2B — January 11, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
that was Michigan’s offense.
Michigan
State
notched
its first goal 4:27 into the
first frame off the stick of
defenseman Dylan Pavelek.
The Wolverines were caught
in the middle of a line change,
and Pavelek came away with a
breakaway goal to show for it.
Despite
the
single
lapse,
Michigan’s defense was sharp
throughout the first frame —
ensuring Pavelek’s goal would be
the only one the Spartans could
muster before the Wolverines’
offense broke through.
Yet Michigan struggled to
create scoring chances, as the
Wolverines tallied just one shot on
goal in the opening ten minutes.
Michigan
managed
to
weather the storm while its
offense sputtered, eventually
getting the spark they needed
from Dancs.
Dancs’
goal
appeared
to
give Michigan new life, as its
offensive production exploded
to open the second period.
Two minutes into the frame
sophomore defenseman Zach
Werenski drove a shot at net.
Michigan State goaltender Jake
Hildebrand made a good effort
to deflect the puck, but freshman
forward
Cooper Marody
jumped
on
it and lit the
lamp to give
Michigan
its
first lead of the
game.
From
that
point,
the
Spartans
trailed
for
the rest of the
game.
Just 46 seconds later, junior
defenseman Michael Downing
converted a long wrist shot to
give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead.
Werenski added a goal to
his stat sheet as well — which
prompted
a
violin-playing
celebration that earned the
fans’ cheers of approval —
before junior forward Tyler
Motte rounded out the scoring
for Michigan.
But after jumping out to a
5-1 lead and appearing to take
control, unnecessary penalties
doomed the Wolverines, as the
Spartans closed the frame with
two unanswered goals.
For
a
moment,
it
appeared
Michigan
was
going
to
suffer
through
the
same
fate
that
has
befallen them
in
Saturday
matchups
since October.
Michigan State was charging
into the third period, and it
was looking as if this would
be another split series for the
Wolverines.
But the two finishes would be
the Spartans’ last of the night, as
Michigan made a stout defensive
stand for the entirety of the
third period. Goaltender Steve
Racine stood tall, facing seven
shots in the third period and
finishing with 24 total saves.
The netminder was impressive
all night, tallying a number
of impressive glove saves and
limiting
dangerous
second-
chance opportunities.
“I thought we had a great
third period,” Racine said. “We
knew they were going to come
out hard. I think they had a
couple of chances early. But we
stuck with it. They had a couple
power plays and we did a really
good job on the kill. After that
third goal we knew we had to
bear down and we did a really
good job in the third.”
Besides
freshman
forward
Kyle
Connor’s
empty-net
goal with 2:22 left to play, the
Wolverines were held at bay
once again in the third frame,
as they tallied 14 shots but came
away with only one goal to show
for them.
With its six goals against the
Spartans, Michigan finished
the weekend with 15 goals in
two games.
But more importantly, the
Wolverines
got
over
their
biggest hurdle.
They closed out a series.
They were allowed to sing
“The Victors.”
HOCKEY
From Page 1B
“That little bit
of history, I
challenged our
team last night.”
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Sophomore defenseman Zach Werenski returned this weekend and denied the rumor that he is unhappy at Michigan.
Zach Werenski staying at
Michigan despite reports
Sophomore D-man
denies rumors
that he is unhappy
playing at Michigan
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
Zach
Werenski
said
he
was having the best time of
his life at the World Junior
Championships
in
Helsinki,
Finland. After all, the junior
defenseman was the United
States’ captain.
Life was good for Werenski,
free of distractions, and he
wouldn’t have preferred to be
in any other situation. Werenski
tallied two goals and seven
assists — the highest point
total of a defenseman in the
tournament — en route to being
named the tournament’s best
defenseman.
However, on New Year’s Day,
a Columbus Dispatch article
irked Werenski. The report said
Werenski, the eighth pick in the
2015 NHL Draft, was “unhappy
in college and thinking of
turning pro.”
That report is completely
false, and Werenski called it a
“terrible rumor.”
“It’s not something you want
to see while
scrolling
through
Twitter,”
Werenski said.
“But
that’s
why
it’s
a
rumor and you
push it off.
“I was kind
of like, ‘What
is this?’ when
I read it and
put it behind me. At that point,
I stopped looking at Twitter the
rest of the tournament.”
Werenski, who has five goals
and eight assists this season,
said he does not even know what
he’s planning to do at the end of
the season.
“I haven’t even thought about
what I’m going to do at the end of
this year,” Werenski said. “I want
to win at Michigan. That’s my goal,
and I came back to win a national
championship, and I think we have
the team to do that.”
A rumor like this could have
boded poorly for Werenski, as
it never looks
good when a
player
wants
to abandon his
teammates.
To solve that
problem,
he
immediately
sent
a
text
in the team’s
group chat.
“He put in
our group chat
that he is coming back happy
as ever and we had no doubts
about it,” said junior forward JT
Compher.
Thus,
all
rumors
about
Werenski
bolting
Michigan
should be put to rest. You heard
it from him.
“I was kind of
like, ‘What is
this?’ when I
read it.”
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
Forty-eight hours of fun
B
efore the Michigan hockey
team scored six goals
against Michigan State
on Saturday
to bring its
weekend total
to 15, before
the Wolver-
ines erased
their one-
goal deficit,
before they
even made
their first line
change, they
set the tone
for how the game was going to go.
In the first shift, Michigan
State’s Mason Appleton had
Michigan junior forward Tyler
Motte lying on the ice in the
corner of the Wolverines’ zone.
Junior defenseman Nolan De
Jong tried to pry Appleton off,
but Appleton took his time
getting up. When Motte finally
got back on his feet, he and
Appleton were still tangled up —
and Motte flipped Appleton over
on his backside.
Sixty minutes, 12 penalties
and nine goals later, that
moment felt insignificant. But it
embodied the rest of the game:
tight, physical and intense. By
the final buzzer, Michigan had
done what it hasn’t been able to
do all season. It dominated not
one but both games of the series,
asserting superiority over its
in-state rival.
The Wolverines emerged from
the scrum the same way Motte
did — skating away, with the
opponent lying there on the ice.
“I like the fact that our team
can play from behind and
continue to play our game,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“And when the puck starts going
in, we can take a team right out
of the game.”
Was Michigan the better team?
Absolutely. Should the Wolverines
have expected to dominate a less
talented Michigan State team?
Probably. Would a hard-fought
performance against a top-tier
opponent have been better for
Michigan’s NCAA Tournament
resume? Sure.
But this week, Michigan State
was on the schedule, so all the
Wolverines could do was keep
rolling at their rival’s expense.
The last time Michigan played
the Spartans in a two-game
series was last March. The
Wolverines were the better team,
just like this season. They went
up to East Lansing on a Friday
and took care of business, 5-3.
Then, they returned to Ann
Arbor needing a Saturday
win to share the Big Ten title
with Minnesota and earn a
first-round bye in the Big Ten
Tournament. Instead, Michigan
State goaltender Jake Hildebrand
stopped 37 shots, and the
Spartans escaped with a 2-1 upset.
The Wolverines had to win three
games in three days the following
weekend
to make
the NCAA
Tournament,
and they fell
short. Perhaps
with a sweep of
Michigan State
and a bye in the
tournament,
things would
have been
different.
The sluggish Saturday
performances recurred in the
first half of this season. Going
into this weekend, in six two-
game series, Michigan had
dominated its opponents by a
combined score of 34-17 in the
series openers but had been
outscored 18-16 in the finales.
Saturday’s
game began to
show similar
signs. The
Wolverines
gave up the
first goal after
just 4:27 and
remained
behind for
most of the
first period.
But they tied the game
toward the end of the first,
took control in the second and
coasted in the third. In the
end, the better team won. And
given how Michigan has played
against lesser opponents this
season — dropping a Saturday
game against Robert Morris,
4-0, and tying another against
Dartmouth a month later —
that’s no small feat.
“Our best players are our best
players,” Berenson said. “They’re
showing up every night.”
After his team bludgeoned
Michigan State on Friday, 9-2,
Berenson challenged his players
to respond with another good
performance the next night.
While they didn’t put together
their prettiest game, they passed
Berenson’s test. And they had
fun doing it.
For Michigan’s first goal Friday,
junior forward JT Compher
picked up a turnover, skated in
from the corner and hammered a
shot over Hildebrand’s shoulder.
Saturday, sophomore forward
Dexter Dancs took a pass from
behind the net and slid it through
Hildebrand’s legs. And finally,
with the game starting to get out
of hand, sophomore defenseman
Zach Werenski joined in on the
action.
The Columbus Dispatch
reported last week that
Werenski was unhappy at
Michigan and thinking of
turning pro. Werenski saw
the rumor on Twitter while in
Finland at the World Junior
Championships. He refuted
it after the game Friday
and again during the game
Saturday. Midway through
the second period, he skated
toward Hildebrand and flicked
in a wrist shot from the slot,
then turned back toward the
Children of Yost and played the
violin on his arm with his stick.
He certainly appeared to be
having fun. So did everyone
else at Yost Ice Arena. The
Wolverines led, 4-1.
That’s all the weekend seemed
to be about. Michigan did little
to bolster its postseason resume,
save for avoiding a crushing loss.
It had a large margin for error,
so any small mistakes played
little role in the final outcome.
It wasn’t a turning point, and
it wasn’t a highlight game. It
wasn’t Penn State, and it wasn’t
Minnesota. But it was Michigan
State, and it was fun.
So while the win shouldn’t
be overstated, it shouldn’t be
understated, either. Not every
weekend can be a statement
win. Sometimes you just cruise
onto the next one, leaving your
in-state rival lying on the ice.
Lourim can be reached
at jlourim@umich.edu and
on Twitter @jakelourim.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
The Michigan hockey team did a lot of celebrating in a convincing sweep of Michigan State this weekend, its first series sweep since October against Mercyhurst.
JAKE
LOURIM
“When the puck
starts going in, we
can take a team
out of the game.”