The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - 9A Eyes on the prize: a title still in reach By SCOTT BELL Daily Sports Editor The week after the Michigan football team's historic loss to Appalachian State, it hoped to get back on track against Ore- gon. But an embarrassing 39-7 loss followed, along with an injury for senior quarterback Chad Henne. Instead of repairing its tar- nished image after the loss to the Mountaineers, Michigan deepened its shame and con- firmed its status as a national laughingstock. * "We need a better perfor- mance from everyone," run- ning backs coach Fred Jackson said after the Oregon game. "No one' can point fingers. Nobody is going to drop their head and talk about other players. Every, guy can play better." Following the coaching staff's challenge, nearly every- one played better - though it also helped that Michigan's past four opponents have already suffered a combined 14 losses this season. the season. But the Wolverines won't let their recent win streak fool them into complacency. "We need to improve every week, butI think that's the case with every team," guard Adam Kraus said. "If we were 6-0 right now and scoring 35 points a game, I'd still say we need to improve every week to get bet- ter and win the Big Ten Cham- pionship." Despite entering the season as the favorite to win the con- ference by both the media and the coaches, Michigan now has five teams ranked above it in The Associated Press poll. Michigan has to face four of those teams - Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio State - before the season is over. Play- ers and coaches alike know that improvement is a must if they want to contend for a trip to the Rose Bowl. "We're not where we need to be," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "But from the standpoint of a team that has given the kind of effort and displayed the kind verines can fully focus on their six remaining contests. All but one ofthe remaining games is against a team with a winning record, and three of those come on the road. Though the schedule may look daunting on paper, the Wolverines are set on forgetting the start of the season and look- ing forward. "It's going to be typical Big Ten football," Carr said. "The intensity is just about to pick up. Every team we'll play is in the same boat. They are either in the (Big Ten) lead or close to the lead, and that brings out the best in everybody." With the season already half- way over, there's no longer room for excuses. Injuries happen to every team and young players have had enough time to gain experience. The second half of the sea- son has arrived, and it's time for separation in the jumbled Big Ten Title race. "We know that we need to play better," cornerback Mor- gan Trent said. "We know that Now, Michigan is riding a of things I think you need to be these upcoming six games are four-game winning streak and able to compete for a champion- against great teams. is more focused than ever on ship, I think those things are "We know that we can be a obtaining a championship, even there." great team, we really can. It is if it's not the title its players With all non-conference something that we keep trying hoped for at the beginning of games behind them, the Wol- to keep coming together." Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent said the W 'M' relaxed heading into season. olverines know they can be a great team in the second half of the season. Patience needed for power play By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Writer Michigan coach John Beilein demonstrated technique to a vis- iting coach while the Wolverines warmed up before a timed mile yesterday afternoon. As he posi- tioned his legs and held out his arms, it was clear what he's trying to do this year. Teach basketball - his basket- ball. A little more than two hours before, Beilein addressed the press during Michigan Media Day. In stark contrast to the proclamation former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker made at the same event last year - "It's no secret that the next step for us is to make the NCAA Tournament" - Beilein didn't set any specific goals for his team. Rather, he said he'd just like to see improvement every day. "Just focus small and dream big," Beilein said. "Let's get it done today and the long run will take care of itself." In addition to learning Beilein's system, the Wolverines - who haven't made the NCAA Tourna- ment in nine seasons - have plenty of obstacles this season. Michigan lost its top four scor- ers from a year ago and previously committed Alex Legion (Rivals. com's No. 43 recruit in the class of 2007) defected to Kentucky. Innon-conferenceplay,theWol- verines host Boston College and UCLA and travel to Georgetown, Duke and the Great Alaska Shoot- out, where they'll face Butler in the first round. They also have to deal with a longer Big Ten schedule, up from 16 to 18 games. Michigan's roster features just one senior, Ron Coleman. And Jer- ret Smith is the only junior who averaged more than two points per game last year. With the deck stacked against them, expectations are lower this year. A repeat of last season's trip to the second round of the National Invitational Tournament wouldn't be a disappointment. Just the new atmosphere under Beilein has brought new energy to the program, a sharp contrast to the tense situation coming into last year. A defensive Amaker spent much of his opening press conference last season explaining his decision to go from a tri-captaincy to a single captain. The incident surrounded a team that had underachieved on the court with more controversy. Redshirt sophomore Kendric Price said the team was too focused on making the NCAA Tournament last year and it turned into a dis- traction. Others agreed. "We all came here to make the tournament and hang up banners," Smith said. "We haven't hung up one yet. So it's very frustrating to know that you haven't made it nowhere in two years." This year, the mood is lighter. There was no hostility during the coach's press conference. The play- ers, dressed casually in polo shirts and jeans -adeparturefromwear- ing full uniforms - were looser and more open than last year. And that mood carried over to the track following the day's media event, where the players joked before and during stretches. By NATE SANDALS Daily Sports Editor Michigan coach Red Beren- sonwasn'texpectingmuchfrom his power play in last weekend's exhibition games. It's a good thing he didn't expect perfection, or even mediocrity. Michigan went 1-for-7 on the power play Sunday against Western Ontario, garnering just five shots. "We had a few good chances, but I think we were trying to be too fancy," senior captain Kevin Porter said following the game. "There were a couple times where there were guys in the slot and they could've shot, but we tried to make the backdoor play." In Sunday's game, there was no better example than when freshman Aaron Palushaj passed up a shot in the slot and slid the puck to senior Chad Kolarik on the back post. The puck bounced over Kolarik's stick and was cleared out of the zone. Palushaj is one of three fresh- men currently on Michigan's first power-play unit (Max Pacioretty and Chad Langlais are the others). The trio will have to adjust quickly - prefer- ably by Friday's game against Boston College - to the speed and intensity of Division I col- lege hockey if the Wolverines hope to succeed with the man advantage. "Sometimes they're wor- ried about getting the puck to the older guys," associate head coach Mel Fearson said. "As they go onthey'll understand - if you have the shot, shoot it." Having three freshmen on the first unit won't necessar- ily spell doom for the Wolver- ines' power play, just as having potent offensive players didn't always equal success for the man-advantage unit last year. Even with Porter and now- departed teammates T.J. Hen- sick, Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson, the 2006-07 version of the Michigan power play was inconsistent at best. It scored just 17.4 percent of the time and was second in the nation in shorthanded goals allowed. And you can't question the correlation between a success- ful power play and winning. In games Michigan won last sea- son, its power play succeeded 22.4 percent of the time. In games the Wolverines lost, the rate dropped to 9.4 percent. Michigan wants a number closer to the former this sea- son, but the trick to develop- ing a solid power play, by all accounts, is time - a commod- ity Michigan is short on at the moment. The Wolverines spent much of yesterday's practice working on the extra-man attack and plan to do the same each day leading up to the weekend. "There's so many parts of the power play," Berenson said. "You're trying to get some per- sonnel that compliments each other, and then some leader- ship, poise and patience." While building a power play is a long and complicated process, Porter gave a simple critique of himself and his teammates after the Western Ontario game. "We should've just made the simple play and taken the shot," he said. NOTES: Berenson named Kolarik an alternate captain yesterday. Kolarik is the second Wolverine with an "A" on his jersey, along with junior Tim Miller. "Chad has done a good job as a senior," Berenson said. "He is a responsible, articulate player." Andrew Cogliano had been named as an alternate captain in April before leaving Michi- gan to sign with the NHL's Edmonton oilers. PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily Forward Ron Coleman is the lone senior on the Michigan basketball roster and will be expected to lead the team under new coach John Belein. After the timed mile, in which The Wolverines are making smaller players had the target progress, but they have too far to of 5:30 and bigger players had a go to do an all-out sprint. Still, as slightly longer cushion, Beilein Beilein enthusiastically pointed encouraged everybody, especially out, a 5:45 mile is a pretty good those who fell short of their goal.. time. " Wolverines continue eight-game win streak By NICK COSTON For the Daily The Michigan field hockey team began its season by losing to the top three teams in the nation within one week. But now it's the Wolverines who are punishing their opponents. Michigan (10-4) defeated Kent State yesterday 3-1 to extend -its winning streak to eight games. "That tough start prepared us for the {matches that we're now playing," Michigan coach Nancy Cox said. "Opening the season with the top three teams in the country is the best way to start at Michigan. You learn quickly what your strengths and weakness- es are. This is a group of young women who have embraced that start and learned from it." Sophomore Kelly Fitzpatrick opened the game by scoring on Michigan's first shot on goal just 32 seconds into the game. Kent State (9-5) tied the game 19 minutes later, but junior Steph- anie Hoyer's goal helped Michigan regain the lead with time winding down in the first half. Fitzpatrick added an insurance goal midway through the second half for her second career multi- goal game. During its eight-game win streak, Michigan has not allowed more than two goals in any match. That continued yesterday with another stellar performance by goaltender Paige Pickett and a stingy Michigan defense. The Wolverines' backfield allowed just four shots on goal. "With every match, Paige Pick- ett is getting stronger, and she is reading the play better," Cox said. "But more importantly, it's the 10 defenders in front of her who have made a marked improvement. We're not allowing as many cor- ners and our defensive footwork continues to improve." Midway through the season, Michigan has discovered its depth is a key asset. The Wolverines used 16 of its 22 players yesterday. "(Our depth) is helpful at prac- tice," Cox said. "We can hold an 11-on-11 scrimmage and know that it's going to be high-quality field hockey." Those practices have paid dividends in the weeks following Michigan's rough start, and the progress has shown on the field. "Everyone is contributing," Cox said. "I think that we've done a nice job of giving a lot of players a lot of playingctime. It speaks to the depth of this program that we're playing 16 deep." The Wolverines will attempt to use that depth to their advantage and win their ninth straight game when they face Big Ten foe Indi- ana (6-6) at home on Friday.. The Hoosiers have lost five of their last seven games. EMMA NOL AN-ABR AHAMIAN/Daiy Sophomore Kelly Fitzpatrick started Michigan's scoring early in its 3-f win over Kent State last night. I BEN SIMON/Da Senior Chad Kolarik was named alternate captain yesterday, joining junior Tim Miller and senior Kevin Porter as leaders of the Michigan hockey team.