The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, October 18, 2013 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October18, 2013 - 7A 'M' looks for rebound Wolverines travel East By LIZ VUKELICH Daily Sports Editor A month and a half ago, the Indiana matchup was just another nondescript home game for the Michigan football team. The Hoo- siers aren't India at known as a football pow- Michigan erhouse, and Matchup: with the game Indiana 3-3; sandwiched Michigan 5-1 between Penn When: Satur- State and Mich- day 3:30 P.M. igan State, it's . fair to say Indi- nrad ichi- ana wasn't on the fans' radar. TV/Radio: But it is now. BTN, BTN2 Considering the Wolverines' performances over the past few games -- and Indiana's surprising upset over Penn State two weeks ago - the dismissive mentalityhasvanished into thin air just about as quickly as redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner has had to elude pass rushers. So far, Gardner has prided himself on strong second- half performances and trying to stay cool under pressure. "I feel like I did a really good job in the locker room with poise and leading my team," Gardner said. Added offensive coordinator Al Borges: "(Gardner) got blind- sided. He recovered and showed composure throughout the foot-. ball game. At no time was I in any doubt that he could not bring us back, and he proved me right." Michigan would prefer Gard- ner to not have to pull off a come- from-behind performance at all. But it still remains to be seen how wellhe'llhaveshakenoffthe criti- cism come Saturday. The next order of business for the Wolverines will be taking care By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer When the No. S Michigan hockey team takes on No. 13 New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. this weekend, senior captain defen- seman Mac Bennett will be threehours and Michigan three minutes at New from his home- town. Hampshire "I'm Matchup: NH pumped. I'm an 1-1; Michi- East Coast guy gan 2-0 so it's good to When: Friday be back there," 7:30 p.m., Bennett said Saturday Tuesday. "My 7:00 p.m. phone's blow- Where: ing up with Whittemore people saying, Center Arena 'Hey can I have TV/Radio: your tickets or Fox College 'I'm coming out Sports to the game.' My whole fam- ily will be there and friends will be there too." Bennett might get five minutes with family and friends after the game, or hear his name during a lull in the Whittemore Center Arena crowd. But with memories of last season on his mind, the Narragansett, R.I. native will be focusingless onthe friendlyfaces in the stands and more on the ice. "I keep on talking about last year, and I apologize," Ben- nett said. "Between the upper- classmen this year, we want to make sure everyone is together through this whole process right from the beginning." Besting No. 7 Boston College at home and Rochester Insti- tute of Technology on the road will provide a confidence boost for a young Michigan squad, but it won't change the. past. Last season, the. Wolverines did not complete a sweep - at home or on the road ' until Ohio State in late February. With the addition of junior forward Alex Guptill - who finished with two assists in his season debut against RIT after sitting out the season opener due to a violation of team rules - Michigan has a chance of getting its first series sweep nearly four months earlier than it did last season. Despite having missed over a week of preseason practice, Guptill showed no signs of slug- gishness on the fourth line in his first game of the year - the first of Guptill's two assists came on his first shift. He will join senior forward Derek DeBlois and soph- omore forward Andrew Copp on the top line this weekend. Against RIT, Guptill saw time with DeBlois and Copp thanks to a number of special-teams situ- ations. The trio - which skated together for the latter half of last season - fellin sync immediately. On their first shift back together, the line found the net. DeBlois, also from Narra- gansett, will head back to New Hampshire for the first time since his freshman season, when the Wolverines tied their hosts 3-3 in overtime. Having played in front of a crowd of 10,556 fans in Roch- ester, N.Y. - the largest crowd Michigan has drawn since Michi- gan State at the Great Lakes Invi- tational in 2012 - the Wolverines will be prepared for the smaller, but equally hostile crowd await- ing them on the East Coast. This will be the first time that Bennett, who did not dress for that previous series against the Wildcats, gets to experience it. "It was a crazy atmosphere," he said. "It'll be a great place to go. It's going to be wild. It's a big, big ice surface, and I like to skate." Redshirt Junior quarterback Devin Gardner, the focal point of Michigan's offense, leads the nation in interceptions. of its crippled interior offensive line. Michigan went without its only offensive captain, fifth-year senior left tackle Taylor Lewan, after he went down early in the second half against the Nittany Lions. The coaches had to take Lewan's helmet away to stop him from going back on the field. Monday, though, Hoke said that Lewan's injury - a "hip deal," not a concussion - is not major, and he will indeed play Saturday. But for as much as the focus is on which offense will show up against Indiana, the Wolverines are equally concerned about how their defense will hold up. The Hoosiers rank in the top three in the Big Ten in numer- ous categories that include total offense. But they are perhaps best known for their high-tempo offense. Hoke compared it to the Northwestern, Nebraska and Ohio State squads that the Wol- verines faced last season (Michi- gan went 1-2 in those games). More recently, the Wolverines had difficulty with the Nittany Lions's fast pace last weekend. They did get caught out of posi- tion, but as Hoke was quick to point out, it was only once. Defensive coordinator Greg' Mattison didn't specifically divulge how Michigan planned on preparing for the tempo, other than saying that Hoke has man- agedthe scout offense. "It's guys getting back to the huddle, it's guys getting the sig- nal on the fly, all those things," Mattison said. "The good thing is we've been working on the rota- tion all along. Ifa guy has to play five plays rather than three plays, fine, we'll get them in and outthat way." The Hoosiers lead the league with their pass offense with an average of 331.5 passing yards per game, giving Michigan's pass rush its biggest test of the season thus far. It registered four sacks against the Nittany Lions last week, but Hoke isn't sure if it will be able to keep up with the fast pace of the game. "I'm not going to say it's harder because I think you can do it," Hoke said. "I've experienced it being done. It can get you rattled a little bit, and sometimes that makes it harder." Michigan seeks 1st win at home since Sept.12 By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer With just five games left before the Big Ten Tournament, the Michigan women's soccer team is fight- ing through Indiana at the home Mican stretch while continuing to Matchup: stun fans as Indiana 10-3- it updates the 1; Michigan record book. 10-2-1 Sunday, the When: Fri- Wolverines day 7 p.m. blanked No. Where: 17 Penn State, UM Soccer S1-0, their first- Stadium ever win in TV/Radio: Happy Valley. mgoblue.com The victory marked the first time since 2004 that Michigan has won its f first four road conference games and also set a program record by beating four ranked teams in one season. The 12th-ranked Wolverines (4-1-1 Big Ten, 10-2-1 overall) return to Ann Arbor for a two- game set. Even with their recent success, they are searching for their first win on their own field since Sept. 12 against Detroit. Riding a three-game win streak over Big Ten rivals Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State, the Wolverines will look for a strong homestand this weekend to rise to the top of the Big Ten standings. "We had a discussion quickly after the game that Sunday was the time to enjoy and soak in (the win)," said senior defender Shelina Zadorsky. "But Mon- day was recovery, and Tuesday we're back at it preparing for this weekend. Coming off such a high like that, we want to keep the focus but keep the confi- dence." Friday, Michigan will take on Indiana (3-3, 10-3-1) at the U-M Soccer Stadium. Despite a 2-1 loss against Iowa on Saturday, Indiana con- tinues to be a powe opening the season start in program h under first-year hea Berbary. Michigan's stal will have its hands Hoosiers's Lisa N who leads the tear goals. The senior m lefther name in Ind books by being the( perform three care "They're very or disciplined," said coach Greg Ryan. thinking about las over Penn State, have to bring trem to this weekend." While Michiga challenge of defe State's offense, wh conference in goal Wolverines will n switch gears to foc ing Indiana's defer considered to be th conference. Guarding the ne Big Ten Defen- sive Player of the Week senior Shannon Flower, who has allowed just 14 goals through the Hoosiers's first 14 games while posting seven shutouts. She needs only one more to tie the sch Following Fri( game, the Wolveri Purdue on Sunday its second Pink Ga of Breast Cancer Month. Leading Purdue Big Ten Offensive Week Maddy Wi has contributed n the Boilermakers offense. With her last tv' led her team toI over Illinois and N rhouse team, last week. iwith its best Between the goalposts is istory, 8-0-1, senior Clara Kridler, who has ad coach Amy helped the Boilermakers post three consecutive 1-0 shutouts wart defense for the first time since 2006. full with the However, Purdue's defense has ouanesengsy come up short, this season by is with eight giving up 30 goals, the worst in sidfielder has the Big Ten. iana's record While Michigan's defense only player to continues to be stonewall- er hat tricks. ing, the Wolverines's offense rganized and is showing signs of improve- d Michigan ment as it begins to finish close "We can't be sco'ring chances and have more t week's win accurate shots on goal. and we just After early season offen- endous focus sive woes, more players have stepped up to find opportunities n had the to get inside the box and score. ending Penn Senior midfielder Tori ich leads the McCombs scored her first of s scored, the the season against Penn State, now have to becoming the 12th player on this us on break- versatile team with at least one nse, which is goal. he best in the "I think this year we have done a really good job at stop- t is two-time ping key players from making an impact and scor- ing a lot of ...we want to goals against us," Ryan keep the focus sa attacking but keep the.astimp ov 2 y ing (as well) confidence. with so many people chip- ping in." If the ool's record. Wolverines expect to come out day night's of this weekend maintaining nes will host the momentum that has found afternoon in them cruising to the top of the rme in honor conference, it will come down Awareness to focusing solely on their next game. While Sunday's win was is reigning a historic one, the team empha- Player of the sized they cannot hang onto it illiams, who going into future games. ine goals to "It's the cliche: just one game 's dynamic at a time," Ryan said. "I think it's just bringing that same level wo goals, she of focus and intensity that we 1-0 victories had against Penn State to each northwestern match."