The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 — 7

Notebook: Marody leading offensive surge

When 
Cooper 
Marody 

returned from a suspension 
that kept him out the entire 
first semester of the Michigan 
hockey team’s season, he did 
so with a bang, tallying three 
assists on Dec. 30 against 
Michigan State.

Since then, the sophomore 

forward has been a catalyst for 
the Wolverines’ offense. That 
was most evident this weekend 
in Michigan’s series against 
Ohio 
State. 
Marody 
broke 

out with four goals — three 
of which came in the second 
period of Friday’s game alone — 
and two assists.

It was the Wolverines’ best 

offensive output of the season, 
and though other issues arose 
on the defensive end, the team’s 
goal-scoring was cause for a bit 
of optimism.

“I think, just as a team, we 

got more pucks to the net,” 
Marody said. “We talked about 
that all week, getting shots, in 

all kinds of situations possible. 
And I think we did a great job 
with that.”

Marody’s offensive aptitude 

couldn’t 
come 
at 
a 
better 

time for Michigan, as senior 
forward Alex Kile and junior 
forwards Cutler Martin and 
Tony Calderone all sat out 
against the Buckeyes. Marody 
filled the void they left, as he 
either scored or assisted on 60 
percent of the team’s goals on 
the weekend.

“You 
can 
see 
what 
he 

brings even though he’s only 
a sophomore,” said Michigan 
coach Red Berenson. “...He’s 
got a knack for scoring goals, 
and he’s got a knack for helping 
other people score goals. That’s 
been missing on a regular basis 
with our whole team, and I just 
think he can jumpstart our 
offense, and you saw that this 
weekend.”

Penalty-Kill Woes
In the early stages of the 

season, the Michigan penalty 
kill unit was thriving. In fact, 
it was ranked in the top-10 

nationally at one time.

But since the start of the Big 

Ten season, the Wolverines 
have struggled in that regard, 
falling to last place in the Big 
Ten.

The unit’s struggles came 

back to hurt them yet again 
against Ohio State. Seven of the 
10 goals the Buckeyes scored 
in the two-game series came 
on the power play. Without 
those 
opportunities, 
paired 

with Michigan’s potent offense, 
the Wolverines likely would 
have come away with two wins 
on the weekend rather than 
settling for the split.

“We’re not a ‘Broad Street 

Bully’ 
team,” 
Berenson 

said. “We’re trying to play 
disciplined hockey, but we’re 
the most penalized team in the 
Big Ten right now. So we’re 
addressing that. We’ve got to 
watch our stick, we’ve got to 
watch our hitting from behind. 
We’ve got our sticks up, we 
had some accidental hooks and 
trips. I mean, come on, we’ve 
got to get that out of our game. 

It’s killing us.”

Michigan’s rematch against 

the Spartans next weekend 
could prove to be a good chance 
for the Wolverines to right 
some of their penalty-killing 
woes. Michigan State’s power 
play unit ranks last in the Big 
Ten at just 15.15-percent.

Injuries
In terms of their health, the 

Wolverines are currently in a 
state of limbo. Though Martin 
returned to practice Monday 
after 
missing 
the 
weekend 

series with an illness, Kile 
and Calderone remained out 
with 
upper-body 
injuries, 

while freshman defenseman 
Christian 
Meike 
has 
been 

sidelined with a lower-body 
injury for over a month.

In 
addition, 
freshman 

forward Will Lockwood left 
Saturday’s game with what 
appeared to be a head injury. 
Lockwood took a big hit near 
the bench area at center ice and 
remained down for some time.

He then went to the bench, 

where he could be seen talking 
to trainers with his helmet off. 
Lockwood returned to action 
a few minutes later, but was 
eventually forced to exit the 
game, and remained out of 
action in Monday’s practice.

Calderone, 
Kile 
and 

Lockwood are three of the top 
six point scorers for Michigan, 
and though Berenson says they 
are day-to-day, if they can’t play 
against the Spartans, others 
will need to step up to replicate 
the offensive firepower the 
Wolverines 
exhibited 
this 

weekend.

“You saw Cooper, he stepped 

up last weekend, and that really 
helped our team,” Berenson 
said. “But we’ve got a lot of 
guys that have to do more for 
our team, and sometimes it’s 
producing. … We have a lot of 
guys that have to help. They’re 
playing regular, they’re playing 
every night, and they’re getting 
a chance.

“But it’s not about the goals 

for — I think the goals for will 
come when you’re playing well 
— it’s about the goals against. 
That’s what’s killing us.”

MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor

JEREMY MITNICK/Daily

Sophomore forward Cooper Marody is coming off a weekend in which he notched six points against Ohio State.

Returning players
key for Wolverines

After the final out was called 

in the 2016 season, five players on 
the Michigan baseball team saw 
their names selected in the MLB 
draft. 

First 
baseman 
Carmen 

Benedetti and pitchers Brett 
Adcock and Evan Hill accepted 
the call to the big leagues, 
while pitcher Jackson Lamb 
and catcher Harrison Wenson 
opted to continue their tenures 
as Wolverines. 

Typically when teams lose 

their players to drafts, injuries or 
other extraneous circumstances, 
a 
rebuilding 

period 
ensues. 

But 
Michigan 

coach 
Erik 

Bakich has no 
such plans.

“(The season 

is) going to be 
full of ups and 
downs,” Bakich 
said. “I just feel 
like we are much 
better equipped 
to handle it now 
than we were when we didn’t 
handle it at the end of last year.”

With 12 returning juniors 

and seven returning seniors, 
the 
Wolverines 
are 
looking 

to take a top-down approach 
to the upcoming season. The 
experienced upperclassmen know 
the ins and outs of the program 
and will serve as mentors to the 12 
newcomers to the team.

Clearly, 
Bakich 
and 
the 

rest of the coaching staff have 
looming decisions to make to 
fill the void left by Adcock, Hill 
and Benedetti, but the players 
filling their positions already 
have substantial experience 
under their belts.

“I think there are some guys 

that have a lot of repetitions 
in this program,” Bakich said. 
“They’ve logged a lot of at-bats, 
a lot of innings, been in some 
high leverage situations and in 

some tight games.”

Oliver Jaskie, who touted 

a 3.19 ERA and a 7-3 record in 
his breakout season last year, is 
only one of those players. The 
junior left-hander is poised 
to step up on the mound to 
assume the No. 1 spot in the 
starting rotation.

In the field, junior third 

baseman 
Jake 
Bivens 
is 

returning, looking to replicate 
the lofty .356 batting average 
that he posted last season.

Junior 
infielder 
Drew 

Lugbauer hit seven home runs 
last season, and his bat will 
help provide a timely surge of 
offense alongside Bivens.

With 
the 

returning 
stronghold 
of 

upperclassmen, 
fresh 
off 
the 

bitter 
loss 
at 

the end of the 
season 
last 

year, Michigan 
is 
adopting 
a 

new, hardened 
mentality.

“There are a 

lot more guys 

that we started this fall with 
that are into our team values 
and team standards,” Jaskie 
said. “We got a tough training 
this fall and we really worked 
on mental toughness. I would 
say our culture got stronger and 
our foundation more solidified.”

The Wolverines are looking 

at a schedule that will force 
them to cultivate this culture 
in a timely manner. Michigan 
starts 
the 
season 
with 
a 

15-game road trip, so a certain 
toughness will be needed in 
order to prevail over teams like 
UCLA and USC. 

After 
their 
long 
stretch 

away 
from 
home, 
though, 

the 
Wolverines 
return 
to 

the 
Wilpon 
Complex 
for 

18-straight home games, and 
with the amount of turnover 
on the team, that opportunity 
could prove to be invaluable.

BASEBALL

ROBERT HEFTER

Daily Sports Writer

“I would say our 

culture got stronger 

and our foundation 

more solidified”

Christner looks to rebound in final season

“Last year wasn’t very fun,” 

were among senior left fielder 
Kelly Christner’s first words to 
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins 
upon returning to Ann Arbor 
this fall.

And Christner’s words are 

understandable. The stress of 
sky-high expectations and the 
pressure to maintain success after 
a breakout sophomore year were 
noticeable in her junior campaign.

A .393 batting average fell to 

.313. Twenty-one home runs 
plunged to just six and 67 runs 
batted in dipped to 33. The 28 
multi-hit and 18 multi-RBI games 
turned into just 13 and seven, 
respectively.

Following a stellar sophomore 

season 
that 
resulted 
in 
a 

unanimous selection to the All-
Big Ten first team and a spot 
on the All-America third team, 
it was clear something had 
changed for Christner.

A much-needed asset for 

the Wolverines, Christner is 
now looking to revert to her 
sophomore 
self 
— 
mentally 

and physically — and lead No. 
6 Michigan to the Women’s 
College World Series for the 
fourth time in the past five 
seasons. And it may have taken 
this offseason for her to get back 
to that form.

After minimal playing time as 

a freshman, Christner evolved 
into a starter her second season 
with little expectations and the 
freedom to make a name for 
herself. But the self-inflicted 
pressure after a triumphant 
sophomore crusade is a challenge 
Hutchins believes is often hard 
for college athletes to handle.

“It’s my philosophy — right or 

wrong — that when kids attain 
that kind of success, sometimes 
they don’t know how to recover 
from it,” Hutchins said. “You 
feel like, ‘I’m supposed to be 
hitting .400, I’m supposed to be 
hitting home runs, I’m supposed 

to be an All-American.’ And 
(Christner) allowed that to build 
into the expectations.

“She’s as talented a kid as 

we’ve had here. She just needs to 
trust her game and relax.”

Christner shared the same 

sentiment. She hopes that a 
return to her old mentality will 
lead to similar accomplishments 
that put her name on the map 
two years ago.

“I think this year I need to 

just not let any of the pressure 
get to me and realize that this 
is my last year,” Christner said. 
“I need to kind of just have 
more fun with it, not take it 
as seriously because it is just a 
game.”

This newfound perspective 

stemmed 
from 
the 
advice 

of 
Christner’s 
sister, 
Katie, 

who played college softball at 
Wisconsin from 2013 - 2016.

“She told me, ‘Nobody asked 

me what my batting average 
was 
my 
freshman 
year 
of 

college, but they asked me how 

the experience made me into a 
better person,’ ” Christner said. 
“So I think all of us have tried 
to focus on that, working on 
letting (softball) make us better 
people.”

Along with a changed mindset, 

Christner devoted the summer to 
focus on the mechanics of her 
swing that adversely affected last 
season’s numbers. In studying 
side-by-side 
comparisons 
of 

her 
plate 
appearances 
from 

sophomore to junior year, she 
found glaring differences.

Fixing what Christner said 

were correctable mistakes and 
learning to relax in the batter’s 
box — not getting what Hutchins 
described as “tight” at the plate 
— has already paid dividends in 
practices and scrimmages.

“This summer, I really worked 

on getting back to that swing I 
had sophomore year,” Christner 
said. “And I’ve felt good since 
the fall, so I’m getting excited.”

And 
though 
Christner 

dedicated time to herself during 
the offseason, she is also entering 
her second year as team captain 
and is even more determined to 
be an effective leader — a role she 
feels comes naturally.

“I think I’ve always had the 

kind of personality to where 
I’m not afraid to say things to 
a teammate,” Christner said. 
“I think I’ve gotten better at 
knowing how to handle each 
person and trying to make them 
the best player they can be.

“Looking up to the seniors 

and upperclassmen, that really 
showed us how to lead a team 
and how to be a voice on and off 
the field and make sure all of our 
heads are in the right place.”

Now 
with 
batting 
issues 

and mental worries seemingly 
behind her, Christner can focus 
her attention on the upcoming 
season and her last chance to 
bring home the championship 
that has been so elusive for 
Michigan. 
But 
with 
that 

ultimate goal comes Hutchins’ 
simple rule for the senior to 
uphold: “Just have fun.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior left fielder Kelly Christner found a new perspective this offseason that she hopes will help her return to form.

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer
‘M’ set for rematch 
with Michigan State

Just nine days ago, the 

Michigan men’s basketball team 
(4-6 Big Ten, 14-9 overall) made 
its way to the Breslin Center 
to take on a reeling Michigan 
State 
team. 
The 
Spartans 

(6-4, 14-9) had just lost three 
straight games to Ohio State, 
Indiana and Purdue, and were 
in desperate need of a victory to 
halt their skid.

With that determination on 

full display, Michigan State put 
together a 12-2 run with 14:53 
left in the second half to pull 
away from the Wolverines, and 
ultimately came away with a 
70-62 win.

Since that Sunday contest, 

the tables have turned, and 
Michigan is now the side in 
need of a recovery performance. 
After suffering back-to-back 
defeats — at the hands of their 
two biggest rivals, no less — 
the Wolverines are set for a 
rematch against the Spartans 
on Tuesday night.

With its postseason hopes 

now 
in 
serious 
jeopardy, 

Michigan will hope to defend 
its homecourt.

“This team is a group of guys 

that just want to get better,” 
Walton said. “When adversity 
hits, it’s another chance to get 
better.”

The Wolverines’ first priority 

will be to stop Michigan State 
forward Miles Bridges. Since 
his return from an ankle 
injury, the freshman has led 
the Spartans’ resurgence in 
conference play. He made his 
leadership 
apparent 
against 

Michigan, notching a double-
double with 15 points and 13 
rebounds, 
including 
a 
few 

clutch 
buckets 
during 
his 

team’s decisive run.

“(He) can go both ways,” said 

Michigan coach John Beilein. 

“He finishes with both hands. 
And the fact that he’s now an 
elite 3-point shooter, it’s a really 
tough guard. So we’re going to 
have to give a lot of help with 
him.”

Even if it does turn out to be a 

battle between the best players 
on each team, though, Bridges 
will have stiff competition from 
Walton. The senior guard has 
been on fire as of late, tallying 
20-point games in each of the 
Wolverines’ last three contests, 
including 24 in that losing effort 
in East Lansing.

The performance against the 

Spartans featured his season-
high point total until he scored 
25 against Ohio State, and he’s 
shooting 52.8 percent from 
the floor over the three-game 
stretch 
— 
single-handedly 

willing his team forward.

“There’s some players, and 

I’ve said this before, they 
practice until they get it right. 
Derrick’s practiced so much so 
he can’t get it wrong,” Beilein 
said. “He doesn’t practice until 
he makes it. He practices until 
he can’t miss.

“He’s become an elite shooter, 

he’s seeing the floor better. … 
He’s looking to score and then 
pass now.”

With just eight games left 

in the Big Ten season, time is 
running out for Michigan to 
turn around its conference 
fate. Walton has provided an 
example of the sense of urgency 
the Wolverines will need to play 
with moving forward. It will be 
up to them to follow his lead, 
starting Tuesday night against 
the Spartans.

“That’s the resilience that 

every team has to have,” Beilein 
said. “We’ve been able to bounce 
back enough, but we really gotta 
bounce back now. … We’re not 
going to survive unless we have 
this incredible resolve going 
forward.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor

