8A — Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Lavigne’s solid play exemplifies Michigan’s run

I

t all began with Hayden Lavi-
gne.

Before Michigan’s 14-6-

1 record since New Year’s Day,
before it reached the 25th Frozen
Four in
program
history, there
was the
sophomore,
starting in
goal against
Michigan
State in the
Great Lakes
Invitational.

Lavigne

wasn’t terrific, allowing four
goals. But he did enough for the
Wolverines to win, and enough
to earn a start against No. 1 Notre
Dame three days later.

Despite compiling a .937 save

percentage over the course of the
series, Lavigne couldn’t save his
team from being swept. But he did
enough to assert himself as the
unquestioned starter heading into
Michigan’s most crucial series of
the season at Minnesota.

Against the Golden Gophers,

Lavigne wasn’t exactly the second
coming of Marty Turco. But once
again, he did enough — stopping
41 of 45 shots on the weekend —
and the Wolverines returned to
Ann Arbor with two massive wins
under their belt.

The turning point in Michigan’s

season wasn’t the product of some
miracle pill. Nothing was radically
different from October, November
or December. Everything —
offense, defense, special teams —
was just a little bit stronger, a little
bit more solid, a little bit more
stable.

Ask coach Mel Pearson or any

of his players why the Wolverines
started to roll, and they’ll talk
about what you’d expect.

They’ll talk about consistency.

They’ll talk about confidence.
Then they’ll talk about Lavigne.

“(The Notre Dame series)

was our first weekend where we
played two really solid games,”

said sophomore forward Jake
Slaker last week. “Even though we
lost, we were really happy with
our game. … Hayden Lavigne was
kind of the starter of that.”

And not only was Lavigne

the starter of that, he’s also
epitomized it.

Pearson has compared

Michigan’s surge to a snowball
making its way down a hill;
growing and growing as
it continues to roll. It’s an
effective metaphor for Lavigne’s
own development — gaining
experience and confidence with
every save and every game.

“I’ve been able to string

together four pretty solid games
back-to-back,” Lavigne said on
Jan. 18. “That in itself leads to a
little more confidence where I’ve
found myself playing a little bit

farther out, little bit more sure of
the plays I’m making in net.”

The next day, he made 35

saves against Penn State to blank
the highest-scoring team in the
nation.

For an encore one night later,

he stopped 43 of 45 shots —
frequently doing so in spectacular
fashion — and prompted the
Nittany Lions’ official Twitter
account to desperately exclaim in
all caps, “Even if they were selling
goals at Yost tonight our card
would get declined!!!”

Lavigne hasn’t always stood on

his head like he did that weekend.
But like the Wolverines as a team,
he’s mostly alternated between
solid and great for the last three
months.

He’s had rough patches,

sure — three goals in the first

eight minutes of the Big Ten
Tournament. But he’s been
dominant at times — a shutout
of the Fighting Irish on Feb.
18. And there’s been some luck
involved — Andrew Oglevie’s
shot painstakingly crawling
across the crease and past an
open net in the final minute of the
aforementioned shutout.

“There’s obviously still room to

improve, as there always will be,”
Lavigne said Monday. “But I feel
this is some of the best hockey I’ve
played in my career.”

That hockey has brought

him and his team to the Frozen
Four, to a place Michigan wasn’t
supposed to be this year.

Notre Dame and Ohio State are

No. 1 seeds. Minnesota-Duluth
was on this stage a year ago.
Compared to the rest of the field,

the Wolverines are outsiders, and
they know it.

“Out of the four teams, we were

probably the least likely to get
there,” Pearson said last week. “ …
Obviously we’re the underdog.”

In net, this theme remains. Cale

Morris, Sean Romeo and Hunter
Shepard all rank in the top-10
nationally in save percentage.
Lavigne? He sits 39th, with a
relatively pedestrian .909 figure.

But like the three-point shot

in basketball, goaltending is
hockey’s great equalizer. Could
Lavigne outduel Morris, Romeo or
Shepard over a multi-game series,
all other variables being equal?
Probably not. But can he take over
a single game by himself? Without
question — he’s done it before.

Here’s the thing, however: he

doesn’t have to.

Four months ago, Lavigne

might have needed to will
Michigan to a victory over the
Fighting Irish, Buckeyes or
Bulldogs. But that’s no longer the
case — and it’s the end result of a
process that was made possible
because of him.

Slow, incremental improvement

in every facet of the game has
gotten the Wolverines, and
Lavigne, this far. Sure, it hasn’t
necessarily been special, but it’s
been enough — just like Lavigne’s
run in early January.

And when Lavigne held down

the fort, Michigan — as a team —
followed suit.

Pearson doesn’t anticipate, nor

does he want, Lavigne playing
Superman this weekend. All he
desires out of his netminder is
security in the crease.

“He’s going to have to make a

number of good saves,” Pearson
said Monday. “But we don’t expect
him to have to carry us. Can he do
that? Absolutely. He’s had some
games where we’ve given up too
many chances against, but we’re
going to hopefully play better
defensively in front of him and cut
down the shots.”

Added Lavigne: “I expect to

come out there and make the saves
I’m supposed to, and then make
some that I’m not. I plan to go out
there and hold the team in it when
they need me, and at the same
time I expect them to do the same
for me.”

If the Wolverines need a hero

in St. Paul, Lavigne might be the
most likely to take on that role. But
somewhat ironically, he’s done his
part to make sure that they won’t.

It all began with Hayden

Lavigne. Thanks to him, Michigan
can end its run as a team.

It might not be fancy.

More likely, it will be solid,
unspectacular even.

And it might just be enough.

Shames can be reached at

jacosham@umich.edu or on

Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne is the most likely candidate to play hero in the Frozen Four, but thanks to his own leadership, he may not have to at all.

For Eastern, ‘M’ matchup is more than a game

Melissa Gentile loves Alumni

Field.

Everything — the field, the

Alumni Band, the energy from
the stands — it all transports
her back to her days as a player
under Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins. Now, as the head
coach at Eastern Michigan, she
looks forward to the competition
the Wolverines provide in an
annual matchup between the
two teams. Eighteen years after
graduating, it’s still her home
away from home.

On Wednesday, Gentile will

return to Alumni Field, not
knowing if she’ll ever be back.

After
this
season,
her

program will no longer exist.

***

Gentile found out Monday

evening, Mar. 19. The rest of
her team was told at 7:30 on
Tuesday morning.

The athletic department was

short on funds. It was cutting
four sports, including softball.
Once the season was over, the
team would be no more.

The Eagles’ first conference

series against Buffalo was that
weekend. But all of a sudden,
it was the last thing on their
minds.

Gentile ran her practices

with urgency. Her focus was
no
longer
winning
games.

Instead, it was making sure that
her team’s last days together
weren’t wasted.

“(We’re) just trying to enjoy

every moment with each other
and
relish
every
moment,”

Gentile said. “ … Just trying
to infuse some fun into a very
difficult situation that they’re
going through, so it’s any little
thing that we can do … to keep
them loose and trying to keep
them
positive
and
moving

forward.”

She infuses that fun into

every practice, whether it’s a
game of tag with the coaches
or kicking around a hacky-sack.
Off the field, she consoles her
players while they cry over their
uncertain futures. She calls
other coaches asking if they

have room on their rosters. Her
own future is on hold because
the team comes first.

“My family and I will land on

our feet,” Gentile said. “… I’m
just worried about our players
and making sure they’re taken
care of.”

Even
before
the

announcement, it had been
over two weeks since Eastern
Michigan had won a game. And
now, with the dissolution of
the only program these players
have ever known, it’s seemingly
a never-ending spiral, a 17-game
losing streak that shows no
signs of ending any time soon.

Before each game, Gentile

gives them a typical coach’s pep
talk. Live in the moment. One
game at a time.

“All those things sound right

to tell them,” Gentile said. “But
while telling them that, they’re
talking to other college coaches
and trying to find opportunities
to transfer to schools and have
a plan.”

Faced with losing the thing

they loved, it seemed impossible
to
focus
on
something
so

frivolous as a singular game.

***

Twenty minutes across town,

the Michigan softball program
is the antithesis of the Eagles’.
The Wolverines always draw
large crowds. They contend not
only for conference titles, but
national titles. They’ve won
22 of their last 23 games. They
have nothing to worry about.

But for both programs, the

benefits of a yearly matchup are
similar.

For
Hutchins,
non-

conference home games early
in the Big Ten season help get
her team accustomed to the
distractions of the sometimes-
rowdy
crowd.
For
Gentile,

the Wolverines provide the
toughest
competition
the

Eagles will face all season —
similarly
good
preparation

for Mid-America Conference
play. And for both, the game
provides an opportunity to
reconnect. Gentile has always
seen Hutchins as a mentor, the
person she looks to for advice.

Now, though, those reasons

seem so meaningless.

“We’re trying to get our

emotions in check and come out
and really go out with a bang,”
Gentile said. “We know that
our games are limited and our
opportunities are limited. …

Our kids are devastated.”

If this were a movie, Eastern

Michigan would come out on
Wednesday and beat Michigan
— or at least put up a fight. It
would spark them to a streak
to end its season. The Eagles
would band together and save
their team.

But
this
is
Washtenaw

County, not Hollywood. The
athletic department made it
clear to Gentile that its decision
is final. And take your pick at
any stat — it’s clear that the
probability of an upset is almost
nonexistent.

Instead, Eastern Michigan

will
approach
the
game

knowing that after it’s over, the
Eagles will have just 14 games
left together. There’s little hope
of salvaging their program or
their season, so instead they’ll
come to Alumni Field holding
onto everything they still have.
Their devotion to the game.
Their spirit. And each other.

“I hope this team’s legacy …

is that they just go out leaving
their hearts on the field,”
Gentile said. “And whatever
happens, happens, but they
leave their heart and passion for
what they do on the field.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Melissa Gentile (far left) and Carol Hutchins (far right) will face each other for what may be the final time Wednesday.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

MEN’S GYMNASTICS
Seniors celebrated in
regular season finale

Five years after arriving in

Ann Arbor, Tristian Perez-
Rivera finally got his Senior
Night celebration.

After missing all of the 2016

season and most of the 2017
season due to injuries, the
senior was granted a fifth year
of eligibility in 2018. While his
performance is now limited
to just one or two events, he
remains an integral part of the
Michigan men’s gymnastics
team.

“It’s too bad Tristian, with

his health issues, is down to
just doing a couple of events,”
said
Michigan
coach
Kurt

Golder. “But those two guys,
(senior Dmitri Belanovski) and
Tristian, have really helped a
tremendous amount.”

Before
Saturday’s
meet

against
the
University
of

Illinois-Chicago,
Golder

and the Wolverines honored
Perez-Rivera, Belanovski and
volunteer
assistant
coach

Brennen Thomas.

Belanovski
and
Perez-

Rivera have both starred in
competition
during
their

time
at
Michigan,
while

Thomas’
contributions
are

less
immediately
obvious.

But
Golder
was
quick
to

point out his key role during
competitions, and anyone who
has attended a meet has seen
Thomas working with each and
every gymnast throughout the
competition.

“He tried out for the team

two years in a row, got cut two
years in a row,” Golder said.
“He’s extremely valuable as you
can see during the meet, he’s
very helpful to the program.”

Thomas
is
frequently

the
first
to
congratulate

the gymnasts after a strong

performance, but he serves
an equally important role in
reassuring a gymnast after a
disapponting routine.

Belanovski
earned
All-

American honors in 2015 and
2016, though he missed most of
the 2017 season with injuries.
As a captain this year, his
leadership has been key for the
Wolverines as they’ve battled
inconsistency throughout the
season.

Saturday’s
competition

took place at Crisler Center,
rather than the team’s usual
home of Cliff Keen Arena.
This move was intentional,
preparing Michigan for the Big
Ten Championships coming
to Crisler next week. For the
seniors, the extra experience
in the competition arena will
be a big advantage in the
championship.

“It was special out here,

competing
on
a
podium

especially. I don’t think there’s
ever been a Senior Night on a
podium
before,”
Belanovski

said. “It was a nice test run
before Big Tens, consider it a
little bit of Senior Night part
one.”

The Wolverines have not

won a conference title since
2014, Perez-Rivera’s freshman
season. He is the only gymnast
on the team with a title under
his belt, so the rest of the
seniors are looking forward
to making a run for their first
title.

“We’re at home, you know,

it’s ours to lose,” Belanovski
said. “I think we have a great
chance, and we’re ready to
bring it home.”

And if they do bring it home,

Perez-Rivera, Belanovski and
Thomas will get to experience
Senior Night on a whole new
level for their final competition
in Ann Arbor.

Tristian Perez-Rivera and Dmitri
Belanovski were honored Saturday

BAILEY JOHNSON

Daily Sports Writer

JACOB
SHAMES