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 

0
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