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