'M' icers to face Wildcats in Boston

BOSTON - When the Michigan hockey team takes the ice today to face New Hampshire, expect the unexpected. How else can you describe an NCAA semifinal game between two overachieving teams that each defeated a pair of highly touted teams one week ago?

Michigan (30-11-1) will face the Wildcats (25-11-1) today at 2 p.m. at the FleetCenter, with the second game between Ohio State and Boston College scheduled for tonight at 8.

The Wolverines are riding a wave of momentum into Boston after upsetting then-No.2 North Dakota, 4-3, on Saturday night in the West Regional at Yost Ice Arena. The victory followed a close shave the night before with Princeton, in which Michigan escaped with a 2-1 win. Despite Michigan's success at the regionals, the Wildcats have proven to be no slouches either. New Hampshire pulled off a stunning upset of its own in the East Regional at Albany, N.Y., upending Boston University, 4-3, in overtime.

And since the victory, the Wildcats have been basking in the glow of their achievement. Forward Mark Mowers' overtime goal against the Terriers has been dubbed "The shot heard around New Hampshire" - and the Wildcats have been flying high ever since.

And they still haven't come down, New Hampshire netminder Sean Matile said.

"We're so high on this experience right now. We haven't stopped smiling, but by two o'clock tomorrow we'll stop smiling."

Mowers has made an attempt to keep his emotions in check, particularly to avoid any sort of letdown against the Wolverines today. If the past is any indication, said Mowers, a letdown is definitely a possibility.

"Monday was probably the peak of our emotions," Mowers said. "We tried to get everybody to relax on Tuesday.

"We don't want to do what BU did last year after they beat Michigan. They kind of lost all their juice for the next game." New Hampshire's landmark victory put the Wildcats into the national semifinals for the first time since 1982. But now the Wildcats are in the position of having to prepare for a Michigan team that has participated in six of the past seven NCAA semifinals.

New Hampshire plays an up-and-down style game led by its high-scoring offense. The Wildcats boast four of the nation's top eight scorers, which will no doubt challenge a young Michigan defense. But after shutting down the high-flying North Dakota scorers a week ago, the Wolverines seem to be ready. New Hampshire, on the other hand, seems to be preparing for more than Michigan's players. Michigan's history can be quite a formidable opponent as well.

"Preparing for Michigan is really exciting," Matile said. "The tradition of Michigan always making it to the final four and winning the national championship is huge. To play them is like playing the Boston Bruins or Montreal Canadiens."

No stranger to hyperbole, Matile nevertheless highlighted a major issue - Michigan's experience in the final four and New Hampshire's lack thereof.

In fact, Michigan is the only team to boast any players with previous final four experience. Nevertheless, both teams have mixed feelings about how much of a factor experience will be when the puck drops today.

"I don't think it's a factor," Michigan forward Bill Muckalt said. "The key for any team's success is getting rid of distractions and staying focused. The team that does that the best is going to give themselves the best opportunity to win."

New Hampshire coach Dick Umile offered his thoughts: "There's no replacement for experience," he said.

But Michigan's edge in final four experience may be tempered by its huge freshman class. The freshmen have all been touched by the fever of the NCAA semifinals.

"They're pretty excited," Muckalt joked. "Last night, with the police escort, the freshmen were jumping up and yelling like, 'No way!' They're happy to be here."

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04-02-98