The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 11, 2012 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 11, 2012 - 7A
Wolverines open with RIT
By MICHAEL LAURILA
Daily Sports Writer
When the No. 3 Michigan
* hockey team opens up its season
against the Rochester Institute
of Technology on Thursday,
the Wolverines will be without
junior defenseman Jon Merrill.
Merrill was checked into the
boards during Tuesday's exhi-
bition versus
Windsor, and RiT at
according Michigan
to Michigan
coach Red Matchup:
Berenson, he RIT 1-0;
cracked his Michigan 0-0
seventh verte- When: Thurs-
brae, which is day 7:35 p.m.
at the bottom Where: Yost
of the neck Ice Arena
and top of the TV/Radio:
spine. MGoBlue.com
There is no
timetable on
Merrill's return, but a hopeful
estimate from similar injuries in
the past is six weeks.
With or without Merrill, the
Wolverines face a Tigers team
that they've never faced in the
history of the program. The
unknown sometimes can pose
problems for teams in prepa-
ration, especially consider-
ing Michigan only has one day
between games.
But Berenson has never put too
much stock in watching opposing
team's film. Michigan is usually
ready for any style of play.
"(Berenson's) always been a
guy who's said 'control what you
can control,' " said senior for-
ward A.J. Treais. "We don't real-
ly have to worry about (opposing
teams) as much as we have to
worry about us.
"If we show up and play our
game, he thinks we have a good
chance to win. If we're worrying
about the other team than that's a
little bit different."
Merrill's absence will affect
the starting lineup and the line
'x i
sic
Senior forward and team captain A.J. Treais leads the third-ranked Wolverines into the 2012-13 season.
Merrill out with
cracked vertebrae
By MATT SLOVIN Berenson acknowledged that
Daily Sports Editor the injury will require some
shifting of the defensive pairs.
Michigan hockey coach Red In practice, sophomore Brennan
Berenson opted to rest a number Serville will continue skating
of his top players for Tuesday's with senior captain Lee Mof-
7-3 exhibition win over the Uni- fie. Sophomore Kevin Clare will
versity of Windsor, but the deci- be paired with freshman Jacob
sion not to sit one looks like it will Trouba. Junior Mac Bennett is
haunt him. joined on a pairing by sophomore
Berenson confirmed Wednes- Mike Chiasson.
day that junior defenseman Jon "I think it's an opportunity
Merrill has a fractured seventh for Kevin Clare, for example,
vertebrae. According to Beren- to play with Trouba in that role
son, the bone is cracked, not that (Merrill) played," Berenson
displaced, and will need to be said. "Kevin Clare has been an
immobilized "for weeks, for improving player since day one
sure," but that Merrill will return andI think he'll continue."
this season. Merrill watched Merrill is known for his sig-
Wednesday's nificant contri-
practice from butions on the
the stands special-teams
wearing a neck "Our whole units, some-
brace. thing Beren-
"I talked to team has to pick son noted must
(Windsor's) be replaced
coach before up the slack." immediately,
the game and though the
I said both coach is confi-
combinations, especially defen-
sively. Berenson said that the duo
of juniors Kevin Clare and Mac
Bennett will be split up - Clare
will skate with freshman Jacob
Trouba and Bennett will pair
with sophomore Mike Chiasson.
Along with the unanticipated
roster changes, the Wolverines
have waited patiently for one of
the four goalies on the roster to
separate themselves from the
rest of the pack. The gradua-
tion of netminder Shawn Hun-
wick last year left a gaping hole
in the position, but Berenson
announced freshman Jared Rut-
ledge as the starting goalie for
Thursday's game with freshman
Steve Racine backing him up.
Rutledge started in net for
the United States National Team
Development Program last year,
where he compiled a 17-8-4
record and a .904 save percent-
age. Behind both freshmen is
junior Adam Janecyk, who saw
limited playing time last season.
"We have two solid goalies
that can play, even three," Treais
said. "It's good to have trust in
your goalie and I think we've
established that with our two
guys. They're both quiet, steady
goalies. They don't really ask
much of us. They're just out there
to stop the puck and that's what
we need."
RIT became a Division I pro-
gramin 2005, which is likely why
the two sides have never played.
The Tigers play in the Atlantic
Hockey Association, and last
year, despite missing the NCAA
Tournament, they did manage to
defeat CCHA winner Ferris State
and Lake Superior State during
the regular season.
But despite the youth of the
Tigers program, Berenson still
sees them as a potential threat.
He said that Michigan would
watch a little bit film after prac-
tice on Wednesday, but that
would be the extent in the scout-
ing.
"(RIT is) well coached,"
Berenson said. "They've got a
good coaching staff who does
a good job with the team and
they'll be a good opponent."
One thing which the Wolver-
ines will need to work on before
Thursday is the performance of
their special teams. The penalty
kill gave up two power play goals
on five attempts against Wind-
sor - well below last season's
84.2 percent success rate. But the
power play was successful, scor-
ing on three of seven attempts
compared to last year's 13.3 per-
cent.
The power play will likely be a
factor on Thursday as the Tigers'
84.7 penalty kill percentage was
good enough for loth nation-
ally last year. When asked about
what would need to change from
Tuesday's exhibition, Berenson
had a clear answer.
"We have to forecheck well,"
he said. "We have to back-check
better than we did (Tuesday).We
have to be better on the special
teams. ... I think we can be bet-
ter, just in a nut shell. We can be
better with the puck and better
without the puck, no matter who
we play."
teams have a
good game and there are no inju-
ries," Berenson said. "We just
have to look forward and say 'It's
unfortunate (but) it could have
been worse.' ... Our whole team
has to pick up the slack."
Though Berenson didn't get
his pregame wish, Berenson did
call the hit delivered on Merrill
a "clean" one. On the play, Mer-
rill possessed the puck a few
feet from the boards, shielding it
from the forechecker.
The hit on Merrill, combined
with the space between him and
the boards, allowed him to fall
to the ice and then awkwardly
collide with the end boards.
Berenson said if it weren't for
the distance from the boards, it
would have been a "simple" col-
lision.
dent in the new
units.
"We're going to move (senior
forward A.J. Treais) back to the
point," Berenson said of the pow-
er-play unit. "I like both units.
We worked on them a little bit
again (Wednesday)."
This will be the second time
that Merrill has missed signifi-
cant time in the first half of the
season. Last year, a suspension
for an undisclosed violation of
team rules benched the former
United States National Team
Development Program standout
for the entire first half.
In the 19 games Merrill, a New
Jersey Devils' draft pick, did play
last season, he recorded 11 points
and a plus-11 plus/minus rating,
which equaled his total from the
year before.
WOMEN'S BA SKTBALL
Ristowski ready
*to shine for Blue
Freshman class unveiled
By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Writer
Meet Madison Ristovski.
Perhaps you already know her.
Maybe you know her as the top-
rated basketball player in the state
of Michigan for the class of 2012,
or maybe you know her as the
most recent Michigan Miss Bas-
ketball Award winner. Or maybe
you're way ahead of the game and,
you knowshe is a freshmanguard
competing for Michigan's starting
point guard position.
Now it's time -to know her as a
Wolverine.
Ristovski may only be a week
into practice, but she hasn't let her
inexperience hold her back.
"College basketball is not at all
like high school," Ristovski said.
"The game's faster, the players
are stronger, everyone's IQs (are)
higher, so transitioning took a
little while, but I think I'm finally
getting used to what the game is
like now."
Ristovski's transition might
seem like it lasted only a week
because of her rave reviews, but
her success is a product of her
commitment and hard work. She
dedicated her summer to speed-
ing up the learning curve, so that
she could hit the ground running
in the fall. No stranger to hard
work, Ristovski spent her summer
vacation giving the game every-
thing she had before the start of
classes.
"Being here all summer defi-
nitely helped out because I was
able to see more game experience
with an open gym," Ristovski
said. "I want to do everything I
can and work as hard as I can to
help my team out (because) it's
not about me, it's about the team."
But game experience wasn't
the only thing the freshman
guard spent her summer working
on. Conditioning became the cen-
tral point of Ristovski's offseason
program, and it's already clear
that the extra time she put in at
the gym has paid off.
"Conditioning is a major, major
adjustment for the freshman,
but she has been one of the first,
if not the first, in sprints," said
first-year Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico. "Physically she is
a lot stronger than I thought she
would be, and she has been one of
the most impressive players we've
had in practice."
Added Ristovski: "I think that
if you play college basketball
you're going to have to be in the
best shape that you cdn possibly
be in. Coming in I knew that (con-
ditioning) was my weakest link
(and) that I had to keep working
on (it)."
Ristovski, however, had no idea
what Barnes Arico had in mind.
With a new coach and system in
place, the pace of practice was
unlike anything any of the players
had ever been a part of.
"After our first day of practice
we ran alot," Ristovski said. "And
after practice was over I called my
dad and I said, 'Dad, that's why
they call that college basketball."'
But Ristovski didn't let the pace
overwhelm her or let her success
during the first week make her
complacent. Unlike many other
past Miss Basketball winners,
Ristovski isn't done developing
her game.
"Winning Miss Basketball was
pretty important to me, but at the
same time I wasn't going to let
that title define what kind of play-
er I am," she said.
In fact, she has consistently
worked on getting better. Over
the last week it hasn't just been
her play and work ethic that's
stood out, but also her leadership
presence on the court.
Senior guard Jenny Ryan - one
of the team's leaders - has found
many similarities in Ristovski's
personality and approach to the
game.
"I see a lot of myself in Madi-
son," Ryan said. "She's very
intense and driven and I think
she's really come into the system
and done phenomenally well for
the first few practices we've had.
The sky's the limit for Madison."
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD
Daily Sports Editor
They're here.
The Michigan basketball
team's best recruiting class since
the Fab Five has arrived with
plenty of fanfare, and though it
will be a few weeks before fans
get a taste of the newest prod-
uct, Michigan Media Day offered
some hints as to what the team
could look like come November.
Mitch McGary, Glenn Robin-
son III and Nik Stauskas head-
line the freshman class, which
also includes Spike Albrecht and
Caris LeVert. With the Wolver-
ines holding an open tryout for
the last roster spot, Michigan
could see six freshmen on its
roster by the time Slippery Rock
comes to Crisler Center for the
season opener on Nov. 9.
"They've come in here and
picked up the offense pretty
quickly, even though the coaches
are only showing a glimpse of
what it will be," said senior guard
Josh Bartelstein. "You casu-
ally bring the offense in and just
teach the basics right now. They
can just start playing and not
think about all the things they've
got to do for now."
Though the freshmen have
strong pedigrees from their high
school, prep school and AAU
careers, the only firm indica-
tion of where any of them would
figure into the offense was that
Albrecht would be a backup point
guard behind sophomore Trey
Burke. The Crown Point, Ind.
native is a welcome addition for
Michigan coach John Beilein, as
the Wolverines haven't had a true
point guard to back up the starter
the last two seasons.
Robinson III, the 11th-ranked
recruit in the country according
to Rivals.com, indicated that he
was seeing time at both the "3"
and the "4," though he'd also feel
comfortable at the "2." McGary
- 30th-ranked recruit - said he
was working out in the post and
as a "4" away from the basket.
Stauskas and LeVert have been
spendingtime on the wings.
It isn't just the talent level of
the competition that takes get-
ting used to, but also the lifestyle
of a college basketball player.
"It's a lot different coming
from high school to here, but
that's something you have to
get used to, and that's another
advantage of coming here dur-
ing the summer," Robinson III
said. "I'm starting to get used
to everything that's going on,
the schedule that we have to go
through daily."
With so many youngsters,
there has to be someone around
to show them how things are
done.
After living with Zack Novak
and Stu Douglass last year, Bar-
telstein said that he learned a lot
about leadership and has taken
clues for what to do and what not
to do when teaching underclass-
men about the culture at Michi-
gan.
Beilein pointed outhow junior
forward Tim Hardaway Jr. has
become more like Novak by mak-
ing sure his voice is heard con-
stantly throughout practice.
"There hasn't been any push-
back of, 'Well I'm used to doing
this, how come I have to do that
now?' " Beilein said. "For exam-
ple, 'I was sort of open, the next
guy was more open, why do I
have to pass it to himwhen I have
done this my whole life?' They
have just said, 'Okay, if that's
what we do, that's what we do."'
Sometimes, the leadership is
more position-specific.
The six-foot-ten McGary said
redshirt junior Jordan Morgan
and redshirt sophomore Jon
Horford have taken him under
his wing, and showed him some
of the intricacies of post play.
"We had a great moment yes-
terday," Beilein said. "We got
done with practice, it was the end
of our preseason and we had Josh
Bartelstein, Corey Person and
Eso Akunne - three guys that
very rarely play - all had fresh-
men pulled out to the side saying
'Okay, this is exactly what we're
just talking about, you can do
this.' It was really a good moment
for me."
Whereas the veterans are tak-
ing up the leadership void left
by the graduation of Novak and
Douglass, the freshmen willhave
to take up some of the responsi-
bility for replacing the lost stats.
With the departures of the two
seniors, along with the transfer
of forward Evan Smotrycz to
Maryland, Michigan must find a
way to replace nearly 24 points
and 12 rebounds per game.
Robinson, McGary and Staus-
kas are expected to shoulder a
good portion of that load.
Stauskas's teammates spoke
highly of his ability to shoot from
outside, while Beilein said that
he also has the versatility to take
a defender off the dribble and get
to a desired spot on the court.
But if Stauskas's words hold
true, there could be a lesser-
known freshman making an
impact - one who wasn't added
to the recruiting class until the
2011-12 season had been long
over.
"The only surprise I've seen so
far is Caris Levert. I had heard
nothing about him coming in
here, so I didn't really know what
his game was like, but he's a heck
of a player," Stauskas said. "He's a
scorer. He can put the ball on the
floor, he can shoot, he can pass.
He's super shifty. We actually
compared him to Jamal Craw-
ford, so you guys better watch
out for him."