The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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number one, you don't have to be skilled to play good defense. That's one thing I think the team's buying into now." "I need the guys in front of me to eliminate turnovers and, basically, limit shots," Nagelvoort said. "I think we've got the defensemen here that can do that. We have done that in flashes. We just need to do it for 60 minutes." Berenson needs defensive respon‑ sibility from everyone, but his de‑ cades of experience in both the col‑ legiate and professional ranks brings him around to a standard truth in the game of hockey. "I still think the goalie is the last line of defense," Berenson said. "Even though our defense might break down, our best teams had goalies that would help make up for our mistakes. The teams with young defenses, like we have now, if they make a mistake thus far, the puck is in the net. "We haven't had that big save or that timely save that keeps the puck out and maybe gives our team a little more confidence. If the goalie can't make that save, then the team is even more worried about making a mis‑ take." Berenson is relying on that prog‑ ress from Nagelvoort and Racine to turn a disappointing start to the season into the kind of finish that includes championship hardware. ❑ Michigan Goaltending's Golden Years From 1990-2005, Michigan's hockey program went on a run of dominant goal- tending that relied on one key performer in net each season. During that span of years, Michigan could rightly claim the moniker of "Goaltender U." Steve Shields, Marty Turco, Josh Blackburn and Al Montoya each took their turn solidifying arguably hockey's key position for the Wolverines. All started for all four years of their college careers, except Montoya who served that role for three years before jumping into professional hockey after his junior year. Not co- incidentally, Shields' freshman campaign marked the start of Michigan hockey's unprecedented run of 22 straight years of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Shields started the run of near-solo goaltending performances for Michigan in 1990, serving as Michigan's top goalie from 1990-91 through 1993-94. By the time he moved on to professional hockey four years later, he had played in 149 games for the Wolverines and provided winning performances in 111 of those contests. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Shields crafted an NHL career that spanned more than 10 years and included 80 wins. Turco, who served as Michigan's main netminder from 1994-95 through 1997-98, is remembered by the Michigan faithful as the backstop for the Wolver- ines' two most recent national championship years, 1996 and 1998. Not only did