8A - Wednesday, March 24, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com FOOTBALL '1' looks to improve, tries 3-3-5 formation ICE HOCKEY 'M' learns from last season's first-round loss to Air Force 0 By NICOLE AUERBACH Daily SportsEditor Michigan coach Rich Rodri- guez's name is often associated with college football's evolving spread offense. It's no secret his offensive strategy was one of the main reasons he was brought to Ann Arbor. And through the past two bowl- less seasons, glimpses of offensive development and a potentially electric running game provided some positive moments for the Wolverines. The defense, on the other hand, provided some of the scariest and gut-wrenching moments. This spring, it's up to defensive coordinator Greg Robinson and his coaching staff to prevent those defensive lapses and breakdowns from happening again. For the first time in four years, the Wolverines' defensive coordi- nator isn't coming in and starting from scratch. And at the very least, that means his players understand Robinson and his coaching style. "It's just more of a comfort level of being able to trust him," senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk said Tuesday. "When he first came, I didn't know too much about him. I like his way of coaching, and I believe in what he says." Trusting the coaching staff's guidance is important for a unit that was the worst scoring defense in the Big Ten last year. The 2009 defense gave up 33.2 points per game, nearly two points more than the second-worst defense in the conference, Indiana's. Woolfolk said he's noticed the defensive coaching staff taking a different approach this spring. "The coaches are taking it really step by step this year to kind of change the problems we had last year, the blown coverages, missed assignments," Woolfolk said. Another change this spring is the increased use of a 3-3-5 forma- Bemidji State brings style of play similar to last year's NCAA opponent By MICHAEL FLOREK Daily Sports Writer On March 27, 2009, the Michi- gan hockey team took the ice in its NCAA regional game against Air Force, with coach Frank Serratore standing behind the Falcons' bench. A year after the first-round loss, the Wolverines will take the ice in their NCAA regional game against a team also coached by Serratore. Welcome to the Twilight Zone. There are some obvious differ- ences. This time, Serratore's first name is Tom (Frank's brother), the team is Bemidji State and Michigan will don the road blues, since they are the lower seed. But the teams do have their similarities. The Beavers have a top line that contributes most of their offense, just like Air Force's line led by Jacques Lamoureux. They also have an under-the-radar goalie, in the form of Dan Bakala, similar to the Falcons' Andrew Volkening. "Bemidji has a line that has as many goals as any of our lines and Air Force did too," Michigancoach Red Berenson said. "I think they're similar. I think they've got more experience. They've been in the tournament more. They've beaten some really good teams." Last year's Wolverine team was riding high headed into their tour- nament, after winning 10 out of the last 12 games and were riding an unlikely goalie into the playoffs. None of that mattered a year ago, when Michigan launched every- thing on net and dominated in every way except the scoreboard, getting shutout2-0. Despite being a No.1 seed, the Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor the same way they left it, without any hardware. "Some people say just to forget about it, but I think that's a great learning process," junior Louie Caporusso said. "Number one, don't underestimate our opponent, even though I think we did outplay them. Number two, we need a col- lective effort from every single per- son on the team. "It's the NCAA Tournament, everyone's got to show up. You can't have a handful of guys and say these are the guys that showed up, these arerthe guys that didn't. You're not goingto go far like that." As Michigan's 2009-10 cam- paign got started, the stink from the Air Force game that ended last season seemed to stay with it. It didn't get any puck luck against the Falcons despite outshooting them 43-13. Then-sophomore Matt Rust hit the post. Former Wolverine for- ward Brandon Naurato whiffed on a wide open net. By the time the buzzer sounded, Volkening had shut out the nation's fifth-ranked scoring offense. Seven months later, the Wolver- ines were looking at a 4-7 record to start this season and the goals still weren't going in. They had outshot their opponents by more than 60 shots in the first 11 games but still endured a five-game losing streak, their longest in 21 years. But luck has seemed to turn around in the postseason. Both of freshman Kevin Lynch's goals over Miami (Ohio) on Friday resulted from passes by junior Carl Hagelin - that were intended for Rust. "There are times when the puck goes in for you, but most of the time you have to pay a price to score," Berenson said. "On the flip side, the puck doesn't always go in. This is the time of year you want to make your chances count but if they're not going in, you better be play- ing your absolute best without the puck." Saturday will mark 365 days since Michigan lost to Air Force and the loss still lingers over the heads of the Wolverines. The only way to remove it would be a win by the same team that finished sev- enth in the conference and barely scraped its way into the NCAA tournament. Can Michigan really keep the run going? In the Twilight Zone, weirder things have happened. CLIF REEDER/Daily Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson struggled last season, as Michigan finished as the worst scoring defense in the lig Ten, allowing 33.2 points per game. tion, a defense that typically show- cases speed and puts pressure on its secondary. Woolfolk, who said he's never played in that kind of a defense before, thinks it could be one of the best defenses for the type of athletes Michigan current- ly has on its roster. Offensive players are praising the 3-3-5, too. "I like it," senior offensive guard Steve Schilling said. "There's a lot of things they can do out of it. I think it's good for us as an offen- sive line to go against it every day in practice. We see more of a 4-3 look in games a lot of times, and you usually see the odd (set, like 3-3-5) in long-distance situations. "To be able to go against that and work our run game against that defense, which we don't see that often, is going to be good for us when it comes time to game- plan for those other teams." Rodriguez feels that his defense needs to be versatile enough to challenge a variety of offenses this fall, and he also knows something must change from last season. "I think it was a combination of things defensively that we didn't play as well as we like (last year)," Rodriguez said. "We certainly didn't have the depth and didn't have the experience that we want- ed or needed to have, and it seemed like we played good for two or three plays in a row then gave up a big one. Or played good for a quar- ter, then let a team go up and down the field on us." Michigan fans remember those mements, particularly opponents' gains on third downs. But Rodri- guez seems confident that the new defensive formation, as well as a new focus in practice, will help right the defensive ship. "I think the defensive staff has a good plan," Rodriguez said. "I think we've made a few moves, as I mentioned, to try and help us and frankly we just have to be better technique-wise. I think we have to play better fundamentally, play more physical, and get more guys to the football. And I think we'll do that." Your idea could help score the Google internet investment Create a 30 - 90 second video that shares what Ann Arbor can do with super high speed internet that would benefit our community, our region, or the world. It's about innovation and imagining the possibilities. for the most compelling videos are Apple ipads, Conor O'Neill's, Mden, Zingerman's, Jolly Pumpkin & Weber's Restaurant gift certificates, and much more. Events Page http://la2m.org/a2fiber Entry Form http://la2m.org/a2-fiber-contest-entry-f orm Rules http://la2m.org/a2-fiber-you-tube-contest-rules Internet access 100 times faster than your current cable/DSL The University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor have teamed up to convince Google to pick Ann Arbor for Google's Fiber for Communities trial. 6 6 AREL BOND/Daily After starting the season slow, junior center Louie Caporusso has been a star for the Wolverines lately. He scored both of Michigan's goals in its CCHA Championship win over Northern Michigan and was named to the All-CCHA Tournament team. Wolverinefans should take their allegiance to Fort Wayne Don't take anything for granted. That's sound advice to live by. The Michigan hockey team sure learned it this season when it went from a pre- TIM season top-five ROHAN team to being on the brink On Ice Hockey of missing the NCAA Tourna- ment for the first time in 20 years. Junior forward Louie Caporus- so said that in his first two years he just expected to make the tour- nament, but not this time around. The Wolverines had to work for it, obviously, by winning the CCHA Tournament. The marathon Michigan sprinted to make the tournament was lined with maize and blue supporters passing out paper cups of water alongthe way. The Wol- verine faithful have been fantastic throughout the team's improbable run. Don't stop now. Get to Fort Wayne, Ind. this Saturday no mat- ter what it takes. I know it's expensive, espe- cially for poor college students, to travel more than two hours and stay overnight in Indiana to sup- port the Michigan hockey team. But it will be worth it, I promise. The waves of fans who lined the rafters of Joe Louis Arena last weekend know what it was like to sing "The Victors" and watch junior goaltender Shawn Hunwick get mobbed by his ecstatic team- mates. The group of optimistic fans who traveled to Munn Ice Arena in the CCHA quarterfinals against Michigan State - turn- ing the venue into a virtual have atmosphere for Michigan - were rewarded with a sweep over the Wolverines' rival. It's a two-way street: the fans see great hockey and the players feed off of the fans. Michigan coach Red Berenson was sincere when he told all of Joe Louis Arena and reporters alike that the Wolverines wouldn't have gotten as far as they have without their fans. Don't get me wrong, the play on the ice has improved from what fans have seen in Yost Ice Arena for most of the season. But the fans are factoring into Michigan's run, and this weekend is do or die once again for the Wolverines. You maybe asking yourself, who the hell is Bemidji State? But the Beavers shocked the hockey world last postseason, defeating Notre Dame and Cornell on their way to the Frozen Four. This isn't going to be a walk in the park. You should take the line that Berenson and his players have taken since the matchup was announced on Sunday - they're not looking past Bemidji. They're not taking any- thing, or anyone, for granted. Seniors, with the state of the remaining Michigan sports, this might be the last time that you can see an actual NCAA tourna- ment game featuring the Wol- verines. And for the rest of the student body, this could be history in the making. If the Michigan hockey team hasn't taught you enough in the past three weeks, then listen to me. This team is in the middle of accomplishing something special - but it needs your support. You've been there all along. Don't let anything get in the way of possibly witnessing this year's saving grace for Michigan sports. And if you're one of those people saying, "Well I'll just wait until they get to Ford Field," guess what, you probably haven't been paying attention to me or the Wol- verines. Nothing is guaranteed. There is only one game that is absolutely going to happen and that's the one Michigan is playing this Saturday night. Every Wolverine knows the impact of the fans on the game and throughout the run. They've all had nothing but positive things to say about the support. "We have the best fans in the world," Caporusso said. "I love Michigan fans, they get me up for every game. Without them, I don't think I'd be the player, or I don't think that we'd be the team that we can be. I can't thank them enough. It would mean so much for us to have them in Fort Wayne with us. I feel like, even when they chant my name sometimes, even when I'm not playing my best, itstill shows their support in me, and the team - and I just love them." How could you not go to Fort Wayne after Louie said that? Are you buying your tickets yet?