8A — Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

A look at the top games in the Michigan-MSU rivalry

By ZACH SHAW

Daily Sports Writer

For the next two weeks, the 

Michigan hockey team is at war.

The 13th-ranked Wolverines 

will take on archrival Michigan 
State twice during that time 
frame, the first of which is 
this Friday at Joe Louis Arena 
in Detroit. Michigan (7-1 Big 
Ten, 15-7 overall) will be the 
favorites, but history suggests 
the Spartans (3-3-2, 9-11-2) are 
capable of wreaking havoc on 
the red-hot Wolverines.

With 12 NCAA championships 

and 35 Frozen Four appearances 
between the two programs, 
the rivalry is among the best in 
college hockey.

Though 
not 
nearly 
as 

lopsided 
as 
the 
Michigan 

Daily-State 
News 
rivalry 

(the Daily is currently riding 
a 10-game winning streak), 
Michigan still holds a 152-128-

19 record against its neighbor 
to the north, including a 2-1 
win over the Spartans Dec. 29 
in the Great Lakes Invitational 
championship. 
The 
Daily 

breaks down some of the most 
notable games of the teams’ 300 
matchups.

Jan. 24, 1925

Three seasons after each team 

founded a hockey program, the 
rivalry was born in East Lansing. 
With just a smattering of fans in 
attendance, the Wolverines won 
6-3, sparking a 36-1 run over 
Michigan State that stretched 
to 1958.

March 9, 1950

Still the most lopsided game 

in the rivalry’s history, Paul 
Pelow and Bob Heathcott each 
tallied hat tricks, as Michigan 
cruised to a 17-1 win.

“With 
the 
Spartans 

completely disorganized during 
the entire contest, Heyliger’s 
crew 
romped 
at 
will 
over 

Coach Paulsen’s hapless and 
inexperienced club,” wrote the 
Daily.

The win for Michigan came 

just before a stretch of five 
national championships in six 
seasons, a feat that has yet to be 
matched.

March 3, 1966

The 
in-state 
rivals 
have 

faced 
off 
for 
numerous 

championships, 
the 
first 
of 

which was for the Western 
College 
Hockey 
Association 

title. Having dropped six of 
eight games leading up to the 
event, the Wolverines — two 
years removed from a national 
title in 1964 — looked poised to 
upend the No. 1 Spartans.

But Michigan State battled 

back for a win and never looked 
back en route to the program’s 
first national title. The win 
began a run for the Spartans, 
as Michigan won just 28 of the 
next 84 in the series.

Nov. 8, 1985

After nearly two decades 

of dormancy, the Wolverines 
finally fought back under coach 
Red Berenson. The 5-4 win was 
Michigan’s first in seven tries 
against Michigan State, and just 
the second such win since 1981.

“We wanted it more than in 

the past,” Berenson told the 
Daily after the win. “I don’t 
think we were as much hoping 
to win as we were expecting to 
win.

“I don’t think there is going to 

be anything better, until we win 
the league title, than beating 
Michigan State.”

The game also included a fight 

between Michigan goaltender 
Tim 
Makris 
and 
Spartan 

foward Mitch Messier. More 
importantly, the win helped lay 
the groundwork for Berenson’s 
tenure, which has continued for 
31 years and counting.

March 1, 1996

The rivalry is very much 

defined by the success of both 
teams in the 1990s. After being 
swept by Lake Superior State 
the weekend before, No. 5 
Michigan needed a win over 
No. 3 Michigan State to stay in 
contention for its first national 
title in over three decades.

“There’s a major sense of 

urgency; a desperation we feel. 
We have to win these games,” 
forward John Arnold told the 
Daily before the game. “Once we 
start jumping to conclusions or 
looking ahead, we’re not going 
to get anywhere.”

The Wolverines didn’t look 

ahead, as they stomped the 
Spartans, 3-0. The win sparked 
a nine-game winning streak, as 
Michigan won its first of two 
national titles with Berenson at 
the helm.

Oct. 6, 2001

Arguably the peak of the 

rivalry, both teams met in the 
first modern hockey game to be 
played outdoors, occurring at 
East Lansing’s Spartan Stadium. 
With 74,544 fans in attendance 
and 
millions 
following 
the 

action on television, both teams 
faced off coming off of Frozen 
Four appearances earlier in the 
year and ranking in the top five 
nationally. The spectacle was 
college hockey at its finest.

Then-No. 4 Michigan nearly 

upset the defending national 
champion 
and 
top-ranked 

Spartans, but let up a rebound 
goal with 47 seconds remaining 
as both teams played to a 3-3 
tie. The spectacle, which kicked 
off the 2001-02 season for all 
of college hockey, included 12 
players that went on to NHL 
careers.

Dec. 11, 2010

Not 
to 
be 
outdone, 
the 

Wolverines hosted an outdoor 
game of their own nine years 
later. Though neither team was 
ranked in the top five, 104,173 
fans braved the elements to 
watch 
Michigan 
defeat 
the 

Spartans, 5-0, in what was then 
a record for the most-watched 
hockey game.

“It was exactly as advertised,” 

Berenson told the Daily after the 
game. “It was the real deal. For 
me, it couldn’t be any better.”

The 
third 
battle 
of 
the 

elements 
between 
the 
two 

programs comes in less than 
two weeks, when both teams 
travel 
to 
Chicago’s 
Soldier 

Field for the Coyote Logistics 
Hockey City Classic on Feb. 7. 
If history tells us anything, it 
should be an intense, exciting 
and potential turning point for 
either team.

ICE HOCKEY

Rebounding keys win

By MAX BULTMAN 

Daily Sports Editor

When it was announced that 

junior guard Caris LeVert would 
miss the rest of the season with 
a foot injury, the Michigan 
men’s basketball lost its leader 
in practically every statistical 
category — points, rebounds, 
assists, steals and minutes.

And an hour before tipoff 

of 
Tuesday’s 
game 
between 

the Wolverines and Nebraska, 
the loss in production was 
compounded 
as 
sophomore 

guard Derrick Walton Jr. came 
onto the court in street clothes, 
missing the game with an injured 
foot. Without LeVert and Walton, 
Michigan wasn’t just missing its 
starting backcourt, but also its 
two top rebounders.

And 
yet, 
in 
their 
58-44 

win Tuesday, the Wolverines 
were able to outrebound the 
Cornhuskers thanks to breakout 
efforts from sophomore forward 
Zak Irvin and senior forward 
Max Bielfeldt. Buoyed by 12 
boards from Irvin and nine from 
Bielfeldt, Michigan pulled down 
34 total rebounds, eight more 
than Nebraska did.

“(Walton and LeVert) are the 

two best guard rebounders we 
have, in the Big Ten and on the 
team,” Irvin said. “So we knew 
that was a big point of emphasis — 
for people to step up and rebound 
the basketball.”

Granted, if Nebraska hadn’t 

shot an atrocious 30.6 percent 
from the floor, there wouldn’t 
have been so many rebounds up 
for grabs. But in a game without 
their two top rebounders, the 
striking margin speaks to the 
effort the Michigan frontcourt 
put in on the glass.

Irvin and Bielfeldt both had 

career highs in boards Tuesday, 
with four of Bielfeldt’s rebounds 
coming on the offensive end, 
allowing 
the 
Wolverines 
to 

generate extra possessions and 
stretch their lead.

With 
2:23 
to 
play 
and 

Michigan up by a comfortable 
15-point margin, Bielfeldt chased 
down a loose ball off an Irvin 
miss. And though the play didn’t 
alter the outcome of the game, it 
was a microcosm of the display 
the 
senior 
forward 
showed 

throughout the second half.

“Even when we were down 

12 or 11, (Bielfeldt) would give 
them an extra possession or just 
out-hustle us to a rebound,” said 
Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “That 
was tough. I just thought he out-
scrapped us that way.”

Irvin had five of his rebounds 

in the game’s first nine minutes 
and was repeatedly able to 
capitalize on stellar box-outs 
from Bielfeldt to find the space to 
clear the glass.

Perhaps his only rebounding 

mistake 
came 
with 
4:15 

remaining, when Irvin pulled 
down a defensive rebound but 
lost control once he hit the 
ground, fumbling the ball out 
of bounds, forfeiting possession 

back to the Cornhuskers.

Still, Irvin playing as well as 

he did, especially down low, is a 
welcome sight for the Wolverines, 
who travel to East Lansing 
on Sunday for what had been 
shaping up as an unfavorable 
matchup for Michigan. His 12 
rebounds Tuesday also marked 
the 
first 
double-double 
a 

Wolverine has had all season, a 
positive indicator from a player 
who has been trying to round out 
his game.

“One of the things I was really 

working with (Irvin) on this 
summer, and going forward, was 
rebounding and assists,” Beilein 
said. “Twelve rebounds and three 
assists is a huge step forward in 
his growth.”

Added 
Irvin: 
“It’s 
just 

competing. You’ve gotta want the 
basketball.”

It’s a good thing for Michigan 

that Irvin and Bielfeldt both 
wanted the basketball. Without 
LeVert and Walton, there wasn’t 
really another choice.

Shannon Smith reappears

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Writer

For 
Shannon 
Smith, 
the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
season has been plagued by 
inconsistency. And Monday was 
much of the same.

In the first half, the senior 

guard’s transition game was off-
tempo, and she overthrew the 
ball past senior forward Cyesha 
Goree in the paint, rather than 
slowing down to make a play 
of her own. Four minutes into 
the game, she was called for a 
travel and was 
benched right 
after. 
And 

to top it all 
off, she was 
scoreless 
at 

halftime.

The 
last 

time 
Smith 

had recorded 
such a poor 
performance 
was 48 days ago.

Dec. 9 against Princeton, 

she couldn’t connect with the 
basket in transition and scored 
just two points in Michigan’s 
first home loss of the season — 
coincidentally its largest margin 
of defeat of the season (30).

It was a demoralizing and 

poorly-timed loss, with Notre 
Dame — then the No. 5 team 
in the country — next on the 
schedule. The Wolverines (5-3 
Big Ten, 13-6 overall) needed 
to return to playing their best 
basketball.

Four days later in South Bend, 

the comeback Smith was hoping 
for didn’t materialize.

In the first half, Michigan 

trailed the Fighting Irish by 
single digits, barely staying in 
close contention. But Smith hit 
the ground hard, unable to get 
back up while clutching her knee 
as her teammates stared wide-
eyed from the sideline.

She returned in the second 

half, but her nine total points 
weren’t enough to pull off the 
upset.

From there on, though, it 

appeared a fire had sparked 
within the 5-foot-7 senior as she 
regained her focus.

With the exception of a win 

over Eastern Michigan, Smith 
scored double digits in every 
game 
thereafter, 
earning 
a 

career high in points (36) and 
free throws (11) against Ohio 
State.

But last Thursday against No. 

20 Iowa, Smith scored two points 

like she had 44 
days 
before. 

She 
turned 

the ball over 
on two crucial 
possessions 
in 
the 
final 

minutes 
against 
the 

Hawkeyes and 
was rushing in 
transition.

It was arguably her worst 

performance of the season. But 
as she has done all year, Smith 
attempted to work past it.

“The 
biggest 
thing 
for 

Shannon,” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico, “(and) this 
happened in Iowa and we talk 
about it with her all the time, is 
that you can make a couple bad 
plays, have a bad 10 minutes, 
a bad half or a bad 39 minutes, 
and maybe make one play to help 
your team win the game.

“But if you let all that stuff 

bother you mentally, you’re not 
in a good place to make that 
play.”

Even though it might be a 

challenge for Smith to bounce 
back, she managed to in the 
second half against Illinois, 
which was a stark contrast to the 
first.

It was the older and more 

polished Smith who showed up. 
She scored less than five minutes 
into the frame, adding two 

points and a free throw over a 
minute later.

Smith played a smart and 

more controlled game, totaling 
13 points. She was back on her 
game, and she knew it: After 
her first basket, she smiled, 
looked downcourt toward her 
teammates and held one finger 
up.

“It’s really important for us 

that she sets the tone, because 
she’s so great in the open court,” 
Barnes Arico said. “Sometimes 
she does have to slow down, 
because that’s where she makes 
some mistakes. But that’s what 
she brings to us that we need, 
and we really don’t have a lot of 
players like her.”

As the team’s leader in assists 

at 88, Smith totaled four against 
the Illini: three to Goree for a 
layup and one to sophomore 
guard Siera Thompson for a 
2-point jumper. The selflessness 
was contagious as the Wolverines 
recorded 20-plus assists for the 
sixth time this year.

“Our kids are so unselfish of 

sharing the basketball,” Barnes 
Arico said. “It starts with 
Shannon Smith. She just loves to 
make the extra pass and really 
get everyone involved.”

Smith still had six turnovers 

and needs to continue to work 
on her game with a tough 
conference 
schedule 
ahead, 

including 
Thursday’s 
game 

against No. 5 Maryland.

But if Monday night gave her 

anything, it was some added 
confidence and the opportunity 
to have some fun. With 2:06 left 
against the Illini, Smith stole the 
ball at center court and broke 
away for an open layup.

As the ball fell through the 

rim, Smith flung her arms across 
one another as she skipped 
backward across the court.

Even a few days after a 

crippling performance, she was 
smiling, having fun and back to 
business.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

“It’s really 

important for us 
that she sets the 

tone.”

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Zak Irvin recorded Michigan’s first double-double of the season Tuesday night.

