Recent ANN ARBOR NEWS articles by Dan Gretzner II have
noted the following:
 
  SR RW Mike Knuble *may* return to action this Friday
  vs Ohio State.  Knuble was originally scheduled to miss
  two more weeks.  However, word is that he's recovering
  quickly from his chest infection.  [He was told not to do
  anything that would raise his heart rate over 100 beats
  per minute...which has been equated to a brisk walk.]
 
  Defensemen Alan Sinclair [6-4/211] and Chris Frescoln
  [6-2/194] were allowed to miss one day of practice to
  undergo tests similar to those Knuble [6-2/224] has
  received.  The hope is that by monitoring the heartbeats
  and pulses of Sinclair and Frescoln at various times
  [at rest, on a treadmill], the doctors will better understand
  Knuble's condition.  Alan and Chris were chosen because
  of their similar builds.  [Jeez...I'm 6-2/224, just like Mike.
  Apparently they needed people who are actually *in*
  shape, though. :-]
 
  On another front, center Greg Crozier has verbally committed
  to Michigan for 1995-96.
 
Lastly, a few comments on Michigan State's 3-2 victory over
Western Michigan on Friday.  First, !@#$%^&* Western raised
the general admission ticket price to $9.00 because the
opponent was MSU!  [$6.00 is the new standard, it was only
$4.00 -- even for teams like Michigan -- last season.]  Second,
it's nice to have a GOOD veteran netminder.  MSU's Mike
Buzak let in one soft one, but stopped many others and was
a key to the Spartan win.  WMU's Brian Renfrew play well,
but suffered from a habit of kicking the rebounds right onto a
Spartan stick.  The first time I saw WMU this year I remarked
that they would be a dangerous team *if* they had Buzak in
net.  After seeing them again, I feel the same.  But...they have
Renfrew, so I see the Broncos as fifth in the CCHA.
 
As for the Spartans, they weren't as impressive as I expected
but they did what they had to do to win...on the road at that.
The MSU power play wasn't very together, but they had bundles
of shorthanded chances...including the game winner.  And the
all freshman line of Berens, Keyes and Watt is impressive.
[We've already discussed on Hockey-L how MSU's two
upperclassmen lines are arguably among the 4-5 best in the
nation.]
 
Of course, I did what I could to incite the teams.  In the third period,
WMU's Jamal Mayers, who is a punk cleverly disguised as a
power forward, viciously hacked MSU's Anson Carter leaving
him in a big green & white pile on the ice.  [Btw...Mayers was a
member of the 1991-92 Thornhill Thunderbird team that has
about 15 members playing in the CCHA, while Carter was with
the rival Wexford Raiders...the Spartan's #1 farm team...at the
time.  But, if you don't follow the plight of players from Thornhill
and Wexford, this is meaningless drivel.]  So, I tried to point out
to every Spartan within vocal range that Mayers was the guilty
party.  Seeing anyone pummel Jamal would have been a
pleasant addition to the evening's festivities, and may have
snagged a game DQ as well, but MSU was more intent on
getting the victory than avenging the attack on Anson. :-)
 
 
John Haeussler
Univ of Michigan
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