4B — November 2, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

Robert Morris blanks 
Michigan at Yost, 4-0

Wolverines come 

out flat, split 
weekend series 
after shutout

By JASON RUBINSTEIN

Daily Sports Editor

It has been the same old story 

for the Michigan hockey team. 
Not 
the 

one where 
it 
scores 

five 
goals 

a game, but the one where it has 
multiple defensive breakdowns.

And unlike previous games, the 

offense couldn’t bail out its sloppy 
defensive play.

Saturday, in their series finale 

against 
Robert 
Morris, 
the 

10th-ranked Wolverines fell to 
Robert Morris, 4-0. Most of the 
Colonials’ chances stemmed from 
defensive breakdowns that led 
to multiple odd-man rushes and 
grade-A scoring chances.

“You have to be just as hungry 

coming into this game as we 
were the game last night, or 
you’re going to get this kind of 
result,” said Michigan coach 
Red Berenson. “You got to come 
out hungry and desperate every 
night, and anything short of that 
isn’t good enough. The game is all 
defense and goalkeeping, and if 
you’re solid there, it’s going to be 
a close game.”

Three minutes into the game, 

Michigan failed to clear the puck 
from the zone, which led to an 
odd-man rush for the Colonials 
(3-1-2). Robert Morris forward 
Brandon Denham corralled a 
rebound from junior netminder 
Zach Nagelvoort, who made the 
initial save, and beat the goalie via 
the five hole.

And just like the Colonials’ 

first goal, an odd-man rush led to 

another glorious opportunity, and 
forward Daniel Leavens took full 
advantage. Leavens received the 
puck in the slot and sniped one 
over Nagelvoort’s glove.

Robert 
Morris 
maintained 

all the momentum throughout 
the first period. With 57 seconds 
left, the Colonials won a faceoff 
in Michigan’s zone, distributed 
the puck well and defenseman 
Tyson Wilson skated through 
the slot and backhanded one past 
Nagelvoort. The Wolverines had 
multiple opportunities to clear 
the puck.

“You have to say the game 

was decided in the first period,” 
Berenson 
said. 
“I 
told 

my team this 
morning 
that 

there would be 
one team that 
would 
come 

out 
hungrier 

than 
the 

other. In these 
afternoon 
games, 
that’s 

how it works. We thought we’d be 
that team, but we weren’t.”

The three first-period goals 

were all Berenson needed to see 
before making a goalie change. 
Berenson opted for senior Steve 
Racine to finish the game. So for 
now, the revolving door that is the 
Wolverines’ goaltending situation 
will remain spinning.

Racine looked better Saturday, 

stopping 24 shots and allowing 
only 
one 
goal. 
It’s 
a 
vast 

improvement for the senior who 
allowed nine total goals in his first 
two starts.

“We put Nagelvoort in after 

he came off of his best game,” 
Berenson said. “We all thought he 
would just continue that. He’s in a 
groove, had confidence, was into 
it and then you saw tonight.

“The goalies all look at the 

goals and say, ‘Is that something 

I should save?’ And I think he 
would tell you honestly, ‘that’s on 
me.’ When you give them a goal 
that you can save 95 percent of 
the time, that just kills your team. 
This is Division I hockey; this isn’t 
Bantam hockey.”

Robert Morris’ fourth goal 

came on yet another defensive 
mistake. The Wolverines failed 
to clear the puck from the crease 
multiple times, which led to 
forward Zac Lynch putting one 
past Racine.

Michigan (4-1-1) had multiple 

grade-A chances in the first 
period, 
including 
one 
by 

sophomore 
defenseman 
Zach 

Werenski, 
whose 
hard 

shot 
from 

the blue line 
found its way 
through to the 
net and rolled 
through 
the 

crease before it 
was cleared.

Werenski 

nearly 
scored 

again in the third period when, 
on a power play, he fired one at 
Robert Morris netminder Dalton 
Izyk, who made a sprawling pad 
save.

Izyk 
had 
a 
blemish-free 

afternoon, stopping all 34 shots 
he faced. It was the first time 
Michigan had been shut out 
since Feb. 14 when it played at 
Minnesota.

A win over the Colonials on 

Saturday would’ve given the 
Wolverines their best start since 
the 2000-01 season. Instead, the 
Wolverines were left with their 
first loss of the season from a 
game that Berenson said had “no 
positives.”

So for now, Michigan will 

have to worry about fixing their 
sloppy defensive play or outcomes 
like Saturdays could become a 
commonality.

A minor identity

crisis at Yost

T

he Michigan hockey 
team split a pair of home 
games this weekend 

against an unheralded, but very 
competitive, Robert Morris 
squad. No, it’s not the end of the 
Wolverines’ 
NCAA 
tournament 
hopes or an 
indication 
that 
Michigan 
doesn’t 
deserve its 
lofty top-10 
ranking.

But the 

loss does pose an unsettling 
question — when the Wolverines 
aren’t ‘The Comeback Kids,’ who 
are they?

Michigan is 4-1-1 this season 

and has scored as many goals in 
the third period as the first and 
second combined. It makes for 
fun hockey, but relying on late 
goals to win is not a recipe for 
sustained success.

Saturday’s 4-0 drubbing 

at the hands of the Colonials 
seemed to sober the giddy 
excitement of a previously 
undefeated team.

It is fair to say that the 

matchup was not ideal for the 
Wolverines. Robert Morris is 
a big, physical hockey team 
loaded with seniors. Colonials 
goaltender Dalton Izyk was 
unflappable in net, shutting out 
Michigan at Yost Ice Arena for 
the first time since 2009 on 34 
saves.

Still, the home team looked 

altogether lost on Saturday. 
The Wolverines had trouble 
breaking out of the defensive 
zone cleanly, and particularly 
struggled getting to the net on 
offense.

Michigan coach Red 

Berenson attributed the loss to 

a complete lack of preparation, 
saying that he didn’t see any 
positive takeaways from 
the game. He complained of 
underwhelming goaltending 
from senior netminder Zach 
Nagelvoort, who started, and a 
lack of effort from the forwards.

“I didn’t think that we were as 

hungry or as desperate or ready 
to pay the price in front of their 
net,” Berenson said. “We were 
one-and-done, and we weren’t 
stopping on loose pucks. We 
were escaping. Sometimes you 
get away with that and the puck 
goes in, but it wasn’t going in.”

The Wolverines are a 

versatile group of players full of 
NHL draft picks and other top 
talent, but a team’s identity is 
a game plan that it can turn to 
when nothing else is working.

Michigan’s problem is 

pinpointing that identity.

“We just need to play fast,” 

said junior 
forward 
Justin Selman. 
“We’re a fast 
team. We’re a 
skilled team. 
We need to 
possess the 
puck down 
low, just be a little bit crisper. 
Once everyone has that jump 
in their stride, once everyone is 
moving the puck with a little bit 
of zip, we’re a much better team. 
I think we were chasing the 
puck a little too much tonight.”

Playing fast does help, but 

it seems unlikely to be a cure-
all. The Wolverines looked 
lethargic at times Saturday, 
but more concerning was 
the lack of team play. As the 
game wore on and frustration 
mounted, Michigan players 
stopped looking to pass, instead 
carrying the puck into multiple 
defenders.

Robert Morris, content to 

let the poor quality attacks 
continue, turned away most of 
the rushes easily.

This type of individual play 

is the hallmark of a team that is 
uncomfortable playing together. 
But then again, why should 
the Wolverines be comfortable 
playing together just yet? This 
is a team reliant on young talent 
at both ends of the ice, just a few 
weeks into the season. There 
may be cause for concern, but 
certainly not alarm.

Freshman forwards Cooper 

Marody and Kyle Connor are 
tied for the team lead in points 
(7) and goals (3). On defense, 
three of the top six contributors 
are not yet 19 years old.

There were some bright 

spots in the game for Michigan 
as well. Selman, Marody and 
senior forward JT Compher all 
continued to crash the net on 

offense, a kind 
of hard-nosed 
hockey perfect 
for scoring 
goals in tight 
games.

To find a 

way to win 
consistently 

this season, though, the 
Wolverines need more. The 
team must play to its strengths 
— not just in the third period, 
but all game. Michigan is a fast 
team with deep talent. Puck 
movement and a willingness 
to sell out the body for a goal 
is what can separate the 
Wolverines from the pack of 
teams trying to wrench away 
their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Saturday’s loss should be 

warning enough.

Meyer can be reached at 

jfmeye@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @Justinfmeyer.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Senior forward Justin Selman thinks Michigan needs to come up with more bounce in its step than it did Saturday.

ICE HOCKEY

“You have to say 

the game was 
decided in the 
first period.”

RMU
MICHIGAN 

4
0

JUSTIN 
MEYER

“We just need 
to play fast.”

