Miami (Ohio) goaltender Trevor Prior isn't a Michigan fan. He especially isn't a Marty Turco fan.
In fact, rumor has it that Prior may once have owned a T-shirt with a bullseye and Turco's name written across it when the two played against each other in juniors.
"I've never seen it, but that's what I hear," the Michigan goaltender said about the alleged shirt. "It's a personal match. When me and Trevor go up I look forward to it because he's such a good goaltender."
The reasons for the rivalry are pretty simple. Both are seniors. Both backstop for the top teams in the conference. Both are natives of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where they played against each other.
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| JOHN KRAFT/Daily Defenseman Chris Fox and the rest of his defensive linemates will play a key role in avenging a Miami (Ohio) sweep of Michigan three weeks ago. |
Each goaltender will be striving to one-up the other when No. 5 Michigan (17-4-1 CCHA, 23-6-1 overall) and No. 7 Miami (13-6-4, 18-6-4) do battle at Yost Ice Arena at 7 p.m. tonight. Then, on Saturday, the Wolverines play host to Northern Michigan (12-8-3, 14-10-4) for the first time since 1984, which was Red Berenson's first year as Michigan coach.
Prior already has the upper hand this season in the ongoing feud between the two netminders. The RedHawks swept a crucial series in Miami on Jan. 23-24. The two Miami victories were largely attributed to Prior's game-saving stops, and he was named CCHA defensive player of the week as a result.
Turco, who let a few bad goals beat him that weekend, is ready to exact some measure of revenge.
"We deserved to win," Turco said. "We played well enough to win. If you don't get goaltending on the road you're not going to win games.
"I look forward to the opportunity to get back at them some way. You can say it's a little bit of a revenge."
The rest of the Wolverines aren't quick to forgive and forget what happened a few short weeks ago, either.
"When we were down in Miami, we didn't capitalize on our chances," Michigan captain Matt Herr said. "I mean, shoulda, woulda, coulda - we still made a lot of mistakes.
"And against good teams in the top half of the league you can't make those kinds of mistakes."
And Miami is certainly one of those good teams. Last weekend, third-place Miami battled then-No. 1 Michigan State to a 0-0 tie, sending the Spartans into the No. 3 spot in the polls.
"Now you've got two top teams, it's in our last year and we're playing for keeps," Turco said. "It could get more personal when things are at higher stakes. We look forward to playing each other - it's a rivalry."
As much animosity as there might be between these two, Michigan's second opponent of the weekend is as far from a rival as two conference opponents can be.
Northern Michigan, in its first year back in the CCHA in 14 years, hasn't played at Yost since 1984. The preseason coaches' poll picked the Wildcats to finish no higher than 10th in the conference.
But now, in the final month of play, they have proven everyone wrong - currently residing at fifth place in the conference.
"Nobody knew about us, how good we've been," Northern Michigan coach Rick Comely said. "It's not really the coaches' fault. We got better from last year and we would've been better no matter what league."
The Wolverines haven't been pushovers recently, either. Coming off a sound 4-1 beating of Lake Superior last Saturday and a weekend sweep of Notre Dame, Michigan is poised for a difficult weekend.
"I think we'll be seeing their team playing their best hockey and our team playing our best hockey," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.
This weekend starts a four-game clash with tough opponents for the Wolverines. After the RedHawks and Wildcats leave Ann Arbor, Michigan has to begin preparations for a two-game prize-fight against second-place Michigan State next weekend.
02-13-98
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