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SportsMonday
December 14, 2015 — 3B
‘M’ starts series with win
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
Thirty seconds had ticked off
the clock at Yost Ice Arena, and
the game was already tied at one.
Welcome to Michigan hockey.
The Wolverines opened the
scoring
16
seconds into
the
frame,
when junior
forward Tyler Motte fired a slap
shot into the bottom-right corner
of the net. It was a start Michigan
only could have dreamed of in its
rematch with Minnesota — the
team that dashed the Wolverines’
hopes of making the NCAA
Tournament last March.
But
their
excitement
was
short-lived.
Just
14
seconds
later,
Minnesota
forward
Hudson
Fasching responded with a goal of
his own to even the score at one.
From
there,
the
scoring
continued like it has all year at
Yost Ice Arena, as No. 9 Michigan
cruised to an 8-3 victory against
Minnesota behind a three-goal
surge in the second period.
“(The scoring), it’s not all
confidence,” said Michigan coach
Red Berenson. “We’re putting
our chances in. Sometimes it goes
in too easy, and maybe this was
one of those nights. (Minnesota)
will be better tomorrow, and we
have to be better. We have to go
home now and put this game
behind us, which is hard to do
because everybody is going to be
talking to our players about how
good they were.”
Thanks to sophomore forward
Dexter Dancs — who picked up a
loose puck after a scrum in front of
the net and found twine from the
top of the crease 6:30 into the first
frame — the Wolverines (2-0-1-1
Big Ten, 9-2-3 overall) ended the
first period with a 2-1 advantage.
After Dancs’ finish, the frame
was surprisingly quiet compared
to its opening.
Michigan effectively prevented
Minnesota from setting up in
the offensive zone, limiting the
Golden Gophers (2-1-0-0, 6-8-0)
to just four shots.
The
handful
of
times
that Minnesota did have an
opportunity to establish itself,
though,
the
Golden
Gophers
looked dangerous — passing well
and getting quality shots on junior
goaltender Zach Nagelvoort.
Nagelvoort was good enough
throughout
the
game
for
Michigan to hold down the
victory, accumulating 22 saves on
25 shots. At times, the netminder
committed costly turnovers and
made questionable decisions.
But he conceded only one goal
in the first 10 minutes of the
second period, when Minnesota
peppered the net with shots.
The Golden Gophers opened
the
frame
with
newfound
energy
and
buried
the
equalizing goal off the stick of
forward Tyler Sheehy.
The Wolverines ensured that
energy wouldn’t last too long.
Michigan
responded
with
three
unanswered
goals,
the first of which came in a
spectacular fashion from senior
center Boo Nieves.
Nieves picked up the puck
at the defensive blue line and
went on a tear down the ice,
leaving Minnesota defensemen
dumbfounded in his wake. The
veteran
deked
three
Golden
Gophers before finishing it over
goaltender
Eric
Schierhorn’s
shoulder to give the Wolverines a
3-2 lead.
“That was huge,” Berenson
said. “It’s an individual effort, but
when (Nieves) got through their
defense and scored, you could just
feel that pick our team up. Sure
enough, we scored the next shift,
and away we went.
“I have always thought he’s a
better player than he thought he
was, and I think he’s gonna live up
to my expectations.”
After Nieves’ one-man show,
freshman forward Kyle Connor
buried Minnesota in an even
deeper hole. The rookie tacked on
a goal of his own just 15 seconds
after Nieves did by putting a
rebound from junior forward
Tyler Motte’s shot into the net.
Connor wouldn’t be stopped
there, either, as he lit the lamp for
the second time just over three
minutes later.
After allowing his fifth goal
of the night, Schierhorn was
replaced by sophomore Nick
Lehr.
Roughly
two
minutes
after
the
change,
Fasching
finally stopped the bleeding for
Minnesota, scoring his second
goal of the night to cut Michigan’s
lead to two.
Though the Golden Gophers
suffered the same fate as most
teams do when faced with stopping
the Wolverines’ explosive offense,
they did improve offensively in
the second frame themselves —
outshooting Michigan 11-9.
But
that
was
simply
a
consolation prize for Minnesota,
as the two-goal deficit was the
closest the Golden Gophers came
for the rest of the contest.
Motte and junior center Max
Shuart rubbed salt in Minnesota’s
wound 2:44 and 13:51 into the
third period, respectively. The pair
combined to score the Wolverines’
first two goals of the frame, before
Connor completed his hat trick
with 3:10 left on the clock.
The Golden Gophers entered
Yost Ice Arena having ended
Michigan’s season in the Big
Ten Tournament last year. And
the Wolverines had to wait eight
months to get what they have
wanted since that moment.
“It’s tough not making the
tournament since we’ve been
here,” Nieves said. “But this
season’s definitely looking up, and
we want to keep it going.”
And behind the offense that
just keeps on scoring, Michigan
gave itself a new memory of the
Golden Gophers it is sure to be
fond of.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Kyle Connor recorded a hat trick in Michigan’s win over Minnesota Friday night.
Michigan splits series after
lapse in Saturday’s contest
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
Diagnosing
the
Michigan
hockey
team’s
identity
has
become nearly impossible.
Are
the
Wolverines
a team that
can
erase
three-goal leads at the snap
of a finger? Or are they a team
that will allow three-plus goals
in a single period? What about
nights where the nation’s top
offense can muster only one goal
against a much-lesser opponent
in Dartmouth?
No one really knows the
anatomy
of
the
Wolverines
(2-1-1-1 Big Ten, 9-3-3 overall).
Even this far into the season.
And not much is clearer after
Michigan’s 3-2 loss to Minnesota
on Saturday.
“Minnesota played with more
conviction, they played harder and
they got the lead,” said Michigan
coach Red Berenson. “When they
got that second goal, that was a
higher hill to climb than maybe
its been in previous weeks, and we
just couldn’t climb it.”
Heading
in
to
Saturday’s
contest, Michigan couldn’t have
felt comfortable. Even after putting
up a snowball against the Gophers
(3-1-0-0, 7-8-0) the night before
— winning 8-3 — the past had to
cross the Wolverines’ minds.
“Some nights the puck goes
in too easy,” Berenson said on
Friday, “and maybe this was one
of those nights.”
Berenson’s
comment
stems from his team’s past
performances during the second
leg of a home series. Six weeks
ago on Friday, Michigan came
from two goals behind to beat
Robert Morris, 5-3, before losing
on Saturday, 4-0. Three weeks
ago on Friday, the Wolverines
dismantled
Dartmouth,
7-0,
before coasting to a 1-1 tie a day
later. And last Friday, Michigan
erased a three-goal deficit to beat
Wisconsin, 6-4, before tying the
same team 6-6 the next night.
And
Berenson’s
sentiment
held true on Saturday.
“Last night, it was going in too
easy, I told you,” Berenson said.
“And tonight, it was not going in.”
The Wolverines, who have
come out with strong starts
the previous two weekends,
struggled to find any semblance
of offense in the first frame.
And unlike the night before,
Minnesota had no trouble doing
the opposite.
Jake
Bischoff
opened
the
night’s scoring on the Golden
Gophers’ first power-play chance.
The
defenseman
rifled
one
from the blue line, and junior
netminder Zach Nagelvoort never
saw the puck. It didn’t take long
for Bischoff to be heavily involved
in a scoring play for a second time.
Three minutes later, like he did
on his first tally, Bischoff found
the puck at the top of the slot and
fired it toward the net. Forward
Hudson
Fasching,
who
was
screening Nagelvoort, ultimately
redirected the puck home.
And just when it seemed
like Michigan had any sort of
momentum
when
freshman
Kyle
Connor
scored
with
seven minutes left in the first
period,
junior
defenseman
Michael Downing was ejected
after laying a massive hit on
Minnesota
forward
Connor
Reilly. Berenson wasn’t pleased
with
the
referees’
decision,
calling the call “disappointing.”
Michigan was able to kill
the five-minute penalty, but
those were five minutes the
Wolverines
couldn’t
pester
netminder Eric Schierhorn, who
was pulled Friday.
It looked like Michigan would
have control of the game, and all
of the momentum, early in the
third period when Connor scored
his second goal of the game — his
fifth of the series. And that had
Berenson smiling.
“He’s really, really starting
to find himself now,” Berenson
said. “I’ve always thought that
freshmen usually take about half a
year in, and then after Christmas
they take off. And he’s starting to
take off, so good for him.”
But Berenson’s smile quickly
turned the other way on the very
next shift when forward Vinni
Lettieri put one past Nagelvoort
on a point-blank chance.
“When they got that goal,
the timing could not have been
worse,” Berenson said.
Lettieri’s tally sealed the game
and for the fourth straight home
series, Michigan was unable to
complete a weekend sweep.
So for now, the trend of
Michigan
playing
sloppy
Saturday games will continue
and the opportunity to sing
“The Victors” — a tradition after
sweeping a series — will have to
wait until 2016.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Red Berenson lamented that his team has had trouble stringing together consecutive solid performances in weekend series.
Eliminating head
contact in hockey
By JUSTIN MEYER
Daily Sports Writer
With eight minutes to play
in the second period of the
Michigan hockey team’s game
Saturday night, junior forward
JT Compher stood at center
ice flailing his arms in an
animated fashion at the official.
Another referee pushed Michael
Downing toward the exit behind
Michigan’s net while the junior
defenseman hollered at the rest
of the officiating crew.
It was a scene that college
hockey
fans
have
become
familiar with.
The loudspeaker announced
the call — contact to the head
— and Downing received an
automatic five-minute major and
game misconduct penalty. The
Wolverines’ defensive rock was
tossed mid-comeback.
Minnesota won the game, 3-2,
splitting the weekend series.
The advent of concussion
research brought forth a variety
of suggestions for reducing
dangerous hits in contact sports.
Today, automatic ejections are
in vogue.
Division I football reached
its own apex of controversy
this season with hard-to-define
targeting rules. In football, a
player is automatically ejected
for “contact to the head or neck
area of a defenseless opponent.”
Senior linebacker Joe Bolden
was the subject of such a call
during the Michigan football
team’s loss to Michigan State
this season.
While the targeting rule has
been widely lambasted for a lack of
clarity, the success of the contact-
to-the-head rule in NCAA hockey
is still up for debate.
Positive signs include year-
over-year declines in penalty
minutes at the Division I level.
Also comforting is the evidence
of a rapid return to a normal rate
of game misconduct penalties.
When the NHL adjusted its
rulebook, it saw a dramatic
spike for only one year — about
30 percent in 2010 — before
settling back to historically
normal levels.
But some still feel that the
penalty doesn’t fit the crime.
It’s
unfair
to
say
that
Downing’s ejection was the
reason Michigan lost. Instead,
it seemed to light a fire under
the Wolverines, who killed off
the long penalty and eventually
evened the score at 2-2.
But it would also be wrong
to deny the significance of
the call, which left Michigan
with just five defensemen and
required
junior
defenseman
Nolan De Jong to play in extra-
attacker scenarios.
Michigan coach Red Berenson
said after the game that the call
was “disappointing.” The players
didn’t use it as an excuse.
But was the game better off
because of the dramatic call?
Minnesota
was
flat-out
embarrassed Friday night to
open
the
series.
Freshman
goaltender
Eric
Schierhorn
posted an abysmal .667 save
percentage, and the Gophers
looked
helpless
as
the
Wolverines piled on eight goals.
Saturday,
Minnesota
was
determined not to get pushed
around.
Both teams came out hard in
a game that featured 31 penalty
minutes. In the early going, the
contest was a sluggish affair
because of sloppy passing and
physical play in the corners.
Bodies flew, the boards rattled
and several hits took the breath
out of the crowd.
For the most part, though, the
refs were lenient when sending
players to the box. It’s what
made the Downing ejection
such a surprise
— the offending
hit certainly wasn’t the worst of
the game.
Downing himself went to
the box earlier for breaking his
stick on a slash across the back
of a Minnesota player — a minor
penalty
was
assessed.
Later,
the
normally
mild-mannered
senior
forward
Boo
Nieves
took a Golden Gopher player to
the ground following a cross-
checking bonanza in front of the
net. Nieves received a two-minute
minor as well.
Either offense might have
warranted a more costly penalty,
but
Downing’s
head
contact
penalty was the one that changed
the game.
The NCAA updated the rule
before the 2010-11 season. A few
months
later,
Sidney
Crosby
sustained a concussion that would
keep him out of the NHL for close
to a year. That injury made rules
of this sort more palatable, and
may have permanently changed
the conversation on concussions
in the sport.
Downing
received
his
game misconduct for a hit on
Minnesota’s Connor Reilly. The
replay makes apparent that,
in the process of going for the
big hit, Downing connected
with Reilly’s head in an illegal
manner. Reilly was shaken up for
a second, but climbed gingerly
to his feet and finished the game
without any visible symptoms.
It was an awkward hit in
which
Michigan’s
enforcer
appeared to miss his mark
due to last-second movement.
Detractors would argue the
game misconduct penalty was
intended for use on a malicious
play, not a questionable hit.
Downing has had trouble
in this area before. He was
suspended
three
times
last
season, earning him an extra-
game suspension as a repeat
offender. Two weeks ago, while
talking about his timing on big
hits, he said he was working to
stay on the ice this year.
But with automatic ejections,
trying just isn’t good enough.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Michael Downing was ejected from Michigan’s loss Saturday night.
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