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.

