4B - January 10, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
3 4Hunwick earns third
career shutout for 'M'
JAKE FROMM/Da ly
Senior winger Carl Hagelin scored three goals over the weekend in the home-and-home series against Michigan State.
Power play unit steps
up in Saturday's win
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily SportsEditor
Michigan State captain Torey
Krug stood just inside the Wol-
verine blue line and saluted as
confetti rained down on the Spar-
tan student section Friday night.
The No. 7 Michigan hockey team
could only watch what they had
done to themselves.
The celebration came after
Krug rocketed a slap shot past
senior goalie Shawn Hunwick for
Michigan State's second power
play goal. It was on the Spartans'
seventh man-advantage opportu-
nity and it put them up 3-1 mid-
way through the third period.
Michigan responded with two
goals, including one of their own
on the power play, before losing
the first game in overtime on the
road at Munn Ice Arena.
But more than the overtime
winner, the Wolverines' 22 pen-
alty minutes led to their defeat.
"It's always tough to play
these guys," senior forward Carl
Hagelin said after Friday's game.
"They try to get in your head, get
in your face. Today we took way
too many penalties. That's just
the bottom line."
For Michigan, Friday's game
continued the parade to the box
that started in the Great Lakes
Invitational championship game.
The Wolverines took seven penal-
ties in Detroit, allowing Colorado
College to score four times with
the man advantage - that's six
power play goals allowed in two
games.
With the penalty kill well off
its top-10 pace from a year ago,
sitting at 41st in the country, dis-
cipline has become increasingly
important as the season wears on.
And needing a win Saturday night
to salvage a split in the series
against the second-to-last place
team in the conference, Michigan
found it again.
The Wolverines took just three
penalties Saturday, leaving an
opportunity for the power play
to win the special teams battle.
Freshman defenseman Jon Mer-
rill, the quarterback of the power
play, returned from a two-game
hiatus after his participation in
the World Junior Championships.
Michigan scored four power
play goals in the series, convert-
ing at a 40-percent clip on the
weekend. Hagelin's bad-angle
shot with the man advantage in
the second period proved to be
the game-winner.
"We got a little more confi-
dence (on the power play), and
our numbers looked pretty good,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson
said on Saturday. "At least we're
on the plus side-tonight and that's
huge. You look at our power play/
penalty killing, we're not that
strong - not as strong as we
should be this time of year."
Michigan's power play has
been slightly above average this
season, converting just over 20
percent of its opportunities. In a
sport where the man advantage is
often the reason for a win or loss,
Michigan is 6-1-3 when scoring a
power play goal and 5-1 when net
giving up a power play goal.
On Saturday the Wolverines
accomplished both those feats.
And without being hampered by
their own penalties, the Wolver-
ines' power play put the game
away.
Already up 2-0, Michigan
received a five-on-three power
play with five minutes left in
the game. Merrill took the puck
at the point and slid it down to
senior forward Louie Caporusso
just to the left of the net. Capo-
russo passed it across the crease
to sophomore A.J. Treais, who
quickly put the puck top shelf for
the goal.
"We've probably practiced that
play for over 300 hours," Capo-
russo said. "Finally, it worked."
But this time there was no
saluting, no confetti - just a sense
that, with the three-goal lead, the
game was over.
"I thought the first goal was
important, the second goal was
huge and the third goal was com-
forting," Berenson said.
By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
Sophomore forward Chris
Brown recently compared the
hockey rivalries of USA-Canada
and Michigan-Michigan State
as adrenaline-filled matches
where both sides can expect each
team to give the other its best
game, regard-
less of current NOTEBOOK
records, stand-
ings, and streaks.
For No. 7 Michigan, recent
success against Michigan State
has come largely at the hands of
senior forward Carl Hagelin - a
Sodertalje, Sweden native whose
roots lie far from the in-state
tension between the Spartans
and Wolverines.
"I don't know why I've been
scoring a lot against them,"
Hagelin said. "I just try to get a
lot of pucks to the net. It's always
fun to play against that team,
that's something people talked
about before they came here."
He might not know why, but
the fact remains that Hagelin has
been hot for Michigan.
The captain netted three goals
against the Spartans this week-
end, two of which came on the
man advantage unit for the Wol-
verines.
"We've all been there," senior
forward Louie Caporusso said.
"You see Carl right now, he can
shoot from anywhere and it's
going to go in. It's a great feeling
when you're playing like that. It's
a good feeling when you get on a
roll and you start getting some
bounces."
There's something about the
Spartans that brings out the best
in Hagelin, as the. senior has
scored 11 goals and eight assists
in his 18 games against Michigan
State.
Aside from his three lamp-
lighters this weekend, Hagelin
scored twice in the Wolverines'
first meeting with Spartans in
The Big Chill at the Big House on
Dec. 11.
"Carl's been a key player all
year, whether its penalty killing
or power play," Michigan coach
Red Berenson said. "He's getting
some puck luck lately and good
for him, because he's one of our
hardest workers every day."
HUNWICK HOLDS DOWN
STATE: It always gets chippy
when Michigan and Michigan
State suit up to play.
But Friday, senior netminder
Shawn Hunwick added to the
chaos by throwing a punch to
Spartan senior Dustin Gazley on
Friday, after Gazley interfered in
the goal crease.
On Saturday, Hunwick said
he deliberately kept his cool and
Senior goalie Shawn Hunwick has filled in nicely since Bryan Hogan went down.
he notched a shutout victory for
Michigan.
The last time the Wolverines
shut out the Spartans twice in a
season came during the 1952-53
campaign.
But thanks largely to the clutch
play of Hunwick, Michigan has
held Michigan State scoreless
"He can shoot
from anywhere
and it's going to
go in."
twice already this season - and it
faces the Spartans once more on
Jan. 29.
Hunwick blanked Michigan
State 5-0 in the Big Chill before
earning his second shutout
against the Spartans 4-0 on Sat-
urday.
"Hunwick (got) a shutout, but
he earned it," Berenson said.
"Early in the game he made some
key saves, and in every period.
Even when the score was 2-0 and
we had a power play and they got
a shorthanded 2-on-1, he made a
big save.
"It could've chdnged the whole
game but he made the save and
then we went down and scored
on the power play to make it 3-0."
Saturday marked the third
shutout of Hunwick's career.
"Hunwick has played great
ever since he got in the net,"
Caporusso said. "He couldn't do
anything about the goals at Mich-
igan State (on Friday). Those
were screened, tipped. Pretty
much he's been playing perfect
for us.
"We can't ask more from the
guy.'He played a great game again
(on Saturday) and hopefully he
continues it."
TREAIS KEEPS IT ROLLIN':
Sophomore forward A.J. Treais
found a way to keep the momen-
tum on his side.
After scoring two game-win-
ning goals in the Great Lakes
Invitational, Treais continued
his hot streak this weekend for
the Wolverines.
The sophomore scored his
sixth goal of the season on Sat-
urday against the Spartans to put
Michigan up 3-0 late in the third
period.
Treais found the back of the
net just seconds after the Wolver-
ines went on a 5-on-3 power play.
Caporusso dished a pass in
front of the Spartan goaltender
to Treais, who banged it in top
shelf from the right side of the
goal.
"I think A.J. continues to grow,
his game is growing," Berenson
said. "It's good to see him score.
He shows you he looks like a goal
scorer when that puck came to
him tonight."
0
0
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Biondo, Michigan grab
second at Virginia Duals
Freshmen make impact in
non-scoring meet at EMU
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
DailySports Writer
Senior Anthony Biondo just
needed a break.
The captain began the year
battling sickness, then injury,
followed by more sickness. But
Biondo was finally healthy this
weekend - and it showed.
Biondo, along with freshman
Dan Yates and junior Kellen Rus-
sell, went 4-0 on the weekend,
leading the No. 15 Michigan wres-
tling team to a runner-up finish
in the annual Virginia Duals in
Hampton, Virginia.
The Wolverines (4-2) began
play on Friday with two lopsided
wins. Michigan defeated Liber-
ty, 37-9, in the first match before
earning a 27-9 win over Buffalo.
The level of competition steep-
ened Saturday, as Michigan
matched up with a Lehigh squad
that beat the Wolverines 25-6 two
months ago.
But in search of revenge,
Michigan got the best of the
ninth-ranked Mountain Hawks,
winning 21-18.
"We talked a lot about pay-
ing these guys back and putting
together some great individual
performances," Michigan coach
Joe McFarland said. "A lot of
people were looking past us. A lot
of wrestling fans were thinking
Lehigh was going to get another
win against us. We turned some of
the matches around that we had
lost earlier in the year. I knew we
were better than what we showed
in the last Lehigh dual, so this was
a nice win for us."
Biondo won a pivotal match to
clinch the win for the Wolver-
ines. Pitted against 14th-ranked
Joe Kennedy, who won decisively
in his last matchup, the Michigan
captain was able to pull away with
a dramatic overtime win.
"I wouldn't say it was a pretty
match, but I got the job done,"
Biondo said. "It was good for me,
and good for the team. Earlier
in the season, when I was really,
really sick, it was pretty embar-
rassing how I lost. So it's good to
get the win back and beat some-
one who beat you and help out the
team at the same time."
But Biondo was also just
relieved to wrestle at full strength
for the first time this year.
"It's nice to finally start feeling
better and getting some wins,"
Biondo said. "This being my last
year here, you like to imagine
that great last season. It's just
been something I have to fight
through. I'm not sure why I've
had to go through this, but the
end of the season is really all that
matters."
However, the Wolverines didn't
fare as well in the championship,
losing 24-12 to No. 2Penn State.
Freshman Dan Yates put
together his second consecutive
strong showing at the meet, win-
ning his championship match 8-2.
"It feels really good to start
getting to where I want to be for
the full seven minutes, whereas at
the beginning of the year I wasn't
quite able to do that," Yates said.
"It's great to go out there and
start off strong and finish even
stronger. I know I'm capable of
performing at this level. It's just
nice to have it actually come out
in competition."
Russell once again showed why
he's the nation's top 141-lb. wres-
tier, improving his record to 20-0
for the year. His matches were
hardly competitive this weekend,
as he won 6-2 and 3-1 on Saturday.
Biondo won his championship
match 9-4, and sophomore Hunter
Collins was the only other Michi-
gan wrestler to register a win
versus the Nittany Lions, whose
six wrestlers ranked in the top-
10 proved too much for the young.
Wolverines.
"Penn State's got a heck of a
team this year," McFarland said.
"We needed to have a perfect
duel to beat them, and we didn't.
We get another opportunity to
wrestle them in our place, and we
can turn some of these matches
around and get a win."
The Wolverines now turn their
attention to Big Ten play, which
officially kicks off when No. 18
Purdue comes to Ann Arbor on
Friday. Michigan will then travel
to Mount Pleasant to face Central
Michigan on Sunday.
"Overall, I think our team is
slowly improving, which is what
we need to do," Biondo said.
"Every week, you can tell we're
getting a little better and we
saw it here, just in the difference
between results.
"The Big Ten season is such a
grind, but at the same time, it goes
really fast. You can't get ahead
of yourself, so we'll just take it
one match at a time, weekend by
weekend, and we'll be fine."
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD
Daily Sports Writer
YPSILANTI, Mich. - It took
a Locomotive to stop sprinter
Justin Clarke. Bradley James put
himself in elite company, getting
over seven feet in the high jump.
Shot putter Cody Riffle wrote his
name into the Michigan record
books.
With only four seniors to pro-
vide leadership, one might expect
the Michigan men's track team to
struggle to find its footing early
in the season. However, with
the help of their freshmen team-
mates, the Wolverines' under-
classmen dismissed that idea on
Saturday. Thirteen athletes made
their NCAA debuts, contributing
to the successful showing at the
Eastern Michigan Invitational -
the first indoor meet of the sea-
son.
"We had a number of fresh-
men that had good perfor-
mances," Michigan head coach
Fred LaPlante said. "No matter
what the size of the meet is, the
first time you put on a block 'M'
uniform and you're competing
against people, it's definitely a
test. I think those guys really per-
formed well."
Michigan's young team mem-
bers helped the team win six
of the 11 events it competed in.
The Wolverines would have won
two more events if not for non-
collegiate competitors who used
the event for training. Distance
runners .were held ousit of the
unscored competition.
One of the most eye-opening
performances of the day was
delive
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a first
red by freshman sprinter Riffle made waves in his first
Clarke in the 60-meter college meet, winning the shot
Though he finished third put with a throw of 59 feet and
6.88 seconds - against the three-quarters inches. That dis-
competition. Michael Ray tance was good for the second
n, who won the race, was a longest toss in school history.
-time All-American sprint- Freshman runners Ali Aras-
Florida State and spent to and Eric Oliver helped win
as a wide receiver with the the 1600 meter relay along with
it Lions. He currently plays seniors Carl Buchanon and David
e UFL's Las Vegas Locomo- St. Amant. In the 35-pound
weight throw, freshman Ethan
Dennis placed second with a
* throw of 60 feet and eleven and
the first tim1e one-half inches. He, too, lost to a
S put a non-collegiate competitor.
ou on a And in the triple jump, former
ock 'M ' ...it's sprinter and sophomore Erik
Braun won his first meet in the
initely a test." event.
"Coach saw me one day at
practice and thought I was really
explosive," Braun said. "We were
joking around with each other,
Former Central Michigan and I said, 'What are you going to
merican Johnie Drake took have me doing next, triple jump?'
d. "He was like, 'Actually, why
you're a freshman and the don't you look at triple jump this
sime you line up, that's what week.'"
e running against, that's a A season later, Braun is one of
g field," LaPlante said. "But Michigan's top jumpers.
ld his own." "I thought I was going to do
song the athletes who took well, but I didn't know about this
place, two were freshmen, well," Braun said. "My prayers
two others were part of the definitely came true."
ing 4x400 meter relay team. Next weekend, Michigan will
dshirt freshman jumper head to Columbus to take on Ohio
ey James won the high State in track and field's version of
- clearing the bar at seven the rivalry dubbed, "The Dual."
nd one-half inch - which "When you're against Ohio
d the praise of his coach. State, they'll have your atten-
you're over seven feet, that's tion," LaPlante said. "We have to
ig time and he cleared that be better next week than we were
t by quite a bit," LaPlante this week in everything. There's
"That's really impressive for no area that we don't have to
competition." improve in."
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