4B — November 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
Late goal boosts Michigan
Calderone scores
in third period,
Wolverines win
shootout, 1-0
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
The referee exited the replay
box and pointed to center ice. The
goal was good.
Cheers and applause erupted
from
the
crowd
at
Yost
Ice
Arena like
steam out of a boiling teapot.
The excitement had built up
inside of them for 48 minutes,
and it began to seem impossible
that the Michigan hockey team
would ever light the lamp.
But finally, sophomore forward
Tony Calderone delivered.
After senior forward Boo
Nieves drove toward the net, the
puck hung up for grabs just shy of
the goal line. With a defender in
his way, Calderone muscled his
way into position and got his stick
on it to equalize the game at one.
“(Nieves) made a nice play
cutting to the middle,” Calderone
said. “I was able to hit it in. It
wasn’t pretty, but hey, it counts.”
Calderone’s gritty goal proved
to be a momentum swing, as the
No. 12 Michigan hockey team
went on to beat Dartmouth in a
shootout — though the result is
officially recorded as a tie.
On Friday, the Wolverines
(7-2-2) sent a message to the Big
Green, piling on seven goals. The
Wolverines allowed none on their
own end, and they were lethal on
the power play.
But after that trouncing of the
Big Green (2-5-1), and prior to
Calderone’s finish, the rematch
couldn’t have started much worse
for Michigan.
“We knew it would be a tougher
game,” said Michigan coach Red
Berenson. “We played a pretty
good game, but we couldn’t
capitalize on our chances. We got
isolated chances and so did they.
The way the game unwound, we
were lucky to hang on and get a
tie.”
Thirty-eight seconds into the
game, sophomore defenseman
Zach Werenski went to the
penalty box for tripping. And
though the Wolverines’ penalty-
kill unit handled the same
situation coolly Friday, this time
it paid the price for the mistake.
Just as the penalty expired,
Dartmouth forward Jack Barre
fed forward Carl Hesler in
front of the net. Before senior
goaltender Steve Racine could
react, the puck
was
through
his legs as it
deflected off of
Hesler’s skate.
From
that
point,
things
went from bad
to worse.
Coming
off a 33-save
shutout
performance
against the Big Green, Racine
suffered a lower-body injury
with six minutes left in the
first period that sent him to the
locker room for the remainder
of the contest — leaving him to
be replaced by junior netminder
Zach Nagelvoort.
Despite ending the period on
a power play and outshooting
Dartmouth 10-7, Michigan came
away with nothing to show for
it — an uncomfortable situation
after taking a three-goal lead into
the second period Friday.
Throughout
the
game,
Dartmouth’s
penalty-kill
unit
was a well-oiled machine. After
allowing Michigan to score four
goals on the power play in the
previous matchup, the Big Green
turned away the Wolverines’
man-advantage
attacks
repeatedly.
“They did their homework,”
Berenson said. “We couldn’t get
our shots (or) passes through. It
was a different penalty kill than
we faced last night, so it was one
of those things where we couldn’t
make the adjustment.”
Dartmouth’s
most
notable
penalty kill came at the opening
of
the
second
frame
after
defenseman
Ryan
Bullock
was sent to the penalty box
for
tripping
—
giving
Michigan
another shot at
equalizing.
But
even
with a man-
advantage for
two
minutes,
after
just
testing
the
Big Green on
the
power
play to end the first period, the
Wolverines failed to light the
lamp and tie the game.
After faltering on the power
play, the period remained quiet on
both sides until 10:19 remained in
the second period. At that point,
Michigan’s
best
opportunity
came off the stick of freshman
forward Cooper Marody.
Marody
carried
the
puck
from the right circle around
the net, and an open-net wrap-
around opportunity was his for
the taking. The freshman sent
the puck towards the twine,
but goaltender Devin Buffalo
lunged with his stick to save
what appeared to be a certain
equalizer.
Behind Buffalo’s strong 37-save
effort, the Big Green entered the
third period leading by a goal
with no signs of conceding.
Yet with the combined efforts
of Nieves and Calderone, the
Wolverines found a way to
salvage a goal and send the game
into overtime.
Michigan
ended
the
first
overtime period with a 5-3
shot advantage, but its more
impressive feat was killing a four-
on-three power play to open the
extra period.
Neither side could put the
puck in the back of the net, and
the Wolverines were forced into a
shootout — where they captured
the unofficial victory with a 1-0
advantage.
During his 14 minutes in net,
Racine allowed the game’s only
goal but also notched five saves.
And when Nagelvoort was forced
to replace Racine in between the
pipes, he put forth an impressive
effort — allowing no goals, saving
two shots in the shootout and
tallying 30 saves.
Like
Calderone’s
goal,
Michigan’s entire game wasn’t
pretty.
But
the
Wolverines
emerged
unscathed
with
a
victory and tie this weekend.
And to them, that’s what
counts.
ICE HOCKEY
‘M’ turns in gritty
effort, salvages tie
By JUSTIN MEYER
Daily Sports Writer
Down a goal in front of a
raucous Saturday night crowd,
the Michigan hockey team’s
hopes of salvaging a weekend
series rested on the stick of Boo
Nieves.
The senior forward careened
toward the net from the corner,
and sophomore forward Tony
Calderone dove after the rebound
with
abandon.
Dartmouth
goaltender Devin Buffalo made
37 saves on the night, but this
puck slid untouched, almost
serenely, across the line amid the
tangle of bodies in front.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Calderone
said. “But hey, it counts.”
Calderone is right. The 2-1
shootout win, officially a tie,
wasn’t pretty in a classic sense —
but it was beautiful in its own way.
The Wolverines (7-2-2) opened
the 2015 season with the tricky
task of navigating a soft non-
conference schedule. Hockey,
more than most other sports, is
a game that either contestant
can win on any given night.
Michigan’s 26th-ranked strength
of schedule, out of 60 teams,
makes any misstep more costly.
The first game of the weekend
was a cakewalk. The Wolverines
converted 27 percent of their shots
into goals in a 7-0 drubbing of the
Big Green. But the best results of
a season are often earned when
the bounces are falling the wrong
way. Saturday, for the first time
this season, Michigan showed an
ability to will the puck to the back
of the net.
The biggest challenge was
overcoming Dartmouth’s stellar
goaltending. In his second game
of the season, Buffalo earned
what should be a permanent
starting role. In a small sample
size of 100 minutes this fall, the
sophomore has faced 52 shots,
recording a save percentage of
.942 and a goals against average
of 1.92.
That mark would be good
enough for sixth in the NCAA.
The Big Green’s other two
goaltenders rank last and second
to last, respectively.
Buffalo slammed the door
shut on several close-range
attempts
with
remarkable
pad speed behind an inspired
defensive effort. The result was
frustration for Michigan’s high-
octane offense.
But instead of settling for
chances
around
the
fringe
of the offensive zone, as the
team has been prone to do in
underwhelming performances
this
year,
the
Wolverines
crashed the net hard. The
strategy finally paid dividends
with Calderone’s goal.
In college hockey, an ability
to
survive
tightly
contested
games night in and night out is
necessary to build a sufficient
resume for the postseason. In this
sense, grit can be more important
to winning championships than
elite defense and goaltending.
In fact, the last 10 teams to
win the national championship
ranked, on average, just 12th and
17th in goals-against and save
percentage.
Friday’s
win
was
almost
effortless. On Saturday, pretty
much everything that could have
gone wrong did. An early goal
was scored on a deflection from
a bad angle, Michigan required
two goaltenders after senior
Steve Racine left with a lower-
body injury and Buffalo posted a
career performance.
It was the kind of game that is
easy to lose, but Michigan didn’t.
Calderone is right — the
Wolverines’ play wasn’t pretty.
But walking away with a tie
might be the most impressive
result yet this season.
ICE HOCKEY
DARTMOUTH
MICHIGAN
1
1
“The way the
game unwound,
we were lucky
to hang on.”
the clock. Ohio State converted
three third downs and a fourth
down on the drive, demoralizing
the Michigan defense. Three of
those conversions belonged to
Elliott.
“I don’t lobby or anything, but (I
think) he should be in New York.
He’s one of the best players in
America. He should be a Heisman
(finalist),” said Ohio State coach
Urban Meyer. “I don’t know if he
should win it, I don’t know the
other players … He’s one of the best
players I’ve ever been around.”
The Wolverines simply had
no answers for Ohio State’s star
running back, especially carrying
the emotions of his comments last
week with him. Meyer said after
the game that Elliott apologized
37 or 38 times for his comments
last week — he lost count — and
Elliott certainly played like a
man fighting for his reputation on
Saturday.
He averaged 7.1 yards per carry
and said after the game it felt like
he could do whatever he wanted
to a Wolverine defense that hasn’t
been the same since it pitched
three straight shutouts earlier
this season.
“To come in here and get a win
like we did today just means the
world to this whole team,” Elliott
said. “We came in here into the
Big House and we dominated.
We dominated (on) the offensive
line, and the run game was very
effective.
“I think it’s something we
should do every week, honestly.”
Even when it was Barrett
running
the
ball,
Michigan
simply didn’t have an answer for
the Buckeyes on the ground. Ohio
State totaled 369 yards rushing
on Saturday, more than any of the
Wolverines’ opponents all year.
Barrett scored three rushing
touchdowns, taking advantage
of the constant attention Elliott
demanded to break off big chunks
of yardage.
Early in the game, Michigan
appeared capable of hanging with
the Buckeyes. The Wolverines
forced a stop on Ohio State’s first
possession, and appeared to have
forced a three-and-out on the
Buckeyes’ second drive as well.
But on fourth down, freshman
safety Tyree Kinnel was flagged
for roughing the punter, allowing
Ohio State to extend its drive.
The
Buckeyes
eventually
scored on the drive, and they did
not punt again until there were
five minutes left in the fourth
quarter, when the game was well
in hand.
Michigan’s only touchdown
came near the end of the first
half,
when
fifth-year
senior
quarterback Jake Rudock hit Jehu
Chesson for a six-yard score. It
made the score 14-10, the closest
the Wolverines would come the
rest of the game.
Rudock had to exit the game
early in the fourth quarter after
injuring his left shoulder, but
by then, the Buckeyes already
lead 35-13. Redshirt freshman
Wilton Speight relieved him,
quarterbacking the offense as the
clock ticked down on the loss.
“We got beat,” Harbaugh said.
“Didn’t play well enough in the
game to win it, but we’ll regroup,
come back with the same drive
and aspirations that we’ve had —
win the next game.”
On Saturday, in his first
game against the Buckeyes, he
was far from center stage. That
distinction belonged to Elliott,
and Harbaugh made sure he
knew it.
“He
played
really
good,”
Harbaugh said. “He’s a heck of a
player. (I) congratulated him on a
good game.”
BUCKEYES
From Page 1A
THE MICHIGAN
DAILY TOP-10 POLL
2. ALABAMA: Derrick Henry
broke the Tide’s single-season
rushing record, previously held
by Forrest Gump.
1. CLEMSON: Dab(o) on them
folks.
9. FLORIDA STATE: It’s hard
not to root for a team like the
Seminoles.
3. OKLAHOMA: Quick poll:
Should “Perine” be pronounced
“Pair-in” or “Pee-rhine”?
6. OHIO STATE: Zeke Out!
5. MICHIGAN STATE: Mark
Dantonio hasn’t smiled like
that since the last time ESPN
spelled his name correctly. So
never.
7. STANFORD: Hogan knew
best as the Cardinal beat Notre
Dame.
4. IOWA: Word of advice
for Saturday’s game against
Michigan State: If you drop the
snap on a punt, just fall on it.
8. NORTH CAROLINA: We
honestly didn’t know the Tar
Heels had a football program.
Is Marcus Paige a good
quarterback?
10. NOTRE DAME: Does
anybody kind of miss Baylor?
Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with
first-place votes receiving 10 points, second-place
votes receiving nine and so on.