2B — March 23, 2015
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

Improving a quiet tournament

S

omething was wrong 
when, just 40 minutes 
before puck drop at Joe 

Louis Arena, 
the attendant 
at the box 
office scoffed 
when I asked 
if the game 
was any-
where near a 
sellout.

But it’s 

Michigan vs. 
Michigan 
State! And it’s the semifinal of 
the Big Ten Hockey Tournament, 
where the stakes are highest — 
the winner plays for a berth in 
the NCAA Tournament, and the 
loser sees its season end at the 
hand of a bitter rival. What could 
be better?

The attendant tried to talk 

me into paying extra for seats 
near the glass, but my friend 
and I wanted to be closer to the 
bands. So, with a pair of upper-
bowl tickets in hand, we walked 
up the stairs, through the metal 
detectors and onto the main 
concourse. There were no lines 
for food, at merchandise kiosks 
or at restrooms — and anyone 
who has been knows there’s 
always a line at the Joe.

We figured we might have 

some difficulty sitting where 
we wanted, but the only busy 
section at the arena was the 
one occupied by the Children 
of Yost, the Wolverines’ 
student supporters. Across 
the rink from them stood just 
three members of the A-Team, 
Michigan State’s equivalent.

And believe me, the Children 

of Yost noticed the attendance 
disparity.

“Where are your students?” 

they chanted. “Where’s the 
A-Team?”

The three Spartans waved 

back.

But this isn’t a dig at either 

school’s students, because the 
rest of the arena was mostly 
empty, too. This is a suggestion 
of how to fix a flawed Big Ten 
Tournament, because a premier 
conference’s most important 
contests shouldn’t be played in 
front of empty seats.

The biggest game of 

Michigan’s season didn’t 
feel like it at all. And that’s a 
problem.

I’ve traveled the northern 

United States covering hockey, 
men’s basketball and football, 
and no one is quite as crazy 
as hockey fans. They’ll stalk 
Tinder profiles (Michigan), 
throw a fish at your feet (New 
Hampshire), ring cowbells 
incessantly (Nebraska-Omaha) 
and everything in between just 
to rattle opponents.

In Columbus, the band forms 

Script Ohio on ice, while, in 
Ann Arbor, the referees toss 
candy into the stands — just 
two of the countless traditions 
unique to the sport.

Standing with the Children 

of Yost is the best atmosphere 
you’ll experience on campus. 
But at Joe Louis Arena, 
their chants were routinely 
drowned out by pop music 
or commercials blaring over 
loudspeakers. Even the Blues 
Brothers dance, a second-
intermission staple, was cut to 
only one round.

The game itself, a dominant 

4-1 victory for the Wolverines, 
exuded the chippiness and 
intensity of the rivalry. But the 
scattered fans couldn’t match 

that energy.

But it doesn’t have to be that 

way.

* * *

T

hree steps to improve 
the Big Ten Tourna-
ment

1) Don’t invite the 

conference’s worst teams.

Here’s a crazy thought: 

The 20-game Big Ten season 
should mean something. If 
a team is No. 6 in a six-team 
conference, it doesn’t deserve 
a chance to compete for an 
automatic berth to the NCAA 
Tournament. (Want that 
opportunity? Play better in the 
regular season!) Not only does 
this make for higher-quality 
hockey, but it also makes the 
end of the regular season more 
interesting. Suddenly, the end 
of February and the begging of 
March isn’t just a competition 
for first place — it’s a battle for 
fourth place and a crack at the 
postseason, too.

2) Play at campus sites.
In the 

current 
format, the 
top two seeds 
receive a first-
round bye. 
That’s not 
possible with 
a four-team 
tournament, 
so reward 
the regular 
season’s best 
teams by letting them host 
the semifinal games. The Big 
Ten has some great fans, and 
this is a good way to give the 
tournament the in-person 
support it deserves.

There would have been more 

than three Michigan State 
fans at Munn Ice Arena had 

the Spartans 
hosted 
Michigan in 
a semifinal. 
Minnesota’s 
hockey-
obsessed 
culture 
would’ve 
loved another 
home game as 
well.

The arenas 

would be packed, and the 
passion would be unrivaled. 
That’s what college hockey is 
all about.

3) Keep the final the way it is.
The Big Ten Tournament’s 

goal is to determine the 
conference’s best team, so let 
them do it at a neutral site. 
Right now, the final rotates 
annually between Minneapolis 
and Detroit, and it’s reasonable 
to keep it that way.

Under the new format, this 

year’s tournament would have 
featured:

Friday: No. 3 Michigan at No. 

2 Michigan State; No. 4 Penn 
State at No. 1 Minnesota

Sunday: Minnesota vs. 

Michigan at Joe Louis Arena

How much fun is that?

* * *

F

ifteen minutes before 
Friday’s puck drop, sta-
dium ushers invited my 

friend and me into the lower 
bowl — it didn’t matter what 
our tickets said.

So, for the most important 

night of both Michigan and 
Michigan State’s season, during 
a game played in the state of 
Michigan, I watched the third 
period from the fourth row. 
Nobody was sitting to my right 
or left, either.

And while I’ll never turn that 

deal down, I’d take a rowdy, 
sellout, true college hockey 
environment over better seats 
any day.

Zúñiga was also disappointed 

in the lack of alcoholic beverages 

available at Friday’s game. He 

can be reached at azs@umich.

edu or on Twitter @ByAZuniga.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Joe Louis Arena was mostly empty over the weekend for the Big Ten Tournament.

ALEJANDRO 

ZÚÑIGA

The biggest game 

of Michigan’s 

season didn’t feel 

like it at all.

Drexel tops ‘M’ at 
Michigan Stadium

By LELAND MITCHINSON

Daily Sports Writer

After 60 minutes of play, 

the Michigan men’s lacrosse 
team walked off the field 
disappointed.

The Wolverines (4-4) fought 

hard but couldn’t overcome a 
go-ahead 
goal by the 
Dragons 
(3-5) 
in 

the final minutes of the game, 
losing 9-7.

“I really felt like we missed 

some 
opportunities 
today,” 

said 
Michigan 
coach 
John 

Paul. “We gave a few back that 
were unforced and that’s us 
continuing to work on our (stick 
handling). It’s also some of the 
decision-making process, when 
to push it when not to push it, 
those are some things that we 
need to get better at as well.”

The first quarter of the game 

saw only one goal, with Drexel 
converting on a rebound after 
redshirt sophomore goaltender 
Gerald Logan made an initial 
save.

The 
game 
escalated 

offensively 
in 
the 
second 

quarter with two more goals for 
the Dragons. Junior midfielder 
Mike 
Hernandez 
got 
the 

Wolverines on the scoreboard, 
though, with a bouncing shot 
midway through the quarter. 
Seconds later, Drexel responded 
with another goal to make the 
game 4-1 in its favor. However, 
junior faceoff specialist Brad 
Lott won the ensuing draw, 
which led to his team’s second 
goal, scored by junior attacker 
Peter Kraus.

“You have to take what they 

are giving to you, and today 
they were really focused on 
stopping our midfielders,” Paul 
said. “As soon as we realized 
that was what was going on we 
started talking about our attack 
really being more assertive and 
dodging hard on the re-dodge 
after our midfielders forced a 
slide.”

A second faceoff win in a row 

for Lott led to a goal for attacker 
Mike Francia. The senior scored 
on a fadeaway shot just outside 
the crease after receiving a pass 
from Kraus.

“I won every quarter except 

the third — I went 0-for-4 in the 

third, which was kind of big,” 
Lott said. “Every other quarter I 
was getting every single clamp. 
Later in the game he was slowly 
tying me up. If I could have 
gotten one or two more, I think 
we would have probably come 
out with a win.”

With less than six minutes 

to play in the half, the Dragons 
went a man down as a result 
of a holding penalty, and the 
Wolverines took advantage of 
the situation going back to the 
Francia-Kraus combination for 
the goal. Drexel added one last 
goal to take a 5-4 lead going into 
halftime.

Less than three minutes into 

the second half, the Dragons put 
one on the board after they had 
worked the ball around well on 
their offensive end. Michigan 
responded with a Kraus wrap-
around goal from behind the 
net, and minutes later, senior 
midfielder Will Meter scored 
an almost exact replica of the 
previous goal.

Tied heading into the final 

quarter, Drexel went ahead on a 
goal with 8:09 left in the game. 
However, the Wolverines tied 
it right back up on a goal from 
Francia, who completed his 
hat trick with an intelligent cut 
to the front of the net where 
redshirt 
junior 
midfielder 

David Joseph found him with 
the pass.

With just 4:21 remaining in 

the game the Dragons scored 
what turned out to be the go 
ahead goal. Drexel won the 
following faceoff and was able 
to run two minutes off the clock 
without Michigan touching the 
ball.

As soon as the Wolverines 

gained possession of the ball, a 
timeout was called in order to 
prepare for the attempt to tie 
the game. Out of the timeout, 
Michigan moved the ball well 
around the offensive box, but 
eventually lost control of the 
ball.

“We saw that they were in 

zone and we have plays and 
formations to kind of work 
against that zone,” Francia 
said. “In that kind of game it 
gets pretty hectic as you can 
imagine, with time winding 
down. We just have to connect 
on the little things and I think it 
would have gone our way.”

MEN’S LACROSSE

DREXEL
MICHIGAN 

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