The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
December 13, 2010 - 3B
-
'M' senior forwards shine at the Big House
P Rust, Hagelin
have breakout
performances in
lopsided victory
By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
It's rare that senior forward
Matt Rust is content after a game.
The alternate captain is his own
biggest critic and constantly looks
for ways to improve.
But according to Michigan
assistant coach Billy Powers, all
Rust needed was
a little confi- NOTEBOOK
dence - some-
thing he found in front of 113,411
fans for Michigan's 5-0 win over
Michigan State in The Big Chill at
the Big House.
"(Rust) got his power game back
but some poise to go along with
that," Powers said. "That's when
he's at his best.
"Even though he's played well
(this season), I think this was a
game that should catapult him to
a good second half."
The Bloomfield Hills. Mich.
native finished the night with
three assists - the fourth three-
point game of his career, tying
his career high. Rust earned an
assist in each period on Saturday,
setting up freshman defenseman
Jon Merrill in the first and senior
forward Carl Hagelin in both the
second and third.
Last season, Rust tied for fourth
in team goals, finishing the season
with 13 goals and 27 assists.
Out to a slower start this year,
the senior has only found the back
of the net three times during the
first half of the season.
But Powers and Rust know that
hard work leads to puck luck and
both are hopeful that Saturday
could be a turning point for Rust
this season.
"My hard work, hopefully, is
paying off now," Rust said. "It
was a rough start to the season.
(There were) definitely some ups
and down for me and the team,
but hopefully... everything came
together tonight and hopefully we
can keep it going."
HAGELIN HEATS UP, TOO: Rust
wasn't the only Wolverine to catch
fire in the cold, as his linemate,
Hagelin, also found his stride out-
doors.
Hagelin finished the night with
three points as well, netting two
power play goals and earning an
assist on Merrill's second goal.
"That line (of Rust, Hagelin, and
junior Luke Glendening) looked
terrific all week in practice," Pow-
ers said. "I had a good feeling that
they were going to get that puck
luck that they've been denied
because they clearly earned that.
They earned some confidence in
practice this week."
With friends and family in town
from his hometown of Sodertalje,
Sweden donning maize jerseys
with "SWEDEN" written across
the chest, Hagelin didn't let any-
one down.
His two goals were his eighth
and ninth on the season and
moved him atop the team in both
points and goals.
"I think we all get goose-
bumps," Hagelin said. "The whole
crowd was going crazy ... Every-
one on the team - everyone just
felt great being a part of history so
that's something we can take with
us. We just loved being out there
today."
OFFENSE ON DiSPLAY: In their
5-0 rout of Michigan State, the
Wolverines scored five or more
goals for the fifth time this season.
Despite being outshot by the
Spartans 34-29, Saturday's game
was a display of the offensive
weapons Michigan has on each
line.
While Merrill and Hagelin each
finished the night with two goals
and junior forward David Wohl-
berg added one, four additional
Wolverines recorded points on
Saturday.
"Call it puck luck, call it what-
ever you want, but it's nice that
one led to two and two led to three
and that we kept going," Powers
said.
The Wolverines' power playunit
had only scored on 15.4 percent of
its previous chances heading into
the Big Chill, but Michigan went
MAX COLLINS/Daily
Senior forward Carl Hagelin scored two goals in Michigan's 5-0 win over Michigan State in The Big Chill at the Big House.
3-for-4 on the power play on Sat-
urday.
Just like with Rust and Hage-
lin finding some fuel outside, the
Wolverines know that netting
three man-advantage goals is an
important step in the right direc-
tion heading into the second half
of the season.
"Maybe this will be the game
that (helps our power play) turn
the corner," Powers said. "The
fact that our power play was able
to contribute three of those five
(goals) was big."
BIG CHILL
From Page 1B
and say, 'Well, we sold the tick-
ets but nobody came,' " Berenson
said. "That was not the case. Peo-
ple showed up.
"This was a great event. It was
exactly as advertised, and it was
the real deal. For me, it couldn't be
any better."
But prior to the opening faceoff,
Berenson's starting neminder,
senior Bryan Hogan, suffered
a groin injury. Unable to play,
Hogan relinquished the starting
job to senior goaltender Shawn
Hunwick.
"To be honest, I was a little
scared," Hunwick said about
starting. "I wasn't really prepared
to play. And you try your best to
get ready in practice but you know
it's not the same. You're not men-
tally as sharp as you would have
been if you knew you were going
to play."
Alongside Hunwick - who
stopped 34 shots en route to his
first shutout of the season - the
Wolverines got another surprise
from freshman defenseman Jon
Merrill, who notched Michigan's
first two goals against the Spar-
tans.
With Michigan on
play midway throug
period, Merrill receiv
ice pass from senior
Chad Langlais at the r
With the Michigan
alty killers stretched
the Olympic-size ice
rill didn't hesitate t
the pass, beat-
ing goalie Drew
Palmisano on the
glove side to give
Michigan the 1-0
lead.
"I blacked
out," Merrill
joked, speaking
about the fans'
cheers after scor-
ing the first tally
and the eventual g
later. "I don't even k
nuts."
Just under three m
Merrill noticed that
Wolverine forwards
the play following a H
save, and jumped up
with senior forward 1
As Rust crossedt
blue line, Merrill str
the right side of the it
a backhand feed fror
nate captain.
Looking more like
the power
h the first
red a cross-
defenseman
ight point.
State pen-
out due to
sheet, Mer-
o one-time
Wings defenseman Nick Lidstrom
than an 18-year-old freshman - a
reference senior co-captain Carl
Hagelin made following the game
- he flipped the puck underneath
the bar to give the Wolverines a
2-0 advantage heading into the
locker room for the first intermis-
"Merrill's
been big all
P et year," Berenson
etty good said. "He's been
sh~w ehas consistent a
sh ,e? * player as we've
That's had.
"For him to
C anadjan." step up in a game
like this and an
event like and
score the first
same-winner two goals is pretty special. He'll
now. It was never forget that."
Through the second and third
inutes later, periods, Michigan doubled its lead
t all of the with a pair of power play tallies
were behind from Hagelin - the Wolverines
lunwick kick were 3-4 with the man-advantage.
on the rush At the 8:57 mark of the third peri-
natt Rust. od, Rust corralled a loose rebound
the Spartan in front of the Michigan State net,
eaked down spun away from a defender and
e, collecting feathered a pass backdoor to a
m the alter- wide open Hagelin.
The Swedish native made no
Detroit Red mistake about it, banging home
the puck past an outstretched
Palmisano.
Merrill, who generally plays on
first-power play unit, cited "keep-
ing things simple and getting
pucks to the net" as two contrib-
uting factors for the Wolverines'
success on the power play against
the Spartans.
Berenson added: "We work on
our power play probably as much
or more than most teams, and
we've had minimal results. And
tonight, it clicked. So, I cant tell
you if it was any one thing, but it
clicked it. Especially that first one,
that was-a good start for us."
And at 8 p.m. on Saturday night,
the lights were finally turned off
inside Michigan Stadium after
The Big Chill at the Big House.
The show has now come and gone,
but the memory of such a historic
event will certainly linger in the
minds of everyone who was apart
of the spectacle.
As Berenson said, "at some
point, we'll realize this was really,
really something."
"Whether you see it again, the
NHL continues to do it, we'll see
where it goes with these outdoor
games," he continued. "But you
can see as a participant there's
something special about them,
and this was another one."
COLLEGE CUP
From Page 1B
off," Meram said.
momentum."
With the 1-0 lea
that 10th-seeded i
pull yet anoth-
er upset and
advance to Sun-
day's title game
against Lou-
isville, which
advanced earlier
in the evening
with a victory
over North Caro-
lina.
However,
Akron did not
let the early disadv
opportunities - th
ful in the rest of the
outshot the Wolveri
game's 33rd minute
blasted one that stu
redshirt junior go
Blais for the equal
mate stood for muc
half. Michigan ap
to regain the lead'
stretch when Sooi
metal, not nylon.
A discouraged V
hunkered down ag
bardmentofshots fromAkron, who
ultimately won the NCAA Cham-
pionship yesterday. The lead was
finallysurrendered inthe 74th min-
"We had the ute when Kofi Sarkodie sank one
offof a freekick fromjustoutside of
ad, it appeared the Michiganbox.
Michigan could Wolverine fans who made the
trip to the Col-
lege Cup - col-
lege. soccer's
"It was a great final four - had
vsnsof Sat-
way to start kodie making
similar moves
off. W e had the en route to a hat
trick in the two
momentum. team's earlier
matchup.
"Those are
dangerous free
antage stifle its kicks," Burns said. "They had a
ose were plenti- good look at theback post".
half as the Zips It would prove to be the game-
ines 14-4. In the winner after desperation attempts
Perry Kitchen by Michigan were thwarted. On
inned Michigan their way to the College Cup, the
alkeeper Chris Wolverines trekked into unchar-
lizer. The stale- tered territory by advancing fur-
:h of the second ther than any other team in the
ppeared poised program's 11-year history. But the
down the home clank off of the post that echoed
ny's shot found through Harder Stadium long after
the facility had emptied may have
Volverine squad easily cost Michigan a chance to
ainst the bom- hoist the cup.
HUNV
From
Hogan
injury
the loc
Hunwis
of a wo
on ice h
- Mich
"I sa
warmu
someth
but at t
I had to
wick sa
were h
at that
many s
the way
mindse
But tl
the net
lar pos
h
shutout - the team's first of the
NICK year - backstopping the Wolver-
Page 1B ines to a 5-0 win while stopping 34
Spartan shots.
suffered an apparent groin "Maybe I just need to get myself
and had to be helped into out of the way - my mind - and
ker room, leaving 5-foot-7 just get thrown in there," Hun-
ck to guard the net in front wick said.
rld-record crowd of 113,411 "If you're going all week, play-
hockey's largest-ever stage ing the biggest game of your life,
igan Stadium. you can talk about pressuring
aw (Hogan) go down in yourself, but if 15 minutes before
ps, and obviously that's the game Coach says, 'You're
ing you don't want to see, going,' then there aren't really any
he same time I knew that excuses you can make.
start getting ready," Hun- "I didn't want to be the reason
id following the game. "We that we lost, making an excuse
alfway through warmups that I was cold or wasn't ready to
point, so I tried to face as play."
hots as I could the rest of It certainly wasn't in Berenson's
y and try to get in the right master plan for the Big Chill, but
t three days after relegating Hun-
he lack of notice didn't faze wick to reserve duties behind
minder, who was in a simi- Hogan, Berenson couldn't have
ition against Notre Dame been more pleased with the per-
formance.
"The kid - he just never missed
a beat," Berenson said. "It didn't
'The kid - seem like it bothered him at all,
so good for him and good for our
e just never team."
Fireworks punctuated every
missed Wolverine goal. Although Hun-
wick didn't set off any mid-air
a beat." explosions, he lit up the stadium
with save after save in his role as
emergency relief.
"When I came out of the tunnel,
25 last season. the fireworks were going off and
an went down with a groin all that hoopla, if you will. In the
leaving Hunwick to han- first period, I was battling a little
goalie duties for the first bit to stay focused, because I was
ed experience of his career. looking around in awe."
nst Notre Dame, Hunwick To cap off Hunwick's perfect
d up without allowing a game, the Michigan crowd gave
kgainst Michigan State in him a perfect send-off. After the
Chill, he pitched another first three stars were announced
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K A T iS
--UK U
6 5 9t7
Senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick earned his second career shutout on Sautrday
against Michigan State during The Big Chill at the Big House.
on Feb.
Hoga
injury,
dIe the
extend
Agai
finishe
goal. A
the Big
- Michigan senior forwards Carl
Hagelin and Matt Rust, and fresh-
man defenseman Jon Merrill -
the Wolverines and their crowd
called for one more name to be
mentioned.
Finally, with the players at the
bench gesturing Hunwick toward
the middle of the ice, the stadium
announcer added Hunwick's name
to the list as the ceremonial fourth
star of the game, sending the
crowd into a frenzy as Michigan's
the MLS Combine - a natural
progression for the explosive
goalscorer.
Saad, on the other hand, will
not take to the Big House to
receive a diploma this spring.
Rather, the Michigan faithful
hopes he returns to Ann Arbor
smallest star took a tour of the
center-ice circle.
"I don't really like that kind of
stuff if you don't notice," Hun-
wick said. "I don't really like
being out there in the spotlight.
The guys were pushing me out
there so I thought, 'what the
heck.'"
As the curtains closed on col-
lege hockey's biggest ganme, it
was the little man who owned
the Big House.
to continue honing skills while
being the man up front for the
Wolverines.
"If you take a look at how
Michigansoccer started11years
ago, the progress is mind-bog-
gling to say the least," Saad said.
"I feel this is just the beginning."
MERAM AND SAAD
From Page 1B
Wolverines' impressive offense,
en route to a conference champi-
onship.
"We learned how to use each
other's strengths," Saad said.
"(Meram) taught me a lot with the
way he plays."
For Meram, an impressive lat-
ter portion of the season raised
eyebrows amongst the profes-
sional ranks.
Next month, he will travel to