The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 7
Its time for M' hockey to dance
Pitching shows early
signs of improvement
After the Michigan hockey
team's win on Saturday
ight, members of the
media waited in the Yost Ice
Arena conference room to inter-
view the captains.
It was a senior-night win.
Everyone wanted to know about
the emotions swirling around the
locker room following the team's
last regular
season game
at Yost.
After a
couple of
minutes of
waiting,
Michigan
coach Red
Berenson LIZ
emerged and VUKELICH
informed
reporters that
they might have to wait a bit lon-
ger before talking to Luke Glen-
dening and Greg Pateryn.
"The team's doing a dance,"
he said. "Some sort of 'Swedish
Shuffle."'
Everyone in the room
laughed, and the coach cracked
a smile.
Eventually, the captains came
out and the interrogation began.
What's the significance of the
dance? Is anyone allowed to see?
Does Red partake? The usually
stoic Glendening chuckled as he
answered the questions. He said
it's a ritual that follows every
sweep. No filming or photogra-
phy of the dance has ever been
allowed. And, alas, Red doesn't
even try to break it down with
his team. The mysterious dance
is saved for only the most special
occasions - it's a privilege, not
a right. And Saturday night cer-
tainly was special. Considering
that A.J. Treais' overtime goal
kept Michigan in the running as
a serious CCHA title contender,
Saturday seemed to mark the
end of anything negative that's
been dogging the team.
Questions and doubts have
followed the Wolverines since
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Senior defenseman Greg Pateryn has been a rock on the blue line.
last April. When the eight-man
class of 2011 took off their sweat-
ers for the last time, everyone
wanted to know how Michigan
would make up for the lost
depth.
Berenson wasn't concerned.
Back in September, he assured
the restless minds that the'
offense would take care of itself,
though it may take a little time
for a lead scorer to emerge.
Berenson is in his 27th season
at the helm - he knows what
he's talking about.
And after this weekend,
Treais and Alex Guptill left little
doubt in anyone's mind about
which skaters are sitting in
the driver's seat of the forward
corps.
It's not just that they're tied
for the team lead in goals -15
each, for those keeping track at
home - but that they've proven
themselves the most consistent
players week after week. Some
of the Wolverines who were
hot at the beginning of the year
haven't appeared on the box
score in months. Others pride
themselves on scoring clutch
goals but are quiet the rest of the
time.
Not Treais and Guptill -
they've earned the right to
dance with the rest of the team.
They've eased one burden. But
what aboutthe other questions
that remained? Of course, Jon
Merrill's three-month suspen-
sion jumps to mind first. Once
again, speculators wondered how
the defensive corps would fare
without one of the country's top
defenseman. And would Merrill
even come back? Berenson down-
played Merrill's singular impor-
tance for the three months he
was absent and stayed firm in his
belief that others would step up.
Pateryn answered the call in
true captain fashion. You just
have to look at him during a shift
to see how he takes control of
games. Seeing him slam his 216-
pound frame into opponents is
painful to watch, and he doesn't
stop doing that until he's back
on the bench. So Pateryn proved
the ideal defenseman in Merrill's
absence. And now that Merrill
is back? Well, he has still set the
standard pretty high - every
team needs a workhorse like
Pateryn to pick up the slack when
the forward line falters.
It's hard not to look at Merrill's
10 points and wonder how well
the team would've fared if had he
never left the lineup. There was
a bit of a learning curve, but the
defensive corps made it through
somehow. That certainly seems
worthy of a Swedish Shuffle.
And then there's the last ques-
tion that no one wants to address:
that seven-game winless streak.
Back in November, no one
wanted to bring up the possibility
that if things didn't turn around,
this team would be the first in 21
years not to make it to the NCAA
Tournament. Unlike questions
surrounding the offense and
defense, this one had no obvious
solution. Maybe the team wasn't
trying hard enough, maybe there
wasn't any-chemistry or maybe
the hockey gods just weren't will-
ing it. The losses ended almost
as suddenly as they had started
- it only took a December trip
to Alaska to get the Wolverines
going again.
Michigan certainly wasn't
dancing in the locker room dur-
ing the month-that-shall-not-
be-named. But the Wolverines
did this weekend. The Michigan
team on Saturday was unrecog-
nizable from the same squad that
took the ice a month ago. Did the
Wolverines play a perfect game?
Far from it. But the only thing
that matters is that the team can
put a name to its problems now.
Turnovers. Penalty minutes.
Special teams. The season isn't
over yet - there's still one series
against Bowling Green left. But
no matter how next weekend
turns out, Michigan will be a No.
1 seed in the CCHA Tournament
at best, and a No. 5 at worst. The
team's beaten all the foes that
stand in their way at least once
this season. And by that point,
they won't have to answer to any-
one's questions but their own.
So, for now, let the Wolverines
keep dancing.
- Vukelich can be reached
at elizavuk Oumich.edu.
By STEVEN BRAID
Daily Sports Writer
A new season, a new pitching
staff.
The Michigan baseball team
looked like a much different
squad this past weekend than
it did last year, and the pitching
staff was a big reason why.
Following a season-opening
9-8 defeat to Pittsburgh on Fri-
day, the hurlers responded by
allowing just two earned runs
over the next 1$ innings. Behind
spectacular efforts from redshirt
junior left-hander Bobby Bros-
nahan and junior right-hander
Ben Ballantine, the Wolverines
(2-1 overall) defeated Seton Hall,
2-1, and West Virginia, 14-3.
"Bobby and Ben kept us in the
game and allowed the offense to
get going," said sophomore right
fielder Michael O'Neill. "We
were able to scratch a couple of
runs across (the plate) and get
those two guys a couple of wins.
"Bobby's performance on Sat-
urday was really nice. Ike had a
down year last year, but he was
able to bounce back and pick up
his first win of the season against
a quality Seton Hall team. I think
the pitching in general - it really
helped our weekend."
Last season, the pitching staff
struggled mightily. To go along
with its last-place finish in the
Big Ten in 2011, Michigan also
finished last in the conference
with a 5.09 earned run average.
Brosnahan went 1-9 with a 7.82
ERA while also allowing oppos-
ing hitters to bat .351 against
him. Ballantine had a better sea-
son, but it wasn't great by any
means - he finished with a 3-1
record and a 4.91 ERA.
Both players pitched poorly in
starts in last year's Big Ten-Big
East Challenge, a three-game
stretch in which the Wolverines
allowed 35 runs.
Though it was only one
game for each starter, Brosna-
han and Ballantine looked much
improved. Against the Pirates
on Saturday, Brosnahan allowed
only one run and gave up just
four hits, retiring four batters
while walking only one. On Sun-
day, Ballentine allowed three
hits and one earned run in seven
innings of work.
"Bobby took care of his busi-
ness yesterday, getting ahead of
hitters," Ballantine said. "I just
wanted to repeat that perfor-
mance, because I just wanted to
give our team a chance to win
just like (Brosnahan) did."
Even against the Panthers on
Friday, the pitching staff looked
solid. Though he struggled all
game - allowing four runs in
five innings - senior right-hand-
er Brandon Sinnery gave the
Wolverines a chance to win the
game.
Senior catcher Coley Crank
and Sinnery both noted in the
preseason that the pitching staff
looks a lot more confident this
season. Sinnery credits first-year
assistant pitching coach Steve
Merriman with helping the staff
improve, especially the under-
classmen. Merriman, who is in
his third stint as an assistant
with the Wolverines, has spent
six seasons as the pitching coach
in the New York Mets and Arizo-
na Diamondbacks organizations.
"I think it's too early to be
talking about any facet of the
game, but I think (Merriman)
has done a wonderful job with
our pitching staff," said Michi-
gan coach Rich Maloney. "I
think guys have responded real
well to him and I think he brings
a wealth of experience. We cer-
tainly saw some of the fruits of
that labor this weekend, so I'm
impressed."
Blue makes final push
By MICHAEL LAURILA
Daily Sports Writer
Since day one of the Michi-
gan women's basketball season,
the Wolverines have instilled the
message of taking it one day at a
* time.
That mindset is important in
keeping a team from getting too
far ahead of itself. But with just
two games remaining in Michi-
gan's season, it will be hard not to.
The Wolverines play No. 22 Pur-
due on Thursday at Crisler Center
and then travel to Iowa City to
play the Hawkeyes on Sunday.
In the past month, Michigan
has gone 3-4. The only upside of
the Wolverines sub-par February
record is their impressive road
win against then-No. 13 Nebraska.
But even after the struggles,
Michigan is coming off a domi-
nant win over Indiana on Sunday.
That should boost the Wolverines'
confidence, something that will
be important in the next couple of
weeks.
"There are two games left," said
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth.
"Who knows? Right now, there's
so much jockeying(that's) going to
go on it'll blow your mind. It's like
winning the lottery. If you could
pick out who was going to beat
who and be absolutely correct in
every game that's going to happen
between now and then, my bet is
you'd probably be wrong."
Though Penn State and Ohio
State have taken command of the
conference, the competition for
the three other bye bids for the
first round of the conference tour-
nament is a five-horse race, Michi-
gan included. That's why the final
regular-season games will be cru-
cial.
Last year, the Wolverines split
their final two games of the sea-
son, ending with a No. 3 seed and
a bye in the first round of the Big
Ten Tournament. They were
defeated by bottom-dwelling Illi-
nois in the second round, though
- a main reason they missed out
on the NCAA Tournament.
Just like last season's loss to
Illinois, upsets have been a com-
mon theme during conference
play this year. No team is ever safe,
especially on the road, and Bors-
PAULtSHERMAN/D
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth and the Wolverines are enduring a 3-4 month.
eth understands this.
"I just think a lot of upsets in
the conference have happened
during the course of the year,"
Borseth said. "A lot of teams (late
in the season) are determined to
better themselves in the (Big Ten)
Tournament, get in the national
tournament or just better their
season."
Michigan has been on both
ends of the upset-train this sea-
son. It defeated then-No. 8 Ohio
State at home on Jan. 7, but the
team also lost to second-to-last-
place Wisconsin in Madison on
Jan. 30.
Junior center Rachel Sheffer
knows that the Wolverines need
to use their momentum from
their last victory to "keep push-
ing forward." If Michigan is to
avoid another late-season collapse
like the one they suffered last
year, Sheffer and senior Courtney
Boylan will need to continue their
impressive play.
Beyond the obvious impor-
tance of winning at least one of
the remaining two games, the
Wolverines also come into the
final stretch with 19 wins. Michi-
gan hasn't reached the 20-win
mark since Borseth arrived in Ann
Arbor in 2007.
"We need one more (win) to
get 20 and that was a big goal for
us starting the year, to just get 20
wins and keep moving forward,"
Sheffer said.
Sheffer, Boylan, senior Carmen
Reynolds and junior Jenny Ryan
are the leading upperclassmen for
Michigan. They have carried the
team in times of trouble this sea-
son, but when they've struggled,
the Wolverines have struggled.
Though Borseth calls Michigan
an equal-opportunity offense, if
those four players aren't produc-
ing, the Wolverines tend to falter.
Whether they're playing the
ranked Boilermakers at home or
traveling to Iowa, both games will
seriously test Michigan. But a win
in either game will make a strong
statement to the NCAA Selection
Committee.
That committee holds the
Wolverines' postseason fate in its
hands, and though the team set a
20-win season as a goal, Michi-
gan's ultimate goal is to make its
first NCAA Tournament in 12
years. With a win against either
Purdue or the Hawkeyes, the Wol-
verines could kill two birds with
one stone and achieve both goals.
"It'll be good, too, to get anoth-
er signature win (this week),
hopefully for the NCAA (Tour-
nament) and heading into the Big
Ten Tournament," Boylan said.
"But like Rachel said, getting to 20
wins was a goal of ours when the
season started."
t
r
.