a The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
December 12, 2011- 3B
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Guptill drives Michigan offense
By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - Questions
hung in the air when the news
came that freshman forward Phil
Di Giuseppe would miss Satur-
day's game against No. 14 Michi-
gan State.
It was unclear where the
offensive drive would come from,
since Di Giuseppe has proven
himself as one of the Michigan
hockey team' s most consistent
scorers.
But this weekend, it was a dif-
ferent freshman - forward Alex
Guptill - who stole the show.
Guptill ensured that Di Giuseppe
wasn't missed at all. Over the
course of the series, Guptill
racked up three points and now
leads Michigan in goals scored
(nine).
"(Guptill) is doing the little
things right," said senior defen-
seman Greg Pateryn. "That's
what it comes down to. Less is
more in college hockey, and he's
doing the simple things."
Michigan coach Red Beren-
son has been preaching about
the importance of Hockey 101 for
months: not getting too fancy with
the puck and making the most of
the opportunitiesgiventoyou.
This series, it became clear
that Guptill has been paying
attention.
Going into Saturday night's
shootout loss, senior forward
David Wohlberg stressed the
importance of scoring the first
goal to establish momentum in
Michigan's favor. Though Gup-
till didn't score on Saturday, he
set up his teammates and gave
the Wolverines (5-6-2-1 CCHA,
9-8-2 overall) the all-important
first lead.
Six minutes into the first stan-
ALDEN REISS/Daily
Freshman forward Alex Guptill scored a goal against Michigan State to become the Wolverines' leading goal scorer.
OAKLAND
From Page 1B
with a 3-pointer a couple plays
later (one of two he hit on the day)
to put Michigan (7-3) up 82-69,
removing any doubt about the
final outcome. Oakland did out-
score the Wolverines 5-0 in the
final minute in alate push, but by
then it was too late.
Though Michigan did manage
to pull away, for most ofthe second
half, the Golden Grizzlies refused
to be left in the dust. The Wolver-
ines came out firing after halftime
- as they did in the first half -
and plenty of times, it appeared
that a big3-pointer would give the
team the momentum it needed to
make agame-clinchingrun.
Oakland, though, had an
answer almost every time, usually
fromguardReggie Hamilton,who
finished with 28 points to lead all
scorers. The game was tied until
the 11:53 mark, as Michigan was
forced to adapt to the Grizzlies'
high-powered offense and its up-
and-down style.
But the Wolverines began to
chip away at the Grizzlies, build-
ing a smalllead until finally break-
ing through in the final minutes.
The late run capped by Douglass's
dunk was part of an 11-4 Michigan
run. The team shot 57.4 percent
from the field in the second half,
including a scorching 15-for-28
performance on 3-pointers.
Going in, the Wolverines knew
that they would have opportuni-
ties from long range.
"We saw their tendencies (on
film)," Beilein said. "We knew
we weren't going to get to the
rim (and) get some backdoors.
We knew it was, particularly, the
two corner shots were goingto be
open, so we practiced them, but
we practice them all the time. We
needed that."
Early on, it appeared the Wol-
verines were going to run the
Golden Grizzlies right out of the
Palace. After a slightly shaky start
on offense, Michigan's shooters
gothot. Onthe otherend,Oakland
struggled to score despite getting
open looks.
With 10 points by the 9:31
mark, sophomore forward Evan
Smotrycz almost topped the Griz-
zlies' output himself for a while,
and the Wolverines led 25-11 at
one point. Smotrycz finished with
20 points and nine rebounds,
leading Beilein to say it was "prob-
ably his best game since he's been
here." With Hardaway Jr. finish-
ing with 21 points and Burke with
20, Michigan had three players
top 20 points for the first time
since 2002.
But the refs were forced to stop
the actionwith6:49 leftinthehalf
for several minutes, as the score-
boards above each basket ceased
to work - the main scoreboard
hadn't been working since the
beginning of the game, so none in
the arena were functioning at that
point.
After that, Michigan's offense,
too, suddenly had a power outage.
The Wolverines got careless with
the ball, turning it over seemingly
almost every other possession.
They finished with 10 turnovers
for the half, allowing Oakland to
creep back into it.
"Both teams had to deal with
(the scoreboard)," said senior
guard Zack Novak. "I will say
it was strange, I've never really
experienced anything like that
before. ... (But) really, the differ-
ence was we just got shaky with
the ball. That was really it.
"You just can't do that."
Travis Bader's game-tying
3-pointer as the half ended knot-
ted it up for the first time since it
was 2-2 in the opening minute.
The Grizzlies carried that
momentum into the back-and-
forth second half, until Michigan
eventually took control late in the
affair.
za, Michigan State (6-5-0, 10-6-
1) was working the puck around
its zone in an attempt to clear it.
Guptill stole the puck from the
Spartans and dished it to junior
forward Chris Brown, who took
the shot and scored on his own
rebound off of Spartan netmind-
er Drew Palmisano.
Guptill's second assist of the
night came midway through the
third period when he took the
puck from the blue line to the
net. Palmisano blocked the shot,
but Wohlberg capitalized on the
rebound.
"I thought (Guptill) was
opportunistic," Berenson said.
"When he gets the puck, he's
dangerous. He's young and he's
playing against the other team's
top lines too, but he's holding his
own."
Guptill has moved up to the
first line with Wohlberg and
Brown, and the unit has not dis-
appointed - the trio amassed a
total of 10 points over the week-
end.
Whereas Guptill has been
pretty consistent throughout the
season, Brown and Wohlberg
have not.
"I think (Guptill) complements
(Brown and Wohlberg)," Beren-
son said. "(He) has a knack for
getting open, getting into right
spots and making good plays."
Guptill is one of Michigan's
biggest players at 6-foot-3 and is
playing on the Wolverines' big-
gest line.
It's easy for him to use his size
to maneuver the puck down the
ice and out-physical the oppo-
nent.
But it's still his knack for main-
taining possession of the puck
that allows Guptill to capitalize
offensively.
That was the case Friday night
in Michigan's 4-3 win, when
Guptill notched his ninth goal
of the season to become Michi-
gan's leading scorer. He eased
his way from around the back
of the net to the crease, where
his backhand shot whizzed past
Michigan State goaltender Will
Yanakeff.
After registering his first goal
of the season against Bentley on
Oct. 7, Guptill face-planted on the
ice following an overzealous cel-
ebration. This weekend, though,
he kept his skates firmly on the
ground.
Considering how much Gup-
till had to rejoice throughout the
weekend, it's probably best that
he's learned how to keep his bal-
ance.
MSU
From Page 1B
the minute we put them together,
there was something going on
there. It's been good."
Added Wohlberg: "Those two
guysthat I amplayingwithare big
boys. I think we are just grinding
it out downlow and that the chem-
istry is there."
On Saturday, the power line -
and the veterans - did it again,
scoring two of Michigan's three
goals. Brown and Wohlberg
scored, and Guptill assisted both
of their goals.
Di Giuseppe missed Saturday's
game to be in Alberta, Canada, for
the Canadian junior national team
tryouts, but Michigan was able to
replace his usual production with
other spots in the lineup.
Wohlberg now has 17 points in
17 career games against Michi-
gan State, and ina tough, physical
game, he and Brown stepped up
to be two of the biggest factors on
the ice.
"It's huge to get those guys
going," said senior defenseman
Greg Pateryn. "They are a big part
of this team, and having those
guys scoring gives everyone else
some momentum to get going."
But it wasn't just the offensive
veterans that stepped up. Pateryn
had perhaps his best game of the
year on Saturday night, flying
around the ice and single-hand-
edly blocking a couple open-look
Spartan goals.
"Pateryn was a rock," Berenson
said. "He is one of the top defense-
men in our league. Without (sus-
pended defenseman) Jon Merrill
out there, he has really taken over.
You can tell he is the anchor of our
defense."
And senior goaltender Shawn
Hunwick gave Michigan a chance
to win both nights. He made
more than 30 saves both nights,
and on Saturday, he made at least
three one-on-one saves when the
defense was caught out of posi-
tion.
Though the weekend was suc-
cessful, Michigan was still pain-
fully close to sweeping its biggest
rival on Saturday.
Wohlberg put the Wolverines
ahead, 3-2, with a little over six
minutes to go in the game, closing
in on their first weekend sweep
since before Halloween.
Then junior forward Lee Mof-
fie attempted a no-look, backward
flip of a clear with four minutes
left on a penalty kill that was easi-
ly intercepted by Spartan forward
Lee Reimer, and Hunwick was left
out to dry.
"It's a bad play and a panic
play," Berenson said. "You can't
panic when you are under pres-
sure. Good players take their time
and do the right thing."
But it looked like Michigan was
going to get a great chance to win
the game with less than a minute
left in the game, when Michigan
State forward Anthony Hayes was
called for interference.
But the potential man-up
opportunity was thwarted when
Brownwas called for cross-check-
ing during the delayed Hayes call.
"I can't tell you if it was a good
call or not, but that penalty real-
ly got them back in the game,"
Berenson said.
In overtime, Michigan outshot
the Spartans 8-0 and had a few
good looks, but couldn't capital-
ize.
The Wolverines continued
their shootout slump by missing
on all three attempts. They are
now an abysmal 1-for-9 on the
season in shootout attempts.
"The shootout can come down
to anybody scoring, and it's too
bad it comes down to that," Beren-
son said. "It was a good effort by
our team and a good game, but not
a good finish."
But Michigan never would have
been in position to win without its
horses. Michigan needed the vet-
erans tostep up in one of the most
important series of the year, and
they responded, right on time.
HUNGER
From Page 1B
when it grabbed an extra point
after overtime ended with
the game still tied. Ironically
enough, Michigan State coach
Tom Anastos instituted the
shootout rule as commissioner
of the CCHA, a role he served
from 1998 until this spring.
"Who was this crazy guy
who came up with this shootout
thing?" Anastos joked in his
post-game press conference.
On Friday night in Ann Arbor,
there was no shortage of thrills.
For the first time in over a
month, Michigan looked like an
NCAA Tournament team in its
4-3 win. The untimely sloppi-
ness that had characterized the
Wolverines' fall to the basement
of the conference vanished. And
in the second period, something
bigger appeared in its place.
Junior forward Chris Brown
had barely left the penalty box
- his home away from home -
when he picked up a loose puck
and beat the Spartan netminder
in a one-on-one. Four minutes
later, freshman forward Alex
Guptill picked a pocket of his
own and, after a quick deke,
finished easily with a backhand
- one of the prettier goals the
Wolverines have produced all
season.
But fortunately for Michigan,
you can save those style points
for the intermission acts. The
Wolverines aren't known for
highlight-reel goals this season.
Instead, if Michigan is to make a
run in the second half of the sea-
son - and this weekend showed
it can - it's going to be about
staying hungry.
"Our team's a better team
than we were two weeks ago or
two months ago," Berenson said.
"We're having the chance to play
better. We're doing some things
better."
And that driving force has
the greatest potential to nudge
Michigan up the CCHA stand-
ings as it heads down the
stretch.
You know that quote from
James Gammon's character in
"Major League"?
"We won a game yesterday. If
we win one today, that's two in
a row. If we win one tomorrow,
that's called a winning streak. It
has happened before."
That's probably how Berenson
had been beginning to feel. And
he probably had a similar mes-
sage for his team in the locker
room Friday night.
With the disappearance
of "want to" - a want to play
"Michigan hockey" - came the
seven-game winless streak.
And now that it finally might
be coming back, how do you
make sure it sticks around, espe-
cially with an extended break
before the Great Lakes Invita-
tional on Dec. 29-30?
That's something Berenson
can't possibly coach. It has to
come straight from the Wolver-
ines' hearts. That "want to" has
to consume them daily - while
they're practicing, on game days,
even when they're "writing
exams," as Berenson says.
And it starts with the lead-
ers. Ignore the fact that this
team has two freshmen as its
two leading scorers. Guptill
and freshman forward Phil
Di Giuseppe have never stood
before four CCHA Tournament
series and known they need
to win all of them to make the
NCAA Tournament like in 2010.
Senior forward David Wohl-
berg has.
And this weekend, Wohlberg
was finally "the real David
Wohlberg" that Berenson prom-
ised us all week we'd see.
How did Berenson know he'd
finally break out against the
Spartans?
Well, through Wohlberg's
caged facemask, you can still
clearly make out his eyes. Beren-
son must have finally seen that
hunger in his team.
It's a shame it took a 4,000-
mile trip to Alaska for it to final-
ly come back, but the important
thing for this senior class is that
it just might be here to stay.
Maybe.
- Slovin can be reached
at mislovin@umich.edu or
via Twitter @MattSlovin.
I
ROBINSON
From Page 1B
weren't sure.
No, Robinson didn't spread
the infection to other teammates.
Hoke credited his staff for their
careful handling of the situation.
Yes, it was painful. And Rob-
inson admitted he was scared.
But the doctor's reassurance that
he was going to be OK put him at
ease.
The doctor explained that he
probably got it from the field turf,
and said that he was allowed to
play but only if he took adequate
care of it.
But the infection was serious
enough that he spent a night in the
hospital. Hoke wasn't sure Robin-
son if would have to miss at least
one game. Robinson said "it got
close," but added that there was no
doubt in his mind.
"(I'm) going to play regardless,"
Robinson told the doctor the day
he found out.
Against Minnesota, he generat-
ed his third-highest passer rating
of the season (188.4), completing
1S-of-19 passes for 169 yards. He
accounted for three touchdowns
in Michigan's 58-0 win.
"It affected me a lot in the
games and practice, but I kept
pushing it because I knew my
teammates would do the same for
me," Robinson said. "I had to be
accountable.
"It was (affecting my throwing)
a little bit, but I can't make any
complaints. I was playing with it."
The wrap was exchanged for
a bandage the next week against
Northwestern. The bandage was
there again the next week when
he completed just 38 percentofhis
passes and struggled mightily in
Michigan's first loss of the season
against Michigan State.
The week after, against Purdue,
his forearm was free of any wraps
or bandages - as it would remain
the rest of the season.
For three weeks, it was clear
something was wrong. Yet not all
of his teammates knew what was
going on with their quarterback.
Redshirt junior safety Jordan
Kovacs found out Friday, when the
media asked him a question about
"I guess he was quiet about it,"
Kovacs said.
Fifth-year senior wide receiver
Junior Hemingway said Robinson
made a concerted effort to keep
the injuryunder wraps.
"He tried not to let everybody
know," Hemingway said. "He just
came out and tried to be the same
Denard because we know that if
he's down that could affect the
rest of the team."
Around his teammates, Robin-
son was his same bubbly self. But
Hemingway noticed Robinson
couldn't do certain things in prac-
tice - that's how he figured out
something wasn't right.
"Plus, he's got a big bandage on
his arm," Hemingway added.
Robinson's silence didn't stop
the questions. When Hemingway
approached Robinson in the train-
ing room one day, the quarterback
wouldn't admit anything was
wrong at first.
"I know Denard's a competi-
tor," Hemingway said. "So when
it's time to play, he'll go out there
and put it on the line. That's some-
thingI knew I didn't have to worry
about.,"
Added senior defensive tackle
Mike Martin: "He's the type of guy
that, we see him everyday, but we
can't even tell because of the type
of guy he is and the energy and
enthusiasm he comes out with.
"That's something that makes
him special as a leader and as a
quarterback."
once the staph infection
healed, more injuries popped up
- Robinson was knocked out of
several games including both of
Michigan's losses to Michigan
State and Iowa. His passing came
under attack in each those games
too.
The questions grew louder, but
Robinson stayed silent.
"I didn't want to explain (the
injury)," said Robinson, adding
that it was his decision to keep it
quiet. "I mean, I'm out there play-
ing so there's no excuses. ... I feel
if you go out there and play, there
shouldn't be any excuse why you
lost or why you're this way or why
you're that way.
"(There) was. a lot going on this
season. But we had to fight through
it. I just kept fighting through it."
All season Robinson said he felt
MARISSA MCCL
Junior quarterback Denard Robinson played through a staph infection.
much better than he had a year
ago, when he didn't know how to
best treathimself. Still,the injuries
piled up again - as it became clear
Friday.
He says he's100 percent healthy
now, and his last three games - all
wins against Illinois, Nebraska
and Ohio State - were arguably
his best all season.
Hoke also made clear there
were no excuses for Robinson's
midseason swoon. He brought
up the staph infection merely to
explain why he thought his quar-
terback's final three games were
the rule and not the exception.
"He's a tough guy," Hoke said.
"I just think he was so much more
healthier and confident, probably
at the same time.
"Everybody's beat up. Still,
there are no excuses for perfor-
mance."