University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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ean Ritchlin celebrates after one of his numerous goals this season in a victory over the Western Michigan University Broncos. -PLAY OF THE YEAR- - . Joshua Greenbere photos courtesy of Sports Information Munn Ice Arena, home of the Wolverines ' fiercest rival, Michigan State, was the setting for one of the most talked about goals in the world of sports. Taking on Minnesota at the NCAA West Regionals, U-M was down 2- 1 , but on a power- play. Center Mike Legg, was behind the opponent ' s net when he picked the puck up onto his stick and dumped it into the net. I was alone and had enough time, so I thought I ' d give it a try, said Legg. The lacrosse style goal brought the score to a tie and sparked U-M ' s final drive to a 4-3 victory. The goal thrust Legg into the national spotlight, earning him nomina- tions for two ESPY awards. Legg traveled to the fifth annual awards show in New York City where he won an ESPY for Most Outrageous Play of the Year. The feat was voted Goal of the Year by Inside Hockey, and Play of the Year by The Sports Network. Legg ' s stick was donated to The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto for its display on the 1996 Year in Review. Peter Nielsen photo courtesy of Sports Information olverine left wing, John Mad- ront Row: Mel Pearson, Marty Tureo, Warren Luhning, Jason Botterill, Red Berenson, Blake Sloan, Gregg Malicke, Billy Powers. Second in pins a Brown opponent against Row: Greg Daddario, Bobby Hayes, Matt Herr, Mike Legg, Peter Bourke, Chris Frescoln, Harold Schock, John Madden, Bill Muckalt. Ian Hume, e wall in a Struggle to gain control Chris Fox. Sean Peach. Back Row: David Brooks, Jeff Krzeszak, Jim Campbell, Sean Ritchlin, Bubba Berenzweig. Dale Romin ski, Greg Crazier, the puck. Kevin Magnuson, Andrew Merrick, Justin Clark, Craig Assenmacher. Rick Bancroft, Bo Poley, Jash Richelew. 153 Hock6V

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The Wolverines swept up the competetion by Dan Henries F After capturing its first NCAA title in 32 years, the Michigan hockey team entered the 1996-97 season with a strong returning team and the desire to win a consecutive title. The team ' s dominance was seen on the ice and in the weekly national hockey polls. The Wolverines remained ranked 1 atop the College Hockey USA Coaches Poll for the entire season. Michigan played fast paced games that not many teams could keep up with. The team had a 23-game winning streak which was sandwiched between two losses to conference foe and fierce rival Michigan State University. Michigan State utilized the trap to slow the game down and disrupt Michigan ' s passing. Number nine, Brendan Morrison, Michigan ' s captain and senior center, asserted, Michigan State was effective with the trap. We turned the losses into a positive. We ' ve worked hard on passing and controlling the puck. It ' s all mental to send and receive the puck. Many records and honors were earned by the 1 996-97 team. Senior left- winger John Madden set a NCAA record for the most career shorthanded goals with 2 1 . Senior defenseman, Blake Sloan was selected as the recipient for college hockey ' s Humanitarian award. Mike Legg, a senior center, won an ESPY award for Outrageous Play of the Year for his lacrosse style goal he had scored against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the NCAA West Regional in 1996. Led by junior goalie Marty Turco, the Wolverine defense had the number one goals against average in the 1996-97 season. Brendan Morrison recorded his 165th assist which surpassed the all-time Michigan record previously held by Brian Wiseman, who compiled 164 assists from 1991-94. Jason Botterill, a senior forward, the player who scored off of the record setting assist pass from Morrison, said, It was nice to see him get the record off his shoulders. He ' s helped my game out a bit, and I am glad I could help him. Morrison also became the first player in Michigan history to score 60 points in three consecutive seasons. On Saturday, Feb. 15, Morrison assisted on a goal made by Matt Herr which made Morrison Michigan ' s all-time points leader, surpassing Denny Felsner ' s record of 261 career points. I ' ve been really lucky to be surrounded by great players here at Michigan for the past four years, and without them this never could have happened, stated Morrison. The guy ' s incredible, asserted Legg, after Morrison broke the scoring record. Morrison was nominated his sophomore and junior for the Hobey Baker trophy and was also a strong candidate in 1997. Morrison has become a great player and set a great standard, stated Red Berenson who was in his 13th year as the coach. The team remained aware that being ranked number one and being defend- ing National Champions was tough. Berenson said, In this league, anyone can jump up and beat you. He went on to add, poor execution puts ourselves in a position to be beat. We have to play with teamwork and not as individuals. We sometimes try to make the home-run plays and not just the short passes. Morrison stated, We have to show up for every game. We have to come out and control the game. This talented group of seniors had the most successful four years in Wolverine hockey history. They compiled a record of four CCHA Regular Season Championships, four Great Lakes Invitational Tournament Championships, three NCAA Final Four appearances, and one National Cham- pionship. 152 4 Hockey Layout by Michelle McCombs -CCHA 23-3-3, Overall 35-3-4- Opponent LJ-of-M Opp Waterloo Lake Superior State Maine Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Fairbanks Notre Dame Michigan State Ohio State Bowling Green Michigan State Bowling Green Brown Brown Minnesota Wisconsin Western Michigan Ferris State Michigan Tech Lake Superior State Ferris State Cornell Alaska Fairbanks Ferris State Western Michigan Western Michigan Miami Miami Ohio State Bowling Green Lake Superior State Michigan State Notre Dame Notre Dame Lake Superior State Lake Superior State Miami Ohio State CCHA Playoffs Alaska-Fairbanks Alaska-Fairbanks Bowling Green Michigan State Minnesota Boston University Championship Game bold indicates home game

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I om Malchow practices the but- terfly stroke. In addition to capturing an Olympic silver medal in the 200- meter butterfly, Malchow won the event at the 1997 Big Ten Champioships.. Big Ten, Overall Opponent U-of-M Eastern Michigan 125 Texas 29 Standford 1 04 Cal-Berkeley 1 26 Dallas Morning News Classic Purdue 127.5 Indiana 152 Michigan State 139 Ohio State 146.5 U.S.S. Nationals NTS Michigan Open NTS Big Ten Diving Zone NCAA Championship - bold indicates home meet photo courtesy of Sports Information ront row: Chris Rumley, Tom Almeida, Shuichi Matsumoto, Ryan Papa, Al Fleming, Brett Wilmot. Second row: Dick Kimball, Nathan Shepard, David Stephens, Jeff Flermoen, Dawson Hughes, Andy Potts, Joe Janik, Alex Braunfeld. Third row: Jon Urbanchek, Toby Booker, Chris Laskowski, John Reich, Jan Wenzel, Royce Sharp, Joe Palmer. Back row: Steven Williams, Derya Buyukuncu, Owen von Richter, Tom Malchow, Tom Dolan, John Piersma, Shigeo Ogata. Williams works to perfect his freestyle stroke. The junior fin- ished fifth in the 1 650-freesty le at the 1996 Big Ten meet. 154 4 Men ' s Swimming Mark Wol!