Bell: Sorting out the Wolverine B.S.
Confusod about smh ot
the Mchigan football hot
I The Michigan Daily I
Demon
SDeacon
deja vu
By NICK COSTON
Daily Sports Writer
On Aug. 26, the Michigan field
hockey team fell to No. 2 Wake
Forest, 3-2. Yesterday, it happened
again
- but WAKE FOREST 3
thistime, MICHIGAN 2
it ended
the Wolverines' season. The 3-2
loss came in the second round of
the NCAA tournament at Phyllis
Ocker Field.
Despite the loss, the Wolverines
can hold their heads - and their
Big Ten Championship - high.
"We couldn't be prouder of
these young women," Michigan
coach Nancy Cox said.
Against Wake Forest, the Wol-
verines jumped out to an early
lead on a Sarah Wilhite rebound
shot. But the Demon Deacons
responded almost immediately,
regaining the lead with two goals
in six minutes to enter halftime
with a one-goal advantage.
Michigan stormed out of the
gates again in the second half and
tied the game 2-2 on senior co-
captain Lucia Belassi's second goal
of the tournament. Seven minutes
latertheDemonDeaconsregained
the lead for good on their first pen-
alty corner of the afternoon.
"We played our hearts out
today," Belassi said.
Statistically, the Wolverines
outplayed Wake Forest in both
halves, producing three more
shots and four more corners than
the Demon Deacons.
"We dominated the entire
game," sophomore Jenner John-
son said. "We just couldn't get the
win."
Sophomore goalkeeper Paige
Pickett had another standout per-
formance. She turned away six
shots on goal and stopped a pen-
alty shot in the waning minutes of
the second half to keep the deficit
at one.
"Paige has been one of our most
valuable players," Belassi said.
"We couldn't have gotten here
without her."
The loss comes only a day after a
thrilling 1-0 overtime victory over
Ohio in the first round of the tour-
nament. After being turned away
by a ferocious Bobcat defense for
more than 80 minutes, Belassi
scored the game's lone goal 13
minutes into the extra frame.
"Lucia's never too high, and
she's never too low," Cox said.
"That's a great attribute in a goal-
scorer, but more importantly, in a
co-captain."
With yesterday's loss, four
seniors - Ashley Lennington, Jil-
lianne Whitfield, and co-captains
Kristen Tiner and Belassi - have
now played their final game for
SeeFIELD HOCKEY, Page 3B
michigandaily.com I November 12, 2007
BADGERED
Better
beat the
Bucks
MADISON -
Ohio State.
Those two words have
been on the minds of
Michigan fans all season.
The Wisconsin trap game didn't
even matter. It wouldn't factor into
the Big Ten Championship picture,
and thus the
outcome was
unimportant.
In the big
picture, the
beatdownWis-
consin handed
the Wolverines
Saturday in
Camp Randall KEVIN
Stadium didn't
even happen WRIGHT
- because it
didn't count. The
"No, it don't Sophomore
mean nothing,"
senior captain Shawn Crable said.
"The morale wasn't down in the
locker room. We still recognize we
got a shot at (a Big Ten Champion-
ship)."
But the 37-21 loss may have
more of an impact on the Michigan
season than most in the Wolverine
program would lead you to believe.
For a team that had supposedly
found its swagger, a squad that
played with a chip on its shoulder,
Michigan sure shook off the lop-
sided loss lightheartedly.
The Wolverines were the hot
topic nationally before they took
the field. After the 0-2 start, an
eight-game winning streak had
catapulted Michigan back into the
top 15. The Wolverines said they
still had goals to reach - particu-
larly a Big Ten Championship.
Michigan entered Camp Ran-
dall Stadium with an unblemished
mark in the Big Ten. The embar-
rassing losses to Appalachian State
See WRIGHT, Page 4B
BOWL POSSIBILITIES
- Michigan goes to Rose Bowl if: It wins next
week against Ohio State. Plain and simple.
SMichigangoes to Capital One Bowl if: It
loses Saturday and Northwestern beats Illinois.
SMichigan could goto Capital One Bowl or
Outback Bowl if: It loses Saturday and Illinois
beats Northwestern.
Freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett and the Wolverines' comeback hopes were sacked in Madison as Wisconsin pulled away for a 37-21 w
Frosh'sIscues continue
By DANIEL BROMWICH
Daily Sports Editor
MADISON - He sat on the bench
alone.
His helmet was cocked high on his
head, and he stared into space.
No coach came by to tell him not to
despair.
No teammate stopped by to make sure
he kept his head up.
As the final seconds ticked off Michi-
gan's 37-21 loss to Wisconsin, freshman
quarterback Ryan Mallett sat still, per-
haps not wanting to believe this game
mightput the final, fittingstamp on a dis-
appointing freshman campaign.
After the clock ran out, Mallett rose
from his solitary seat and walked to the
locker room, his chin glued to his chest.
Approached by reporters for comment,
he didn't even bother to glance in their
direction.
Nobody could blame him. After all, an
11-for-36 performance that included two
interceptions, general inaccuracy and
numerous poor decisions doesn't make
for pleasant post-game chatter.
Coupled with Ohio State's late-after-
noon loss to Illinois, a win over Wiscon-
sin would have guaranteed Michigan
a share of the Big Ten title. Now, the
Wolverines must beat the Buckeyes to
win the Big Ten Championship, and the
missed opportunity surely didn't help
their afternoon mood.
Running back Mike Hart didn't play
a snap, and Henne played just two series
before leaving because of his shoulder
injury.
See BADGERS, Page 4B
Another weekend, another 'M' sweep
By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
Four opponents. Four weekends.
Four sweeps.
The
Michigan ALASKA 2
hockey MICHIGAN 4
team's
4-0 and 4-2 wins over Alaska this
weekend are just the latest install-
ments in the Wolverines' best start
since the turn of the century.
Though the four teams Michi-
gan has faced had a combined two
victories entering their respective
series, the young Wolverines have
outscored their opponents by more
than two goals per game through-
out the win streak.
"I think everyone's excited," said
senior Chad Kolarik, who tallied
three goals this weekend. "I think
we're too youngto ride high. I think
everyone's got so much energy.
"It's great. The youth on our
team is unbelievable. I think it's
helping us stay level- headed."
It's that steady mindset, not nec-
essarily the Wolverines' overall
play, that has satisfied Michigan
coach Red Berenson.
"I'm really impressed with the
consistency of this team at this
point," Berenson said. "Right now
there's good chemistry and good
spirit on this team, so those are
things to build on."
At the same time, Berenson has
aired some concerns regarding
Michigan's recent play, along with
senior captain Kevin Porter, who
has repeatedly stressed the need
to play well for the game's entire
length without "couple-minute-
long" lapses.
But that's much easier said then
done against a winless Alaska
squad that was picked to finish
second to last in the CCHA. Goalie
Billy Sauer, who notched his first
shutout of the season Friday, said
he tried to exaggerate what he does
when there's a low level of play and
do the "little things that you nor-
mally wouldn't do."
"I think we're definitely riding
high, and we really need to pick
it up a little bit more," Sauer said.
"We haven't had the best compe-
tition lately. ... Sometimes against
Alaska, you kind of take almost the
games for granted, which obviously
you don't want to do."
Berenson, recognizing how
easily the Nanooks could've been
overlooked, was pleased with the
tallies in the win column even
though Michigan didn't play to its
peak.
"I like the fact that we're find-
ing a way to score the important
goal or make the big save at the
right time," Berenson said. "It was
a tough weekend of hockey. Our
team had to work hard, grind hard
and I don't know if we got reward-
ed for our hard work or not, but we
got the victories."
One of the main reasons the
Wolverines (6-0 CCHA, 9-1 over-
all) have come out on top time and
time again is the play of Sauer. He
let just two pucks get past him all
weekend - both glove side - and
played smart and poised hockey
from the top of the crease.
The Nanooks didn't boast a
dynamic offense, but Michigan's
eight-game win streak, a career-
best for Sauer, is a tremendous
confidence builder for him and the
defense in front of him.
"Billy has been playing unbe-
lievable for us,"junior defenseman
Mark Mitera said. "(It's) been huge
for us when we get in those lulls
where teams are in our zone. He's
been holding us in these games,
really giving us a chance to win."
But while prognosticators will
attempt to predict when the streak
will end, some more immediate
results might surface today when
the national rankings are released.
Miami (Ohio)'s loss to Notre Dame
could drop them from the nation's
top spot in the USCHO poll, leav-
ing the second-ranked Wolver-
ines as the likely replacement. It's
unlikely the Redhawks will lose
all 49 of their first-place votes, but
Michigan has a good chance of
stealing some.
Then its encapsulating number
wouldn't be four. It'd be one.
ZACHARY MEISNER/Daily
Senior Chad Kolarik started the Michigan scoring in a weekend sweep of Alaska.
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