The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, February 22, 2018 — 7
Grounds crew makes impact for ‘M’
After every game, Michigan
men’s lacrosse coach Kevin
Conry gives “The Hammer” to
the player who he deems made
the most impact. But after
the Wolverines’ win against
Cleveland State on February
10, the honor was given to Josh
Fryd — the head of the grounds
crew.
“We
wouldn’t
have
had
this game if it wasn’t for
the
unbelievable
facility
department,”
Conry
said.
“(Junior
attacker
Brent)
Noseworthy may have scored
five goals, but those guys were
the real MVPs.”
The
grounds
crew,
who
spent 48 hours plowing the
field at U-M Lacrosse Stadium
after Ann Arbor was hit with
a terrible snowstorm, worked
from five in the morning to
seven at night.
Initially,
the
10-day
forecast didn’t look to project
anything too serious, but Fryd
soon learned the hard way
that Michigan’s weather is
anything but predictable.
“I’m
learning
here
in
Southeast Michigan that the
forecast can change in an
instant,” he laughed.
Around seven in the morning,
the team believed that the field
was finally prepared, but the
snow continued to fall from the
cloudy skies above and didn’t
let up for the rest of the day.
“They
came
out
for
warmups, and it kept snowing,
so we had to start hand-
shoveling
lines,”
grounds
crew plow driver Tony Pell
said. “We plowed out as much
as we could with the time we
had left. It was challenging,
but we had a bunch of people.
Teamwork helped, and we got
the job done.”
Pell, who has worked with
the grounds crew for 15 years,
is a valued member of the
team, and his position helped
to offer him a luxury that some
of his fellow colleagues didn’t
have access to — a plow that
was both heated and allowed
him to listen to music.
“We’re
lucky
that
the
vehicles we have are heated,”
Pell joked.
Pell, who heard about the
praise given to them by Conry
after the game, was ecstatic.
Fryd received a shoutout
in
the
locker
room
from
Conry after the win and even
received the honor of “The
Hammer.” Fryd appreciated
the
honor,
but
still
acknowledged that the effort
would not have been possible
without the incredible work
and determination of his team.
“The team that I am lucky
enough to be a part of, to have
on staff, the guys, they are
amazing,” Fryd said. “I think
I have some of the best guys in
the country.”
Fryd feels that his unit is
an incredibly tight-knit one,
forming a unit that bonds over
much more than their passion
for working the fields.
“We’re a family,” Fryd said.
“We probably spend more
time together than we do with
our own families.”
While they may not be
playing on the field in front
of the Wolverine faithful, the
Michigan grounds crew is
just as integral as any player
who dons the maize and blue
on gameday. Their uncanny
ability to prepare the fields
even in the face of a snowstorm
is an effort that deserves to be
noticed and celebrated.
“That makes it all worth it,”
he said.
PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily
The Michigan men’s lacrosse team got help from an unexpected source after a winter storm.
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
Senior night provides one last chance
Crisler Center is having senior
night Thursday, as the Michigan
women’s basketball team (9-6 Big
Ten, 20-8 overall) takes on No. 13
Maryland (11-3, 22-5).
It will be the last home game
for senior guard Katelynn Flaherty
and senior forward Jillian Dunston.
The matchup is best described by
rapper Eminem’s Academy Award-
winning song “Lose Yourself.”
Look, if you had one shot, or one
opportunity
To seize everything you ever
wanted, in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it
slip? Yo!
This is the Wolverines’ last
chance to end the regular season on
a positive note. They excelled at the
start of the year and even reached
No. 13 in the national rankings.
Michigan looked destined to
make the NCAA Tournament
early on. The team found multiple
successes — including a road
victory over then-No. 8 Ohio State
— and was projected by ESPN to be
a four seed in the Tournament in
late January.
But things have taken a change
of course since then. Michigan
has lost four out of its last five
contests, falling to Purdue, Rutgers,
Michigan State and Minnesota —
all opponents the Wolverines were
expected to defeat.
Because of yet another end-of-
season collapse, the Wolverines
find themselves on the bubble, and
the game against the Terrapins is
their last shot during the regular
season to secure a spot.
Snap back to reality, oh, there goes
gravity
The way things are going,
Michigan could very well be
disappointed come post season.
If the Wolverines fail to make the
NCAA Tournament it would indeed
be a snap back to reality — the
reality being that coach Kim Barnes
Arico’s squad hasn’t qualified for
the tournament since 2013.
He’s nervous, but on the surface
he looks calm and ready
It makes sense for Michigan to
be nervous. The offense has been
unsteady during this rough stretch.
Turnovers have been a problem all
season, due to sloppy passes. In the
upsets against the Scarlet Knights
and the Spartans, the Wolverines
committed 26 and 23 turnovers,
respectively. And while Michigan
had 16 turnovers in the recent loss
against the Golden Gophers — less
than the season average of 16.5 —
they still came at the wrong time to
the team’s detriment.
Last season, Maryland won
the Big Ten Tournament, reached
the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA
Tournament and finished with a
32-3 record. Though guards Kaila
Charles and Kristen Confroy are
their only returning starters, the
Terrapins have continued to thrive
this year.
“Maryland is a tremendous
team,” Barnes Arico told WTKA.
Maryland is tied with the
Buckeyes for first in the conference.
The Terrapins have the highest
scoring margin in the conference
and are led by Charles, who
averages 17.8 points.
“(She’s) just a great scorer around
the rim,” Barnes Arico said. “Can
face up, can play with her back to
the basket.”
Sophomore guard Blair Watson
and
junior
forward
Eleanna
Christinaki
are
also
major
contributors who average 13.8 and
13.5 points, respectively.
Christinaki — who is from
Athens, Greece — transferred
from Florida. She became eligible
to
compete
midway
through
December.
“She’s just a shooter, shooter,
shooter, shooter, shooter,” Barnes
Arico said.
Freshman
forward
Hailey
Brown sustained a leg injury in
the loss to Michigan State and has
been out ever since. She has been
a starter all season, so her absence
could cause the Wolverines to be
even more nervous.
“We don’t think we’re probably
gonna get her back this season,
which is tough,” Barnes Arico
said. “I mean, she’s a freshman for
us that has had an outstanding,
outstanding year. Was really kinda
coming into her own here late in
the season, playing with a lot of
confidence.
“Nothing is torn, so really
positive, positive news, but with the
end of the season, in the next month
— month and a half — she’s probably
not gonna be able to return. So
that’s tough.”
But the Terrapins have struggled
recently too. Having lost to Purdue
and Minnesota, they are now on a
two-game losing streak. In a sense,
Michigan is trying to keep calm and
ready because of this, and wants to
capitalize.
“They’re a team that’s kinda on a
tough stretch right now too,” Barnes
Arico said. “They’re beatable, and I
think that’s what’s exciting, coming
into this game.”
Maryland appears to have the
upper hand, but the game is still
critical for the Wolverines. Flaherty
and Dunston have never been to the
NCAA Tournament, so it will be
interesting to see if they can make
the most out of senior night by
securing a spot.
Because after all, this opportunity
comes once in a lifetime, yo.
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Michigan has a big chance to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
Notebook: Disciplined defense fuels Wolverines in recent surge
During the last weekend of
January, the Michigan hockey
team
suffered
two
straight
defeats to Ohio State.
There are much worse things
than going on the road and being
swept by the sixth-ranked team
in the country. But Wolverines
coach Mel Pearson saw it slightly
differently.
“At
Ohio
State
we
beat
ourselves,” Pearson said Tuesday.
“They’re a good team, I give them
credit, they’ve got good players
but we beat ourselves down
there. … Giving (the puck) away
too much and then being caught
out of position defensively.”
Over
Michigan’s
last
six
games,
however,
the
exact
opposite has occurred. Since Feb.
2, the Wolverines have given up
exactly two goals per game, a
display that Pearson attributes to
“a little bit of everything.”
Last weekend’s series against
then-No. 1 Notre Dame perhaps
best encapsulates this. Michigan
allowed two power-play goals
on Friday and nothing else.
Both contests seemed to follow
a similar script — the Wolverines
came out on fire, controlling the
puck in the Fighting Irish zone,
and then calmly settled back
in front of their own net after
gaining the lead, absorbing Notre
Dame’s
desperate
attacking
efforts with disciplined team
defense.
“I
think
we’re
managing
the puck better — by that, I
mean we’re controlling it in the
offensive zone, we’re playing
with it more,” Pearson said. “In
our defensive zone we’re doing a
much better job of our defensive
zone system, and that’s allowed
us not to give up as many grade-A
chances. It’s just better overall
team defense which starts in
net and it starts with our play
with the puck. We’re managing,
holding on to it and possessing it
more.”
The
mistakes
Michigan
made
against
the
Buckeyes
never reared their ugly heads
against
the
Fighting
Irish,
signaling the latest step in the
full implementation of Pearson’s
overall offensive and defensive
system.
“We’re not beating ourselves,”
Pearson said. “Our risk-reward
— we’re picking our spots when
to get on the offensive side of the
puck. Before we were just selling
out offensively with turnovers
and we’d get trapped. I don’t
think Notre Dame — I don’t know
if they had any two-on-ones —
we’re giving up a limited number
of odd number rushes.”
Added
junior
defenseman
Joseph Cecconi: “We always
preach playing the right side of
the puck, playing the defensive
side because that creates offense.
If you’re playing good defense,
you’re probably playing good
offense.”
New Big Ten Tournament
format
Michigan’s
win
in
South
Bend on Friday, coupled with
Michigan State defeating Penn
State, would have been just
another night in the Big Ten —
albeit a very significant one — if it
had taken place a year ago.
Instead, Friday’s results locked
the Wolverines into hosting
the first round of the Big Ten
Tournament. Unlike the format
from previous seasons, which
took place over a single weekend
at a neutral location, this year’s
conference
tournament
is
a
three-week event that will take
place at campus sites.
“Yost Ice Arena — when it
gets rocking it’s a home ice
advantage. This Sunday proved
that,” Pearson said. “We’re a
better team at home. It’s going to
be tough wherever you play, but
it’s really important that you get
home ice and you get that crowd
behind you. It’s like you start at
one-nothing.”
For
Pearson,
nothing’s
changed. Last season, he coached
Michigan Tech to a victory in
the WCHA Tournament, which
followed almost the exact same
format.
“I thought it was outstanding,”
Pearson said. “... The crowds were
great and I remember Bowling
Green in the last game saying
they couldn’t believe it — sold-
out building, great atmosphere
for both teams, and that’s what
you’re trying to get instead of
playing in a 15, 16 thousand seat
building where you get three
thousand people. We’re trying to
create that atmosphere in the Big
Ten and I think it’s a great move.”
There are a few changes to
the system that Pearson would
like to see. While the first round
is a best-of-three series, the
semifinal and final rounds are
both single games.
In the seven-team tournament,
the top seed — Notre Dame — has
a bye for the first round, meaning
that if it lost its semifinal game,
it
would
enter
the
NCAA
Tournament
having
played
only once in nearly a month — a
disadvantageous situation that
Pearson would like to guard
against.
“I’ll put my two cents in this
year,” Pearson said. “I think it
will be this spring in April when
we have the Big Ten hockey
meetings. It’ll come up again,
I’m going to bring it up and then
(Notre Dame coach Jeff) Jackson
will bring it up.”
A deceptive test
The Wolverines came into last
weekend with an all-or-nothing
mentality. Failing to earn points
of any kind against the Fighting
Irish would have been a serious,
while not fatal, blow to their
hopes at securing an at-large bid
in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, Michigan shot up to
No. 11 in the Pairwise rankings,
and according to College Hockey
News, it possesses a 95 percent
chance of qualifying for the
postseason. The Wolverines are
safely in the field — for now.
This weekend’s regular-season
finale against Arizona State is by
no means challenging, per se.
The Sun Devils, in just their third
season as a fully-fledged Division
I team, rank 55th out of 60 teams
in Pairwise.
But at this time of year,
opponents such as Arizona State
can be even scarier than teams
like Notre Dame. For all that was
gained last weekend, Michigan
falling on its face against the Sun
Devils — the weakest team on its
schedule — would take that all
away, and then some.
“Last weekend was huge for
us, winning against Notre Dame,
but if we can’t keep focused this
weekend it’s all for nothing,”
said sophomore forward Adam
Winborg. “We have to come out
and play our best hockey again.”
Of course, Arizona State is
No. 55 in Pairwise for a reason.
Losing even one of the next two
games is far from likely. But don’t
tell the Wolverines that.
“We have to treat Arizona
State like a No. 1 team,” Cecconi
said. “If we don’t beat them twice
that’s going to hurt us big time in
the Pairwise. We have to prepare
basically just like any other
game, any other Big Ten game. It
might be these two games are the
most important for our season.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson believes that his team is controlling the puck in the offense zone better than it has in the past.
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer