Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 — 7A ‘M’ changes venue for week By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Editor For multiple Michigan hockey players, Tuesday’s practice was nostalgic. They weren’t reminiscing about old memories at Yost Ice Arena, but rather practicing at their old stomping grounds: the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, home of the United States National Team Development Program. “It brings back old memories,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. “I spent a lot of time here in my life. It’s pretty cool to come back and see the people who helped me get here. It’s always good to be back in your home rink.” Added sophomore forward JT Compher: “It’s fun to be back. I got to see my old coaches. It was a similar drive over from school, so it brings back some memories.” The Wolverines practiced at the Cube on Tuesday and will again on Wednesday to help themselves adapt to a larger ice surface, which they will see this weekend at Wisconsin. The surface caused problems a year ago, when Michigan lost all four Big Ten road games on larger ice surfaces. Yost Ice Arena’s ice surface is 200 feet by 85 feet, while Wisconsin’s Kohl Center — where the Wolverines will play a two-game series this weekend — is 200 feet by 97 feet. Last season, the larger ice surfaces proved to be too much of a challenge. Michigan lost two games at the Kohl Center, 5-2 and 3-1 respectively, while also losing two games at Minnesota on an Olympic ice sheet. To change the trend, the coaching staff decided to use the Cube — which has three Olympic- size ice sheets — to its advantage and get the team acclimated to the intricacies that come with playing on larger rinks. “It’s a really big (advantage),” said associate head coach Billy Powers. “Our goaltenders and our defense will probably tell you that this is going to come in handy. Come Friday night, there’s going to be less of an adjustment and it’ll be a nice comfort level.” Added sophomore netminder Zach Nagelvoort: “I don’t think that it’s that much tougher. The biggest difference is on the power play. The team can exploit the fact that they can go that much farther on the outside. That’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed. It’s figuring out the different angles.” Due to the bigger rink, one line that may be poised for a big weekend is that of Compher, junior forward Boo Nieves and sophomore forward Max Shuart. Nieves and Shuart are two of Michigan’s fastest players and will certainly use the extra space to their advantage. “With the big ice, they can use their speed,” Compher said of his linemates. “I think if we can use that speed and get to the net, we’ll have a good weekend.” NAGELVOORT FEELING “AMAZING”: Nagelvoort hasn’t started a game since Michigan’s 5-1 defeat at Boston College on Dec. 13. However, despite not starting, the netminder’s morale isn’t low. “It’s really good,” Nagelvoort said of his current state of mind. “I couldn’t be happier. I have had a lot of good weeks of practice. Everyone wants to play every night, but the team is doing well, right? (Junior goalie Steve Racine) has been playing well, so that’s great.” Still, no starter is set in stone, and the coaching staff has yet to make a decision on who will play between the pipes in Madison. “Terrific, terrific,” Powers said of Nagelvoort’s recent play. “I can tell you, in these last two weeks, I’ve seen a dramatic change. All I can tell you is that both goaltenders have looked really good in practice, and Zach has looked really good.” SINELLI ON DEFENSE?: After playing forward up until this week, senior Andrew Sinelli practiced as a defenseman Tuesday due to multiple injuries on the blue line. Freshman Cutler Martin didn’t play last Friday against Ohio State due to an upper-body injury, and senior Mike Chiasson is also out with an undisclosed injury. “He’s been (a defenseman) in the past,” Powers said. “We wanted to see how he looked, and he needs to get some reps there in case we need him there.” Michigan isn’t like most teams S aturday, freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty entered the locker room at half- time scoreless. For most squads, a top-scorer not producing for a full half would spell out defeat. But the Michigan women’s basketball team isn’t like most teams. The Wolverines don’t have one standout player to lean on, but that’s OK, because a different star emerges seemingly every game. Saturday against Northwestern, that star was sophomore guard Siera Thompson. While Flaherty floundered during a high-pressure away game, Thompson shot 5-of-9 from long range, scoring 20 points to compensate for the freshman’s uncharacteristically low eight points. “Siera is a tremendous shooter,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico told WKTA Radio on Tuesday. “But she’s kind of been a little bit quieter this year and people haven’t talked much about her, because Katelynn came in and is really picking up some scoring. Both of them, I think, have made over 40 threes on the season. “Siera does so much, but a lot of times, it’s quiet, and that’s just her personality as well.” With Thompson’s heroics, the Wolverines (4-2 Big Ten, 12-5 overall) picked up their first road win of the season. That’s not to say that no one else contributed, though. Senior guard Shannon Smith and senior forward Cyesha Goree scored 20 and 18 points, respectively. Flaherty, Thompson, Goree and Smith average more than 10 points per game, with Goree leading the way, with 14.7. But in the last three games, Smith has averaged 24 points. Smith stepped up in a big way against Ohio State on Jan. 17, wowing the crowd at Crisler Center with a 36-point performance to lead her team to a 100-94 overtime win. She scored those 36 points against a team that had previously upset a ranked Rutgers squad by 17 points. “(Smith) is really focused and really determined to have a tremendous senior season,” Barnes Arico said. “She brings the team with her. Her energy and her enthusiasm just brings the team along, and she was incredible once again and kind of willed us to victory.” Michigan also restrained Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.9 points per game, to just 13, thanks to Goree’s stellar defensive play. Despite the Wolverines’ recent string of success, you won’t find a Michigan player atop any statistical leaderboards. But they do have Goree, who averages a double-double. They have Thompson, who shoots over 40 percent from beyond the arc. They have Flaherty, who takes gutsy step-back treys without hesitation. They have Smith, who will drop a career- high 36 points and say “It really doesn’t matter if I (had had zero points), I’m just happy we got the victory.” Because the Wolverines aren’t like most teams. If Mitchell were to get injured today, Ohio State would have to completely alter its game plan. But for Michigan, there isn’t a single setback that would completely spoil the team’s chances at a tournament run. Sure, if one of the leading scorers had a season-ending injury, there would be drawbacks, but nothing the Wolverines couldn’t combat. Someone else would be there to step up. If Goree was injured, there would certainly be a drop-off in rebounds, but scrappy senior forward Nicole Elmblad would still be able to grab boards. Even the 5-foot-7 Smith has averaged 4.6 rebounds per game. And when it comes to scoring points, Michigan definitely doesn’t have a problem. Most games, four Wolverines end up in the box score with more than 10 points. But the fear of not producing drives Michigan, too. “When we see that other kids are really improving, we want to reward them and give them the opportunity for pushing themselves and doing the things that we ask,” Barnes Arico said Dec. 19. “If somebody else becomes complacent, we’re going to switch it up, just so they know that there’s always that chance; it keeps everybody hungry.” With that attitude, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of worthy players on the bench who haven’t seen much playing time. Freshman forward Jillian Dunston could step in for Elmblad, or junior guard Madison Ristovski could effectively play in place of sophomore guard Danielle Williams. As of late, Michigan has been benefiting from its deep roster. The Wolverines have beaten rivals Ohio State and Michigan State at home, and of their five losses, three came against against ranked teams. But the Wolverines have moved past those losses. They’ve realized they’re not like most teams. Kelly Hall can be reached by email at hallkl@umich.edu and on Twitter @KellyHall20. Wolverines prep for rapidly approaching Opening Day Michigan picked fifth in Big Ten preseason poll By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer In its 2014 campaign, the Michigan baseball team finished 30-29-1. But 11 of its 29 losses were by just one run, with many of them coming early in the season. Compounding the issue was the fact that much of the team’s success rested on the shoulders of underclassmen, who were unfamiliar with playing at the collegiate level. Encouragingly, had it won all of those one-run games, the team’s final record would have been 48-18-1 — on pace with reigning conference champion Indiana. Even if it had won around half of them, the team would have rested at a solid 36-29-1. The team has trended upward in each of its three seasons under coach Erik Bakich, and some believe this is the year that the growth will show the most on the field. But one of the earliest conference rankings of the year, from b1gbaseball. com, projects the Wolverines to finish fifth in the Big Ten — one spot lower than their fourth- place finish last season. “I honestly don’t care if we’re first or fifth (in the preseason poll),” Bakich said. “I told the guys that rankings are something we can’t control, so we’re not going to pay attention to it when we’re not receiving votes, just like we’re not going to pay attention to it when we’re in the top 25 later this season.” Last year, those one-run losses were billed as learning experiences, but now it’s time to see what actually stuck. With much of the leadership weight up for grabs, the underclassmen will be called on to step up as a whole. The experience and leadership will be key, as the Wolverines will also have to contend with a much different landscape than in recent years. This is prompted by the addition of two solid programs in Maryland and Rutgers, along with increased parity among traditional conference powerhouses, like Indiana, that are projected to finish somewhere other than at the top of the standings. Michigan doesn’t have much time to figure out what its winning formula will be this year. The team’s first three weekends of conference play feature matchups against the projected first, second and fourth-place teams: Maryland, Nebraska and Indiana, respectively. Another major challenge the team is facing is the amount of time it’s able to spend working as a group. NCAA regulations have kept players and coaches from doing much training together since mid- December, meaning a good chunk of the winter has seen players doing more self-policed individual workouts. On Jan. 23, the allowed time expands to 20 hours of organized team training per week, with coaches being able to work on more group-based concepts and traditional practice. “(The amount of time for team practices before opening day) is much shorter than Major League Baseball’s spring training, so the onus is on individual players to have a training regimen over holiday break,” Bakich said. “Our guys are self-motivated, and really strive to improve. They’ll be able to come back and hit their stride very quickly.” Working on both individual and team skills is especially important for players like sophomores Jackson Lamb and Hector Gutierrez, who will specialize in one position rather than play multiple, as they did during their freshman seasons. Lamb started in the outfield for the Wolverines 29 times in 2014, but he will exclusively be a pitcher in 2015, according to Bakich. Coming out of high school, Lamb was clocked in the upper 90s from the mound, but he wasn’t able to pitch often last season due to a back injury. He figures to be a key component of the Wolverines’ bullpen this year. In a similar situation, Gutierrez was listed as both a pitcher and infielder last season, but he will only play in the field this year. This change is much more cosmetic, as he only pitched in two games while playing more frequently in the infield. Whether it’s because of the team’s winter workout habits or simply having another year of experience under some of the young players’ belts, the coaching staff is looking for the on-field product to come together rapidly for the Wolverines this month. Opening day is quickly approaching, and with the team being put to the test right away on the road for seven straight weeks to open the season, it will have to hit the ground running. PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Junior forward Andrew Copp will practice in the same rink he played in as part of the U.S. National Development Team. NOTEBOOK FILE PHOTO/Daily Michigan coach Erik Bakich’s team heads into 2015 looking to improve on a fourth-place Big Ten finish in 2014. “It’s always good to be back in your home rink.” WOMEN’S BASKETBALL KELLY HALL “Her energy and her enthusiasm just brings the team along.” DID YOU COME HERE TO PLAY SCHOOL? IF NOT, JOIN THE MICHIGAN DAILY! COME TO A MASS MEETING AT 7:30 P.M. AT 420 MAYNARD: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 THURSDAY, JANUARY 22 SUNDAY, JANUARY 25 MONDAY, JANUARY 26