If freshmen are supposed to go through growing periods, then Michigan defenseman Jay Vancik is right on schedule.
Vancik struggled in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Notre Dame, making a trio of mistakes in his three shifts. As a result, Michigan coach Red Berenson opted not to play the freshman for the remainder of the game against the Fighting Irish.
To set things off, speedy Notre Dame forward Ben Simon got around Vancik before beating Michigan goalie Josh Blackburn to put the Fighting Irish up 1-0 in the contest.
Things didn't get much better for Vancik. In his second shift, he made a giveaway in the Michigan zone, and on his third and final shift he took a holding penalty which resulted in Benoit Cotnoi's power-play goal.
"We couldn't play him after that," Berenson said after Saturday's game. "You can't play a guy if he's having a bad night."
 |
| WARREN ZINN/Daily Freshman goalie Josh Blackburn (29) hasn't had a terrible case of the first year jitters so far this year, but fellow frosh Jay Vancik struggled on Saturday against Notre Dame. |
Most importantly, it fell short in the all-important final power play that occurred with less than four minutes to go in the game, which could have tied the score and sent the contest into overtime.
While most of the top-line players took the day off, Vancik practiced yesterday. Berenson will determine Vancik's playing status for this weekend's home games against Lake Superior and Ohio State sometime this week.
In the meantime, Berenson hopes that his young defenseman will regain the level of play that earned him a regular spot on defense back in November.
"When you're not playing well, obviously you're not going to have much confidence," Berenson said yesterday. "You go through this as a player - one night you have confidence the next night you don't.
"I'm not pointing the finger at him. He's not the only one who didn't have a good game."
Bottoms Up: The Wolverines will have every opportunity to make up for the points they dropped last weekend. Six of Michigan's nine remaining CCHA games are against teams that are under .500, including two games apiece against Lake Superior, Miami and Western Michigan.
They'll need to beware, though. Lake Superior defeated Notre Dame at home two weekends ago, and played middle-of-the-pack Bowling Green tough in a split, also in the Soo. It looks as if the Lakers may be picking up some steam.
"They have a tough weekend, playing us and Michigan State, which I'm sure will bring out the best in them," Berenson said. "I respect the fact that Lake Superior is a better team than where it is in the standings."
Don't count Miami out, either. The RedHawks stormed into Big Rapids and took three of four points from Ferris State, and should play the Wolverines tough in a two-game series on Feb. 26 and 27.
"There's not going to be any easy games," Berenson cautioned. "The teams in the top half know they're going to be in the (CCHA) playoffs. They're worried about home ice.
"The teams in the bottom half are worried about being in the playoffs, period. We're going to play desperate teams."
Still waiting: Michigan State's unusual schedule has the Spartans waiting until this weekend to face Notre Dame for the first time. The first meeting will occur this Friday at the Joyce Center in South Bend. The Fighting Irish will travel to East Lansing for a pair of games later this season.
The Spartans haven't had the dubious pleasure of facing Ferris State yet, either. Notre Dame and Ferris State are the No. 4 and No. 6 teams in the conference, respectively, and both squads made things very tough for the Wolverines.
"We played (six) games against those teams," Berenson said. "You play that kind of competition, you're not going to pick up a lot points, unless you're on a roll."
02-02-99
| Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |