for the game each year at neutral sites across the country, starting with No. 2 Maine and No. 4 Michigan this year. And anyone around the Michigan lockerroom who says this is just an- other non-conference game would be kidding themselves. "It's a huge game," said goaltender Marty Turco who played all 100 min- utes of last year's contest, making 52 saves before the night was over. "It's one of our big games that we pride ourselves in winning. For one, there's revenge. I don't know a better way to start the season than with a win here." But Michigan coach Red Berenson is doing all he can not to turn the game into a headhunt against Maine, the team that knocked the Wolverines out of the NCAA tournament two of the last three years. Instead, Berenson sees the game as a chance to measure his squad against one of the best teams in the nation. And though Berenson admits there is a pos- sibility for some lockerroom talk, he insists Michigan won't be looking for any sort of retribution. "They might be one of the better teams we face all year long," Berenson said. "We'll find out if we can play with a team like that or not. "But we're not worried about Maine. We don't spend all week designing our game around who we play. We're not playing very well right now and that's what we're focused on." One thing that Berenson hopes will improve is special teams play. The Wolverines have connected on only two of 20 power play chances after converting nearly 30 percent of their advantages on the country's top power play last season. Michigan's special teams will cer- tainly be tested by a quick and skilled Black Bear team. Maine's strength is its special teams - especially its power play, which is already converting 28 percent of its chances - a high number for early in the season. The Black Bears lost only three play- ers from last season's team and coach Shawn Walsh returns his six best scor- ers from a year ago including center Dan Shermerhorn, who nettedtwo goals against Michigan last season including the game winner and defenseman Jeff Tory who led Maine last season in points with 13 goals and 42 assists. Maine won its fourth straight Great Western Freezeout title two weekends ago in Anaheim, Calif., defeating two CCHA teams, Miami (Ohio) and Michi- gan State. And ifthe Black Bears proved anything in the California tournament, it was that their special teams can take them a long way and defense can do a lot to frustrate good teams. "The big question will be,'Can Mi6hi- gan score against Maine's defense?"' said Spartan coach Ron Mason, who hired Walsh as an assistant before he left for Maine. "Without (injured center Brendan) Morrison, they're not going to be that productive." See MAINE, Page,13 Howard returns, but Hill still on top - . .- Volleyball falls again to Spartahs &By Brent McIntosh Daily Sports Editor . The result was fitting. Grant Hill beat Juwan Howard at Crisler Arena,just as he had done twice before. This time, though, the uniforms were -,different. Howard's Washington Bul- ulets fell to Hill's Detroit Pistons last night, 98-89. The last two times the pair faced off in Ann Arbor, Howard was a Wolverine and Hill was a Duke Blue ^'Devil; Hill's squad prevailed each time. N,, Despite the insignificance that goes .with an NBA preseason game, Howard was hoping to avenge those losses last .night. "He beat us twice in this place," Howard said. "That's sad, and I was looking forward to winning here against him this time, but he lucked out." Howard had 15 points and four re- bounds in 31 minutes, while Hill had 16 points, five assists, and four boards. For the first time in Ann Arbor, Hill's intro- duction drew the crowd's approval. "(Being cheered in Crisler) feels a little weird," the two-time national champion said. "I'm used of getting booed, but I'll take the cheers." The win kept Hill undefeated in Ann Arbor. "3-0 - that's right," Hill said. "I don't want to mess that up."n Hill wasn't the only former Michi- gan rival on the floor last night; nor was Howard only former Wolverine. Ex- Tndisnm Hoosier and Calbert Cheanev "I was looking forward to winning here against thim this time, but he lucked out. - Juwan Howard Former Michigan player on losing to Grant Hill again. had 14 points for the Bullets, while the Pistons got 15 points and seven re- bounds out of forward Terry Mills, a member of the 1989 Michigan national championship squad. The Bullets shot out to an early 18-9 lead behind hot shooting. After that, though, Washington's gunners went quiet. The Pistons climbed back into con- tention during a slow second quarter. By the five-minute mark of the half, Detroit had a 32-28 lead. They went into the intermission up 40-36. At the half, Howard had only four points; Mills had two and Hill had six - not their usual Crisler Arena perfor- mances. Howard first scored on a six-footer in the lane - a shot that used to be so common in the Crisler Arena paint - See HOMECOMING, Page 13A By Chris Murphy Daily Sports Writer In a"State Pride" rematch, the Michi- gan women's volleyball team didn't come close. After getting beaten in three straight matches in the first meeting, the Wol- verines were again unable to get on the board, falling to Michigan State, 15-5, 15-8, 15-10. The loss marks Michigan's third straight defeat, the longest losing streak of the season. To compound the team's woes, last night marked the third straight match in which Michigan (6-5 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) has failed to even win one game. While losing nine straight games may be cause for concern, bear in mind last night's opponent is No. 1 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 5 in the nation. The Spartans (11-0, 22-1) feature a team that excels in all facets. Their frontline is second in the league in team blocks, complemented by a group of hitters that lead the league in hitting efficiency. Last night, Michigan State was able to overpower the Wolverines simply by executing. "Michigan State is a very good bal- anced team," Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "So if they have any weaknesses they hide them well." The Wolverines' game plan was to serve well and try to neutralize their point scoring with a good blocking'de- fense. In addition, Giovanazzi wanted to build upon Michigan's last game against iviicnigan state. This included target- ing some ofthe Spartans' younger play- ers. "It's hard to exploit (Michigan State's) weaknesses," Giovanazzi said. "I felt we made some adjustments from the last time we played them, but so did- they." In the first game, the Spartans jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. But the Wolver- ines were able to claw their way back into the game, led by outside hitter Shannon Brownlee's two aces. The problem was, Michigan was unable to score another point. In the second game, the Wolverines were able to hold the Spartans to a 6-6 tie through the middle part of the match. After that, Michigan State went on a 9- 2 run to close out the match. The third game proved to be the clos- est with Michigan putting up a match- high 10 points. While the Wolverines were able to grab a quick 3-0 lead, it was again the Spartans who ran away with the game. The real difference in the game tan be seen by looking at the kill column. See STATE PRIDE, Page A JONATHAN.JLURIE/Daily Former Michigan basketball Juwan Howard returned to Crisler Arena last night in an exhibition game against the Detroit Pistons. Howard finished the game with 15 points. Another former Wolverine, Terry Mills (No. 6) now plays for the Pistons. xri vaavuuv ,4 N a~u~ An A- -t4--. 1 Y[TPCt TP+erPmPnt eir,.tpm- 6acPrl n ,. 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