Pain of leaving for 'M' seniors eased by title

After four consecutive final four appearances and two titles, upperclassmen can leave satisfied

BOSTON - After meeting the media following Michigan's 3-2 victory over Boston College, Marty Turco sat in the corner of the FleetCenter lockerroom and took off his No. 35 jersey for the last time.

"I'm proud I got to wear it," Turco said. "But I know it's time and I have to move on."

For Turco and the rest of the Michigan seniors - Matt Herr, Bill Muckalt, Chris Fox and Gregg Malicke - Josh Langfeld's overtime goal marked the end of their careers at Michigan.

And what a way to go out.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily The seniors on the Michigan hockey team - (from left to right) Gregg Malicke, Matt Herr, Bill Muckalt, Chris Fox and Marty Turco - went out with a bang. The group leaves Michigan with two national titles.

With the victory, Turco, Herr, Muckalt, Fox and Malicke became the winningest class in Michigan hockey history with 133 career victories, eclipsing the record of 132 victories set by last season's senior class. More important, this year's seniors ended their careers with a second NCAA championship.

"It's your senior year - your last game," Turco said. "You couldn't write a better script. That's what you want - to say I graduated when we were national champions."

For Muckalt, the national championship was the perfect ending to the senior year that he almost passed up.

Before the season started, Muckalt had the opportunity to leave college to play professional hockey for the Vancouver Canucks. But Muckalt chose to stay for his senior year at Michigan.

"If feel like I have no regrets," Muckalt said. "I came back for my senior year. I've got my degree. I've won a national championship. Everything I came back to accomplish we've taken care of.

"I'll never have any regrets. When I'm 40 or 50, I'll still be able to look at these two national championship rings. If somebody says anything about me or about us I can't hear them because I'll have my two national championship rings stuck in my ears."

WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan star forward Bill Muckalt played his last game as a Wolverine in Saturday night's NCAA championship game against Boston College.

As a class, the national championship was sweeter this time around because of the criticism the seniors encountered throughout the year.

Entering the season, some fans asked whether the seniors were capable of leading the young Wolverines after the loss of nine seniors - including Hobey Baker Award winner Brendan Morrison - at the end of last season.

When the Wolverines struggled a bit during the regular season, losing the regular season CCHA title to Michigan State, many questioned whether Michigan was capable of winning the big game.

With an early exit in the CCHA playoffs at the hands of Ohio State, the Wolverines were left with one more chance to prove their critics wrong.

"It's special for our senior class because we had people doubting us," Herr said. "People saying Brendan Morrison is gone, Jason Botterill is gone.

"It's not about individual talents. For Billy, Marty, Chris, Gregg and I this will be one of the greatest moments ever, because people doubted us. Everybody chipped in. That class led this team."

For some, the championship was especially significant because it proved what the team could accomplish if they came together.

"It goes to show you what you can do when you've got a group of guys that will put it all on the line, and are as close as we are, even when everyone is against us," Malicke said. "It is so special because as a senior you can't ask for a better way to go out."

With their win on Saturday night, the Michigan seniors finally stepped out of the shadows of the teams of the past three years and won a championship that they can call their own.

"I just want to remember that we did it in style - the captains and the seniors," a jubilant Muckalt shouted from the shower. "This is what I came back for and now the mission is accomplished and it's time to move on."

04-06-98