68 -- November 24, 2008
)rtsMond.ay
The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com
4
68- November 24,2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
N
14
ICE HOCKEY
Offense stalls
with lack of
confidence
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
beniorgoaltender Billy Sauer and sophomore defenseman Scooter Vaughn defend the goal in Michigan's 2-0 loss to Miami (Ohio) on Friday.
OXFORD -
he Michigan hockey
team, down 2-1 late in the
second period, was kill-
ing off a five-
minute major
penalty and
struggling to
clear the puck. '
Then, senior
forward Tra-
vis Turnbull
brokefreeafter M
intercepting a MICHAEL
Miami (Ohio) EISENSTEIN
pass along the
blue line.
He had lots of open ice and just
RedHawk freshman goalie Con-
nor Knapp to beat.
As Turnbull sprinted towards
the net, he went forehand to back-
hand before Knapp stuffed the
shot with his right pad. Turn-
bull pulled his stick back over his
head, looking frustrated and on
the verge of slamming his stick.
It was a great play, but Turnbull
was aggravated he couldn't tie the
game for Michigan and spark its
desperate offense.
Before this weekend, the Wol-
verines had never been held to just
one goal in a weekend series dur-
ing Michigan coach Red Beren-
son's 25-year tenure.
This year's offensive frustra-
tion stands in stark contrast to
last year's success, led by Hobey
Baker winner Kevin Porter and
fellow senior Chad Kolarik.
The Wolverines don't have any
offensive leaders to turn to when
they're getting stuffed, no one
player or line to count on to con-
sistently spark the offense.
"Right now, I don't think any-
body's really stepped up and said,
'Hey, lift all the weight on my
shoulders,' " sophomore top-line
center Louie Caporusso said. "I
think scoring is something that
comes in bunches and you can't
really pinpoint someone out and
say, 'Hey, you're going to lead our
team in goal scoring this year.'
"It doesn't work like that."
At first glance, Caporusso,
the nation's leading goal scorer,
would seem to be that player, but
that's not quite the case. Capo-
russo has scored sporadically this
season. Seven of his 12 goals have
come in three games. He has also
had zero points in six games this
year. And you have to have more
than just one scorer.
"We don't have the offensive
depth or the offensive leader-
ship that we had from Porter and
Kolarik," Berenson said Friday.
"We have to make up for that. We
have players trying to fill those
gaps."
Missing the offensive leader-
ship has had a bigger impact on
the rest of the team than most
anticipated. Exasperation such
as Turnbull's was rarely evident
last season.
Sure, frustration is natural, but
having a level-head is crucial to
capitalizing on the isolated chanc-
es. Michigan isn't converting,
and right now it doesn't have the
offensive leadership to facilitate
improvement.
Years of playing sports and
watching as a fan have made it
pretty clear that anger is not a
motivatorformost.JohnMcEnroe,
infamous for throwing tantrums
on the tennis court and then pull-
ing out heroic wins, is the excep-
tion, not the rule.
It's not that the Wolverines
aren't putting out the effort or are
playing poorly.
But think of an athlete's focus
as a bag of marbles that gets big-
ger and bigger as they gain confi-
dence.
As soon as they letout that cry of
frustration and let their focus slip,
the marbles goflyingall over. Most
can be recovered, but it's very dif-
ficult to regain full intensity. And if
you're not at your most intense,you
won't play poorly, but you won't
have an easy time capitalizing on
those isolated chances, either.
Sure, getting a little puck luck
will give the Wolverines some con-
fidence. offensive weapons like
Turnbull and sophomores Matt
Rust and Carl Hagelin have scored
two combined goals since Michi-
gan was crushed 7-2 at Boston Uni-
versity amonth ago.
But in the long term, produc-
tion on offense must emerge if this
team is going to turn around its
six-loss year, the same number it
lost all last year, and eliminate
the forwards' desperation.
It's possible, but with Wiscon-
sin, No. 1 Minnesota and a series
with Michigan State looming,
the Wolverines have to turn it
around quickly and in the tough-
est stretch of the season.
- Eisenstein can be reached
at mseisen@umich.edu.
Michigan and Miami (Ohio)
escape worst-case scenarios
By GJON JUNCAJ game scoreless during a chaotic
Daily Sports Writer 1:48 sequence.
"At first, I was like, 'Oh crap, this
OXFORD - On three separate is going to suck,' " Sauer said Fri-
occasions during Miami (Ohio)'s day. "I just had to take it one shot
sweep of the Michigan hockey at a time. (Miami) has one of the
team this week- top power plays in the country."
end, a worst-case NOTEBOOK The scene repeated itself in Sat-
scenario mani- urday's first period with Hogan in
fasted itself: back-to-back penal- net. The Highland native was pep-
ties resulting in a 5-on-3. pered with shots while RedHawk
And all three times, the offend- players tried to screen him. But
ing team breathed a heavy sigh of Hogan was solid, deflecting pucks
telief. and keeping Miami at bay.
The Wolverines killed 5-on-3 Michigan's extra-man attack,
RedHawk power-plays in each a unit that has shown marked
game. Miami's penalty-killers improvement in the past three
overcame their two-man disad- weeks, squandered its 5-on-3
vantage during Saturday night's opportunity in Saturday's second
second period. Each 5-on-3 lasted period. The Wolverines appeared
more than one minute. tentative throughout the 1:25 two-
While the circumstances were man advantage, cycling passes
equally dire for both teams, there along the boards and blue-line,
was a huge disparity in execution. but not attacking RedHawk goalie
Senior and sophomore goalten- Connor Knapp.
ters Billy Saner and Brian Hogan Miami also managed to get to
were put under relentless pressure loose pucks and clear them several
throughout both of Miami's 5-on- times as crucial seconds ticked
3 chances. In Friday's first period, away. During its 5-on-3, Michi-
Sauer stopped two point-blank gan's power-play lines looked
shots while sprawled out on his nothing like the group that had
hands and knees. tallied eight goals in its previous
After Michigan committed seven games entering Saturday.
penalties 12 seconds apart, Sauer COSTLY PENALTIES: The
dvercame his nerves and kept the RedHawks' two-man advantage
Saturday resulted from a checking-
from-behind penalty by sophomore
center Matt Rust.
During a first-period battle for
the puck along the boards, Rust
nailed a Miami player, who went
headfirst into the glass. Rust was
given a five-minute major and a
game misconduct. The Bloomfield
Hills native, a key penalty killer and
faceoff man, vehemently protested
his ejection to the official as he left
the ice.
With 3:29 remaining in the third
period Saturday and Michigan
down by a goal, freshman defense-
man Greg Pateryn met a RedHawk
in the slot trying to handle a pass
and threw an elbow in his face.
Forced to play in their own zone
and without a skater late in the con-
test, Michigan's offense couldn't
get into a rhythm.
LET'S NOT GET CARRIED
AWAY: Sweeping the No. 9 team
in the nation, and outplaying them
both nights, had to do wonders for
Miami's confidence. Some even
think the pair of victories, spurred
by key goals and saves from under-
classmen, could spring the Red-
Hawks to historic heights.
A reporter asked Miami coach
Enrico Blasi Saturday if the Red-
Hawks' talented youth are pushing
Miami "that much closer to being
able to establish yourself as a true
dynasty."
Blasi, in his 10th season at the
helm in Oxford, is already in the
upper echelon of college hockey
coaches.Hereceivednationalcoach
of the year honors in 2006 after
leading Miami to its second CCHA
regular season title in program his-
tory. Blasi has led the RedHawks to
four NCAA tournament berths.
But with Miami yet to make
its first Frozen Four appearance,
Blasi knows his program is a few
national titles away from earning
the D-word moniker.
"Those are questions thatare not
for us to answer." Blasi said. "We
have to live it every day. Those are
questions that come down, hope-
fully, 100 years from now, when
they start putting your name on a
box."
STRONG BETWEEN THE PIPES:
Michigan coach Red Berenson has
said that all you can ask of your
goaltender is to give the rest of the
team a chance.
Sauer and Hogan lived up to
their end of the bargain in Oxford,
surrendering just two goals apiece
and stopping 57 of 61 shots against
what was the CCHA's top offense
entering the weekend.
4
'M' scores just one goal
as RedHawks sweep
CLUB SPORTS
'Hockey on horseback': Michigan club polo
team puts in long hours in Milan stables
By KATIE FIELD as the players are. When in the
Daily Sports Writer arena without a rider on her back,
she can't keep still. Like all eques-
MILAN - Members of the trian activities, polo has its risks
Michigan polo club admit their for both the players and horses.
sport isn't for everyone. Protective coverings on the hors-
"It's definitely crazy," club es' legs prevent injuries from the
president Julia Schroeder said. "I mallets the players use to hit the
alwayssaycrazypeopledoit.When ball.
you're out on the horse, you're rid- A unique characteristic of inter-
ing this huge thing, you're hitting collegiate polo competitions is
people, you're hitting a ball, you're that the teams sometimes switch
leaning off the horse, and you're horses after the first two chukkers
galloping. It's all this stuff at once and play the second half of the
and it's such an adrenaline rush." game on the opposing team's hors-
At its barn and arena in quiet es. For sophomore Oleg Kolbasob,
Milan, the 20-member team hits a member of the men's club team
around mini soccer balls with mal- that hopes to compete at regionals,
lets while sitting atop their ponies. being a novice rider definitely has
Schroeder likens the ancient sport its disadvantages.
of polo to hockey on horseback. In "Sometimes, a horse catches me
intercollegiate arena games, riders by surprise," Kolbasob said. "At
try to score goals during four peri- (Michigan State), we switch horses
ods of seven-and-a-half-minute and a lot of them will start bucking
play called chukkers. when they canter. The first couple
Polo players are certainly a of minutes of that chukker you
unique breed, and so are their spend getting used to the horse."
horses. Unlike many other sports, in
"The polo horses are pretty which athletes can hang up their
hot horses," Schroeder said. "The helmets at the end of practice and
way we ride them is a really high- go home, members of the polo club
strung game and it's a really fast- spend countless hours tending to
paced game." their horses and maintaining the
Marie, one of the team's most barn. Kolbasob estimates that half
difficult polo ponies to ride, is just the team's time is spent riding and
about as excited to play the game the other spent cleaning.
Keeping weight on the horses
during training periods in the
tough Michigan winter requires
constant dedication. Previously,
the horses stayed outside all win-
ter long. Now in its sixth year, the
team has the facilities to keep all of
its horses in individual stalls. This
makes caring for and maintaining
the horses' health much easier.
"We wouldn't be here without
our horses," Schroeder said. "We
keep them in the best shape we
can and take care of them as best
as we can. It's so mentally intense
for them. You try to keep them just
happy. You don't want to fry them
because sometimes it's just like
a person at school - you can get
fried easily."
The polo club owns seven of its
13 horses and borrows the remain-
ing six. Most are acquired through
donations from professional polo
players, who can't use the ponies.
Because arena polo has a slower
pace than outdoor polo, the team
can use the older and slower hors-
es that the professional players no
longer need. Even to an untrained
eye, it's clear the horses love the
game.
"It's so cool to watch them,"
Schroeder said. "Some of our
horses are better at the game than
we are. I learned on some of these
horses, and when the ball went
one way, they went with it even if
I thought I was supposed to go the
other way."
The team enjoys increasing
awareness of the sport through
providing lessons for 4-H mem-
bers and high school teams. They
make a priority to introduce not
only kids but curious college stu-
dents to the sport as well. Well
aware of the costcof their sport, the
club strives to make it affordable
to anyone who wants to play.
"We do a lot of payment plans
so that everyone can come out and
play," Schroeder said. "Horses are
so expensive, so this year we did
a huge benefit game at the MSU
Pavilion against MSU and we
raised $11,000."
Although the team has tried to
make the sport accessible to the
masses, the dangers and inherent
risk will certainly cause the meek
to shy away - or at least to take
in this intense and exciting sport
from outside the arena.
"The best polo players are the
people who aren't afraid of getting
hurt," Schroeder said. "It's alot of
leaning off your horse. You're not
sitting perfectly still and you don't
look pretty. Really, the best type of
rider is just anyone that can stay
on."
REDHAWKS from Page 1B
the first time all weekend.
Michigan's last-ditch efforts
in Saturday's final period proved
futile as shot after shot was
deflected, stopped or clanged
loudly off the post. The Wol-
verines won just 40.3 percent of
faceoffs in that contest, and most
of the losses came atkey moments
during Michigan power plays.
"It sucks," sophomore center
Louie Caporusso said. "When
you don't win draws late in the
game, and you're down by a goal,
it sucks."
Berenson has said it all season,
and he said it again this weekend:
Goals are precious.
But taking care of the puck to
prevent goals against is valuable,
too.
Miami's goals came off good
positioning, lucky bounces and,
most significantly, Wolverine
turnovers. Michigan had trouble
clearing pucks out of its defensive
zone all weekend, a problem that
has persisted since senior defen-
seman Mark Mitera and junior
defenseman Steve Kampfer went
out of the lineup with injuries in
the season's opening weekend.
Sophomore Aaron Palushaj
said a major difference between
the teams was that Miami's
defensemen could clear pucks
out of their zone, and Michigan's
couldn't.
"I think we were lackadaisical
at times," senior goaltender Billy
Sauer said after Friday's loss.
"There were times we thought
we had the puck out or guaran-
teed the time to get it out, and ...
we were just thinking we had it
out when we didn't. Then, we end
up scrambling, and everyone has
to come back and help out."
on both nights, Michigan
turnovers led directly to Red-
Hawk goals. Miami coach Enrico
Blasi said Saturday his team has
to execute when it forces turn-
overs, which it did.
"Anytime you turn the puck
over in your own zone, it's a
change of possession and opens a
scoring chance," Berenson said.
Berenson said the turnover
that led to Miami's second Satur-
day goal cost Michigan the game.
Losing Friday night games has
been a trend for the Wolverines
this season, but they have often
come back to split series with
Saturday wins.
Not this weekend.
Not even with 25 shots on goal
on Saturday, many of those good
scoring chances. Not even with
sophomore goalie Bryan Hogan's
career-best 32 saves. Not even
with dominant penalty killing.
The RedHawks (8-2-2, 8-3-3)
remained atop the CCHA with
the sweep, which was the first
time Michigan has been swept
on the road since Dec. 2-3, 2005.
That series was in oxford, too.
If the Wolverines had won this
weekend's series, they would
have inched within one point of
Miami and become a top con-
tender in the conference. Instead,
they are nine points behind the
RedHawks.
Yet surprisingly, after the loss,
the Michigan players seemed
positive. Summers and Caporus-
so spoke of the improvement they
saw from Friday to Saturday and
how they felt they played well
enough to win.
"I thought maybe Friday night
we didn't play as well, but (Sat-
urday) we played a solid game,"
Summers said. "The difference is
going to be that they capitalized
on their opportunities and we
didn't on all of ours."