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.