The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, March 9, 2012 -- 9

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, March 9,2012 -9

Michigan prepares to
face underdog Irish

'M' deserves to dance

By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
In the south end of Yost Ice
Arena on Thursday evening, the
team with its back to the wall
didn't show it.
In the north
end of Yost, in Notre Dame
the home locker at Michigan
room, the team
that has been Matchup:
there before Michigan 17-9
spoke with a
wary wisdom. When: Friday,
Though the 7:35p.m.
No. 17 Notre Where: Yost
Dame hockey Ice Arena
team knows it Liveblog:
must keep win- Michigandaily.
ning to keep its com
NCAA Tourna-
ment hopes alive, they practiced
on Thursday as if it were any
other practice. They skated hard
- sprinting between each up-
tempo drill - but they also skated
loose. In between shifts, players
would jokingly fire a slap shot at
the boards to scare a spectator, try
to flip a puck off the mesh netting
under the giant scoreboard, or
laugh and derisively slap sticks on
the ice when a player took a fall.
And though the No. 4 Michigan
hockey team has to like its odds to
secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA
Tournament, the Wolverines
spoke cautiously about the Fight-
ing Irish. Maybe that's because in
Michigan's best-of-three matchup
with Notre Dame in the second
round of the CCHA playoffs,
Michigan will play a version of
itself.
"It's kind of where we were
(in 2010), where we had to win
to keep playing," said junior for-
ward Chris Brown. "All the pres-
sure just feeds into energy that we
used on the ice just to play well.
And I think having that despera-
tion helped us get to where we
were (in 2010), and we probably
should've went on to the Frozen
Four after that.
"Notre Dame's going to come
out with that same desperation,
and we have to match that."
Or, as Hunwick put it: "A team
with a back against the wall is a
dangerous team."
In 2010, Michigan's worst
start in years put it out of posi-
tion to receive an at-large bid to
the NCAA Tournament. The Wol-
verines needed to win the CCHA
Tournament or they would've
become the first Michigan team
in two decades to miss The Dance.
Led by Hunwick, Michigan
tore through the conference
tournament and secured a spot

ALDEN REISS/Daily
Fifth-year senior goalie Shawn Hunwick was roughed up last time against ND.

t's been a year of records in
women's basketball in the
Big Ten.
Purdue senior Brittany Ray-
burn tied the NCAA record with
12 3-pointers ina game during
a win over
Minnesota on COLLEEN
Jan.12. Ohio
State senior THOMAS
Samantha On Women's
Prahalis set Basketball
the confer-
ence record for most assists in a
career with 896 and also scored
a school-record 42 points in her
last game at Value City Arena.
And Michigan senior guard Car-
men Reynolds broke the program
record for most 3-pointers ina
career on Jan. 30 at Wisconsin
and currently holds the top spot
with 200.
But there is one more.
The Big Ten has never sent
seven teams to the NCAA Tour-
nament, even with the tourna-
ment's expansion to include 64
teams. This year, the conference
has enough depth to send that
seventh team to the Big Dance.
That seventh team would be
Michigan.
Despite a late-season collapse
in which the Wolverines (20-11
overall) lost six of their last nine
games and suffered tough road
losses to Penn State and Wis-
consin, they have put together a
strong resum6 for the selection
committee.
Michigan played a respectable
nonconference schedule this year,
opening up the season with a
road win against a quality Florida
squad. The Wolverines recorded
signature wins against Iowa
State - who is expecting to earn
a sixth-straightberth to the Big
Dance - and Illinois State.
They also won their divi-
sion of the Paradise Jam back in
November, winning three games
in three days, and played then-
No. 6 Maryland down to the wire
in College Park. The Wolverines
r--" ian1-1 n--nnf-- r

record for one of the best starts in
program history.
Then they picked up coveted
win number 20 in the Big Ten
Tournament last weekend.
Michigan's record speaks for
itself.
But if the record isn't enough,
Michigan has an RPI of 45 -
which takes into account the
team's winning percentage, the
opponent's winning percentage
and strength of schedule - and
a strength of schedule of 43, two
of the main factors the selection
committee looks at. Half of the
Big Ten teams have RPIs in the
top 50, and the Wolverines have
the fourth-toughest schedule in
the conference.
But I'm not here to scrutinize
the stats or break down each
game to determine whether or
not Michigan should get a bid.
The Wolverines deserve inclusion
in the field of 64 because of their
success playing through a strong
conference schedule.
The Big Ten has developed
into one of the toughest, grit-
tiest conferences in the nation.
Four of the 12 teams have been
ranked this season, with two
more receiving votes at some
point in the season: the Wolver-
ines garnered votes eight times
this year. And now that the Big
Ten Tournament has played out,
there are multiple teams looking
for postseason bids. The Boiler-
makers received the automatic
qualifying bid for the Big Ten,
and the top three teams - regu-
lar-season champion Penn State,
Ohio State, and Iowa - are locks.
Nebraska, which finished sixth
in the regular season, made a run
to the championship game in the
conference tournament, proving
itself worthy of an at-large bid.
And Michigan State, after start-
ing off 8-6 in nonconference play,
finished 11-5 in the conference
and recorded two wins over Penn
State late in the season. That
should be good enough for aspot

That makes six. So where
does Michigan fall amongthese
teams?
The Wolverines finished sev-
enth in the Big Ten with an 8-8
conference record. It's a mediocre
conference record, but they beat
two top-25 teams in the confer-
ence - home against the Buck-
eyes, handing them their first loss
of the season, and Nebraska on
the road.
They also played it close with
Iowa and Michigan State - a
team with a better record but
worse RPI and strength of sched-
ule than Michigan - and both
the Hawkeyes and Spartans got
hot near the end of the season.
Michigan finished the regular
season with 19 wins, knowing
that a strong showing in the con-
ference tournament would boost
its resume. The Wolverines did
just that. They defeated Illinois in
the first round with the help of an
excellent performance from one
of the conference's best defenses,
but they ended up losing in the
quarterfinals to Ohio State.
Not losing in the first round
of the Big Ten Tournament, not
having anyugly losses in the con-
ference and notplaying poorly in
the nonconference schedule all
help Michigan's case.
But more importantly, the
Wolverines did everything they
needed to in one of the most
physically demandingconfer-
ences in the nation.
And that should be enough.
The Big Ten is one of the deepest
conferences in the country, and
it's about time that the committee
recognizes that good basketball
isn't just played in the Big East
and Atlantic Coast Conference.
I may not be able to influence
the selection committee, nor am I
the next Joe Lunardi - or Charlie
Creme, if you prefer the women's
bracketologist - but from what
I've witnessed over the course of
the season, the Big Ten is power-
ful enough to have seven teams
cm ~ni ct1 0Ta

in the NCAA field. This year, the
Fighting Irish sit at No. 18 in the
pairwise rankings - the rankings
used to determine the 16-team
NCAA Tournament.
"I remember (Michigan's run)
well because that was the year we
were hoping to host the regionals
in Fort Wayne," said Notre Dame
coach Jeff Jackson. "And when we
played Michigan at the end of that
year, I thought they were the best
team we had played all year.
"Certainly, I'd love to be able to
emulate them.... WhenI started at
Notre Dame, one of my goals was
to try to emulate what Michigan
does."
Notre Dame stumbled into the
eighth seed in a deep CCHA field,
and an upset by last-place Bowling
Green over Northern Michigan in
the first round of the playoffs set
up the series with Michigan. It
was a decidedly difficult draw for
both teams.
"I think this is what we've been
waiting for," said Michigan coach
Red Berenson. "This is the kind
of playoff challenge that you're
going to get, whether you get it
now or get it later."
There has been something a
little different in practice this
week. The players and coaches
have tried to maintain a sense of
normalcy, but still, the difference
is there.
Berenson said his players will
feel it before ever stepping onto
the ice on Friday.
Associate Athletic Director
Bruce Madej smiled and told of a
saying Berenson's wife, Joy, has
been known to say: There are

three different Reds. Offseason
Red, in-season Red and playoff
Red.
Well, it's playoff time. And not
just the playoffs - the playoffs
against Notre Dame, no less.
Hunwick said that Yost comes
alive for the playoffs, but it's
always electric for good teams.
Michigan can count on facing
a good team this weekend. Notre
Dame played Michigan as tough
as any team this season in a late-
January series split in South Bend.
During that series, some
Michigan players took excep-
tion to what they perceived as
Notre Dame players running into
Hunwick. After the series finale,
freshman forward Alex Gup-
till called the tactics "dirty." He
backed away from the accusation
this week.
"I think it wasjust a really emo-
tional series," Guptill said. "Obvi-
ously, you go through games like
that, and you're a little bit pissed
after the game."
Jackson said he never wants his
players to bump an opposing goal-
tender, and noted that he pulled
a player from the game during
a series against Miami when he
"took a couple foolish penalties."
The Wolverines aren't try-
ing to change much. Some play-
ers - notably Hunwick - have
their superstitions, but none have
admitted to any special supersti-
tions just for the playoffs.
Except for one, revealed by
senior forward David Wohlberg
on Monday.
The superstition?
"Win games."

esmENeneruO/Daiy
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth is trying to get Michigan back into the NCAA Tournament to continue this season.


BEATS BY MAC
From Page 8
"I don't know how much I like
other girls saying how cute my
brother is, but I do think it was
very brave of him to perform that
song in front of everyone, and I
think any girl would be happy to
have a song like that written about
them."
The gift of music wasn't in Ben-
nett's DNA, so his parents had to
find other ways to give it to him.
Bennett's folks deserve credit
for helping his musical journey,
but it's onlytheir generosity - not
their genes. In fact, Mac can't help
but laugh when asked if his folks
have musical talent.
"Not at all," he smirks.
Luckily for Mac, their gift-giv-
ing abilities far surpass anything
they could do with their voices or
on the guitar.
And when Christmas of their
son's freshman year came and
there was just one thing on his list,
they were happy to oblige.
On his laptop, Mac used to work
with GarageBand - a basic pro-
gramwithlimited capabilities. But
ifhe wanted to get serious with his
music, he needed an upgrade.
"Around Christmas time, I was
looking at equipment and stuff,"
Mac said. "There's this program
called Ableton Live, which I had
done my research on."
There were no surprises under
the Bennett family tree in 2010,
but what was waiting for Mac
allowed him to surpass the learn-
ing curve. Using Ableton Live,
Mac let his passion take over as he
delved deeper into producing. He
began to formulate his own musi-
cal identity.

Mac and DeBlois did every-
thing together growing up. Their
fathers played college hockey
together at Brown and they've
spent all but two years on thesame
team. The two were destined to be
Wolverines together.
DeBlois' earliest memory of the
friendship is him chasing Mac
around the house with a shovel.
But their best memories together
are of the 12-by-16 foot rink on the
Bennett family deck.
That makeshift rink might as
well have been Joe Louis Arena
or Madison Square Garden to the
youngsters. Now, they don't have
to pretend that's where they're
skating.
Mac imagines each of his musi-
cal creations being played over
the sound system at arenas. If he
can't picture it blaring through the
speakers during warm-ups at Yost,
or Joe Louis, where Mac is 6-2 as
a Wolverine, then the song gets
scrapped.
It's not at all uncommon for
him to begin producing a tune but
scratch it before completion. It's
a process that Mac goes through
constantly - ideas for songs hit
him at the most random of times,
but not all of them will come to
fruition.
"If I'm bored, I'll come in here
and put up something and just
start playing notes on a keyboard,"
Mac said, motioning to the syn-
thesizer resting on his desk. "At
the time, I'll think it sounds great.
Then I'll come back to it like two or
three hours later and it's like, 'This
sucks.' I never delete anything. I
just kind of forget about it."
The rare gems that Mac doesn't
tire of - even after listening to

them on loop for sometimes hun-
dreds of times in a row - get
added to his SoundCloud page
(www.soundcloud.com/beats_0).
SoundCloud is an audio distribu-
tion platform for artists like Mac
to promote their work. There, his
music can be downloaded. From
"Give Me Sex" - Mac's coked-

Sunday mornings are the lazi-
est time of the week at the team-
mates'house. On one in particular,
Mac stirs in bed. He smiles - the
Wolverines completed a crucial
league sweep of Miami (Ohio) the
night before, avenging an earlier

If hockey didn't work out, I
think the next coolest thing to do
would be to open up a studio and
kind of do my own thing. That
would be the dream. But hope-
fully hockey works out first.
Mac Bennett

wick was recently introduced to
the Ultimate Fighting Champion-
ship games and finds that to be
a better outlet than getting in a
melee himself like he did earlier
this season.
"Watching Shawn play is so
funny because he gets really into
it," Mac said. "He'll be like grind-
ing on controllers with his teeth
and stuff."
Mac chooses to hobble over to
his home studio, conveniently just
a few paces away.
His two favorite pastimes,
hockey and music, occupy his
weekend. You'd be hard pressed
to find any similarities between
the two. Mac thinks hard and then
shakes his head.
"Complete, polar opposites," he
said.
Then Mac pauses.
"That's why it's awesome."
As Mac's learned, being a Divi-
sion-I athlete istough work. When
he's not at the rink, he wants to be
as far removed from the hockey
world as possible. He emphasizes
the importance of exploring pas-
sions outside of athletics. With-
out a release, the weeks pass by in
a wearied blur. The music helps
Mac escape that lonely road.
"I think you play your best when
you're relaxed and stress free,"
Mac said. "At least for me, this is
a big part of that. You go into the
games and you're gripping your
stick too tight, or you're thinking
too much, you're going to make
mistakes. This ..." he says, gestur-
ing to the wealth of equipment on
his desk, "keeps me levelheaded."
To say the hockey team's music
selection for its post-practice lift-
ing sessions is eccentric would be

an understatement. The speakers
blast Taylor Swift as grown men
move weights. The song changes
- gangster rap.
Finally, one of Mac's mash-ups
begins to play. Pateryn's ears perk
up. He's the biggest fan of Mac's
music amongst the team. He's
usually the first one Mac gives a
finished song.
"I think (the team) has mixed
reactions," Mac said. "I think the
part they dislike the most is that
it's loud."
Regardless of how they feel
about the constant racket coming
from Mac's room, the Wolverines
acceptthatwhathe doesoffthe ice
is every bit a part of him as what he
does on it. They even dubbed him
"Mac Beats," a name that's stuck.
Asforthe future, Bennetthopes
he'll succeed in what brought him
to Michigan in the first place - the
hockey. But all of his eggs aren't in
one basket. And for that, Berenson
is thankful. Too often, he hears
about how former players of his
have turned into "hockey bums,"
or people who never know when
to hang up the skates and move on.
If the Montreal Canadians, who
drafted Mac in 2009 never come
calling, well ... he'll be just fine.
"If hockey didn't work out, I
think the next coolest thing to
do would be to open up a studio
and kind of do my own thing,"
Mac said. "That would be like the
dream."
But it's not what he dreamt
about on that 12-by-16 foot rink on
his back porch. So he reconsiders.
"But hopefully hockey works
out first."
Mac picked up music as an
escape from hockey. But as he's
learned, there's no escaping the
music.

up remix of Rufus Wainwright's
"Instant Pleasure" - to the love-
struck ditty he sang to his girl-
friend on stage at Hotchkiss, his
sound can vary.
Mac prefers to stick to elec-
tronic music, though he's dabbled
in other genres.
Michigan captain Luke Glen-
dening sang over a country song
that Mac wrote.
It doesn't even matter what
kind of music Mac's making. That
he's doing it at all isenough to keep
him sane.

series. Then, as he rolls out of bed,
he winces. Mac's everything hurts
after a physical weekend.
Sundays aren't for hockey.
Everyone on the team takes the
day to rejuvenate, doingtheir own
thing.
"That's what Sundays are there
for," Mac said. "You have a hard
week, you've got practice and
school and stuff so you got a lot of
time put towards that, so on Sun-
days you just kind of want to do
nothing."
Some play video games..Hun-

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