'M' icers begin run for CCHA crown

The run for a championship in any sport consists of a series of steps. Each new plateau is higher than the previous one, culminating in a final peak.

For the Michigan hockey team, the initial climb began with a surprisingly successful regular season. Phase one ended with a second-place finish in the CCHA.

Tonight, phase two begins for the Wolverines (22-7-1 CCHA, 28-9-1 overall), when they face Notre Dame in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.

Michigan will square off against the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-14-4, 17-17-4) in a best-of-three series at Yost Ice Arena.

The series winner will then move on to the CCHA semifinals next Friday at Joe Louis Arena, with the conference final played the following night.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily It's crunch time for Bobby Hayes and the rest of the Wolverines as the first round of the CCHA Tournament begins tonight.

The week-long tournament precedes the NCAA West Regionals, which will be held at Yost.

With such a disjointed process facing the Wolverines, it's no wonder Michigan coach Red Berenson refers to the upcoming month as the "second season."

"It's a new season, and you don't want to spend time looking back on the good things you accomplished during the season," Berenson said. "The playoffs are a short season in which every game could be the last game. We have to get into that mindset."

The do-or-die pressure present in every game from here on out magnifies the importance of every minute on the ice.

"Every little thing becomes a big thing now," Berenson said. "Every shot, every faceoff, every possession becomes crucial."

But for a team that's won 12 of 16 games decided by one goal, experience during intense games won't be a concern for Berenson.

With a different Wolverine stepping up every night and superhuman goaltending efforts by Marty Turco, Michigan has found a way to come out on top in close contests.

The one-goal games have "been like a practice for the playoffs," Berenson said. "We've been in so many tight games, and done well, that the playoffs shouldn't be any different."

Berenson must have had tonight's opponent in mind when he said the Wolverines could expect more close games in the playoffs. Two of Michigan's one-goal victories have come against Notre Dame, most recently a 1-0 victory a week ago.

In that game, Michigan forward Bill Muckalt scored a goal 32 seconds into the game, proving to be enough scoring for a Michigan win.

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily Michigan center Mark Kosick and the rest of the Wolverines will be pulling out all the stops during the playoff portion of Michigan's schedule.

Earlier in the year, the Irish stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period to force an extra stanza.

Luckily for the Wolverines, Notre Dame wasn't able to finish the comeback, as Greg Crozier closed out Michigan's frightful game by scoring in overtime.

The key to the Irish's effort this weekend will be the production of its major offensive weapons.

Lately, Notre Dame's scorers have shown signs of inconsistency, which could give them trouble against a Michigan team that seems to be coming together.

"I can't tell you that we're peaking," Berenson said. "But we do have a lot of players who are playing better than they were a month ago, and are ready to peak."

Leading Notre Dame's attack is junior Aniket Dhadpale, who has 26 points in league play - including eight goals with the man-advantage. Also essential to Notre Dame's success is forward Ben Simon, who leads the Irish with 27 points. Simon is Notre Dame's playmaker, serving up 22 assists on the season.

But recently, Simon's play has tailed off - along with the play of Notre Dame, which has won only four of its last 12 games.

Despite the temptation to look past the Irish and get caught up in a championship run, Michigan's thoughts are focused on Notre Dame - its first step towards a conference title.

Stopping the Irish is the first in a long set of goals the Wolverines set for themselves.

"We want to get to Joe Louis - which obviously depends on what we do this weekend," Berenson said. "Then we want to win the CCHA championship, which will hopefully lead up to the NCAAs."

A conference championship would help the Wolverines immensely in their run for a spot in the NCAA semifinals, held in Boston on April 2nd.

The CCHA crown also would guarantee Michigan a bye in the NCAA regionals held at Yost, giving it the advantage of playing just one game to get into the semifinals.

03-13-98