The Michigan Daily - michigandailY.com . Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 7A 'M' seeking offensive spark against RedHawks Defenseman turned forward Vaughan excelling on offensive end By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer While the ninth-ranked Wol- verines have gone 5-2-0 since securing their 14th Great Lakes Invitational Championship - NOTEBOOK in late Decem- ber, Michigan coach Red Beren- son is far from satisfied. Both of Michigan's losses in 2011 have come at the hands of Michigan State, which currently sits at 10th place in the CCHA. After dropping Saturday night's contest, 2'1, to the Spartans, Berenson said the team needed "more players overachieving" offensively. "We want to get our team going," Berenson said after practice on Monday. "We want to have four lines that can play against the opponents' top lines if it comes to that. We're still look- ing for chemistry and combina- tions on lines. Nothing is in stone. "(Senior forwards Carl Hage- lin and Matt Rust) are not in stone - I mean not when Rust has got one goal in the last fif- teen games or more. Carl has scored two five-on-five goals in the last 10 games, but that's not enough for a top player like him. You never stop looking at your team." Hagelin and Rust have been anchors of the Michigan offense for much of their careers, as the duo has played on the same line in 115 of their 157 games that have taken place while they've been Wolverines. The pair played on the same line early this week in practice, but in a push for more produc- tion from his forwards, Beren- son has shaken up the lines to spark certain players. Sophomore forwards Kevin Lynch and Chris Brown switched lines, with Lynch now playing with Rust and Hagelin and Brown playing next to soph- omore forward A.J. Treais and freshman forward Luke Moffatt. Noting that the "puck luck" present earlier this season-might be running out for his Wolver- ines, Berenson said the team needs to create more quality scoring opportunities each game - and capitalize on them from now on. "We were going through a stretch where I kept saying, 'We're not playing that well, but we're getting puck luck,"' Beren- son said. "Maybe the other night we didn't get the puck luck, but we still weren't playing thatwell. We generated maybe five or six really good chances, and Luke Glendening got five of them, and he just couldn't score." Heading into a weekend series with No. 13 Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, the Wolverines know they'll need to score more than one goal each night to have the best chance at earning six points out of the two contests. SCOOTER KEEPS SCORING: Senior forward Scooter Vaughan spent the majority of his career as a defenseman - including his first two seasons as a Wolverine. But after switching to power forward at the start of his junior year, Vaughan now embraces the role in front of him and has strived to make his senior season count. "I think I will always think like a defenseman," Vaughan said. "Growing up (with) so many years of my life playing defense, I think that will stick (with) me the rest of the way. But I think as the games go on, I'm getting more confident with the puck. "In practice, I'm more confi- dent, I'm doing some things (to) get more patient with (the puck). I feel good offensively, butI need to pick it up in the defensive zone a little bit. I'll probably always think like a defenseman but just have offensive tendencies." With an assist on senior for- ward Louie Caporusso's goal this past Saturday - the only tally for Michigan in that game - Vaughan tied his career high for assists in a single season with five. In addition to his five helpers, Vaughan already has nine goals to his name this season - and there are still eight regular sea- son games left. Vaughan even scored the first game-winning goal of his career against Alaska two weekends ago. "It's nice to contribute offen- sively," Vaughan said. "I'm a power forward - my strengths are defensively. But when I can put some offensive production as well, that's only going to help my cause. It feels good to contribute to the team, to put the pucks, in net has been nice." NOTES: With such a tight race at the top of the CCHA - just five points separate Notre Dame, Michigan, and Miami - Beren- son insisted earlier this week that he is trying to keep Michi- gan from "scoreboard watching." Berenson said he is involved in the polls, but doesn't even look at the PairWise comparison ratings until the season is over. CHRIS RYBA/Daily Michigan coach John Beilein anid the Wolverines will have second crack at knocking off the Buckeyes on Thursday night. Michiganlooks to hand No.stI Ohio State firs loss By CHANTEL JENNINGS Daily Sports Editor The last time a team went undefeated and won the NCAA Division-I college basketball championship was in 1976, when the Indiana Hoosiers capped a perfect 32-0 season with a win over the Michigan men's basketball team. That was 35 years ago. But with tonight's game against No. 1 Ohio State, Michigan has the opportunity to, in a way, avenge that loss from so long ago. The Buckeyes (9-0 Big Ten, 22-0 overall) haven't been shy about their intentions on adding a National Championship to the team's resume by the end of the season. But for now, Ohio State coach Thad Matta is just try- ing to keep things as simple as possible - focusing on what his team needs to do to play better basketball. And after the Buckeyes' last game against Northwestern - in which Ohio State narrowly scraped by in a 58-57 win - Matta began looking at how his squad could improve against a young Michigan team that is coming off two huge wins in conference play. While the Wolverines (3-6, 13-9) were able to take down the Spartans in East Lansing, they head into similar territory at Value City Arena - where the Buckeyes haven't lost in almost a year. The Wolverines split their regular season series with the Buckeyes last year, with each team winning at home. But this year, Ohio State may be more skilled than last year. "I've never seen a team that shoots so well and also has such an inside presence, it's just rare that you see that," Michigan coach John Beilein. said Monday. "Even if you can mark up on one guy and do something in the post, but when you have four shooters shooting over 40 percent (from range) in Big Ten play - the best defen- sive league in the country - it's just hard." When the Wolverines lost to the Buckeyes, 68-64, in Ann Arbor early last month, Ohio State's spot-on 3-point shoot- ing was in full effect as the team shot 50 percent from behind the arc. Since starting conference play, the Buckeyes have gotten even better - three players are in the top 10 in 3-point shooting in the Big Ten. Unlike Ohio State, which thrives from beyond the arc, Michigan has spent most of the season living or dying by the 3-point shot. When the Wolverines are feeling it and shooting nearly 50 percent from behind the 3-point line, they haveupset teams like Michigan State and made Iowa look mismatched against the young Michigan squad. But, when the Wolverines shoot around 30 percent, like they did against Minnesota and Indiana, they've lost games they had the potential to win. Like Matta, Beilein is also keeping it simple for his young team - stressing the impor- tance of his team's ability to move on after a disappointing play or game. "It will paralyze you," Beilein explained. "When you're not having a good game and you keep thinking about it." The game marks the Wol- verines' second cluster of the Big Ten slate - four games in nine days. Michigan competed in its first cluster in early Janu- ary, starting with its matchup against then-No. 3 Kansas. The Wolverines were unable to col- lect a win in that tough four- game stretch. But now, with the team knowing what to expect, the Wolverines hope to improve on thoirlast showing in such close games - all are rematches with teams that beat Michigan ear- lier this season. "I think the second time around they know a little bit more what to expect, but so do the other teams," Beilein said. "So that will be the thing that we have to continue to pound into (the players) - that each game is separate. If you win on the road and they come to (Ann Arbor), you better be ready. "And if they beat you at their place, you owe them one at your home place. You have to be ready because they are too - they're trying to sweep you." TCtD NEEDLE/Daily Senior Forward Scooter Vaughan has tallied nine goals and five assists this season. Big Ten-leading Nittany Lions visit Crisler with first place on the line 000000 By EVERETT COOK Daily Sports Writer It was hard not to feel optimis- tic for the Michigan women's bas- ketball team after it beat then-No. 24 Ohio State on the road - a vic- tory that marked the program's first regular-season sweep of its rival. The Wolverines were riding a four-game winning streak and were expected to roll over lowly Minnesota to set up a showdown for first place with Penn State on Thursday. In the Big Ten, though, any- * thing can happen. Instead of entering the game against the Nittany Lions with a five-game winning streak, Michigan will play first-place Penn State after coming off a dishearteningloss to the Golden Gophers. "I told these guys at the begin- ning of the year, 'You'll be lucky to win one Big Ten road game,' and at this point right now, you'll be lucky to win another one," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said after the Ohio State game. "I don't think anybody is that much better than anybody else, or that there is that big of a sepa- rator where you can't come in one night and not show up with your best effort." Luckily for Michigan (6-3 Big Ten, 13-8 overall), it has played its best basketball at home. The Wol- verines are 8-3 at Crisler Arena this season, including 3-1 in the Big Ten. They also average close to 10 points more at home than on the road. They will need that offense against the Nittany Lions, who are leading the Big Ten with over 80 points per game, good for 12th best in the country. In a lot of ways, Michigan and Penn State (7-2 Big Ten, 18-5 overall) are similar teams. Both rely on their 3-point shooting for a majority of their offense, which they try to set up by forcing turnovers. The only problem for the Wolverines, though, is how proficiently Penn State is able to execute the keys to its game plan. The Nittany Lions lead the nation in 3-point percentage at a ludicrous 45.1 percent. That number is close to three points higher than any other team in the country - a scary thought for the Wolverines, who have repeatedly been burnt from deep this season. Penn State is led by freshman extraordinaire Maggie Lucas, who is averaging 16.4 points per game, while shooting more than 47 percent from downtown. The Nittany Lions also feature three players who average more than 10 points per game, and two others who average nine per game. Penn State also leads the Big Ten in steals, averaging close to 11 per game. Though this is a major part of its game, it may not be a big issue for the Wolverines. Michigan gives the ball away just 13 times per game, which is No.2 in the country. The Wolver- ines also have the best turnover margin in the conference at +3.5, which will be important against a Penn State team that is built defensively around forcing turn- overs. Against Ohio State, Michigan shot almost 46 percent on 3-point attempts, including close to 67 percent in the first half. It forced 18 turnovers, and made big shots when needed. In order for the Wolverines to beat another highly touted team, they will need to execute much of the same gameplan.