8A — Wednesday December 9, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily

When Harbaugh doesn’t want to watch the game anymore.

THE M ANY FACES OF HARBAUGH

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

It’s safe to say Harbaugh doesn’t agree with the referee’s call here.

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Just kidding, we know this is John Harbaugh. Don’t worry.

Wolverines prepare for unknown

Michigan readies 
for first bowl under 

Harbaugh

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

Four months ago, almost to 

the day, the Michigan football 
team assembled in Ann Arbor 
for the start of fall practice on 
Aug. 7. Jim Harbaugh had been 
head coach for just over seven 
months, including one spring 
camp, but still, an unknown lay 
ahead.

The 
Wolverines 
had 
no 

idea what to expect out of 
Harbaugh’s first fall camp. They 
didn’t know what time practices 
would be. They didn’t know 
what they would entail. In his 
media day press conference 
Aug. 6, Harbaugh proclaimed 
that his team was going into 
a “submarine” and using a 

“bunker mentality.” No one was 
quite sure what that meant.

That camp laid the foundation 

for a year of rebirth, one in 
which the Wolverines regained 
their dignity, Harbaugh said 
Monday. Thursday, as Michigan 
begins its preparation for the 
Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl, it will end 
the season the same way it 
started it: with a long month of 
practice and preparation, with 
unclear expectations.

“Not until Coach Harbaugh 

lays it all out and really sends 
us a schedule on everything, 
what it’s going to be like and 
stuff,” said senior linebacker 
Joe Bolden on Monday. “So no, I 
have no idea right now, standing 
here talking to you.”

Not under Harbaugh, at least. 

The Wolverines last played 
in a bowl game in 2013, when 
they lost to Kansas State in the 
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, 31-14. 
This year, they again have the 
opportunity to spend the last 

month of the season refining 
technique 
and 
correcting 

weaknesses in preparation for 
next season.

“I think it’s really a big 

deal for us to get those extra 
15 
practices, 
which 
goes 

overlooked 
sometimes,” 
said 

junior tight end Jake Butt on 
Monday. “Just getting those 
young players those 15 practices, 
that’s another spring ball. That 
can go a long way for player 
development.”

Another 
shakeup 
is 
the 

departure 
of 
defensive 

coordinator D.J. Durkin, who 
took the head coaching job at 
Maryland. 
Chris 
Partridge, 

previously 
the 
director 
of 

player personnel, will take over 
Durkin’s role as linebackers 
coach for the bowl game, and 
defensive 
line 
coach 
Greg 

Mattison will coordinate the 
defense. Mattison previously 
led the unit from 2011 to 2014 
under Brady Hoke.

“(For) some of us, (Mattison 

is) what we know better, in a 
way,” Bolden said. “I’ve played 
three of my four years under 
him. I love how he coached and 
how he coaches. I came in and 
my first game was under him, 
and I’m going out and my last 
game’s going to be played with 
him calling the defense, too. 
So, it’s pretty exciting from my 
standpoint.”

Other than the role changes, 

Michigan has a fair level of 
continuity, perhaps giving it the 
opportunity to heal for the bowl 
game. Most notably, fifth-year 
senior quarterback Jake Rudock 
is recovering from a shoulder 
injury 
he 
suffered 
in 
the 

regular-season finale against 
Ohio State.

On both sides of the ball, the 

Wolverines will go back to the 
fundamentals. They ended the 
regular season with a tough 
42-13 loss to the Buckeyes at 
Michigan Stadium, and while 

they will still finish 0-2 against 
their rivals, they have a chance 
to end the year on a different 
note.

On 

Sunday in a 
teleconference 
and 
again 

Monday 
at 

the 
annual 

team banquet, 
Harbaugh 
used 
the 

analogy 
of 

a 
running 

locomotive to 
describe his team’s progress, 
saying he will try to keep it going 
heading into the offseason.

His opponent, Florida, has the 

same amount of time to prepare, 
so a tough test lies ahead.

“I 
wouldn’t 
say 
either 

team is at an advantage or 
disadvantage,” 
Bolden 
said. 

“We’ve all got the same amount 
of time, and how you use that 
time will determine how you 

play and the outcome of the 
game.”

The players aren’t yet aware 

of how exactly 
Harbaugh will 
go about that 
preparation. 
Redshirt 
junior 
wide 

receiver Jehu 
Chesson 
said 

that 
as 
fall 

camp 
went 

along, 
the 

team got into 
a rhythm of 

knowing roughly what time 
practice would be and about 
how long it would last.

But now, that process starts 

all over to conclude the season.

“I’m not too sure what to 

expect,” Chesson said. “We’ll 
go back to our roots in terms of 
trying to get the fundamentals 
and everything shaken out.

“It’s an unknown. We’ve 

never done it before.”

FOOTBALL

“It’s an 

unknown. 
We’ve never 

done it before.”

Catt rising fast in net for Michigan

The freshman 
goaltender could 

receive more 
playing time

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

 As the Michigan hockey 

team began its shootout against 
Wisconsin on Saturday, all eyes 
were on junior forward Tyler 
Motte as he took the puck from 
center ice and went in on goal 
to try to give the Wolverines an 
early advantage.

That is, all eyes except for 

freshman goaltender Chad Catt’s.

While all of the 5,466 fans 

in attendance held their breath 
in 
anticipation 
of 
Motte’s 

opportunity, Catt was bent over 
on his own end, staring at the ice 
and waiting for the crowd to tell 
the tale of his teammate’s effort.

When a groan resonated 

throughout the crowd, Catt 
turned around, ready to face 
Badger 
forward 
Cameron 

Hughes.

Hughes 
carried 
the 
puck 

down the ice and fired, but the 
freshman netminder made the 
save. Next came Michigan junior 
center JT Compher’s goal. Once 
again, Catt refused to watch but 
listened as the crowd erupted.

Now 
it 
was 
Wisconsin 

forward Luke Kunin’s turn to 
beat Catt, but he shut the door 
on that effort, too.

Catt turned around once 

more, as Alex Kile skated toward 
net with a chance to clinch 
victory. The junior forward lit 
the lamp on the opposite end for 
the Wolverines.

Game 
over 
— 
Catt 
had 

completed his first career Big 
Ten appearance in dramatic 
fashion.

As for Catt’s refusal to watch 

his team shoot, every goalie has 
a quirk, and this was his.

“In my first year in Aberdeen 

(in the North American Hockey 
League), we went into a lot of 
shootouts,” Catt said. “I just 

was in practice, not worrying 
about what was going on outside 
of my end. So I kind of brought 
that into our shootouts, where I 
don’t need to worry about what 
the goalie is doing down there. I 
just need to take care of my end 
and make saves, and hopefully 
our guys put one or two in.”

Added 
goaltending 
coach 

Steve Shields: “It’s what the guy 
does to be ready. I did idiotic 
stuff that people would think 
is stupid. Whatever he needs to 
do to stop the puck, I think at 
this point, the coaches are like, 
‘Do whatever you have to do.’ … 
If you can stop the puck, you’ll 
have your way around here.”

Prior to Saturday, Catt had 

played only one period in an 
exhibition against Toronto and 
10 minutes in the Wolverines’ 
7-3 blowout of Niagara.

But when he replaced junior 

goaltender 
Zach 
Nagelvoort 

after 
the 
starter 
conceded 

four goals 30 minutes into the 
matchup with the Badgers, Catt 
was thrown into hot water.

It was the second game of the 

Big Ten season, Michigan trailed 
Wisconsin 4-3, and Michigan 
coach Red Berenson sent the 
freshman in to stop the bleeding.

Despite the pressure, Catt 

delivered.

The Badgers found twine 

twice with Catt in goal, but 
both goals were far from the 
goaltender’s fault. He saved 
12 of the 14 shots sent his way, 
giving the Wolverines enough 
to complete the comeback, and 
his performance in the shootout 
speaks for itself.

“It’s difficult in the respect 

that the expectations of you 
from the outside world are very 
limited any other day of the 
week,” Shields said. “But in a 
tie game or a game where it’s 
close and you’re down behind 
at home in the Big Ten regular 
season — all of a sudden, you’re 
the last line of defense. It would 
be considered tough. … For me, 
I know what it felt like to be in 
that situation.

“It’s 
an 
opportunity. 

Players always talk about the 

opportunity that they want. He 
was given an opportunity, and 
that day he ran with it.”

Before the season started, 

Catt was an 
afterthought 
as a candidate 
to 
anchor 

Michigan’s 
defense. 
He 

was 
buried 

behind 
Nagelvoort 
and 
senior 

Steve 
Racine 

in the depth 
chart 
and 

expected to strictly serve in a 
backup role.

Now Racine is week-to-week 

with a lower-body injury, and 
Nagelvoort has struggled after 
some impressive outings to start 
the season.

By no means is Catt a lock to 

start in net, but that may enter 
into the realm of possibility — 
especially as the coaching staff 
takes notice of the progress he 

has made since 
October.

Berenson 

said Catt looks 
much 
more 

acclimated to 
the speed of 
college hockey 
— 
something 

that 
was 

impossible 
for the now-
21-year-old 

freshman to prepare for with 
the Aberdeen Wings. He also 
emphasized that far fewer pucks 
are getting past Catt in practice, 
leaving the coaches with the 
feeling that their freshman 
netminder is in a good place at 
the moment.

And Shields explained that 

Catt has had great days in 
practice, but also days when he 
thinks the freshman would like 
a “do-over.”

Those 
“do-overs” 
are 
a 

sign that Catt still has a lot of 
room for improvement, but 
that is something he willingly 
acknowledges.

At the beginning of the 

season, 
Catt 
and 
Shields 

reached 
an 
agreement 

on 
a 
unique 
program 
for 

improvement the pair could 
work on. There are two things 
stressed 
in 
that 
program: 

posture and explosiveness.

Catt is just 5-foot-10 — short 

compared to Nagelvoort and 
Racine, who stand 6-foot-3 and 
6-foot-1, respectively — so he 
is working to get in the habit 
of standing upright as much as 
possible to prevent the opposition 

from shooting high on him.

As for explosiveness, Catt 

explained that he previously 
made calm pushes from post 
to post and would have to keep 
sliding over to get in position. 
But at this level, that’s not an 
option. Catt quickly recognized 
that if he stuck to his old habits, 
forwards would be shooting 
while he was still adjusting.

But on Saturday, there were 

still plenty of positive signs 
from the freshman — enough 
that 
someone 
on 
Twitter 

compared him to goaltender 
Julie “The Cat” Gaffney from 
“D2: The Mighty Ducks.”

“I get that a lot,” Catt said. 

“Every team I’ve played on, 
it has come up at least once 
or twice. I mean, it’s a movie, 
it’s funny. No, (I don’t prefer 
Goldberg), I don’t at all. I prefer 
her style compared to his.”

“I did idiotic 

stuff that people 
would think is 

stupid.”

Emily Schumer