On injury-plagued defense, Gassoff plays roll with pride

By Ryan C. Moloney

Daily Sports Writer

Six minutes and 33 seconds into the second period Saturday night, defenseman Bob Gassoff stepped onto the ice, glided over to the center of the Michigan blueline, whirled around and skated back to the Wolverines' bench.

Gassoff's venture took place while play was stopped before a faceoff in the Minnesota zone. Gassoff remained on the bench for the rest of the game, failing to record any regulation time on the ice.

Though Gassoff remained a vocal bench presence throughout the game, a "DNP" is all the record books will show for it. Michigan coach Red Berenson's strategy to compensate for an injury-maligned defense corps appears to center on a five-defenseman system.

"It's not fair to Gassoff, he hasn't played enough to be in sync with the speed of this game," Berenson said after Michigan's 4-1 win over Minnesota. "You'd hate for him make a mistake, especially if it's close - obviously it was a close game, so we felt we had to play with our top five."

The decision meant more minutes for Michigan's top defenseman, Jeff Jillson. The junior played approximately 28-and-a-half minutes against Minnesota, including over 10-and-a-half minutes in the third period.

The Michigan defense showed little evidence of fatigue in both weekend games, but there is a possibility of overuse, as defensemen Dave Huntzicker and Brad Fraser are both out with MCL injuries for at least another five weeks.

Berenson said he wants to include Gassoff in the lineup but said the senior "hasn't earned our confidence yet."

Jillson is a staple on special teams and because of the injuries, his presence in even strength and in tight, third period situations is warranted. Huntzicker was one of Michigan's best penalty killers and the team resorted to a collective effort to replace him. Jay Vancik and freshman Andy Burnes were both penalty kill fixtures over the weekend games.

"Andy Burnes was a man out there," Berenson said, "and Jay Vancik was solid."

But Berenson still prefers a six-defenseman rotation.

Gassoff played roughly six minutes in Michigan's 3-2 victory against Wisconsin Friday night - none on special teams. He started slowly in his first two shifts, getting his legs tangled up and falling to the ice at one instance.

A little past the midway point of the second period, Gassoff was about to leave the ice when Wisconsin broke out of their end with a potential odd-man opportunity. Gassoff smartly skated back to his defensive post and helped fend off an offensive chance.

Yesterday, Gassoff was lighthearted and diplomatic about his current status - he remains content to contribute in any way on the ice.

"I'm not at all (disappointed)," Gassoff said. "Any time the team is successful it's tough to be disappointed. We got into a situation pretty early into the game on Saturday against an offensively explosive team . . . the coaches wanted to shorten the bench a little bit and put the guys out there who probably have a few more goals in their past than I do.

"That's the way it goes sometimes. It's funny, you don't have to play in the game to make a difference - if you pick teammates up verbally and support them it goes a long way."