2B - October 16, 2013

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

2B - October16, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

4PO >T '

Meanwhile, in R ochser.

Atcthe same moment, 200
miles apart, the Michi-
gan football and hockey
teams were finding out what
kind of team they would be. At
Penn State,
the foot-
ball team's
52-yard field
goal had just'
fallen short to '
send its game,
once seem-
ingly in hand, ZACH
into overtime. HELFAND
At the
same time,
the Michigan
hockey team had justblown its
own four-goal lead in Rochester,
N.Y. With the football game des-
tined for late drama, few Michi-
gan fans were paying attention to
this early-season hockey game.
But as the football team strug-
gled with its identity - should
they run late behind a besieged
line? Pass and risk a turnover?
Would they gamble or play it
safe? - the hockey team was
findingsomething about its own.
The Wolverines had just
made a statement in their season
opener against Boston College
earlier in the week. Now, up 4-0
over Rochester Institute of Tech-
nology after just 20 minutes, "we
kind of thought we were on top
of the world," said senior forward
Derek DeBlois.
The puck dropped for the sec-
ond period at 8:03 p.m. At that
exact moment in Happy Valley,
the football team began its drive
with 4:18 remaining in the game.
For both teams, the nightmare
was about to begin.
For the hockey team, it came
by way of penalties and turnovers
and defensive-zone breakdowns.
Michigan was "demolished," said
senior defenseman Mac Bennett.
With a minute to go in the second
period, the lead had disappeared.

they never knew whatthey were
goingto get from the goaltender.
Last year, DeBlois and Copp said,
RIT would've been a loss.
"We're still answering ques-
tions from last year," Berenson
said.
But the feeling is already dif-
ferent this year. Bennett thought
the team needed to be closer, so
he made sure teammates were
playing paintball together, going
to the movies together, having
barbecues and dinner. Tuesday
night, a few guys on the team
went to the Red Wings game
together.
The win over Rochester meant
very, very little. The team knows
that. But Bennett felt something
as the team left the arena Satur-
day night.
He tried to describe that on
Tuesday. As Bennett spoke, lie sat
in the big armchair at Yost. He
rested an ankle on his knee. In
this pose, with his arms resting
against the chair, the senior and
captain looked almost grandfa-
therly. He struggled to articulate
what he knew about his team
after two games.
"I don't think we have an
identity quite yet," he said, after
a moment.
Before he spoke about what he
felt after the game, he thought
for several more seconds. When
he began, he spoke-slowly and
thoughtfully. In his pose and dic-
tion, he resembled - eerily, but
yes, it was there - his coach.
"If we want to get something
done, all ittakes for us to say is
'Alright, we need to go do it,' and
actually go out to do the work to
do it," Bennett said. "And it really
showed in that third period,
and it was something that I was
really, really proud of."
-Helfand can be reached
at zhelfand@umich.edu or
on Twitter @zhelfand

It was 4-4.
Michigan scored a late goal in
the second period and walked
into the locker room. Outside, a
crowd of 10,556 - close to twice
the size of Yost Ice Arena - had
turned frenzied. Nine freshmen
had made the trip. Together, in
the locker room, they waited.
The Wolverines had been here
before. A year ago, in the season
opener, Michigan went up 3-0
against RIT in the first period.
Then RIT tied the game in the
third. The Wolverines were
stunned. They'would lose just 14
seconds into overtime.
From there, the season spi-
raled downward. Michigan won
the next night against RIT, but
would soon fall below .500 and
never recover. After blowing
the chance to sweep on opening
night, the Wolverines wouldn't
sweep a series until February.
A lack of resiliency dogged the

team.
Now, in Rochester, Michigan
coach Red Berenson entered the
room.
"He was angry -for good rea-
son," Bennett said after practice
Tuesday. "And he kind of gave it
to us."
"A year ago," Bennett contin-
ued, "if they tie a game and it's
4-4, I'm not sure we're winning
that game."
In fact, that sentiment was a
theme for the day. Before Ben-
nett, senior forward Derek DeB-
lois and then sophomore forward
Andrew Copp each, unprompted,
said different versions of the
same thing: "We would've had
guys doubting whether we were
going to win that game," Copp
said.'
In the locker room Saturday,
after Berenson finished his dia-
tribe, the teamsat.there. Two
hundred miles south, Michigan

and Penn State had just entered
overtime. In Rochester, play-
ers said, the locker- room had a.
strange vibe. Nobody panicked.
Nobody doubted, Bennett,
DeBlois and Copp all said inde-
pendently and unprompted on .
Tuesday.
When the third period started,
senior defenseman Kevin Clare
blocked a shot. So did junior for-
ward Zach Hyman.
"All these guys were stepping
up out of nowhere and will do
anything for each guy in that
locker room," DeBlois said.
At 9:18 p.m., freshman for-
ward Tyler Motte scored his first
career goal,just as Penn State
scored a touchdown in quadruple
overtime to end the game. The
hockey team now led 6-4, and
would soon add a seventh goal.
Afterward, Copp said, his
teammates told him matter-of-
factly they never actually thought

they'd lose.
On Tuesday, Berenson sat in
the big armchair in the room
Michigan uses for interviews
at Yost Ice Arena. He rested his
arms on the cushions and spoke
deliberately and softly about a
team building its own personal-
ity over the 40-plus games ina
season. ,
"You're building the profile,"
Berenson said. "It's not like
you're waiting to see it come out
and it's a final product. It's never
a final product, but at least you'll
see glimpses."
The stigma of last year's fail-
ure to reach the NCAA Tourna-
ment still hangs over this team.
Bennett mentions "last year" so
often, he now apologizes for it.
Last year, Bennett said, the
team was never close-knit until
the end, when they made a des-
perate run for a tournament
berth. Last year, Berenson said,


Racine standing out early,

Eckenrode guides 'M'
to upset over Creighton

By JEREMY SUMMITT
DailySportsEditor
Something the Michigan hock-
ey team lacked last season was a
true, No. 1 goaltender. Thanks to
an 8-1-1 record in his last 10 games
last year, sophomore Steve Racine
earned the start-
ingjob and hasn't NOTEBOOK
diverted much
from the late-season rally.
In the Wolverines' 7-4 win at
Rochester Institute of Technol-
ogy on Saturday, Racine posted a
career-high 42 saves on 46 shots.
Michigan coach Red Berenson said
he was the best player on the ice
that night.
Even though Racine had been
named the starter in the weeks
leading up to the season opener,
Berenson didn't know how long
that would last. He went as far as
saying Racine could be the top
option for a week or for the entire
season, but changes would arise if
needed.
Senior defenseman Mac Bennett
said the team has full confidence
in Racine, but Berenson wasn't so
quick to place his goaltender on a
pedestal.
"Obviously he's got off to a good
start, so, good for him," Berenson
said. "I think that's just a confi-
dence builder. I don't think you're
ever set unless he wins 10 games in
a row, and you can say he can't get
any better than this."
Racine came into last season
recovering fromhip surgery, which
meant he wasn't fully conditioned
by the season opener. Because of
the setback, Racine could hardly
garner any momentum in the times
he received the starting nod.
Racine says he worked harder
than ever this summer to get back
in shape and continue to get bet-
ter. The early results are promis-
ing, and his process to get there
hasn't slowed down. Racine has
already stayed after practice mul-
tiple times to work with goalten-
der coach Josh Blackburn on small
changes he can make between the
pipes.
"At the end of the year, he got
some confidence and he got some
momentum," Berenson said. "He
got established a little bit and had
a better summer, and he's coming
back as a number one now. It's his

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Andrew Copp won the inaugural Big Ten First Star Award.

job to lose."
FRESHMAN CLASS COMING
TOGETHER: Michigan's success
will continue to depend on how
well the 10-man freshman class
progresses throughout the year.
Multiple upperclassmen have men-
tioned that this freshman class is
one of the most mature they have
seen in their time at Michigan.
Whether through maturity or raw
talent, four of those freshmen have
made their mark by registering at
least one point in the first two reg-
ular-season games.
"The freshmen have been step-
ping into big roles early, and they've
all been playing great hockey," said
senior forward Derek DeBlois.
Freshmen forwards Alex Kile
and#JT Compher have each seen
time on the first line with DeBlois
and sophomore Andrew Copp,
gaining valuable experience from
the two alternate captains.
"I like playing with them
because they. show great leader-
ship, and they're two of our better
offensive players, I'd say," Kile said.
"It was an honor just to be recog-
nized and put on their line."
In the defensive zone, freshmen
Mike Downing and Nolan de Jong
have played significant roles on the

penalty kill, allowing the opposi-
tion just an 18-percent conversion
rate. Senior captain Mac Bennett
has openly expressed how smart a
player de Jong is, and that he really
loves being paired with him on the
blue line.
GUPTILL'S BACK : After missing
the first two games due to a sus-
pension for off-ice issues, junior
forward Alex Guptill made his
return to the lineup against RIT.
With two assists - one coming in
his first shift - his offensive pres-
ence was felt immediately.
"He's a leader up front in terms
of the points we need," Bennett
said. "In his first shift, he popped
in an assist so that has to be huge
for his confidence."
Guptill was paired on the fourth
line with freshman Evan Allen and
juniorTravis Lynch inwhatBeren-
son called a test to see if Guptill
was conditioned enough to play at
game speed. He was forced to miss
over a week of preseason practice,
too, because of the suspension.
But thanks to a number of spe-
cial-teams situations; Guptill also
received time on the first line with
DeBlois and Copp, where he'll like-
ly play this weekend when Michi-,
gan visits New Hampshire.

By MIKE PISCIOTTA
Daily Sports Writer
After a disappointing loss to
PennState onFridaythe Mich-
igan men's soccer team (1-2-2
Big Ten, 5-4-3 overall) came
up big Tuesday night. Late in
the sec-
ond half, CREIGHTON 0
with the MICHIGAN 1
game
destined for extra time, fresh-
man defender Lars Eckenrode
guided home a corner kick to
give the Wolverines a 1-0 vic-
tory against No. 12 Creighton.
This was Michigan's first
win against a ranked team this
year after losses to No. 2 Notre
Dame and No.7 Northwestern.
"We played well," said
Michigan head coach Chaka
Daley, referring to those loss-
es. "But gave away goals at the
wrong times."
From the start of the game,
Michigan's attack looked
dangerous. In the third min-
ute, junior midfielder Mar-
cos Ugarte played a ball into
the path of sophomore for-
ward James Murphy that
was deflected by a Creighton
defender. The ball landed at
the feet of redshirt sophomore
Colin McAtee, whose shot
went high and wide.'
As the half progressed, the
Blue Jays' (6-4-2 overall) pres-
sure intensified, as they kept
the majority of possession.
Despite keeping the ball for
long periods of time, Michigan
was able to catch Creighton on
multiple counterattacks that
were thwarted by Creighton
goalkeeper Alex Bolowich.
In the 34th minute, sopho-
more forward James Murphy's
shot was blocked by a Blue Jay
defender and the ball landed
at senior midfielder Fabio
Pereira's foot. What looked
like a certain goal was saved
by Bolowich, who had eight
saves on the day.
"We didn't gift any chances
to Creighton," Daley said "We
kept it solid in the back."

f 1

Redshirt junior goaltender Adam Grinwis made three saves Tuesday.

The Wolverines' back line
played a stellar game. The
unit allowed a potent Blue Jay
attack just three shots on goal
and kept scoring opportunities
to a minimum throughout the
game.
"We stayed with (our) men
and focused on clearances,"
Eckenrode said. "We didn't
allow them any space."
The Blue Jays' best chance
of the game came in the 28th
minute after a brief rain show-
er. Creighton junior forward
Zabarle Kollie stole the ball
from Eckenrode in the mid-
field and quickly passed the
ball to sophomore midfielder
Timo Pitter. Pitter, on a break-
away with only the goalkeeper
to beat, slipped on the wet
field, allowing the Wolverine's
defense to recover and clear
the ball.
After the intermission,
Michigan brought on fresh-
man forward Yamann Sahlool

and switched to a more attack-
ing style of play. Immedi-
ately after entering the game,
Sahlool made an impact. After
latching onto a pass from
Pereira in the 78th minute,
Sahlool made his way into the
box and forced a one-on-one
save from Bolowich with the
'game still scoreless.
"(Sahlool) is always a dan-
ger," Daley said. "He's always
a threat."
The breakthrough for the
Wolverines came in the 77th
minute.
Pereira whipped in acorner
that landed at the feet of Eck-
enrode who shot the ball past
the oncoming Creighton goal-
keeper, giving him his first
career goal and the Wolver-
ines a 1-0 lead.
This marked the first time
Michigan has beaten a ranked
team at home since last Octo-
ber, when the Wolverines beat
Akron 1-0 in overtime.

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