Previously: Part One, Part Two, Part Three [West Regional vs NoDak, 1998/Kalmbach via Bentley Historical Library] The story is almost too perfect. You expect the details of a hockey story to flow from odd angles, to be all jagged edges and shoulders and elbows and yet this story is writerly and neat and almost formulaic. It follows the kind of structure script writers teach in their intro film classes: the protagonist runs through the gauntlet and passes a test that changes them, then uses their newly girded spirit to pass the ultimate test and reap a reward barely fathomable at the start of the journey. From humble beginnings, etc. The necessity of icing an unusually high number of freshmen dampened expectations at the start of Michigan’s 1997-98 season, but there were enough upperclassmen remaining Marty Turco, Bill Muckalt, Matt Herr, and Bobby Hayes, to name a few to keep them from falling off precipitously. Yes, skating four freshmen defensemen was different, but close games can