Muckalt, Ohio State return to hear vocal Yost crowd By Uma Subramanian Daily Sports Writer Bill Muckalt has played in every arena in the NHL. He's competed for his hometown Vancouver Canucks; he's competed in front of the rambunctious fans in Phoenix; he's even competed in the Motor City. Yet through it all, Muckalt's favorite ice is not in a multi-million dollar locale, but in a field house that was built in 1924. "In Yost (Ice Arena) you have a lot more of that atmosphere, which is very exciting," said Muckalt - a former Michigan center and one of the NHL's top-scoring rookies last season. "In the NHL, the crowd and the fans are good, but if I had to rate my favorite place to play, I'm in it right now - Yost." Muckalt, who is currently on the New York Islanders' injured reserve list, picked a great weekend for a return trip to Michigan. The Wolverines took on Ohio State in what had been touted as a battle for the ages. Though the teams skated to an inconclusive 1-1 draw, the atmosphere in Yost lived up to the hype. The anticipation for this past Saturday's game was fueled by a contest that took place one week earlier. In a bloodbath in Columbus, Michigan had dismantled the Buckeyes, 6-4, in front of a raucous, NCAA-record crowd of 17,343 at Value City Arena. Unknowingly, the Buckeye faithful played a huge role in the vociferousness of the Michigan crowd in this past Saturday's game. When the Wolverines visited Columbus, the Buckeyes fans were decidedly unsportsmanlike, throwing objects at the visiting athletes. In retaliation, it seemed, Michigan fans came prepared for battle. "The crowd was really into it tonight," Michigan forward Scott Matzka said. "Right from the get-go and even during announcements, they were more raucous then they've been. "Everybody was there early and it was a big boost for us - we came out really hard and took it to them." Perhaps even more enticing than the promise of a heated battle, the Wolverines fans came out en masse for Maize Out 2000, a promotional event at which 2,500 yellow shirts were passed out to the earliest arrivals. Often times, the stands at Yost are not filled until well into the first period, but the premise of free clothing had everyone in by the opening face-off. "I think it's cool!," said Darlene McLean, an eight-year season ticket holder from Ann Arbor, of Maize Out. "I grew up in a hockey family and everybody I knew played for Michigan growing up." Though McLean's favorite Michigan player, Justin Clark, has graduated, McLean continues to number among the Michigan faithful who turn out for every home game. "I called (Clark) Opie because he looked like the kid from The Andy Griffith show," McLean said. Maize Out was modeled after the former Winnipeg Jets' White Outs - a ritual in which every fan wore a white shirt creating an intimidating background for the opposing team. On Saturday, the Michigan crowd put on a dominating show. But in and of itself, Maize Out was only semi-effective because the Athletic Department did not hand out enough shirts for the 6,738 fans who attended. In fact, only one-third of the post-renovation record crowd sported the yellow look. Nonetheless, "we're excited," said Tom Brooks, Michigan's director of marketing. "The Maize Out is something we definitely want to continue as an annual event. People really rallied around the concept. "We're happy for our first year. We expected the students to get here close to the start of the game, but we hope that in years to come, we'll do more and more shirts." The Maize Out was originally slated to take place during Michigan's upcoming contest with Michigan State. But since that game will be played during Spring Break, Michigan coach Red Berenson requested that the event be moved to this past weekend. "The crowd was great," Berenson said. "I wish we could've given them something more to cheer about. They were awesome. "The Maize Out was a good idea. It gave the rink a lot of color, but we couldn't give the crowd what they needed." KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily Michigan fans say 'See ya' to an Ohio State player. But the Buckeyes were not disposed of as easily. In front of a very vocal crowd, Michigan and Ohio State skated to a 1-1 tie. Originally on page 4B in the 1-31-2000 issue of the Daily.