The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 — 7

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne has been a human brick wall for Michigan, and the rest of the Wolverines’ defense has improved as well by cutting down on turnovers and playing faster.

Michigan defense appears to be coming back to life with recent success

When the Wolverines skated 

off the ice at Munn Ice Arena 
on Dec. 8 after suffering a 
crippling 5-0 loss at the hands 
of a Spartan offense that took 
advantage 
of 
the 
dormant 

Michigan defense, the story 
read that the early spark had 
faded.

The No. 20 Wolverines (7-7-2 

Big Ten, 12-10-2 overall) flipped 
the script this weekend, though, 
as 
a 
palpable 
and 
evident 

streamline from the back line to 
the front defined a series sweep 
over No. 12 Penn State (6-7-3, 
13-10-3).

While most of the credit 

for Michigan’s successes thus 
far has been attributed to the 

likes of senior forward Tony 
Calderone and the rest of the 
first two offensive lines, series 
sweeps over No. 13 Minnesota 
and then the Nittany Lions this 
past weekend were the product 
of a stalwart defensive effort.

“You need that in this day 

and age and the way the game 
is,” said Michigan coach Mel 
Pearson after Friday’s victory. 
“You need your defensemen 
to come up in the play and add 
offense, but most importantly, 
they did a good job in our zone.”

Earlier 
in 
the 
season 
– 

particularly in the first matchup 
splits 
against 
the 
Golden 

Gophers and Penn State – the 
Michigan defense could be seen 
turning the puck over behind its 
own net, in the offensive zone 
and most notably at its own blue 

line.

Before, junior Nick Boka 

and sophomores Giffin Luce 
and Luke Martin represented 
the second and third lines of 
defensemen that 
weren’t playing 
up 
to 
their 

potential.

Even 
first-

liners in junior 
Joe Cecconi and 
freshman Quinn 
Hughes – albeit 
Hughes 
plays 

as an attacking 
defenseman 
– 

could 
be 
seen 

giving up the puck on routine 
plays.

But, something clicked after 

the Wolverines were swept in 
a home-and-home series two 

weeks ago against top-ranked 
Notre Dame.

“I think one of the things 

we’re really doing is breaking 
the puck out so much better 

than 
we 
were 

earlier 
in 
the 

year,” 
Pearson 

said. 
“That 

makes it easier. 
You’re 
not 
in 

your 
zone 
as 

much and you’re 
forcing 
their 

good 
players 

to play in their 
zone.”

Perhaps 
the 

greatest sign of a defensive 
turnaround came at the hands of 
a human brick wall: sophomore 
goaltender Hayden Lavigne.

Now the undeniable leader of 

the Wolverines’ defensive effort, 
Lavigne’s 77 saves this weekend 
saw him leaping all over the 
crease to limit the Nittany Lions 
to two goals, solely in the third 
period Saturday. His effort 
gave Michigan the backbone it 
needed.

And the rest of the defense 

followed suit.

“We’ve been communicating 

a lot better,” Lavigne said. 
“People know their routes a 
little bit better now than we did 
at the beginning of the year.

“We 
really 
just 
started 

paying the price for each other, 
we’ve got guys going down to 
block shots at the last minute … 
they’re just working hard.”

Luce, despite his double-

penalty game Saturday, flew 
around the ice with textbook 

coordination 
alongside 
his 

defensive 
partner 
Boka, 

carrying the puck around their 
net and checking any Nittany 
Lion offense.

“They’ve been really good,” 

Pearson said. “And I think that’s 
why you’re seeing some of the 
results that you’ve seen from 
our team … Luke Martin, Nick 
Boka, Griffin Luce – we sat him 
two games and he’s bounced 
back and played fabulous – 
they’ve come out and they’re 
pushing to the next level and 
you’re seeing that from a lot of 
our players.”

Penn State forwards Andrew 

Sturtz, Brandon Biro and Denis 
Smirnov, who were deadly the 
last time the two teams met, 
were silent. A shutout Friday 
that continued through two 
periods of Saturday’s game 
proved that the Wolverines’ 
back line had life again.

Blocked shots, aggressiveness 

on the boards and a lack of 
turnovers from the blue-liners 
was just the first stop on the 
defense’s train to dominance 
over these past two weeks. The 
forwards were getting involved 
too.

Sophomore 
center 
Jake 

Slaker – who has been fairly 
silent on the stat sheet – was 
diving in front of shots from the 
Penn State back line.

Senior 
left 
wing 
Dexter 

Dancs skated furiously back 
to the blue line to pressure 
Sturtz and company, providing 
support for a total-team defense 
that seemed to have an answer 
for anything the Nittany Lions 
threw at it.

At the beginning of the 

season, Pearson wanted to see a 
high-paced team committed to 
a speedy counterattack.

After this weekend, it appears 

that goal is coming to fruition. 

With yet another Big Ten 

series sweep over the Nittany 
Lions, 
the 
team’s 
recent 

successes — especially on the 
defensive end — may be more 
than just a temporary streak.

ROBERT HEFTER

Daily Sports Editor

“We really just 
started paying 
the price for 
each other.”

“Meat Factory” dominates for ‘M’

Despite 
dropping its final 

relay race on Saturday afternoon, 
Michigan and its fans were able 
to find one positive in the form 
of a unit that is hard to miss, both 
in their impact and physically 
imposing size. 

The 
“Meat 
Factory,” 
a 

nickname affectionately given to 
the track and field team’s weight 
throwing competitors, notched 
the field’s top two positions.

Junior Joseph Ellis helped to 

pace the Wolverines, finishing 
with 
the 
furthest 
distance 

amongst the field on five of his 
six attempts, including one that 
traveled 22.55 meters to set a 
personal record and notch the 
longest shot recorded in the Big 
Ten this season.

“That’s 
a 
huge 
confidence 

booster,” Ellis said when informed 
his shot was a personal best.

Ellis’ teammate, senior Grant 

Cartwright, also had a big day, 
finishing in second place — just 
behind Ellis — to help earn a 
whopping 16 points towards their 
overall team score. When asked 
about Cartwright, Ellis spoke 
glowingly about his teammate.

 “Grant’s been a phenomenal 

teammate and a phenomenal 
competitor,” Ellis said. “It means 

a lot to have a great competitor in 
him and get to train with him all 
the time.” 

Michigan coach Jerry Clayton 

spoke highly of his weight-
throwing team after their meet 
had concluded.

“They’re the nucleus of what 

we’re looking at in terms of the 
national level,” Clayton said.

It’s easy to 

see why Clayton 
made 
such 
a 

statement. 
The 

“Meat Factory” 
absolutely 
demolished their 
competition on 
Saturday, 
with 

both Ellis and 
Cartwright 
having 
tosses 

over 22 meters. 
They were also able to earn the 
maximum total of 16 points 
for the event, which featured 
Arkansas, Michigan State, and 
Ohio State.

“It’s a great opportunity to put 

yourself up against two other Big 
Ten schools,” Ellis said.

Ellis noted the team’s ability to 

earn a win the way that they were 
able to today is “huge” for the 
unit’s confidence.

The Wolverine faithful helped 

to create a fantastic turnout 
to support the track and field 

department’s 
various 
teams, 

with over 2,000 fans packing the 
newly-opened U-M Indoor Track 
Building to watch the meet. 

“It was actually quite nerve-

wracking,” Ellis said as he 
glanced up at the stands. “Some 
of my throws were off to the side 
when I was warming up (because 
I was so nervous).” 

Yet, 
Ellis 

and the rest of 
the 
throwers 

still 
managed 

to perform. For 
that 
reason, 

the 
Wolverines 

know they can 
depend 
on 
the 

“Meat 
Factory,” 

expectations that 
Ellis says he feels.

“The 
team’s 

expecting a lot of us, but we expect 
a lot of ourselves,” Ellis said. They 
clearly met Clayton’s expectations 
as well.

Added Clayton: “The marks 

at which they opened at were 
exactly 
at 
where 
we 
were 

expecting”

This win is a huge one for 

the Wolverines, and fans can 
only hope that the dominance 
of the “Meat Factory” can carry 
over to the rest of the team and 
ultimately lead to a successful 
2018 campaign.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Redshirt junior thrower Grant Cartwright and the rest of the throwers were a bright spot for Michigan this weekend.

Throwers find success despite team’s second-place finish

TEDDY GUTKIN

For The Daily

“It means a lot 
to have a great 
competitor in 

him.”

Wolverines finish weekend at 2-0

The Michigan men’s tennis 

team did its due diligence on the 
West Coast this past weekend, 
starting the season 2-0 with 
wins at Washington and Boise 
State. Entering the spring season 
ranked No. 17, the Wolverines 
survived an immediate scare 
in Seattle on Saturday before 
sweeping 
Boise 

State, 
7-0, 
on 

Monday.

Initially, 
it 

seemed 
as 
if 

Michigan started 
the 
season 
off 

on 
the 
wrong 

foot, losing the 
doubles point to 
Washington.

“We 
have 

to get better at 
doubles. We have to find a lineup 
that’ll work, and also execute 
and play better,” said Michigan 
coach Adam Steinberg.

However, the nation’s No. 

9 singles player, senior Alex 
Knight, began a rally for the 
Wolverines singles squad with 
a 6-2, 6-2 win against Mitch 
Stewart. 

“It’s 
really 
important, 

especially after you lose the 
doubles point, to get one of the 

six guys off the court quick with 
a decisive win,” Knight said. “It 
really gives your teammates a 
little bit of confidence. We’re 
no longer losing in this match, 
we’re 
still 
in 
this. 
We’re 

fighting.”

Soon after, freshman Mattias 

Siimar earned a tough 6-3, 6-3 
win at the No. 3 singles position, 
giving Michigan a 2-1 lead.

“I thought that was probably 

the 
most 

important 
match 
of 
the 

day,” Steinberg 
said. 
“We’ve 

seen him all fall 
and he is a really 
good 
player, 

but 
his 
first 

college 
match 

is different. It’s 
very hard to get 
used to and he 

did a great job. He beat a good 
player in straight sets and that 
gave the team a lot of confidence 
for sure. I haven’t asked all of 
them, but I know it meant a lot.”

To close out the match, junior 

Myles Schalet and senior Carter 
Lin squeezed out tight matches, 
winning 6-4, 6-4, and 6-4, 
7-5, respectively, earning the 
Wolverines the decisive points 
of the match.

Two days later, Michigan 

dominated Boise State with 
relative ease, with no player 
giving up more than three games 
in a single set or five games in a 
full match. 

“The guys really took care 

of business on every court. We 
were consistent all the way 
through,” Steinberg said. “We 
have a big weekend coming up, 
so it was good to get off the 
courts quicker for sure.”

A big weekend indeed, as the 

Wolverines will travel to North 
Carolina, ironically, to kick off 
the ITA Regionals against No. 
20 South Carolina. With the 
season young, Michigan hopes 
to add an early, strong win to 
their resume.

But that doesn’t need to be 

told to this squad.

“It’s big (to have momentum),” 

Knight said. “We got a really 
tough opponent next week. 
They’re also top-20, so it’s really 
important that we got two wins 
this weekend.”

Though the season is just 

beginning, 
the 
Wolverines 

have aspirations for Big Ten 
and National championships, 
and every player, especially 
the seniors, knows that it all 
starts next weekend at the ITA 
Regionals. For now though, this 
weekend was a good first step 
toward that.

With ITA Regionals looming, Bernstein’s team plays well

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior Alex Knight beat his opponent in Saturday’s match to give his teammates the momentum needed to win. 

AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA

For the Daily

“The guys 

really took care 
of business on 

the court.”

