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The Michigan Daily michiganclaily.com January 13,2014
WHIPPED IN
WISCONSI N
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Writer
WHAT HAPPENED FRI-
DAY: For the fourth time the
No. 8 Michigan hockey team
flung shot after shot at the net
- 56 in total - but managed to
find twine just twice, this time
against No. 14 Wisconsin.
Wisconsin [RI)AY
(4-2 Big-
Ten, 13-6- MICHIGAN 2
1 overall) WISCONSIN 5
jumped
out to an
early lead MICHIGAN 1
with two WISCONSIN 3
goals in the
first period. Though Michigan
players were quick to call most
of the Badgers' five goals "fluky,"
the early deficit was too steep
for the Wolverines (2-2, 10-6-2)
to overcome, despite their two
late goals in the third period, as
they fell, 5-2.
SLOW START: The Wolver-
ines rode a 125-minute scoreless
streak dating back to Dec. 27
at the Great Lakes Invitational
all the way into the third peri-
od before sophomore forward
Andrew Copp buried his team-
leading 15th goal of the season.
Berenson has said a good
start has been trademark of all
prolific Michigan teams. So two
periods without a score was
uncharacteristic for a team that
outscored opponents 17-6 in the
first frame through the first half
of the season.
BIG ICE, BIG PROBLEM:
Seven feet wider than Yost Ice
Arena, the Kohl Center may
have had no effecton Michigan's
performance this weekend,
but the team has certainly had
problems adjusting to different
ice conditions.
On a larger rink in New
Hampshire, the then-rolling
Wolverines narrowly escaped
two overtime defeats. And
outside at Comerica Park in
December, the Wolverines were
shut out for the first time.
Michigan will likely see big-
ger ice on more than one occa-
sion the rest of the season.
WHAT HAPPENED
SATURDAY: Though Michigan
got off to a better start than it
had Friday, the same problems
that plagued the Wolverines
in Friday'sloss were far fro
eliminated. Against a strong
Wisconsin penalty kill and lights-
out goaltending by Joel Rumpel
for a second time, the Wolverines
struggled to find success. Though
the shot selection was slightly
improved, Michigan scored only
once.
With the score 2-1 in
Wisconsin'sfavorafter18minutes
of back-and forth-hockey in the
third period, Michigan's hopes of
escaping the weekend with a split
were put to rest when Badgers
forward Joseph Labate netted
a breakaway attempt to push
his team's lead to two. With 41
seconds remaining, an apparent
goal from freshman forward JT
Compher was overturned, and
the clock ran down.
NAGELVOORT NEEDS
HELP: Freshman goaltender
Zach Nagelvoort - who allowed
four goals on Friday, tying a sea-
son high - got the nod for the
second matchup. And again,
Nagelvoort did his job. He com-
pleted 33 saves on Saturday to
keep Michigan in the game,
allowing just two goals despite
many more scoring chances from
a potent Wisconsin offense that
ranks in the top 10 nationally.
What's more, the defense
began to let up in the second
period. The unit allowed 23 shots
through two frames and turned
the puck over several times.
THE BRAWL: Beginning
when sophomore forward
Andrew Copp skated up behind a
Wisconsin player and shoved him
into the boards and onto his back.
As he skated away, the Badgers on
ice swarmed Copp, and punches
were thrownbetweenboth teams
as helmets went flying.
The scrambles resulted in four
ejections, including Copp, senior
forward Derek DeBlois and
junior forward Alex Guptill for
Michigan. However, they are eli-
gible for their next game, accord-
ing to NCAA rules.
Minus Copp, M'
falters offensivl
This isn't a
rivalry series,
not yet at least'
Wolverines score
three goals in
two games, lose
fourth in a row
By JEREMY SUMMITT
Daily Sports Editor
MADISON - Andrew
Copp returned to Ann Arbor
this past Sunday, tired and
jet-lagged after competing
with the USA World Junior
team in Sweden since Dec.
27. His arrival came nearly
two weeks after the rest of
the team was on campus after
the holiday season, and at
practice Wednesday, he said
he was still trying to get back
into the swing of things.
But the sophomore for-
ward didn't show many signs
of fatigue throughout No. 9
Michigan's two-game series
at No. 14 Wisconsin this
weekend. As he has for much
of the season, Copp remained
the lone bright spot for an
offensive unit that's been
lulled into a sleep for the past
month.
Dating back to Dec. 11,
Michigan has scored seven
goals in five games, all of them
resultinginlosses. Itnarrowly
escaped being shutout in con-
secutive outings for the first
time since the 1942-43 sea-
son, thanks only to Copp's late
power play goal in the third
period of Friday's 5-2 loss.
Senior forward Luke Moffatt
added the second tally min-
utes later, but it was too little
for a team that needed pro-
duction 58 minutes earlier.
The Wolverines' potential
to score a few goals every
night is high on paper, but the
talent hasn't materialized into
"W's" on the ice.
"(Copp's) playing hard,
and he's establishing himself
again in the second half as
one of our top players," said
Michigan coach Red Beren-
son. "We just need more play-
ers getting into that groove."
Michigan possesses
already-proven goal scorers
in junior forwards Alex Gup-
till and Phil Di Giuseppe, but
they've been streaky at best
See OFFENSE, Page 3B
ADISON - The
crowd of over 14,000
fans roared, hollered
and called for the heads of the
No. 9 Michigan hockey team.
The officiating crew, outnum-
bered and outmuscled, separat-
ed the two teams into their own
penalty boxes while they sorted
out the last minute of brawling
like parents separating children.
And when
the com-
motion had
ended, the
Wolver-
sues' penalty
box looked
even more
crammed
than Score- GREG
keepers Bar GARNO
and Grill on
a Tuesday
night.
In it, stood six of Michigan's
best scorers, and arguably best
players off all classes - seniors
Derek DeBlois and Mac Ben-
nett, juniors Phil Di Giuseppe
and Alex Guptill, sophomore
Andrew Copp and freshman JT
Compher.
Each one had been on the ice
after freshman goaltender Zach
Nagelvoort had been pulled
and all of whom were quiet and
motionless with the exception
of the chatty Guptill. They col-
lectively looked up at the screen
after a matter of seconds for a
replay and then turned to the
officials to learn their fate.
Six men in the box at once!
It symbolized everything about
the weekend for the Wolver-
ines. The offense was bottled
up, with little room to push the
puck around. The defense was
trapped in its own zone early
and often.
With 33 seconds to go, trail-
ing 3-1, Michigan faced a series
sweep and its fourth consecu-
tive loss as the massive penal-
ties were handed down. In the
penalty box, the Wolverines
presented as much of a threat
to win off the ice as they did on
the ice.
In its first Big Ten series since
See RIVALRY, Page 3B
FIVE-STAR FALLACY
For the Michigan football team, recruit-
ing alone won't save the program from a
7-6 season, but winning will. Page 2B
OH SO CLOSE
The Michigan women's basketball
team came minutes away from moving
into first in the Big Ten. Page 4B