2C — October 19, 2016
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Road win highlights areas for improvement
Every
time
the
Michigan
hockey team killed off a penalty
during
Saturday’s
game
at
Ferris
State,
the
announcer
would say something along the
lines of, “And the Wolverines
return to full strength,” which
was immediately followed by,
“And they still suck!” from the
Bulldogs’ student section.
At some point during the
second period, though, they
stopped chanting that.
This happened at some point
after freshman forward Jake
Slaker scored the first goal of
the game — and the first of
his career — off an assist from
junior forward Dexter Dancs on
a power play. The Ferris State
students’ cheers against the
Wolverines (2-1) quickly turned
to shouts of frustration toward
their own players, but only until
Bulldog forward Andrew Mayer
managed to score a power-play
goal during the third period to tie
up the game, 1-1.
But with four minutes left in
the third, junior defenseman Sam
Piazza scored the final goal for
Michigan to top Ferris State, 2-1,
which provided an end result to
the night — the Wolverines found
a way to win despite not playing
their best game.
“We knew Ferris would be
good,” said Michigan coach Red
Berenson. “Ferris is desperate
— they’re a better team than
their record, obviously. And this
is a big game for them. They
had the crowd, they had every
opportunity and the referees
certainly
gave
them enough
power plays — but good for us.
“So the takeaway is, even
though we might have been
outshot or outplayed or out-
chanced at times, we found a way
to win the game.”
Outshot and outplayed might
be accurate. Even though the
Wolverines tallied another win,
the game highlighted areas where
they could use improvement.
The Wolverines totaled eight
penalties for the night, including
one for having too many players
on the ice. Even though the team
successfully killed off seven of
those penalties, one resulted in
Ferris State’s lone goal to tie up
the match with seven minutes
left in the third period. And if it
hadn’t been for Piazza’s goal late
in the third, the game could have
gone either way.
Penalties weren’t the only
factor
putting
pressure
on
Michigan, either — the Bulldogs’
offense tallied 29 shots for the
night. Freshman goaltender Jack
LaFontaine proved to be solid
in his debut along with the rest
of the defense, and 28 of those
29 shots never made it into the
net. However, the Wolverines’
offense couldn’t seem to catch
up, as they were only able to put
up 16 shots. And even though two
of these shots turned into goals,
Ferris State (0-5) almost doubled
Michigan’s shot total.
“We didn’t play great — we got
doubled up on shots basically,”
Piazza said. “And we gave up a lot
of odd-man breaks, and that’s kind
of due to how they play, like they
play a little differently than we
might see on a regular basis. We
can definitely tighten some things
up, and I’m sure in video we’ll take
a look at that stuff this week.”
The Wolverines are young
and the season still early, and
this game highlighted some of
the improvements Michigan has
to make. Even though it killed
off the majority of the penalties,
eight miscues in total provide
cause for concern, especially
against a team as aggressive as
the Bulldogs. Trailing 13 shots
doesn’t make it any easier, either.
The question isn’t whether
or not they can make these
improvements, though. Michigan
proved that last week in its 4-0
shutout
against
Union
after
losing the day before, 4-3. But it
needs to learn how to make these
improvements stick, and a tough
road match like the one against
Ferris might have been exactly
what the Wolverines needed to
see that.
LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Writer
CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
Michigan’s young team found plenty of ways it can improve, but also escaped Ferris State with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, moving to 2-1 on the season.
SPORTSWEDNESDAY COLUMN
LaFontaine provides a blueprint
B
IG RAPIDS — Jack
LaFontaine heard the
hecklers, the kind you
only hear
at a college
hockey road
game.
The fans
beat their
thunderstix
in chaotic
harmony,
a reminder
that in no
other sport
are the fans
so coordinated in their
rambunctiousness. Their scorn
for opposing goaltenders is
especially resolute.
That’s how LaFontaine got his
introduction to life as an NCAA
goalie Saturday at Ferris State.
And all he did to respond was
turn in a 28-save performance in
the Michigan hockey team’s first
road game of the season.
“I was really nervous,”
LaFontaine admitted. “… As soon
as I made my first save, I was
like, ‘Cool. I can breathe, I can
play my game, no pressure.’ ”
For the Wolverines to
succeed this season, a year after
losing their starting goaltender
to graduation as well as two-
thirds of their scoring output,
they are going to need a lot
more performances like the
one LaFontaine turned in this
weekend.
Michigan did not play its best
hockey against the Bulldogs,
and without a big game from
LaFontaine, it likely would have
lost. The Wolverines struggled
to generate scoring chances,
and they seemed to have no one
to count on in big moments.
When Kyle Connor, JT Compher
and Tyler Motte left for the
NHL, Michigan lost the human
embodiment of a panic button.
When those three needed to,
they delivered.
The Wolverines now have
young, unproven players in their
places. Those freshmen may
not be as prepared as those in
their positions before, and they
go into some games nervous as
LaFontaine did. But if they can
adjust as well as some have so
far, perhaps Michigan can string
together enough breakout games
to neutralize the loss of bona
fide stars.
Saturday, LaFontaine
demonstrated perfectly what
that might look like.
Late in the game, after junior
defenseman Sam Piazza had put
the Wolverines
up 2-1,
LaFontaine
made perhaps
his best play
of the night.
With traffic
surrounding
the front of
the net, he
somehow
came up with a
puck that had
emerged from the frantic mass
of bodies.
The puck found its way to
goal, but when
play stopped,
somehow, it
hadn’t gone
in. Even
LaFontaine had
to admit there
was a little luck
involved.
“That was
a flukey play,”
he said. “I kind
of stuck my leg
up, and it just so happened to hit
my leg.”
The strange reality
after Saturday’s win is that
LaFontaine is by no means a lock
to start again anytime soon.
Michigan’s other goaltenders
are senior Zach Nagelvoort
and freshman Hayden Lavigne,
who had a shutout in his debut
last week against Union. And
while Nagelvoort is the only
one of the three netminders to
allow more than one goal in a
start this season, his experience
in the crease could ultimately
make him the starter. It was
Nagelvoort who started the
season opener, and Lavigne got
the start the next day.
That means that for all the
poise LaFontaine showed in
Big Rapids, the Wolverines may
not even have him in net the
next time they take the ice. And
since he was a critical reason
they escaped an upset from
the young, hungry Bulldogs,
Michigan may find itself looking
elsewhere for a boost.
Fortunately for the
Wolverines, the options are
there. A defensive line featuring
senior Nolan De Jong and Piazza
can provide support, and leading
returning scorer Alex Kile
seems ready for a standout year
as the go-to option.
Then there are the other
freshmen who, like LaFontaine,
will be looking for their big
moments in the coming weeks.
The hard thing about counting on
those moments is that you can’t
predict them. Goal scorers have
slumps, netminders go cold and
none of that is easy to break out of.
It will be especially hard for
Michigan when the opponents
are more seasoned. Connor,
Compher and Motte are no
longer there to bail out the
Wolverines in times of panic,
and some teams on the schedule
will come ready to punch them
in the mouth.
At one point Saturday, when
a scrap had broken out near
Michigan’s net, LaFontaine
appeared to take a hit in the
face. Asked about it after the
game, he said, “It’s just hockey.”
The rest of the Wolverines
would be wise to adopt that
mantra. Because the punches
are coming. And LaFontaine
might not always be there to
absorb them.
Max Bultman can be reached
by email at bultmanm@
umich.edu and on Twitter
@m_bultman. Please @ him.
MAX
BULTMAN
CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
Freshman goaltender Jack LaFontaine, making the first start of his career Saturday against Ferris State, lifted Michigan to a win with a 28-save performance.
“As soon as I made
my first save, I
was like, cool. I
can breathe.”
‘M’ drops 4-0 blowout
There were nine minutes left
on the clock, and the Michigan
men’s soccer team found itself
down
1-0
to William
& Mary — a
deficit that
was far from insurmountable.
But by the 86th minute, the
scoreboard read 4-0.
This five-minute blitzkrieg
was the result of the Tribe
constantly chipping away at
the Wolverines’ defense until
it finally crumbled. In fact,
Michigan (1-4-1 Big Ten, 2-8-4
overall) was lucky to have not
been down by more by the time
the final whistle blew.
The Wolverines were without
three of their most important
players for the game. Sophomore
defender Marcelo Borges and
junior midfielder Brett Nason
sat out with injuries, while
sophomore midfielder Ivo Cerda
only played a small role as he
continues his recovery.
“We were disjointed from
that,”
said
Michigan
coach
Chaka Daley. “It’s always hard
against a team’s first 11 when
you’re playing with injuries.”
With a makeshift midfield and
many players out of position, the
Wolverines were up against the
wall from the onset.
Usually the team outshooting
its
opponents,
Michigan
managed to test William & Mary
keeper Phil Breno only once.
The Tribe (1-3-2 Colonial
Athletic
Association,
7-5-2
overall)
managed
22
shots
of its own, 13 of which were
on target. Were it not for an
incredible performance from
redshirt
junior
goalkeeper
Braden Horton — who ended
the game with nine saves — the
Wolverines would have suffered
a much bigger loss.
“Braden (Horton) did very
well,” Daley said. “It’s weird
to say that (about the keeper)
when you lose 4-0, but none
of the goals were his fault. He
kept us in the game and kept it
competitive until the last nine
minutes.”
William & Mary played a high-
pressing 4-4-2 formation, one that
proved too much for Michigan’s
deep-defending 4-3-3.
Antonio Bustamante, Ryder
Bell and Reilly Maw — the
Tribe’s forwards — ran riot.
Bell scored a brace, opening
and closing the scoring while
providing an assist to boot. Maw
scored one and set up two, while
Bustamante notched both a goal
and an assist as well.
“They were efficient,” Daley
said. “And they gave our makeshift
backline a lot of problems.”
William & Mary looked like
the better team, but had little to
show for it until the 40th minute,
when it moved the ball down the
right and pushed the Wolverines
well into their half of the field.
After a good combination
in and around Michigan’s box,
Maw found Bell with space on
the left side of the penalty area.
Bell curled the ball low into the
side netting at the far post.
When the ball got rolling for the
second half, the Tribe looked like
a changed outfit. They pressed
higher, moved the ball faster and
starved Michigan of the ball.
William & Mary’s domination
was apparent, but for all its good
work, the ball just wouldn’t hit
the back of the net. The Tribe hit
the post twice and Horton came
out on top time and again in one-
on-one situations. He saved two
shots from point-blank range
and was sent diving in every
direction trying to keep his side
in the game.
But it was only a matter of
time until the resistance caved
in. Bell played a beautifully
weighted through ball past
the Michigan backline. Maw
latched onto the ball, and with
Bustamante in support, a two-
on-one proved too much for
Horton. Maw squared the ball
to Bustamante in the center
of the box for a simple tap in,
and the Tribe added two more
from there.
And
in
a
season
where
everything has gone wrong for
the Wolverines, it was a new low
in Williamsburg.
MEN’S SOCCER
FAHD AHSAN
Daily Sports Writer
MICHIGAN
WM. & MARY
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