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8A - Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Michigan's comeback effort against
Alaska shows late-game promise
Wolverines are 0-8-1
when trailing after
the second period
By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Writer
There are times in sporting
events when players just have to
reach deep down and pull out a lit-
tle something extra. That determi-
nation to refuse to relinquish their
grip on the game is what sparks
comebacks.
It's what movies are made of,
what Gatorade commercials try to
capture and what every competitor
relishes.
The Michigan hockey team
hadn't had one of those comeback
moments this season until Satur-
day's shootout loss against Alaska.
The Wolverines found themselves
with their backs against the wall
after seniorBrian Lebler and junior
Tristin Llewellyn took penalties
within seven seconds of each other
early in the second period.
The Nanooks proceeded to take
full advantage, scoring two power-
play goals and creating a seemingly
insurmountable 3-1 lead. To make
matters worse, Alaska is notorious
for its tough defense, especially
when it takes a lead.
When Michigan traveled to
Alaska at the beginning of the sea-
son to play the Nanooks in Anchor-
age, the Wolverines gave up the
first goal and struggled to beat
Alaska's suffocating defense. Frus-
trated offensively, Michigan suf-
fered a 2-0 shutout loss.
"The first goal of the game was
really important," Berenson said
after the Oct. 9 loss. "And (Alas-
ka), when they got it, they milked
it pretty good. They played good
(defense). And when they got the
second one, that's all they needed." them.
Saturday's 3-1 lead could eas- Junior forward Matt Rust start-
ily have been the same recipe for ed the comeback when he carried
disaster for the Wolverines, but the puck behind Alaska's net and
this time it felt different. laid it off to freshman Kevin Lynch.
The Wolverines held a players- The freshman forward was able to
only meeting before the start of get enough of his stick on the puck,
the second half of the season. with a defenseman in front of him,
They talked about staying positive to beat Alaska's goalie Scott Green-
when they fall behind and how the ham for the goal.
team has the ability to come from Rust was at it again when he won
behind. a faceoff late in the third period
"No offense to the coaches, butI and sent the puck over to an open
think when the players do it them- Chad Langlais. The junior sent the
selves, on their own accord, I think puck through a crowd of players to
we come together, come closer - cap off Michigan's comeback.
we understand," junior forward "We proved to everyone, espe-
Louie Caporusso said. "Because at cially to ourselves and our team-
the end of the day, you're playing mates, that we are a good team,"
for the guy next to you, and when junior forward Carl Hagelin said.
you can all get on the same page, "We just need to believe in our-
that helps aton." selves - even though we're down,
After the team meeting, the we can come back. We're a strong
results were immediately appar- team, good skaters. If we have a
ent with a comeback win on Jan. 8 good game, no one should be able
against Western Michigan. Michi- to skate with us."
gan was down 2-1 in the middle The rest of the game didn't go
of the second period against the quite the way Michigan wanted
Broncos, and the Wolverines fired - the Wolverines lost 1-0 in a
off three unanswered goals to take shootout. Michigan couldn't quite
the lead, winningthe game 4-3. put Alaska away, bu seen as a tie
Alaska was a whole different outside the CCHA, the game could
test for them though, since the mean a lot more for the team.
Nanooks rely on clogging the neu- The Wolverines improved to
tral zone and sitting back in the 0-8-1 when trailing after the sec-
defensive zone. That is, quality ond period. That one tie will be a
scoring chances are just not as easy memorable one for the Wolver-
to come by. ines and not because it was the
Michigan stressed how few scor- first overtime game Michigan has
ing chances it would get against played since the 2007-08 season,
Alaska in practice leading up to and not because it was the Wolver-
the weekend series. And Michigan ines' first-ever shootout. It could be
coach Red Berenson thought his remembered as the turning pointof
team's improvement in finishing their season.
scoring opportunities could be one "It's just another glimpse of
of the main differences between confidence, another experience,"
the teams' first and second meet- Berenson said. "They can talk in
ings. the locker room that they can come
The Wolverines weren't going back. We can come back. We've
to have the game handed to them been behind before, and against
by the Nanooks - Michigan would good defensive teams. So that was a
have to go out and take it from good statement for our team."
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SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Sophomore Zack Novak and redshirt senior Zack Gibson execute a double team in the Wolverines' loss to Boston College early
this season. Michigan's defense held Connecticut to just 23 points the first half of Sunday's 68-63 upset victory.
Wisconsin will showcase
frustrating Big Ten defense
Wanna join Daily Sports?
Come to our last mass meeting.
Sunday, Jan. 24th, 6 p.m. @ 420 Maynard St.
By CHRIS MESZAROS
Daily Sports Editor
In their upset win over then-No.
15 Connecticut on Sunday, the Wol-
verines learned that they can win
games on defense.
"Even if you
shoot 10 percentM
you can hold the Michigan at
opponent to nine *
percent," sopho-
more forward Matchup:
Zack Novak said Michigan 10-7;
after the game. Wisconsin 14-4
Tonight, the When: Tonight
recharded Michi- at 8:30 P.M.
gan squad faces a
Wisconsin team Where: Kohl
that learned the Center
same thing long TV: Big Ten
ago. Network
There's no
question Michi-
gan's effort on
defense has been improving, and the
Wolverines had their best defensive
gamethis weekend. They shut down
a much larger Connecticut team in
the post for mostof the first half and
in the second, they continued to play
well despite foul trouble.
"It's just what we're hanging our
hat on," Novak said. "Especially
with our offensive woes that we've
had. Defense is a constant. You can
always play defense."
While Connecticut shot better
than the Wolverines from the floor
- 42 percent to just 37 percent for
Michigan on the game - the Wol-
verines held the Huskies to 1-of-11
from beyond the arc and forced 17
turnovers.
Thursday's defensive effort
against Indiana was equally impres-
sive. Michigan limited the Hoosiers
to just 45 points, the lowest total the
Wolverines have allowed from any
opponent this season.
But Michigan is up against a team
with a more established defense
than its own tonight.
The Wolverines (3-2 Big Ten, 10-7
overall) head to the Kohl Center in
Madison, one of college basketball's
toughest venues, to face Wisconsin,
a team predicated on slow, half-
court play and a tremendous defen-
sive effort.
That defense has brought the
Badgers (4-2, 14-4) from a team
pegged to finish somewhere in the
middle of the conference before the
season to a No. 18 national ranking,
the third-highest among Big Ten
teams behind just Michigan State
and Purdue, Michigan's next two
opponents after Wisconsin.
"People doubted them coming in
this year, but they play outstand-
ing defense, and that's why they're
ranked where they're at," sopho-
more gaurd Stu Douglass said. "We
have to match that. We can't just
come out and overpower them
offensively, we have to play our part
on defense."
"Defense is a
constant. You
can always
play defense. "
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It will be difficult to beat the
Badgers at their own game, but the
task is even more daunting given
that Michigan hasn't beaten Wis-
consin at the Kohl Center in more
than a decade, and that the Badgers *
are riding a 15-game home winning
streak.
The last time Michigan beat the
Badgers, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan
was notyet inthe picture.Inhis nine
years in Madison, Ryan has built the
Badgers into a fundamentally sound
defensive team that maintains a
slow tempo, consistently frusterat-
ing Michigan in years past.
"They just do not beat them-
selves," Michigan coach John
Beilein said at Monday's Big Ten
teleconference. "They play tremen-
dous fundamental basketball, and
when you're on the road, just like
any other time you are on the road,
you need to be a lot better than the
other team to win."
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