4B — February 9, 2015
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Conditions threaten to
cancel Soldier Field game
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Writer
CHICAGO — Window by
window, the skyscrapers north
of Soldier Field grew darker as
the game went on, blending into
the night sky as Saturday night
turned into Sunday morning.
On the ice, the puck could be
seen bouncing over sticks and
along the boards while play-
ers slipped and slid all over the
rink. Saturday’s game between
No. 14 Michigan and rival Michi-
gan State began hours later than
planned, and never fully was a
clean game.
But as Drew Russell — the Vice
President of Properties at Inter-
Sport in charge of operations at
the Hockey City Classic — looked
on at the play below, he knew that
simply getting a game in meant
mission accomplished.
At the tail end of one of Chica-
go’s more erratic weather weeks,
Russell and his team came dan-
gerously close to having to cancel
the event.
“Everybody wanted to get the
game in tonight,” Russell said.
“Officials, coaches, players, fans,
no one wanted to extend this pro-
cess or put a contingency plan in
place.”
With snow, negative tempera-
tures and a sudden heat wave all
coming just days apart, InterS-
port — the company in charge of
running the event — had its work
cut out for the event Saturday
morning. When a compressor
below the ice became faulty, the
possibility of a game occurring
was quite literally on thin ice.
“There was in my mind,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson
on the possibility of a cancella-
tion. “When we got a call that the
game was being pushed back, we
weren’t sure what was going to
happen.”
Amazingly, the warm ice was
the least of mother nature’s evils.
The mild temperatures had melt-
ed the ice, giving Russell’s team
an opportunity to reset a rink
that had already been ravaged by
the elements.
“Sometimes it’s too cold or
there’s too much for the ice, so it
gets brittle and hard to maintain,”
Russell said Saturday. “The warm
weather actually helped us get
into good position for today. We
brought the ice temperatures back
up, we got it to where it was good,
but we had to work with it and had
to get everything back into a stable
position and that just took a little
longer than we anticipated.”
Added Michigan State coach
Tom Anastos: “I will tell you,
after last night, I didn’t think
there was much chance or hope
we would have this today. They
really did a good job getting the
ice into the condition that they
were so we could play, it came a
long way from last night.”
Before
the
ice
regained
strength, though, things looked
rather bleak for the event. With
teams cancelling morning skates
and the beating sun continuing
to melt the ice, Russell began
looking into alternative options.
With Disney on Ice and Monster
Jam occupying nearby ice arenas,
the United Center and Allstate
Arena, respectively, Russell had
one indoor locale identified: the
1,500-seat McFetridge Sports
Center run by the Chicago Park
District.
“In our business, we try to
prepare for the worst and react
when the worst occurs,” Russell
said. “There were external forces
we were up against here like the
weather and the curfew we have
here in Chicago, so that went into
our thinking. The biggest thing
was the ice, and fortunately, the
ice kept getting better as the day
wore on, and I think everybody’s
going to go away pleased.”
With the hours ticking and an
entire game to be played before
the Spartans and Wolverines hit
the ice, the two teams waited in
limbo to see if they would play
Saturday. With both teams play-
ing under the same elements, the
edge was going to have to come
from elsewhere.
“We talked about it all week
that when you go into this cir-
cumstance, you don’t know what
to expect,” Anastos said. “It’s
more than physical with just one
game, it about being mentally
ready to play for whatever comes;
rain, snow, wind, cold, delays,
cancellations, whatever.”
By around 4:30 p.m., a setting
sun and reactivated compressor
brought hope of a game back to
both teams. But by the time the
puck was dropped at 8:41 p.m., it
was clear the conditions were far
from perfect.
“Not great,” said Michigan
sophomore
goaltender
Zach
Nagelvoort Saturday of the day’s
conditions. “Today was a ton bet-
ter compared to yesterday. Obvi-
ously looking at the ice, it’s the
same ice for both teams, so say
what you want about it, but every-
one is going to have to play on it.”
As the rest of the city went
to bed, the two rivals battled it
out on the ice. Michigan used a
flurry of short passes and long-
range shots from defensemen
to pull out the 4-1 win, but the
mere occurrence of the event was
enough to make everyone happy.
“Constant
communication
with the facilities here, constant
communication with the ice
crew, the official and the teams,
we all knew we were going to do
everything in our power to get
it in,” said Russell, whose team
has now executed three outdoor
hockey events. “We feel that our
product on the ice was really
great, and everyone went home
pleased.”
ICE HOCKEY
‘M’ tops MSU outdoors
Defense carries
Wolverines to win
at Soldier Field
By JEREMY SUMMITT
Daily Sports Editor
CHICAGO — As the team
with the nation’s top offense,
Michigan’s
defensive
corps
seldom steals the spotlight.
But that
was
the
case in the
Coyote
Logistics Hockey City Classic
at Soldier Field on Saturday,
as
goals
from
sophomore
defenseman Michael Downing
and
freshman
defenseman
Cutler
Martin
paced
the
Wolverines to a 4-1 victory over
Michigan
State.
Sophomore
goaltender
Zach
Nagelvoort
made 31 saves in the win, which
helped keep Michigan atop the
Big Ten standings.
“I thought our forecheck was
better, our ‘D’ zone was better,
our neutral zone was better and
I thought our second effort was
better,” said Michigan coach Red
Berenson. “We had more second
effort, more physicality and we
were more invested in the game
than we were last week.”
Despite
unfavorable
ice
conditions that resulted in nearly
a two-hour delay, the Wolverines
(8-2 Big Ten, 16-8 overall) came
out of the gates with a sense
of urgency. Downing netted
his fifth goal of the season just
1:43 into the game off a feed
from freshman forward Tyler
Calderone.
“It was really important for us
to not let them get into their trap,
their neutral zone which is really
good defensively,” said junior
forward Andrew Copp. “Scoring
the first goal was important to
us.”
Michigan would go on to
score three unanswered goals
by the end of the second period.
Martin, an East Lansing native
who opted for a hockey career in
Ann Arbor, added a tally of his
own with 6:44 left in the second
period. A failed clearance ended
up in Martin’s glove before he
dropped the puck to his stick
and fired a shot from the high
slot that beat goaltender Jake
Hildebrand on his blocker side.
Michigan’s defensemen have
netted 12 total goals this season,
a mark that has already doubled
last year’s total. Even on nights
when the Wolverines’ plethora
of scoring threats up front don’t
find twine, reinforcements are
typically looming on the blue line.
Even more impressive was
the stout defensive play for a
team that ranks in the lower half
of the nation in team defense.
Michigan concedes an average
of 2.96 goals per game and
continues to rely on its offensive
aptitude to make up for its
inconsistencies on the defensive
end. Saturday marked a break
from a season-long tradition,
but it stands as a break that
Michigan will gladly accept.
“I think we kept the game a lot
simpler than we did last game,”
Martin said. “We really tried to
play more defense tonight and
focused on that, even though a
couple of us had a few goals here
and there, but I think that was a
result of playing good defense.”
The Spartans (4-4-2, 10-12-2)
did begin to mount a comeback
after the second intermission,
but not before Copp was able
to extend the lead to three by
jamming one home late in the
second period.
Michigan State would finally
strike twine five minutes into
the final period when Spartan
forward Matt Deblouw found
the puck in the middle of a scrum
and slipped one past Nagelvoort.
Still, Nagelvoort’s successes
outweighed his lone error.
“I thought (Nagelvoort) was
smart with the puck, outside
of the one rebound which
they scored, on a loose puck,”
Berenson said. “He covered up
everything around the net. It
was hard because the puck was
bouncing.”
Though Berenson has needed
to sift through a season-long
goaltending
competition,
Nagelvoort has started the last
three games and has conceded
just
three
goals.
He
says
Nagelvoort is “in a good place”
right now.
It was a successful stay in
the Windy City for the guys in
front of him, too. Junior forward
Justin Selman’s empty-net goal
with 1:12 left in the game put the
seal on another chapter of one
of college hockey’s most historic
rivalries. And in 302 meetings,
the
bitterness
between
the
schools hasn’t faded.
“We could go fishing and
it would be the same,” said
Michigan
State
coach
Tom
Anastos.
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Zach Nagelvoort made 31 saves in Michigan’s win over Michigan State.
Transition offense
lifts ‘M’ to first win
By SHAWN HEROOR
Daily Sports Writer
Trailing Bellarmine 7-5 at the
half, Michigan men’s lacrosse
coach
John
Paul
had
one
message
for
his
team: stick
with the script.
The Wolverines were able
to do just that, outscoring
Bellarmine 7-1 in the third
quarter en route to a 16-9 victory
in their season opener. The
offensive barrage included a 5-0
run with all five goals scored
within four minutes of each
other.
“We want to play a lot faster
this year, but we just weren’t
converting on our opportunities
in the first half,” Paul said. “In
the second half, we didn’t need
to make adjustments, we just
capitalized on our chances.”
Michigan (1-0) was paced
by
senior
attacker
David
McCormack,
who
tallied
a
career-high
four
goals.
Sophomore
midfielder
Mikie
Schlosser also added four tallies,
while junior midfielder Kyle
Jackson chipped in with a pair
of goals and an assist.
Both teams came out firing in
the first quarter, with Schlosser
scoring twice to give Michigan
the early 2-1 lead. The Knights
(0-1) responded with a 7-3 run,
sending them into the half with
a two-goal advantage.
“There’s always a little pre-
game jitters, especially coming
into the first game of the season,”
Schlosser said. “We started a
little slow, we didn’t defend well
in transition.”
Michigan responded quickly
in the third for its sixth goal,
with senior midfielder Thomas
Orr and sophomore attacker Ian
King combining with a give-and-
go off a transition opportunity,
ending with Orr burying a goal
past Bellarmine goalie Drew
Goethals. McCormack tied the
game just two minutes later with
another transition goal, taking a
feed from sophomore midfielder
Peter Khoury and notching his
first of the afternoon.
“We’ve preached it all year
long, playing the game fast,”
Schlosser said. “In the third, we
played the way we need to all
season.”
Michigan
continued
the
onslaught
with
three
goals
in under a minute. Redshirt
junior David Joseph beat a pair
of Bellarmine defenders and
put one past Goethal’s to put
the Wolverines ahead. On the
ensuing faceoff, junior faceoff
man Brad Lott found fellow
junior midfielder Dan Kinek,
who ripped another into the net,
extending the lead to 9-7. Lott
won the next faceoff as well, and
Schlosser got his hat trick with
8:46 left in the third, cushioning
the Wolverines’ advantage.
Bellarmine got a goal back
with 2:43 left in the quarter,
but
McCormack
responded
quickly to restore the three-
goal lead. Then, Jackson put the
Wolverines up four with just
two seconds remaining in the
third, spinning around a Knight
defender and beating the clock to
give Michigan a 12-8 advantage
heading into the final stanza.
“We saw their heads dropping
after we went on that run,”
McCormack said. “We knew
that was the time to pounce on
them and close it out.”
McCormack did just that at
the start of the fourth, scoring
a spectacular goal to put the
game out of reach. After beating
a Bellarmine defender behind
the net, McCormack wrapped
around and netted a diving
goal past Goethals to give the
Wolverines a five-goal lead.
Redshirt sophomore goalie
Gerald Logan, playing in his first
game in two years, got the win
for Michigan with 12 saves.
Michigan will temper its
expectations after just one win,
but with the offensive outburst,
a breakout season may lie ahead
with the Wolverines’ new attack
style.
MEN’S LACROSSE
BELLARMINE
MICHIGAN
9
16
Wolverines win two weekend duals
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
To
paraphrase
Charles
Dickens,
“It
was
best
of
weekends. It was the worst
of weekends,” for the No. 16
Michigan wrestling team.
Friday, the Wolverines (4-4
Big Ten, 6-5 overall) faced a
formidable opponent in No. 10
Nebraska (8-1, 11-1), which was
riding a five-meet winning streak.
The Cornhuskers lived up to their
billing as they bested Michigan,
23-10, at Cliff Keen Arena.
“(Nebraska)
is
a
scrappy
team,” said Michigan coach Joe
McFarland. “We got out hustled
a couple of times.”
But the Wolverines had no time
to feel sorry for themselves as they
were set to travel to No. 22 Purdue
(1-6, 8-8) on Sunday. Michigan left
the bad taste from Friday night
back in Ann Arbor and defeated
the Boilermakers, 26-9.
“I told the guys we have to
take out our frustrations on
(Purdue),”
McFarland
said.
“That is what championship
teams do.”
Friday’s meet got off to
a
promising
start
for
the
Wolverines
as
redshirt
sophomore Conor Youtsey shut
out Nebraska’s Tim Lambert,
4-0, avenging a defeat from
earlier this season. The result
was a formidable victory as
Lambert is the No. 10 wrestler
in the nation in the 125-pound
weight class.
“It’s good to get revenge,”
Youtsey said. “I just knew that
I had to keep scoring and keep
attacking.”
But the Cornhuskers began
to take control in the 133-
pound
class.
With
redshirt
sophomore Rossi Bruno out
with an injury, fifth-year senior
Zebulon Hilyard was summoned
to compete against Nebraska’s
Eric
Montoya.
Hilyard
had
started only once in a dual meet
before
Friday
and
Montoya
took advantage of Hilyard’s
inexperience, dominating the
match, 11-3.
After another defeat in the
141-pound class, No. 13 freshman
Alec
Pantaleo
provided
Michigan with a ray of hope in
the 149-pound class. Pantaleo
scored five takedowns, three of
them in the first period, en route
to a convincing win, 11-1. The
resulting major decision evened
the score at 7-7.
“My coaches kept telling me,
‘Don’t worry about anything
else. Just keep scoring points.’ ”
Pantaleo said. “They’re the most
mentally tough people I’ve ever
met.”
But it was all Cornhuskers
after that. No. 11 sophomore
Brian Murphy participated in a
hard-fought match with No. 4
James Green in the 157-pound
weight class. The contest was
tight throughout, but Green
built up a one-minute riding
time advantage. That and a late
takedown propelled Green to a
4-2 victory and gave Nebraska
the lead for good. Murphy’s
match was the first of five in a
row that Michigan dropped.
“The match really changed
when
(Green)
got
exactly
one minute of riding time,”
McFarland said. “That meant
(Murphy) had to chase him
down the rest of the match.”
A late lineup change in the
165-pound class put freshman
Garrett Sutton in his first
collegiate dual bout, replacing
injured
redshirt
sophomore
Taylor Massa. While he showed
some fight, Nebraska’s Austin
Wilson proved too much as
Sutton lost, 8-3.
No. 8 fifth-year senior Max
Huntley
suffered
the
most
agonizing loss in the 197-pound
weight class as he squandered
a lead to send his bout with
Aaron Studebaker into overtime.
Studebaker
then
scored
a
takedown in the overtime period
to take the match, 6-4.
“(Huntley)
had
a
lot
of
opportunities
to
win
that
match,” McFarland said. “It
came down to a lot of technical
things. You can’t afford to let
that happen.”
Sunday’s
meet
against
Purdue got off to a similar
start to Friday’s contest as the
Wolverines went 2-2 in the first
four bouts.
But that is where the parallels
between the two meets end. In
the 157-pound class, Murphy
provided a huge momentum
swing for Michigan by pinning
No. 10 Doug Welch 4:56 into
the match. It was Murphy’s
first collegiate pin, and it put
the Wolverines on top of the
Boilermakers, 13-6, at halftime.
“I just needed to relax and
wrestle loose,” Murphy said.
A 3-2 loss by Sutton in the
165-pound weight class was
Michigan’s only blemish the
rest of the way. The Wolverines
came out on top in the final four
bouts, which included shoutout
victories by sophomore Domenic
Abounader (4-0) and Huntley
(8-0 major decision) in the 184
and 197-pound weight classes,
respectively.
The Wolverines will continue
to rely on their replacements
as the injury list continues to
grow. In addition to Massa and
Bruno being sidelined, freshman
Davonte Mahomes is out for
the remainder of the 2014-15
season with an anterior cruciate
ligament tear and fifth-year
senior Steve Dutton left the team
because of concussions.
But just like this weekend, the
Wolverines will not spend time
feeling sorry for themselves with
three more duals and Big Ten
Championships looming.
WRESTLING
MSU
MICHIGAN
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