'M' icers begin practice with new faces in old places

For the past three seasons, Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson knew what to expect at practice. He knew he had nine players who needed little direction and guidance to succeed.

But yesterday at Michigan's first official practice, when Berenson looked out on the ice, he didn't have those famed nine players. Instead, he has nine new ones who need to be broken in.

"The upperclassmen have to get used to the fact that there are no Morrisons or Botterills or Luhnings or Leggs or Maddens or Sloans or Schocks (of last year) to lead this team," Berenson said.

And what a change that should be. Those departed figures guided the Wolverines to a national title in 1996 and three CCHA championships. So for the first time since 1993, the Wolverines are in somewhat of a rebuilding process.

"It's a start, we've got a lot of work to do like every other team," Berenson said. "Part of it is getting conditioning down and part of it is for the freshmen getting used to the style of play of Michigan."

WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan captain Matt Herr and the rest of the Michigan hockey team began official practice yesterday. The Wolverines are preparing for the season that begins Oct. 10 in Minnesota.

The Wolverines haven't been completely away from the ice, however. For the past two weeks they have been working out as a team at Yost Ice Arena, participating in 'unofficial' practices.

Since no coaches were involved during those two weeks, the Michigan veterans directed the flow of the workouts.

"Bill Muckalt and Matt Herr are already taking a serious leadership role on this team," Berenson said.

The first day of practice was certainly more intense than the unofficial workouts. The coaching staff employed a variety of drills, followed by intense, fast-moving scrimmage situations.

The coaching staff also arranged the Wolverines in various lines, none of which are considered final. In fact, a few freshmen had the opportunity to play on lines that consisted of seasoned veterans.

For the nine newcomers, the pace and intensity of the first day of practice is much different than what they've been accustomed to.

"Practice went well with a good tempo, but it was a lot faster today," Michigan freshman Josh Langfeld said. "I learned a whole lot of stuff today and it's only the first day of practice."

Although the freshmen might have been overwhelmed by the level at which they were expected to practice. Berenson was pleased with their performance and preparation overall.

"I've been impressed with the level of conditioning," Berenson said. "Our team has come in real good shape. And our younger players are probably in better shape than our typical freshman class."

Better physical shape doesn't always translate into a solid team. In college sports there is constant turnover - players graduate and freshmen arrive. One of the most daunting tasks is to familiarize the new players to the system. That said, Berenson and his coaching staff have their work cut out for them.

"We'll be teaching more than we probably taught last year," Berenson said. "To us it's a lot of the same old things, but to them it's new material."

Still, it's early and the Wolverines realize this. Although their first opponent - Minnesota - is a mere 11 days away, the Wolverines have time to gel and come together as a team.

"The key to this year's team is going to be cohesiveness," Herr said. "You can't really put a time frame on it. I'd rather lose 10 games at the beginning of the year - not saying that we're going to lose 10 games - and win a national championship, than go 30-0 and lose the last two games."

09-30-97