4B — February 22, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Maryland back on top for good.
The game had the makings of
a shootout from the beginning.
Both teams traded blows to start
the game tied at 12 points apiece,
with Robinson — who hit five
3-pointers in the Wolverines’
upset of the Terrapins in January
— scoring seven quick points and
showing off a rare inside game
with two layups.
But after a seven-and-a-half-
minute stretch in which Michigan
missed 13 straight field goals and
fell victim to a 17-1 Maryland run,
the contest took on the look of the
Wolverines’ blowout home losses
to Indiana and Michigan State
two weeks ago.
This time, though, Michigan
refused to allow the first-half
run to put the nail in its coffin.
Walton started cold, but he ended
the Terrapins’ scoring run with a
layup and later picked Trimble’s
pocket for a contested fast-break
layup as part of a 7-0 Wolverine
run. Walton and seldom-used
sophomore
forward
Kam
Chatman also knocked down two
3-pointers apiece late in the half
to leave Michigan trailing by just
five points heading into the break.
“I’m proud of our kids, the
way they battled (after) we got
ourselves in a little trouble in
the first half,” Beilein said.
“Thank goodness, because that
thing can go the wrong way very
quickly in this building and with
their team.”
The Wolverines ended up
showing a similar fight right
until the end, outscoring the
Terrapins in the second half,
but it wasn’t enough to secure
a potential NCAA Tournament
résumé-boosting win with just
three games remaining on the
regular-season schedule.
The loss was the end of two
notable streaks for Michigan.
With Walton’s offensive foul
marking his fifth of the game,
it was the first time all season a
Wolverine has fouled out; it was
also the first time Michigan has
lost under Beilein when scoring
80 points or more.
MARYLAND
From Page 1B
Donnal’s effort falls short again
By SIMON KAUFMAN
Daily Sports Editor
COLLEGE PARK — Mark
Donnal was the Michigan men’s
basketball team’s best option on
Sunday, and it almost worked.
After a game-high 17-point
performance in a losing effort
Tuesday
against
Ohio
State,
Donnal had the game’s best mark
again against No. 6 Maryland in
another road loss.
The junior forward hit only one
field goal — a 3-pointer — in the
first half at the Xfinity Center, but
Donnal got hot early in the second
frame and went off for 22 points,
finishing with a game-high 25.
After the Terrapins pushed
out to a 16-point lead with eight
minutes left in the first half, the
Wolverines started to chip away,
eventually cutting the lead down
to six points with just more than
a minute left. Maryland tried to
extend the lead back to double
digits before halftime, but two
big blocks from Donnal late in
the frame kept Michigan within
arm’s reach heading into the
locker room.
To kick off the second half,
sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali
Abdur-Rahkman
found
Donnal twice early in the paint
for two quick buckets. Donnal
fought through contact on the
second attempt to help Michigan
cut the lead to just three.
“They kind of played uphill off
the ball screens,” Donnal said. “So
we knew the late drop-off pass
was going to be there, so that’s
kind of something we emphasized
at halftime.”
A
possession
later,
after
a
Maryland
basket,
Donnal
got open from beyond the arc
and knocked down his second
3-pointer of the game. He went
3-for-4 from deep in the game
after entering it shooting just 25
percent from 3-point range.
“I hit my first (3-pointer), and it
gave Coach the confidence to draw
up the same play,” Donnal said.
“He gave me some good looks, and
we were able to execute.”
But despite Donnal hitting
from inside the paint and behind
the arc, Maryland continued to
take it to him on the other side.
After his made triple, 6-foot-11
center Diamond Stone bullied
him down low, putting in an easy
bucket of his own.
Donnal
kept
playing
aggressively, though, even as
Michigan’s only weapon to combat
Maryland’s size. Five minutes into
the half, Abdur-Rahkman found
Donnal again, and the big man
slammed down a dunk, giving the
Wolverines their first lead since
early in the first half. He nailed
another 3-pointer one minute
later, and when he got fouled down
low two possessions after that, he
hit both of his free throws to keep
Michigan ahead by a point.
Perhaps his impact was best
felt when he was off the court.
When Donnal picked up his
third foul with 12:30 left in the
second half, Michigan coach John
Beilein opted to sub in sophomore
forward Ricky Doyle. Maryland
took advantage of Donnal’s time
on the bench, picking up four
quick points in the paint.
“We didn’t keep him out for
that long, but yeah (it was hard to
take him out),” Beilein said. “His
defense on Stone was good — he’s
strong. He’s got more experience,
but he’s going to have to have a rest
anyhow. The way the wrestling
match is down inside, he’s going
to have to have a rest whether he’s
hot or not. Your big men have to
get a little bit of an extra breather
that the other guys don’t get.”
Doyle filled in for just three
minutes before Donnal reentered.
Donnal picked up right where he
left off and used two quick layups
to cut an eight-point Terrapin lead
to just four.
But Donnal couldn’t handle all
of Maryland’s size himself. With
five minutes left in the second half
and Michigan up one, Maryland
forward Robert Carter Jr. put up
a close-range jumper. The shot
missed, but Donnal was outsized
by 6-foot-11 forward Damonte
Dodd. Dodd grabbed the board
and put up a shot of his own
from inside the paint. This time,
he missed, and Carter grabbed
another
Maryland
offensive
board. Carter went up again,
putting in an easy bucket from
point-blank range.
The Wolverines actually had
the edge in offensive rebounds,
12-9, but Maryland capitalized
on its second chances more,
scoring 13 second-chance points
to Michigan’s eight.
The Carter bucket reclaimed
the lead for the Terrapins, and
they never looked back, closing
out Michigan down the stretch
for an 86-82 win.
For Donnal, though, Maryland
marked his second straight game
as Michigan’s most productive
player. Along with his 25 points,
he also picked up five rebounds
and five blocks.
It didn’t change the end result
for Michigan — another Big
Ten loss on the road — but for
Donnal it appears to be changing
his confidence. After losing his
starting job just three games into
the season before working his way
back into the starting five after
a big performance in Michigan’s
Big Ten opener at Illinois, Donnal
has established himself as far and
away the Wolverines’ best option
down low on both sides of the floor.
Against Maryland’s physicality,
though, Michigan’s best wasn’t
enough.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Junior forward Mark Donnal exploded for 22 points in the second half to try to lead Michigan from behind Sunday at Maryland, but the Wolverines fell, 86-82.
Compher powers top line
W
ith the Michigan
hockey team on the
power play against
Ferris State on Friday night,
junior
forward JT
Compher
cradled a
pass from
fellow junior
forward Alex
Kile and rifled
the puck
toward the
net.
Bulldog
netminder
Darren Smith got a pad on
Compher’s shot, but the rebound
went right across the crease to
freshman forward Kyle Connor,
who buried the puck upstairs
past a sprawling Smith.
Connor’s goal gave him 50
points on the year, a massive
accomplishment for the freshman
phenom, and his teammates
surrounded him to give
congratulatory pats on the back.
But lost in the commotion
was another milestone. With
his second assist of the game,
Compher, Michigan’s captain,
hit 100 points in his career
and became the first junior to
do so since Carl Hagelin, who
currently plays in the National
Hockey League with the
Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2010.
The assist propelled Compher
to tie New Hampshire’s Tyler
Kelleher for first in the NCAA
in helpers.
Unlike a week ago, when
senior forward Boo Nieves
scored his 100th point, there
was no fanfare. A public
announcement came and went
with little crowd applause.
And that’s fine to Compher.
That’s how it’s been all year.
While his linemates put up
flashy goal totals — Motte has
scored in 12 straight games
and Connor has 51 points on
the season — Compher doesn’t
get enough recognition for the
intangibles he provides to the
line.
On a line with two of the
most prolific goal scorers in the
country, some could argue that
Compher is the most important
member of the line. He’s a key cog
in a very well-oiled machine.
There’s no one reason that’s
the case. And that’s the point.
Compher does a multitude of
things very well.
Compher does the dirty work.
He gets to loose pucks in the
corner, and he retrieves pucks on
dump-ins. He gets the pucks that
give his line mates chances to pad
their goal totals.
That’s not saying that the
Motte and Connor don’t do the
dirty work. But as the center
on the line, Compher’s job is to
facilitate, and he’s one of the best
in the nation at doing just that.
“JT demands the puck, and
he’s got speed,” said Michigan
assistant coach Bill Powers. “He
can carry it, and he sees the ice
exceptionally well. So you have
a centerman that doesn’t have
a weakness, and the other two
players feed off him.”
Take for example, Motte’s
first goal of the weekend against
Wisconsin.
Compher retrieved a loose
puck just inside the blue line
with his back to the goal. Before
he turned, though, Compher
saw a streaking Motte cutting
behind two Badger defensemen.
He spun around and fired a pass
straight to Motte, who banged it
home to give Michigan the one-
goal advantage.
The play exemplified
everything Compher does on
the line. His hustle, vision and
skill make him the perfect third
linemate for Motte and Connor.
“The one thing that you really
look to our lines is the center on
the line dictates so much because
everything starts with him on
the faceoff,” Powers said. “A lot of
time, the puck gets to the middle
of the rink. So that’s our centers
getting the puck in the middle
of the rink, so when Kyle and
Tyler get the puck, a lot of times,
it is dictated by a puck-carrying
centerman.”
Earlier in the week, when
Compher was asked about which
player on his prolific line should
win the Hobey Baker Award,
given annually to the best college
hockey player in the nation,
Compher didn’t have an answer.
“We haven’t talked about
anything like that,” Compher
said Monday. “That’s out of our
control and not something we
worry about.”
But Compher should be in
the conversation. You could
even make a pretty convincing
argument that Compher should
be the frontrunner.
Not only is Compher a big
reason why the CCM line is
playing well; he is also one of — if
not the best — penalty killer on
the team.
With penalty killing, a lot of
success comes from working
harder than your opponent to get
the puck and send it down the
ice. Compher does that better
than any player on the team. He
doesn’t take one play off.
“There’s no way JT shouldn’t
be in the discussion (for the
Hobey Baker),” Powers said. “Is
JT the third wheel on that line?
No, he’s as important as the
other two.”
Added Motte: “His impact
freshman year all the way
through now has been
unbelievable for the program.
The guy works hard every day.
I can’t give him enough credit
for what he’s done, not only
individually, but for the team as
well.”
Compher has never put
personal accomplishments
before team accomplishments,
not at Team Illinois, not at the
United States National Team
Development Program and
certainly not now Michigan.
And with Compher on the cusp
of leading the Wolverines to their
first NCAA Tournament in three
years, the tournament berth will
probably feel a whole lot better
than hitting 100 career points
Friday night.
Because the fact of the matter
is, Compher isn’t just a key cog
on his own line. He’s the engine
that keeps Michigan’s scoring
machine running smoothly.
Doan can be reached at
minhdoan@umich.edu and
on Twitter @_minhdoan.
MINH
DOAN
‘M’ beats Ferris State
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
Oct. 23, 1992.
Back
when
the
Michigan
hockey team was still a part of the
CCHA. Back when the Wolverines
put together
their third
consecutive
NCAA
Tournament appearance, before
stringing together another 19
afterwards.
And
back
when
Michigan coach Red Berenson
faced coach Bob Daniels for the
first time.
Now fast forward to Friday
night, 23 seasons later, and take a
look at the two benches. There are
the players — some in white and
blue, the others in all red — but
they come and go over the years.
So take a look behind them, and
you will find something that has
stayed the same.
Berenson,
behind
his
Wolverines, and Daniels, behind
Ferris State. For the 63rd time.
No one knows if this is
Berenson’s last season at the helm
of Michigan’s hockey program yet.
But if this season is his farewell
tour, it’s fitting that he’ll be able to
leave with a win against the team
the Wolverines have faced every
year since 1982.
No. 6 Michigan took the lead
just under six minutes into the
first period and didn’t relinquish
it the rest of the night, cruising to
a 5-2 victory against the Bulldogs
and giving Berenson his 43rd
win against Daniels — the most
against any coach he has faced.
“It’s
a
good
relationship,”
Berenson said. “He came in — he
had his daughter with him this
morning — and we had a long talk
about how it’s going in the WCHA
and how their team is doing.
“And his teams play hard. They
don’t hand over the games to
Michigan. But we’ve had maybe
one or two more players that could
get us over the top — difference
maker players or players that
could score that might have made
the difference.”
But Berenson’s 63rd meeting
against Daniels wasn’t the only
piece of history that happened
Friday night.
Just over 12 minutes into the
second
period,
Ferris
State’s
Ryan Lowney went to the box for
slashing. It took just 49 seconds
on for freshman forward Kyle
Connor to make the Bulldogs pay
for the penalty. Connor coolly
put away a rebound from junior
forward JT Compher’s shot — the
captain’s assist marked his 100th
point in a maize and blue sweater,
making him the first junior to
reach the milestone since Carl
Hagelin in 2010.
But after Connor found twine
to give the Wolverines a 3-1 lead,
Michigan cruised until the final
horn sounded.
The Wolverines added two
more to their goal tally off the
sticks of Connor and sophomore
defenseman Zach Werenski. It
took Werenski just 90 seconds
in the third period before he
singlehandedly carried the puck
in on goal from the offensive
blue line and netted a backhand.
Connor’s goal, on the other
hand, required some help. Junior
forward Tyler Motte carried
the puck into the offensive zone
before feeding freshman forward
Cooper Marody in the left circle.
After tapping the puck off his right
skate, Marody reversed direction
and sent a perfect pass sailing
toward his fellow freshman.
Connor finished the chance easily
to put an exclamation point on
Michigan’s victory.
Though Ferris State responded
with the final goal of the game,
senior goaltender Steve Racine
and the Wolverine blueliners
put together a unified stand
throughout the matchup. The
senior netminder made a number
of critical and acrobatic stops in
front, tallying 24 in total.
There’s no telling if this is the
last year Berenson will be on
Michigan’s bench. But if it is, he
got to watch his junior captain
write his name in program
history. He got to face Bob Daniels
one last time. And he got one last
victory against him.
So if it is the last time Berenson
coaches on a bench opposite of
Daniels’, that’s not a bad way to
cap off a friendly rivalry.
“He’s successful because he’s
very loyal to his players, and I
believe his players are very loyal
to him,” Daniels said. “I think the
world of Red, and I think he’s a
great coach. If you want to try to
emulate someone, he’s your guy.”
ICE HOCKEY
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Freshman forward Kyle Connor scored twice Friday to lead Michigan.
FERRIS STATE
MICHIGAN
2
5