The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
November 23, 2015 — 3B
An almost-
perfect
weekend
B
OSTON — With 4:28 to
go in the final period of
Saturday’s game against
No. 10 Boston University and
the Michigan
hockey team
up, 3-1, junior
forward Max
Shuart found
himself on a
breakaway.
After receiv-
ing a diving
poke-check
pass from
freshman
forward Kyle
Connor, Shuart deked once
before putting the puck past the
Terrier goaltender.
Shuart’s goal allowed the
Wolverines to finally breathe
a sigh of relief, putting an
exclamation point on an overall
successful weekend.
“It was nice to get it going in
the third and get the lead up a
little bit,” said junior forward
JT Compher.
The goal shouldn’t have been
the first time the Wolverines
breathed a sigh of relief, though.
In fact, Shuart’s goal should
have been the cherry on top
of an undefeated weekend in
Boston.
Michigan should have
passed its first real test of the
season with flying colors, twice
beating a highly ranked Boston
University side that hadn’t lost
in three weeks.
That’s not what happened,
though. Instead, the
Wolverines’ second game was
the only one in which they came
away with a win.
Less than 24 hours prior
to their 4-2 win Saturday, the
Wolverines held a two-goal
lead at the end of third period,
similar to one they held in their
game the next night.
But the difference was that
the minute the Terriers got on
the scoreboard with 9:16 left
in the game, the once-quiet
Agganis Arena woke up, and
pandemonium ensued.
Boston University scored
again to tie the game just 12
seconds later and finished off
the Wolverines with three
minutes left in the game with
a goal from defenseman Doyle
Somerby.
“We saw we were up 2-0
heading into the third, and we
really wanted to lock down the
(defensive zone), which took
away from our aggressiveness,”
said junior forward Tyler Motte
after Friday’s loss. “Intensity
from our end went down a little
too low. Obviously, you have
to defend the lead, but we also
have to play our game, and
that’s not something we did.”
If Michigan had kept its
pedal on the gas for 10 more
minutes, it could have walked
out of Boston with two massive
wins.
It’s like doing really well
on an exam, but missing out
on the big point questions and
still getting a B+ even though
you only missed one or two
problems.
“We just played a very good
hockey team,” said Boston
University coach David Quinn
after Saturday’s game. “They’re
big, strong and fast. Their
forwards keep you on your
heels, and they were the better
team over the weekend, without
question.”
And most would agree with
Quinn. The Wolverines were
the better team for five-plus
periods.
But the Pairwise Rankings
don’t take into account losses
that were almost wins. That’s
not how it works.
No matter how many
questions you get right on the
test, if you only get 88 percent
of the points on an exam, you
usually get a B+. No ifs, ands or
buts.
The computer will just see
that the Michigan went on the
road to Boston University and
came away with both a win and
a loss.
While the end result wasn’t
ideal, by no means was it
terrible either.
In fact, the series was
quite a good showing by the
Wolverines and one they
should be proud of. Boston
was the 10th-ranked team in
the country and sports some
of the best players around,
including 2014-2015 First Team
All-American defenseman
Matt Grzelcyk, as well as
forward Jordan Greenway and
defenseman Charlie McAvoy,
two highly touted freshmen
who played on the United States
Under-18 National Team a year
ago.
“(Boston University’s) a good
team,” said Michigan coach Red
Berenson. “They’re going to win
a lot of games, and they showed
it on Friday. We didn’t let them
play well tonight.”
After playing no ranked
teams prior to the weekend
series, the Terriers presented
the Wolverines with Berenson’s
first gauge of how his team
matches up against college
hockey’s elite. Also considering
the fact that the Wolverines
had never won in Agganis
Arena, just getting one win was
impressive.
“Anytime you win Boston, it’s
a good win,” Berenson said.
But the reality is that the
Wolverines played their best
hockey of the season and had
two wins well within their
grasp, and 10 minutes of
hockey separated them from
just passing their first test to
blowing it out of the water.
A B+ performance isn’t bad,
but an A+ performance was
definitely there for the taking.
Minh Doan can be reached
at minhdoan@umich.edu and
on Twitter @_minhdoan.
‘M’ earns split in Boston
Wolverines recover
from meltdown
Friday to win
finale Saturday
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
BOSTON — Three weeks
ago, the Michigan hockey team
suffered its first loss of the
season
against
Robert
Morris.
It was the Wolverines’ first
afternoon
game,
and
the
Colonials shut out Michigan at
home.
After the game, Michigan
coach Red Berenson said one
team always has more energy
in an afternoon game, and that
team always wins.
“I told my team this morning
that there would be one team
that would come out hungrier
than the other,” Berenson said
after the Robert Morris loss
on Oct. 31. “In these afternoon
games, that’s how it works. We
thought we’d be that team, but
we weren’t.”
Saturday
afternoon,
the
Wolverines were that team.
No. 12 Michigan outshot No.
10 Boston University, 38-21, en
route to a 4-2 win.
“We knew we had to come out
and start on time and play well
at the beginning,” said junior
forward
JT
Compher.
“We
had had a lot of, I wouldn’t say
anger, but we wanted to send a
message.”
Like it did a day earlier,
Michigan (6-2-1) started the
day’s scoring. Ninety seconds
into Michigan’s first power-play
opportunity, junior defenseman
Michael Downing lined up a
shot from the blue line that
freshman
forward
Cooper
Marody redirected past Boston
University netminder Connor
LaCouvee.
It didn’t take the Wolverines
long to add to their early
lead when freshman forward
Brendan
Warren,
on
a
breakaway, backhanded one over
LaCouvee’s
left shoulder.
However,
the feeling still
wasn’t secure
for
Michigan
hockey
fans.
Friday,
the
Wolverines
jumped out to
a 2-0 lead over
the
Terriers
(6-4-2),
but
conceded
three
unanswered
goals in the third period in their
second loss of the year.
Saturday was a different story.
With three minutes left in the
first frame, Downing, on a power
play once again, got his shot
through from the blue line. This
time, junior forward Alex Kile
was there to collect the rebound
that he ultimately backhanded
over LaCouvee.
The second period was a
stalemate for 19 minutes before
Boston
University
forward
Matt Lane took a long pass
from forward Doyle Somerby
and brought the puck in from
the right slot
before beating
Racine via the
five hole.
And
when
the
second-
period buzzer
rang a minute
later, it was
the same story
as a day before:
Michigan was
up two goals,
outshooting the Terriers by
more than 10 while dominating
the game.
More notably, during the
final five minutes of the second
period, the Wolverines looked
like they were playing not to
lose, rather than playing to win.
Berenson said that was the sole
reason for Friday’s collapse.
But
Berenson
stressed
that
message
during
the
second
intermission,
and
the Wolverines looked like a
completely different team in the
third period than they did a day
before. Compher said the team
was well aware of that during
the second intermission.
“I didn’t have to say much,”
Compher said. “We just knew we
had to keep the gas pedal down
and play to win and play our goal.
It was a good period by us, and one
of the best we played all year.”
With three minutes left in
the game, junior forward Max
Shuart received a pass from
freshman forward Kyle Connor
and beat LaCouvee for his first
goal of the season.
And with Shuart’s goal, the
Wolverines, despite letting up
a final-second goal, cruised to
their first afternoon win of the
season and left a tough road
series against Boston University
with a win.
“To come out and play the way
we did today leaves a good taste
in our mouth,” Compher said.
Added Berenson: “Any time you
win in Boston, it’s a good win.”
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Freshman forward Cooper Marody, pictured here against Niagara, opened the scoring in Michigan’s win Saturday.
“We knew we
had to come
out and start
on time.”
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Michigan equals
rank, takes sixth
Finn earns All-
America honors
after running most
of race barefoot
By LANEY BYLER
For the Daily
The Michigan women’s cross
country team ended its season
at the NCAA Championship
on Saturday with a sixth-
place
finish,
matching
its
No. 6 national ranking. The
result marked the Wolverines’
12th
top-10
finish
at
the
championship meet, with 11 of
them falling under the guidance
of coach Mike McGuire.
The team went into the race
striving for a podium finish,
expecting to work hard and push
for a spot in the top three.
Michigan junior Erin Finn,
however, wasn’t expecting to lose
her shoes.
Shortly after the 2K mark in
the 6,000-meter race, Finn was
clipped by a runner behind her,
and as a result, lost both of her
shoes and socks. Despite the
setback, Finn continued to run
barefoot.
“It speaks volumes about how
tough she really is, because the
easy way out would have been to
walk off of the course,” McGuire
said. “We were not running on a
pristine golf course. Part of it was
on a gravel road, part of it was
traversing sidewalks. She wasn’t
over at Grand Haven walking on
the beach.”
Finn placed 19th with a final
time of 20:10:2 and was awarded
All-American honors for the
second time in her career. Finn
is the seventh Michigan runner
to be awarded multiple All-
American honors.
Senior Shannon Osika was the
next Michigan athlete to cross
the finish line, placing 53rd with
a time of 20:33.2. Osika, and
fifth-year senior Anna Pasternak,
who placed 120th with a time
of 20:59.3, ended their cross
country careers at the NCAA
Championships.
“Shannon has been a mainstay
in the lineup for the four years
she’s been here,” McGuire said.
“Anna is someone who has
progressed and ran in her first
Championship last year and
really had an outstanding fifth
year this year. They’ve impacted
us
race-wise,
and
they’ve
impacted us with their presence
as being good teammates. I’ve
just got good thoughts on what
both of them have contributed to
the program.”
Gina
Sereno,
a
redshirt
sophomore, placed third among
Wolverine finishers at 90th place
with a time of 20:47.2. Redshirt
sophomore
Jaimie
Phelan
followed closely behind, crossing
the finish line just 2.8 seconds
after Sereno but placing 100th.
Sophie
Linn
and
Jamie
Morrissey,
also
redshirt
sophomores, made their NCAA
Championship
debuts
on
Saturday,
placing
145th
and
180th, respectively.
“Sophie is a much better runner
than she was last year,” McGuire
said. “Jaime is a little more of a
middle-distance
specialist,
so
she’s still adapting to racing a 6K,
but they got their feet wet, so we
expect an improvement on what
they can do.”
The NCAA Championships
capped a strong season. The
Wolverines were the runners-up
at the Big Ten Championships
and brought home a Great Lakes
Regional title, to go along with
the sixth-place finish at the
NCAA Championships.
“The team has depth,” Finn
said. “We have a lot of girls who
can be in the top five, or the top
10, and that really shows, because
you can’t count on everyone
having their best day every time.
But when you have a lot of girls
who are really good, you don’t
have to have your best day every
time, and you can still perform
well because you know that
someone has your back.”
Wolverines claim
ninth-place finish
After winning
Big Ten, regional,
Michigan falls
short of podium
By BILLY STAMPFL
Daily Sports Writer
Following a ninth-place finish
at the NCAA Championships on
Saturday, the Michigan men’s
cross country team felt an eerie
combination of gratification and
disappointment. Despite ending
the season as a top-10 team, the
Wolverines had even higher
expectations after winning both
the Big Ten Championship and
the Great Lakes Regional.
“As a whole, I think we’re
content,” junior co-captain Ben
Flanagan said. “But we’re also
definitely all still hungry for
more.”
Flanagan finished 83rd overall
at the NCAA Championships to
go along with senior Mason Ferlic
(67th)
and
senior
Tony
Smoragiewicz
(72nd)
in
forming
Michigan’s top
three runners.
Ferlic,
who won the
regional
title
last weekend,
started
strong before
uncharacteristically falling back
with just 2,000 meters to go.
“(Ferlic) had a goal of trying to
be in the top 10 at nationals,” said
coach Kevin Sullivan. “For 90
percent of the race he executed
really well, but I think it was an
unusually fast day up front.”
Despite noting that the team
had slightly higher expectations
in comparison to its actual
performance, Sullivan remained
positive and commended the
Wolverines’ efforts.
“We hit every goal that we set
out to this season,” Sullivan said.
“This team has really come a long
way in the last two years.”
Sullivan has found immediate
success in just his second year
as head coach after a decorated
career as a student-athlete at
Michigan. In six years, he won
Big Ten Athlete of the Year four
times and was also a four-time
All-American.
Sullivan’s experience as a cross
country runner has certainly
aided his success as a coach.
“It’s hard to truly explain how
much guys like (Sullivan) can
help out,” Flanagan said. “He’s
been to all of these meets, and
he’s been in our shoes so many
times. We have confidence in
every word he says, because
we know he’s speaking from
personal experience.”
Despite his players’ praise,
Sullivan refuses to take credit for
the program’s achievements over
the past two years.
“This
season
was
about
these guys continuing to build
confidence,” Sullivan said. “It’s
really more about what they’ve
done
than
what I’ve done
as a coach.”
Moving
forward,
the
team will look
to replace top
runners such
as Ferlic and
Smoragiewicz,
whose
combination
of talent and
strong leadership contributed to
the team’s success.
“We have some gaps to fill
next year,” Sullivan said. “I’ll
be expecting that some of our
younger guys and the guys
coming in next fall will be able to
fill those roles.”
With next year on the horizon
and a ninth-place finish now
in the past, the mood may well
shift from slight frustration to
anticipation of what’s to come.
Still, Sullivan made one thing
clear: “Overall, we have nothing
to be disappointed about.”
“We’re also
definitely all
still hungry
for more.”
MINH
DOAN
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Red Berenson’s team salvaged a split in Boston but gave away a late lead Friday.
MICHIGAN
BOSTON U.
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