No. 23 lives as new Roemensky added to 'M' roster By Uma Subramanian Daily Sports Writer "Hey, Mike! Where's your cousin Dale?" joked freshman forward J.J. Swistak to his new teammate Mike Roemensky. Roemensky is the Michigan hockey team's new defenseman who was added during the holidays to provide depth to the Wolverines' lineup which had been weakened prior to the season due to the loss of three players. The Dale in question, is former Michigan starter Dale Rominski who graduated in May 1999. All right, so you probably figured out from the spelling that Rominski and Roemensky aren't related. But the two share more than just the pronunciation of their last names - as of today they'll share a number. When Roemensky signs the papers that will officially add him to the Michigan roster, he will wear No. 23 - the same digits that graced Rominski's sweater during his time at Michigan. Roemensky said it was an accident. "After I had picked the number, I was going through the books and I noticed Dale had worn the number when he was here," Roemensky said. "There's no relation between us, but it's kind of neat. I didn't know he was No. 23, it was just a coincidence." The number story is amusing, but it is the potential of the numbers Roemensky will put up that has captured the Michigan coach Red Berenson's attention. Though Berenson is not allowed to comment specifically on Roemensky until after the freshman signs his papers, he did say that Roemensky's addition was necessary. "We went looking for a defenseman because we lost three quality players this past summer," Berenson said. "We had seven defenseman, but it wasn't enough depth. This was an opportunity to add a player. In the first 10 games" - of which Michigan won nine - "we got away with (having so few players). "But through the second 10 games, with the goals against, the penalty killing and the lack of power play production we felt that if we had another defenseman it would definitely help our team this year." For Roemensky, the next few weeks will be a giant transition period. Not only does he have to find his niche in the lineup, but he also has to deal with starting classes. This was something he hadn't been expecting until a month ago. Roemensky began practicing with the Wolverines during the holiday season. Prior to coming to Michigan he played for the Compuware Ambassadors where he was teammates with Swistak and fellow freshmen John Shouneyia and Mark Mink. Though he loses half a year of eligibility by joining Michigan midway through the season, Roemensky is thrilled with the prospects. "I'm excited about coming in and playing and I'm looking forward to contributing to the team," Roemensky said. "Hopefully things will go well. I was really surprised (when Berenson called). It's always been on my mind - I've always wanted to play for Michigan. "I knew they had a lot of defensemen (in the past), but I didn't know they'd lost so many this season. When he told me they needed another one to come up and play starting at Christmas and they asked me if I'd be the guy, I jumped right up and said 'Yes, I'd like to play for Michigan.'" Roemensky will likely see action this weekend against Michigan State. The Wolverines are trying to avenge their GLI Championship game loss to the Spartans. In that game, the Wolverines were also short their top defenseman, Jeff Jillson, who was playing for the U.S. Junior National Team. For the first time all year, Michigan will be playing with a full roster. Not only will Jillson and freshman Andy Hilbert - who also played for the U.S. team - have returned from Sweden, but goaltender Josh Blackburn plans to dress for the Wolverines after returning to the bench during the GLI. Originally on page 6B in the 1-5-2000 issue of the Daily.