4B — Monday, January 23, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘M’ salvages series
with shootout win
EAST LANSING — Cooper
Marody took the puck on his
stick at center ice. Michigan
State’s Sam Saliba had just
missed
his
attempt,
and
with the
shootout tied at two, Marody
skated
toward
net
with
a
chance to claim victory for his
Wolverines.
The
sophomore
forward rose to the occasion,
lighting the lamp and welcoming
his teammates who streamed
from the bench in celebration.
After a scoreless overtime
period, the Michigan hockey
team found itself in a shootout
with in-state rival Michigan
State. With Marody’s goal, the
Wolverines claimed victory and
salvaged an ugly weekend to split
the home-and-home series at
Munn Ice Arena
in East Lansing
on
Saturday.
Though
the
result
will
offically
be
listed as a tie
on
Michigan’s
schedule,
it
still
gave
the
Wolverines
(2-6
Big
Ten,
9-12-1 overall) a
valuable point in Big Ten play.
“I thought we played harder,
played with more conviction,”
said
Michigan
coach
Red
Berenson. “Overall, we ended
up with a better result. I thought
from start to finish, maybe
the first couple of minutes we
weren’t as good, and then we
got better. They’re a good team
too, but it was important to come
in here and play for points. The
team that loses this game sinks
to last place in the Big Ten.”
The first period was mostly
spent in Michigan’s defensive
zone, where senior goaltender
Zach Nagelvoort faced nine
total shots. Michigan State’s
goaltender,
Ed
Minney,
faced
significantly less
of a challenge
with just four.
But
one
of
those four shots
proved fatal for
the
Spartans
(1-7, 5-16-1), as it
turned out to be
the first goal of
the game.
After
Michigan
State
forward Villiam Haag received
a penalty for tripping, the
Wolverines couldn’t capitalize
on the power-play opportunity.
Four
seconds
after
Haag
returned to the ice, though, De
Jong scored off a snipe from the
point to put Michigan ahead,
1-0, just over six minutes into
the first period.
“That was huge. We were
playing well, good shot, good
goal, and I thought we got a lot of
momentum from that,” Berenson
said. “Let’s face it, we just played
three periods at home without
scoring, so we needed a goal.”
But
just
a
few
minutes
later, Michigan State forward
Dylan Pavelek scored the first
goal of his career to tie things
up. Spartan forward Logan
Lambdin managed a shot that
Nagelvoort knocked away, but
Pavelek was there to clean it up
and tie the game with 9:34 left in
the first period.
The game remained locked
in a stalemate until 7:27 was
left in the second period. Junior
defenseman Sam Piazza sent
the puck to senior forward Evan
Allen down by the net, but Allen
sent it back without a clear shot
available.
Piazza
then
fired
a shot from the point, which
senior forward Alex Kile was
able to knock past Minney for
the third goal of the night.
Michigan
State
desperately tried
to close the gap,
and was almost
able to early on.
Forward
Joe
Cox
brought
the
puck
to
Michigan’s
net
and
wrapped
around
it,
sending the puck
to forward Thomas Ebbing. But
Ebbing couldn’t convert from in
close, and the Spartans left the
second period down only one
goal.
Michigan
State’s
student
section
couldn’t
have
been
hungrier for the equalizer. Down
2-1 in the third period, every
missed attempt had the Spartans’
fan base avidly expressing their
frustration.
Yet with roughly 10 minutes
remaining,
they
had
their
frustrations put to rest, as the
students were throwing confetti
and filling Munn Ice Arena with
cheers after forward Patrick
Khoderenko tipped a shot into
Michigan’s net
on a power play
to tie the game
at two.
But with no
decisive
goal
scored
in
the
overtime period,
the
game’s
ultimate
result
came
from
the
shootout.
Marody was able
to capitalize on his opportunity,
and the Wolverines won the
second game, 3-2.
“It was good to see the puck
go in the net and get that extra
point for us for sure,” Marody
said. “We battled hard all game
and then I took a penalty at the
end, so it was good that the boys
battled back and we were able to
have the opportunity to win in
the shootout.”
ICE HOCKEY
LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor
MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN
STATE
3
2
I thought we
played better,
played with more
conviction
It was good to see
the puck go in the
net and get that
extra point
Marody’s goal lifts Wolverines past
Michigan State at Munn Ice Arena
Wilson provides spark for Wolverines
Leading up to the Michigan
men’s basketball team’s rematch
against
Illinois,
John
Beilein
indicated that the Wolverines
needed a spark.
He
acknowledged
Friday
that when Michigan has made
noise in the past, it had found
one player who could rise to the
occasion around this point of the
season. Beilein also admitted
that, though he’s seen flashes
from players capable of adopting
that role, he still didn’t know who
the Wolverines’ outlier would
ultimately be.
But when Michigan took the
floor
Saturday
afternoon,
DJ
Wilson gave him more than just a
flash.
The redshirt sophomore put
his stamp on the game all day,
but the exclamation point came
long before the final buzzer
sounded.
With just over 12 minutes to play
in the first half and the Wolverines
up by four, senior wing Zak Irvin
couldn’t connect on a jumper.
The ball clanked off the iron, but
Wilson seemed to teleport to the
rim, grabbing the offensive board
and
simultaneously
throwing
down an electrifying putback
slam, all while drawing a foul to
give him an and-one opportunity.
The
dunk
injected
energy
into Crisler Center, waking up
a dormant crowd that — to that
point — had been quieter than the
100 members of Illinois’s student
section that had traveled to Ann
Arbor and claimed seats in the
nosebleeds.
The putback proved to be
the first of two, and just two of
Wilson’s 12 first-half points. His
point total, along with his four
rebounds, four assists and one
block, was the perfect remedy for
a team that has struggled to start
games well — especially when
Michigan was blown out by 16 in
Champaign 10 days ago.
Wilson went on to finish with
a game-high 19 points on 7-for-10
shooting, seven rebounds and five
assists, leading the Wolverines to
a 66-57 win against the Fighting
Illini in which the final score didn’t
properly account for Michigan’s
domination.
“… When I just think about
(Michigan) right now, it’s points
off turnovers (and) second-chance
points, which DJ Wilson was a big
part of,” said Illinois coach John
Groce. “I just thought he made the
right play. He got you on the glass,
he took open shots, he made his
team better.
“I thought he really competed,
got good length and size. … I just
thought he was really active and
engaged in all facets of the game,
certainly not to (diminish) some
other guys that played well for
them throughout the two games,
but I think he’s kind of the guy that
stood out for me.”
In reality, save for the five assists
— Wilson was averaging just 1.21
per game — the performance
is nothing new for him. He has
emerged as a new force in the
frontcourt for the Wolverines this
season after a nearly nonexistent
role in his first two years.
But for a Michigan team that
struggles on the glass and on
defense, especially in the low post,
Beilein’s outlier may have been in
his starting lineup throughout the
last 18 games.
After all, Wilson helped hold
Wisconsin forwards Ethan Happ
and Nigel Hayes below double
digits until his foul-ridden second
half.
Against Illinois, it was more
of the same. The Fighting Illini
torched Michigan’s frontcourt in
their matchup on Jan. 11, as center
Maverick Morgan and forward
Leron Black combined for 26
points. Yet on Saturday, Wilson led
the effort that held the pair to just
10 points.
Establishing a consistency in
Wilson’s game, then, could send
that spark Beilein has been looking
for resonating throughout the
Wolverines.
Against No. 17 Wisconsin, for
example, despite his defensive
presence, Wilson fouled out with
zero points and five rebounds in 30
minutes played. And early in the
year when Michigan was blown
out against South Carolina, he had
just two points and four rebounds.
Still,
Wilson’s
performance
against
Illinois
on
Saturday
serves as the latest example of his
uncanny ability to bounce back in
a convincing fashion, and those
performances often come off
residual touches that come with
the flow of the game.
Beilein has admitted that the
future could hold more plays that
aim to get the ball in Wilson’s
hands, and if that’s the missing
piece to the puzzle, the Wolverines
could reap the benefits. But for
now, Wilson’s showing against
Illinois might be enough to start
something special.
“Each game we need it,” Beilein
said. “But gradually we’ll get to
this point, hopefully before too
long, that guys really feel confident
and they know they’ve got their
‘swag’ enough to play at their
highest level every day.”
Perhaps
Wilson’s
most
profound impact, though, couldn’t
be found in his own stat line, but
in that of senior guard Derrick
Walton Jr. After the game, Walton
admitted that both his and Irvin’s
confidence is fueled by the way
others are playing around them.
On Saturday, Walton was able to
reel in 10 rebounds to go with his 13
points and notch a double-double.
Following the victory, Walton
credited his rebounding total to the
way Michigan’s big men boxed out
down low. As the starting forward
alongside
sophomore
Moritz
Wagner, Wilson is certainly a large
contributor to that.
“He’s such a great player,”
Walton said. “He had such a good
summer and has worked so hard
over his two years in just changing
his body. Like I said, everybody
saw the potential. It was all about
him getting his body right and
being able to play.
“Nights where he’s scoring and
rebounding as well as he does, I
think he could make a living out of
this game.”
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein found the spark he was looking for in DJ Wilson.
Now or never
T
he days when the
Michigan hockey team
was a flashy, offensive
juggernaut are long gone.
The Wolverines are currently
the worst Corsi team in the
nation,
meaning
they give
up far
more shots
than they
attempt
themselves.
As a
result,
Michigan
coach Red
Berenson has turned his team’s
focus to defense, effort and
consistency. Unfortunately for
Michigan, for much of this year,
it hasn’t been good enough.
Take the Great Lakes
Invitational, where, after giving
up a 4-1 lead, the Wolverines
needed overtime against
Michigan State to notch a
lackluster third-place finish
after their coaches and players
had pinpointed it as a turning
point for the season. So as the
rematch against the Spartans
approached, you’d think that
would motivate Michigan.
Instead, the Wolverines let
Michigan State come into Yost
Ice Arena and dominate its way
to a 3-0 win.
“We talked all week about
trying to change our Friday
effort and result, and obviously
we didn’t,” Berenson said. “It’s
not like these are great plays.
They’re just hardworking
plays, and we’re not playing
well enough without the puck,
and we’re not finishing our
chances.”
There are specific aspects of
its game that Michigan needs to
improve. But as the season goes
on and results like Friday’s keep
piling up, the team’s effort and
consistency continue to come
into question.
And while that may seem
like a cop out answer for the
Wolverines, it makes sense. No
coach is going to ask their team
to change its identity from game
to game.
Even after Saturday’s win
over the Spartans, Berenson
acknowledged that the
difference wasn’t strategy, it
was just better execution.
“We had to be better in our
zone, and I think we were,”
Berenson said. “I thought we
got out of the zone, we got the
puck in deep better.
“We were a better team
tonight than we were last night.
It wasn’t strategy, it was just
concentrating on playing the
right way.”
For Michigan, playing the
right way currently means
playing solid defense while
mainly relying on dumping
and chasing on offense and
winning one-on-one battles to
the puck. This is what teams
need to do when they aren’t
talented enough to skate around
defenses or big enough to skate
through them. Right now the
Wolverines are one of those
teams.
Michigan has aimed to
outwork teams, but has yet to
do so consistently. If it had,
its season might look a lot
different.
It’s a dangerous way to play
hockey, and the Wolverines’
various results are indicative
of that. They beat No. 2 Boston
University and No. 9 Union
early in the year when the
team’s energy was high, and
Michigan looked like a team
that could grind out wins
against some of the best in
the country. At other times,
when the Wolverines’ effort is
lacking and they aren’t playing
as smart, they can lose 3-0 to a
team like Michigan State, the
No. 48 team in the Pairwise
Rankings who they have
dominated in the past, winning
10 of their last 15 meetings.
The difference between the
two types of performances
was never more evident than
in Michigan’s series against
the Terriers. In the first game,
with four seniors out of the
lineup due to a suspension, the
remaining Wolverines played
their best game of the season.
Players like junior forwards
Dexter Dancs and Tony
Calderone showed up in the box
score and helped lead the team
to a 4-0 win.
The very next night, when
the seniors returned to the
lineup, Michigan stumbled and
fell, 4-2. And while that series
may have been the most glaring
example of the Wolverines’
inconsistency, it certainly
isn’t the only one. Michigan
hasn’t swept a weekend series
all season, and this past
weekend was arguably its best
opportunity to do so.
“We’re trying everything
as much as we can,” said
senior defenseman Nolan
De Jong after Friday’s loss.
“We’ve been mixing things up,
whether it’s in practice or in
our preparation or things like
that. I think, honestly, we’re a
pretty frustrated group right
now, because I feel like we’re
putting the work in, and we’re
working hard. But we’re just not
executing, and we’re not seeing
the results.”
And that has been the story
of the Wolverines’ season.
Even when they work hard one
game and play well, it seems
that nobody — even themselves
— knows if they’ll be able to
replicate that performance in
the next game.
But that trend can’t continue.
The Wolverines will have to
find the consistency that has
eluded them so far, because
they’re running out of time
quickly. And if the past few
weeks are any indication,
if Michigan doesn’t change
something, things aren’t getting
better any time soon.
Persak can be reached
at mdpers@umich.edu, on
Twitter @MikeDPersak or
on Venmo @Mike-Persak
MIKE
PERSAK
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Red Berenson’s team is running out of time to correct the course of its disappointing season.