The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 — 7A
‘M’ goaltending competition still open
Now, four games and an
exhibition into its season,
the Michigan hockey team
has split goaltending time
evenly between sophomores
Jack LaFontaine and Hayden
Lavigne.
Mel Pearson has set the
deadline
for
selecting
a
starting
netminder
at
the
eight-game
mark.
This
deadline will come around
in approximately two weeks
after the Wolverines open
conference play this weekend
against Penn State and face
Ferris
State
at
home
the
following weekend.
“It’s not unlike quarterbacks
here at Michigan,” Pearson
said at the onset of the season.
“You’ve got three, four, five
quarterbacks
who
are
all
pretty good, but usually one
emerges and then takes the
job.”
LaFontaine
and
Lavigne
have already put up half of
the showings that will dictate
who will get to be the primary
goaltender for the remainder
of the season.
With this important cut off
looming in the near future,
here is a closer look at the
efforts of each
goaltender
so far in the
season.
Jack
LaFontaine:
LaFontaine
boasts
a
perfect
2-0-0
record on the
ice,
an
elite
.950
save
percentage and
a minuscule 1.01 goals-against
average.
The
goaltender’s
performance
has
already
transcended
that
of
his
freshman season where he
recorded one win while in
net. He has started the Friday
nightcap against St. Lawrence
and Vermont.
LaFontaine picked up his
first win of the season against
the Saints, which came in
the Wolverines’ first game of
the season. He registered 24
saves, and allowed only one
goal throughout regulation.
“LaFontaine was excellent
in net (against
St. Lawrence),”
Pearson
said.
“You
need
goaltending,
and I thought
Jack was a huge
difference for us
in this game.”
In the home-
opener
against
Vermont
on
Friday
night,
LaFontaine
again
put
on
a stellar performance and
recorded his second complete-
game win of the season. The
sophomore netminder made
five saves in each period, and
let the puck slide by him only
once.
Notably,
when
the
Catamounts
held
a
5-on-3
advantage during the second
period, LaFontaine remained
unfazed, notching four saves
en route to Michigan escaping
the dangerous penalty kill
unscathed.
Hayden Lavigne:
Lavigne has gone 1-1-0 over
his two outings this season,
holding a quality .898 save
percentage and a 2.50 goals-
against average.
In his season debut, the
sophomore goaltender had to
settle for a 3-0 loss to Clarkson.
However, he still put up a solid
effort, making 16 saves on the
night and was instrumental in
the Wolverines’ 5-for-6 mark
on penalty kills.
Lavigne
notched
his
standout performance in the
second game of the Vermont
series.
Saturday night he earned
his first win in the net, and
was
fundamental
to
the
Wolverines’ clutch weekend
sweep. Lavigne registered 28
saves, shutting down many of
the Catamounts’ most viable
scoring opportunities.
“I
thought
they
had
a
few
very
good
scoring
opportunities,” Pearson said.
“And (Lavigne) came up big.”
After the first weekend of
play, LaFontaine may appear to
have a slight edge over Lavigne
in the battle for the starting
position.
Yet,
subsequent
to the Vermont series, each
goaltender has displayed at
least one standout night and
both hold impressive stats this
year. These factors ensure that
Pearson’s impending decision
will be anything but easy.
“Two
good
goalies
in
both Hayden and Jack,” said
sophomore
forward
Adam
Winborg
following
the
Vermont series. “… As long as
we do our job in front of them,
they’re there, so they’ll always
give us a chance to win the
games.”
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne has gone 1-1 over two starting outings this year, posting a .898 save percentage.
It’s not unlike
quarterbacks
here at
Michigan.
FIELD HOCKEY
Wolverines close out
season with shutout
It has been a regular season
characterized by near-perfect
execution for the No. 4 Michigan
field hockey team — a sonorous
symphony
conducted
with
perfection by coach Marcia
Pankratz
and
passionately
played by a bevy of seniors.
Tuesday night, that symphony
concluded with a satisfying
crescendo.
The
Wolverines
easily
dispatched Central Michigan,
4-0, in Mount Pleasant.
The
victory
resulted,
in
part, from relentless offensive
pressure and excellent passing
by the Wolverines.
“(The offense) does really well
with basic skills – fundamentals,”
Pankratz said. “Trapping and
passing is the cornerstone of
the game. We’ve been able to do
it well and that’s allowed us to
sustain our success.”
From
the
outset
of
the
match, the Wolverines (8-0 Big
Ten, 16-2 overall) thoroughly
dominated the Chippewas (0-5
Mid-American
Conference,
0-16 overall). Michigan kept
possession and generated several
scoring chances early in the
first half, but Central Michigan
desperately fended off each of
these chances.
Then,
Michigan
junior
defender
Leah
Cardarelli
deftly beat goalie Lily Amadio,
spinning with Bachian grace
and chopping the ball at the
seemingly
wide-open
net.
Suddenly, Chippewa defender
Ali Huddleson came out of
nowhere and stretched her stick
out, barely stopping the ball from
rolling over the line. Mere inches
separated Cardarelli from her
second goal of the season.
Yet again, Central Michigan
had fended off an excellent
Wolverine attack.
But the Chippewas defense
would not hold forever.
With about 20 minutes left in
the half, sophomore midfielder
Meg Dowthwaite received the
ball on the right side of the field
and fired a cross to the front of
the net. Junior forward Emma
Way redirected it to junior
midfielder Katie Walker, who
pounded it into the back of the
net to give Michigan a 1-0 lead.
A mere 35 seconds later,
Dowthwaite pounced on a ball
in the middle of the shooting
circle and flung it past several
Chippewa
defenders
and
a
sprawling Amadio with the sheer
force of Mozart’s symphony No.
25.
The
Wolverines
suddenly
had a 2-0 lead — a lead that they
would never look back from.
In the second half, senior
back
Katie
Trombetta
and
graduate
forward
Carly
Bennet each tacked on another
goal to Michigan’s lead. Due
to
suffocating
defense,
the
Wolverines didn’t concede a
single shot attempt, let alone a
goal, to the Chippewas — the
10th shutout of their 13-game
winning streak.
“They
just
communicate
really well and organize the
defense,” Pankratz said. “Of
course, (senior goalkeeper Sam
Swenson) does a great job in
goal as well. And we’ve got some
speed back there on the side back
position. Put that all together
and that’s a very solid foundation
(for our defense).”
As the final notes of a truly
stellar regular season begin to
fade into silence, the Wolverines
know that they are capable of
ending the postseason with a
national title — but Pankratz
doesn’t want her team to focus
on that.
Even-keeled
as
always,
Pankratz said, “the next game is
the most important one.”
Wolverines aim to put blowout in the past
These are uncertain times for
the Michigan football team.
Saturday
night,
the
now-
unranked Wolverines suffered their
worst loss since 2015 — another
42-13 blowout at the hands of then-
No. 2 Ohio State — and they have
faced a storm of backlash as a result.
Though they faced a wave of
criticism after their first loss to
Michigan State, this is the wave
that could threaten to bring their
sails crashing down.
In the high-stakes atmosphere
of college football, one loss has the
potential to poke holes in a resume.
Two losses has the potential to sink
a season.
But Monday, Michigan argued
that its ship is still intact.
“With any team and fanbase,
there’s going to be negative talk
about it. That’s just the way it is,”
said fifth-year senior fullback Henry
Poggi. “Everyone wants perfection,
and when that doesn’t happen,
people start falling off the ship.
“We know that no one on our
team can fall off the ship.”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
has taken it upon himself to
steer the Wolverines in the right
direction. After Saturday’s game,
he told them about those fans who
would hop off the bandwagon and
express negative opinions about
the state of the team.
He didn’t have to tell them.
In the often-critical landscape
of social media, Twitter and
Instagram give those types of fans
a platform to voice their complaints
either directly or indirectly. College
athletes,
whose
social
media
presence is typically monitored by
the communications departments
of their respective programs, have
to learn how to deal with the hits
without hitting back.
Junior wide receiver Grant
Perry said he just keeps scrolling
to bypass the negativity. Poggi said
he just doesn’t follow people who
engage in that kind of activity.
For a Michigan team dominated
by underclassmen, it can be easy for
the outside noise to seep through.
The Wolverines’ veterans see it as
their responsibility to turn down
the dial.
“It’s a pretty bad loss,” Poggi said.
“But the best thing about football
during the season is that you have
another game coming up to correct
your wrongs. … The best way to put
something in the young guys is just
to lead by example. Show them that
we’re still practicing hard. Practice
harder to correct what happened.”
Added redshirt junior right
tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty: “I
think emotions are high. Going
forward, I think we’re just going to
continue to do what we do and try
to improve our game and continue
to learn from our mistakes. I think,
most importantly, going forward
as a team we just need to learn
confidence and trust in ourselves.”
Michigan doesn’t have to look
very far back to find an example of
how one loss can turn into a string
of them if the Wolverines aren’t
careful about how they respond to
it.
In 2016, Michigan’s first loss,
to Iowa in November, was also
unexpected.
And
while
the
Wolverines were able to respond
with a win over Indiana — as they
also did this year — they lost the
final two games of their season to
then-No. 2 Ohio State and then-No.
10 Florida State.
Though Michigan’s losses have
come much earlier this season,
Harbaugh said Monday that the
lesson he intends to teach is the
same.
“The team that goes through
this understands — can have a
great opportunity of understanding
— where there needs to be a
response,” he said. “The response
that comes as coaches and players
(is) gotta keep coaching and players
gotta find out what they’re made of
from a competitive standpoint.
“The going gets tough, the tough
get going. It’s a cliché, but clichés
are usually clichés because they’re
true.”
Harbaugh was then asked if he
thought the Wolverines had it in
them.
“I believe we do,” he said. “(I)
believe that this team will respond.”
‘M’ finishes fifth
in last fall match
For a day, the Michigan men’s
golf team looked like it could
hang with the nation’s cream of
the crop. Well actually, a half a
day.
After
the
first
round,
Michigan was just six shots
behind No. 8 Baylor — the
eventual-champion
—
with
Carlson and Mueller shooting a
67 (-4) and 69 (-2), respectively.
From there, the Wolverines
didn’t fare as well. In their
last match of the fall season,
Michigan finished fifth out of
13 schools at the Royal Oaks
course,
a
familiar
location
for experienced seniors Kyle
Mueller
and
Ian
Kim,
as
well as junior Nick Carlson,
and it clearly showed in the
tournament.
“This tournament was really
unusual because all five of the
players played in one group
together,” said Michigan coach
Chris Whitten. “We’ve never
done that since I’ve been head
coach here. That team dynamic
this
week
of
seeing
your
teammates do well and having
the momentum [spread] through
the group was a big deal.”
Indeed, it was a big deal. No
one shot green numbers in the
first round, as freshman Charlie
Pilon and Kim both produced an
even 71 for the first round.
Michigan’s
top-three
standing in the tournament
was short-lived, though. On the
second round of day one, birdies
were hard to come by and more
bogeys creeped their way onto
the scoreboard. Baylor, No. 15
Kent State and No. 17 Arkansas
began to show their true colors
as well, with all three schools
shooting tremendous second-
round scores.
“In the second round, it’s
not that we did anything a lot
worse,” Whitten said. “We just
didn’t make as many birdies.
Sometimes,
that’s
just
the
difference of (getting) a few feet
closer on your approach shots
and then just getting a couple
more putts to go.”
Heavy wind — a golfer’s worst
enemy — dominated the course
on the second day, and it showed
especially in round 3 scores.
“It was funny because (in)
some other tournaments, our
worst round a lot of times was
our first round,” Whitten said.
“Today, I would say the course
played totally different. I mean,
it was so windy that you almost
had to play the wind on a five-
foot putt or a four-foot putt.”
Contrary from the usual, the
Wolverines played the par-3
holes as good as anyone but
finished dead last in average
scores for par-5 holes.
Individually,
Michigan’s
top tandem of Carlson and
Mueller continued their success,
finishing
third
and
12th,
respectively. But the Wolverines
still couldn’t make up for the
loss of freshman Henry Spring,
who is currently back in his
home country playing for a
potential spot in the Masters
and the Open Championship.
“This is kind of a cool story
actually,” Whitten said. “He’s
qualified for the Asia Pacific
Amateur, which is a really big
tournament in New Zealand,
his home country. So he’s in
New Zealand right now about to
play that and the winner of that
tournament gets an exemption
in the British Open and the
Masters.”
For the rest of the team,
however, there is a long three-
month
break
before
their
next tournament in February,
which kicks off the spring
season. During this break, the
Wolverines will have five days
of strength and conditioning
on
top
of
swing
practice,
continuing their hunt to break
into the nation’s top-25 come
February.
As Whitten said: “We’ll be
ready. For sure.”
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
For the Daily
MEN’S GOLF
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer
DYLAN CHUNG
Daily Sports Writer
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh emphasized that a loss to the second-ranked Nittany Lions will allow the Wolverines to learn something about themselves.