The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
November 17, 2008 - 3B
BRONCOS
From Page 1B
ing what went wrong and how to fix
it.
"I felt we played a very good
game, but obviously we had a few
letups here and there in the defen-
sive zone and those obviously cost
us for the end result," junior acting
captain Chris Summers said.
All it took was a little attitude -
and anger.
On Saturday, Michigan took the
ice at LawsonIce Arena as a team on
a mission. Fourteen seconds after
the opening faceoff, the Wolverines
set the tone off a goal from fresh-
man David Wohlberg. The fresh-
man received a pass that bounced
off his skate and slid to the crease
before shooting it into the open side
of the net beyond Gill.
It wasn't a typical goal, but it
was just what Michigan needed: a
little puck luck and game-changing
momentum.
"To get the crowd of out it early D
that was huge," sophomore goalten-
der Bryan Hogan said. "Every time
you're on the road with a big crowd,
you've got to get that first goal and
get the crowd out of it."
And as it turned out, Michigan
wouldn't need another goal. Hogan
stopped 20 shots en route to the
BIG TENS
From Page 1B
During the Big. Ten Tourna-
ment, Michigan struggled to score
during regulation play.
In the final three games of the
regular season, the Wolverines
found the back of the net six times
off 14 shots on net.
But in the 200 minutes they
played in Madison, they were held
scoreless, despite 11 quality chanc-
es.
Marosevic, the team's leading
scorer with 12 goals, and the rest of
the Michigan offense were stifled
by the four-man defenses of Wis-
consin and Indiana. The Wolver-
ines need to improve in that area
so it won't plague them during the
NCAA tournament.
"We are goingto work on finish-
ing in practice and making sure we
can put those chances away next
time," Marosevic said. "As a for-
Wolverines' first shutout of the
season and the sophomore's first at
Michigan.
With the tempo set, Michigan
continued firing on all cylinders.
Senior forward Tim Miller scored a
beautiful goal, and sophomore for-
ward Louie Caporusso notched his
first career hat-trick as a Wolverine
on three third-period goals.
"We've been kind of unlucky the
past couple games," Caporusso said.
"We felt nothing's going to stand in
our way today. We don't care. We're
not going to make the smallest mis-
take or let up for the smallest little
time. We've got to stay with them
for all 60 minutes."
Said Michigan coach Red Beren-
son "We played harder, we played
grittier."
But Michigan's upset loss will be
the one remembered by the Wolver-
ine faithful despite the team's strong
rebound Saturday.
"The sad thing is that we come
in here and have a good game, but
none of the fans that watch these
two teams are going to feel very
good about their team," Berenson
said. "We had a great crowd game
(Friday), that watched us lose.
They had a great crowd (Satur-
day), that watched them lose. So,
all the fans are disappointed, and
both teams had one good game
this weekend."
ward, you will have those games
when you score five, and you have
those where you are just unlucky
and it seems like you can't get any-
thing into the back of the net."
The underclassmen are look-
ing forward to sending their seven
seniors out on a high note.
"Obviously, they're the heart of
the team and they're feeling the
urgency, and the rest of the team
will rally behind them," redshirt
junior Danny Gray said.
With the first round of the
NCAA Tournament starting Fri-
day, Michigan will have a definite
focus for the next week.
And with something to prove
after falling short of their Big Ten
Championship goals, the Wolver-
ines will be a dangerous opponent
for anyone who has to take the
field against them.
"We're going to be a team that
nobody wants to play," Burns said.
He knows Michigan is ready to
answer his three questions.
SAID ALSAL AH/I
Sophomore center Louie Caporusso scored a natural hat trick in the third period against Western Michigan Saturday. He leads the nation with 12 goals on the season.
regains offensive touch
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defensemen were nowhere to be
m Friday's loss found Saturday, and Michigan's
offense revived.
with five-goal The Wolverines continued to
charge through the slot and-attack
Gill within 15 feet of the crease.
But this time, the defenders were
By GJON JUNCAJ routinely caught out of position,
Daily Sports Writer and whatever momentum the
Broncos carried into Saturday
LAMAZOO - While the quickly evaporated.
ores from the Michigan Michigan jumped out to a 2-0
y team's weekend series lead less than seven minutes into
with Western Michigan Saturday's contest. Sophomore
not show it, the Wolverines forward Louie Caporusso said
ated offensive play from David Wohlberg's tally 14 sec-
's opening faceoff until Sat- onds into the game left Gill visibly
's final buzzer. frustrated for the remainder of
higan took twice as many the night,
as the Broncos on Friday and "When we go out and take
ged to maintain puck pos- those hits on the first shift, and
n in the offensive zone for .then we go down and score, then
of the night. Bronco goalie that confidence kicks in," Michi-
Gill was consistently under gan coach Red Berenson said. "I
ire and had to make 33 saves just think we played harder (than
p the game close. on Friday)."
Michigan only had sopho- Perhaps rattled by the sudden
forward Carl Hagelin's multi-goal deficit, Western Mich-
d-period goal to show for it. igan's defense seemed a step slow-
rn Michigan played tight er and generally overwhelmed.
o-man defense and fre- On top of that, Michigan's for-
ly tied up Wolverine for- wards were more effective estab-
trying to handle the puck lishing position in front of the net
slot. than on Friday, and the final num-
bers reflect that.
Caporrios blew the game open
with three consecutive third-
period goals - his first career hat
trick. The feat came courtesy of
a one-timer from the right circle
through Gill's five-hole and two
quick shots in the slot with sur-
prisingly clear shooting lanes.
Saturday night was arguably
Michigan's best offensive perfor-
mance of the season. The 5-0 win
matched the Wolverines' highest
margin of victory this year. Com-
pared to Friday, Michigan played
with a heightened sense of urgen-
cy that Berenson said hasn't been
there enough this season.
"I think our team is slowly real-
izing how hard they have to play
every night to be a competitive
team," Berenson said Saturday.
"Maybe we didn't understand
that from last year because we
had a lot of success last year. You
forget how hard you had to work
to be successful last year. I think
we're starting to get it."
Berenson credited Saturday
night's scoring outburst to success
battling for loose pucks and con-
verting on second chances near
the crease. The Broncos' defensive
intensity Saturday wasn't close to
the level it was Friday. And they
paid for it.
On Michigan's fourth and fifth
goals, Western Michigan was
caught watching sophomore for-
ward Aaron Palushaj race for a
loose puck behind the net. On both
occasions, Caporusso received a
lightning-quick centering pass in
the slot, and quickly tallied his
team-leading 11th and 12th goals
of the season.
Michigan's loss on Friday night
was probably the most surpris-
ing of this season. The Broncos
entered the weekend winless in
their last nine games and had
lost five straight to the Wolver-
ines. Hagelin said Friday that the
Broncos were a frustrating team
to play and lamented the Wolver-
ines' lack of luck around the net.
But Michigan received a lit-
tle more of that Saturday. Their
execution in the opposing zone
was vastly improved from Fri-
day, while Western Michigan's
lack of firepower - the Broncos
rank 10th in the CCHA in scoring
offense - made a potential come-
back impossible.
"We just made it very clear
(before Saturday's game) that we
had to come in here with a sense
of confidence and a sense of des-
peration," Berenson said.
Engineering prepares Holody for
calculated approach to defense
s0U D O KU
By ROGER SAUERHAFT
Daily Sports Writer
In terms of sheer workload, few
academic programs are as daunt-
ing as Michigan's second-ranked
Industrial and Operations Engi-
neering program.
Imagine trying to complete an
engineering degree in three-and-a-
half years - as a varsity athlete.
That's precisely what senior
defender Mike Holody has done
during his four-year career with
the men's soccer team. Perhaps
even more impressive, he manages
to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
"It's been a lot of work," Holody
said. "It's just a matter of getting the
stuff done that I need that day and
making sure I'm on top of things.
At the worst times I try to get six
hours of sleep (each night), but ide-
ally I get seven or eight, catching a
few naps here and there."
Holody has managed to do more
than just get his work done while
participating in 20 hours of prac-
tice a week and traveling with the
team for matches. He has excelled
in both areas.
The Clarkstownnative is a three-
time Michigan Athletic Academic
Achievement honoree. The tri-cap-
tain also serves as the anchor of the
Wolverine defense. Michigan coach
Steve Burns said Holody is the best
defender in the Big Ten.
Burns, who graduated with a
Michigan engineering degree, said
he's seen a correlation between
quality defenders and engineering
students.
"I don't know if it's the organi-
zation that appeals to the type of
personality for engineering, but
they naturally understand the con-
cepts,"Burns said. "Ireallylike that
type of personality on the field, and
oftentimes they seem to be defend-
ers, while the attacking players are
more the artists. You can't teach
that. He knows, based on angles,
Senior defender Michael Holody, pictured here earlier this season, has suceeded as an engineering major and a soccer star.
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based on movement and momen-
tum, mass times acceleration with
things coming at him, where he
needs to be to make plays."
Though Holody said soccer
played a large part in his college
decision, Michigan's strong engi-
neering program helped bring him
to Ann Arbor rather than Wake
Forest.
And coming to college with 19
credits already under his belt, Holo-
dy realized he could graduate early,
and train for a potential profession-
al launching pad, the Major League
Soccer combine, in January.
Burns, who has sent five Wol-
verines to the MLS, has described
Holody as a lock to be drafted.
Holody sounds confident, too.
"I'll be going to the MLS com-
bine and hopefully getting drafted,"
Holody said. "I've compared myself
to players drafted in the past couple
years, but I could go anywhere. It
depends on how the rest of the sea-
son goes, because when your team
does well it opens the eyes of pro
teams. We're focused on doing well
in the NCAA Tournament and if
that helps me in future draft posi-
tion, then who knows?"
And when his playing days are
over, Holody knows he can falliback
on his engineering degree and hard
work in the classroom.