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Sports
Thursday, April 5, 2018 — 5A

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SUMMER EMPLOYMENT

ACROSS
1 Farm unit
5 “Uh, don’t forget
about me ... ”
9 Selling point
14 Soon, quaintly
15 Diamond corner
16 Busch Gardens
city
17 USAF plane for
small runways
18 Word of proof?
19 Video game
based on a film,
e.g.
20 Meal owed to
President
Clinton?
23 Help
24 __ bran
25 PC-to-PC system
28 Employing echo
in audio?
32 River to the North
Sea
36 “Blue Bloods”
rank: Abbr.
37 Devotee
38 Northeast
gubernatorial
family name
40 Paris café brew
42 African antelope
43 Get in
45 “__ Believer”:
Monkees hit
47 __-bitty
48 Rules for righting
wrongs?
51 WWII general
52 Map abbr.
53 Bun, for one
58 Mail about
system
improvements?
62 Like gymnasts
64 Camping stuff
65 Every which way
66 Wash cycle
67 One-named
supermodel
68 Nutrition bar with
a crescent moon
in its logo
69 Like pet
hamsters
70 Conciliatory
gestures
71 North Sea feeder

DOWN
1 Southeastern
Iraqi port

2 Dealer’s requests
3 Circuitous routes
4 Zhou of China
5 Helped in a job,
perhaps
6 Difficult
7 Biblical brother
8 Comet fragment,
perhaps
9 State of mind
10 Proceed easily
(through)
11 Sense
something’s
amiss
12 Prefix with center
13 “The Joy Luck
Club” novelist
21 Georgia, once:
Abbr.
22 Syrup-soaked
cake
26 Ticket __
27 Dweebish
29 Pro with a
tabletop scale
30 System of moral
values
31 Most piano
sonatas
32 Bluemountain.com
product
33 Drew
34 Adjacent to

35 Mideast
potentate
39 Stuff at mealtime
41 My Chemical
Romance genre
44 __ perpetua:
Idaho motto
46 Sticks
49 Worsted fabrics
50 Consume
54 Amalfi Coast
country
55 Romulus’ twin

56 Source of some
overhead footage
57 Heroic Schindler
59 “What __ could it
be?”
60 Brief reminder
61 “__ Unto My
Feet”: longtime
CBS religious
program
62 Circle part
63 Italian actress
Scala

By Winston Emmons
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
04/05/18

04/05/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 5, 2018

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

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The Daily makes its predictions for Michigan and the Frozen Four

Frozen Four?
Frozen Four.
A very long time ago, the Big 

Ten 
Preseason 
Coaches’ 
Poll 

predicted a sixth-place finish for 
the Michigan hockey team. The 
Wolverines needed a while to 
shrug off those projections, but 
thanks to a second-half push, they 
did just that and more, storming 
into the national semifinal for the 
first time since 2011.

That year was also the last time 

the Frozen Four was played in St. 
Paul, and coincidentally, three of 
the four teams in this year’s field 
— Michigan, Minnesota-Duluth 
and Notre Dame — were there 
in 2011. Ohio State, making its 
first appearance since 1998, is an 
outlier in this regard only. The 
Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten 
teams, along with the Wolverines 
and Fighting Irish, in this year’s 
Frozen Four.

On Thursday, the Wolverines 

will face Notre Dame for the fifth 
time this year, and should they win, 
a familiar face will await them for 
the national championship. Either 
it will be their fiercest rival, Ohio 
State, which dealt them five losses 
during the regular season, or 
they’ll take on Minnesota-Duluth, 
which beat them in overtime for 
the 2011 national title. Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson, then an 
assistant under Red Berenson, has 
said that the loss still sticks with 
him.

Seven 
years 
later, 
the 

Wolverines are back in the Land 
of 10,000 Lakes, looking to make 
up for the heartbreak of 2011. 
The Daily’s hockey beat writers 
predict if they will do so:

Jacob Shames
Prediction: Michigan
Mel Pearson said last week 

that Michigan is “happy to be (in 
the Frozen Four),” and is playing 
“bonus hockey.” It’s the sentiment 
of a coach whose team wasn’t 
expected to even approach St. Paul 
this season, let alone the NCAA 
Tournament.

But now that the Wolverines 

are here? They might just mess 
around and win the whole damn 
thing.

Despite 
scares 
against 

Michigan Tech and Providence 
in the regional round, Notre 
Dame — with its Hobey Baker 
finalist 
goaltender, 
disciplined 

defense and balanced offense 
— is every bit as good as its No. 1 
seed indicates. But Michigan has 
defeated the Fighting Irish twice, 
and played them dead-even in two 
losses in January, outshooting 
them 70-63. Out of Notre Dame’s 
six goals against the Wolverines 
this year, only one of them came 
from five-on-five play. Michigan 
is fully capable of creating scoring 
chances against the Fighting 
Irish’s defense, and as long as it 
plays most of the game at even 
strength, this game is effectively a 
toss-up. In a low-scoring tussle, I 
think the Wolverines can sneak a 
couple past Cale Morris — at least 
enough to win.

Ohio State — which should 

handle Minnesota-Duluth in the 
other semifinal — averages more 
and allows fewer goals per game 
than Notre Dame. The Buckeyes 
laid waste to Denver — the 
defending national champion — 
in the regional final, and in five 
meetings with them this season, 
Michigan has yet to win. But in the 
teams’ most recent matchup, the 
Wolverines fell to Ohio State in an 
overtime contest that was even in 
just about every way. Michigan’s 
lost only once since Feb. 9, and it 
came that night in Columbus.

For my money, the Buckeyes 

are the best team in the country. 
But with the Wolverines’ rapid 
improvement over the last two 
months — as well as Ohio State 
being without third-leading scorer 
Matthew Weis due to injury — 
there’s no reason that they can’t 
beat the Buckeyes once, short of 
being cursed to never defeat them 
again. In an unpredictable NCAA 
Tournament that saw two No. 
1 seeds fall in their first game, I 
predict the title game will follow 
suit, and Michigan will raise a 
championship banner at Yost Ice 
Arena next season.

Benjamin Katz
Prediction: Michigan
Almost two weeks ago, I wrote 

about 
the 
20th 
anniversary 

of the 1998 Michigan hockey 
national 
championship 
team 

and its eerie similarity to today’s 
Wolverines headed into the NCAA 
Tournament.

“Maybe this team won’t have 

the same success,” it read. “But the 
parallels can’t be ignored.”

Akin to 1998, this Wolverine 

team is the decided underdog, 
staring straight in the face of Notre 
Dame with slim expectations 
directed their way. Win and 
advance to battle thunderous Ohio 
State or Minnesota-Duluth. Like 
two decades ago, Michigan needs 
to embrace dogged, nothing-to-
lose motivation to win its 10th 
National Championship in 25 
Frozen Four attempts.

It’ll do just that.
Don’t get me wrong — navigating 

the Fighting Irish, arguably the 
best team on paper, is an arduous 
task. But the Wolverines’ last 
series against them shows its 
immense improvement as the 
season progressed and ability to 
rattle Morris early and often. On 
Feb. 16 in South Bend, Michigan 
outshot Notre Dame, 17-6, in 
the first period on the way to a 
4-2 win. It was the Wolverines’ 
best-played period all season. 
Fast starts and holding leads 
continued, as they never trailed 
against Northeastern and Boston 
University in the Regional rounds. 
I don’t see this trend stopping 
against Notre Dame.

Then there’s a date against Ohio 

State or Minnesota-Duluth. With 
the former more likely to advance 
to the national championship, 
college sports’ foremost rivalry 
would again be on display.

The Buckeyes may be America’s 

most well-rounded team. They 
allow just 2.08 goals per game, 
succeeds on 89.29 percent of 
penalty kills and, with boasts 

a lethal first line of Tanner 
Laczynski, 
Mason 
Jobst 
and 

Freddy Gerard. While goaltender 
Sean Romeo may not be Morris, 
he’s been highly reliable down the 
stretch with dramatic saves late in 
games.

After being outscored, 17-6, in 

their first four contents against 
Ohio State and losing their 
fifth, 3-2, in overtime of the Big 
Ten 
Tournament 
semifinals, 

Michigan won’t be embarrassed 
again.

Secondary 
scoring 
from 

freshman 
defenseman 
Quinn 

Hughes and sophomore forwards 
Jake Slaker and Nick Pastujov 
— and solid netminding from 
sophomore Hayden Lavigne — 
will propel the Wolverines to 
college hockey’s apex, where 
not even the most optimistic 
prognosticator expected them to 
reside this season.

Anna Marcus
Prediction: Ohio State
Michigan 
has 
positioned 

itself right where it wanted to 
be this season. The Wolverines 
will be well-acquainted with 
their Thursday night opponent 
in St. Paul. Seeing Notre Dame 
— the Big Ten conference and 
tournament champion — for the 
fifth time this season actually 
looks like it could be a good thing 
for Michigan.

Rankings-wise, the Fighting 

Irish look like the clear favorite. 
They’ve also been either at the 
top of the nation or just under 
it all season. But judging by all 
four of the previous meetings 
this season, the Wolverines have 
played right there with them — or 
better. Michigan has a significant 
offensive edge, averaging 3.41 
goals per game compared to Notre 
Dame’s 2.95. In fact, in all of their 
contests this season, the Fighting 
Irish haven’t shot more than 
two pucks past Hayden Lavigne. 
Of course, it is impossible not 
to recognize Cale Morris and 
his .945 save percentage, but 
the Wolverines proved twice in 
February that they can evade him 
enough times to pull off a win.

In 
the 
press 
conference 

following 
the 
regional, 
Mel 

Pearson noted that he “liked the 
matchup” with Notre Dame. His 
team should, too. And I believe 
Pearson’s squad will see a spot in 
the championship game.

Michigan then will find itself 

in familiar conference company 
— squaring off against Ohio State 
for a sixth time. The Buckeyes 
made a takedown of Denver look 

easy in the Midwest Regional, 
and shouldn’t have too much 
trouble doing the same with 
Minnesota-Duluth.

But once the Wolverines get 

there, they will fall short of a 
national title. It’s safe to say that 
Michigan wants to avenge its five 
losses thus far this season to Ohio 
State. And while that sentiment 
should not be underestimated, 
the Buckeyes are just too good, 
plain and simple. None of the 
Wolverines’ five losses to Ohio 
State, other than the Big Ten 
Tournament 
semifinal, 
were 

even particularly close. Thinking 
about capitalizing on a power 
play? The Buckeyes probably 
won’t let it happen. They run the 
best penalty kill in the nation, 
preventing goals over 89 percent 
of the time. And Michigan scored 
just once with a man-advantage 
when playing them.

In a season where no one but 

Michigan itself predicted that it 
would land a spot in St. Paul, the 

Wolverines will prove everyone 
wrong by making it to the final 
game of the year. But Ohio State 
will take it all.

Robert Hefter
Prediction: Who knows?
In the beginning of the year, 

if you’d asked anyone if the 
Wolverines would be in the 
Frozen Four, they would have 
told you off with good reason. 
In the second week in January, 
Michigan was swept by Notre 
Dame — a series no one expected 
the Wolverines to take.

The Fighting Irish boasted 

one of the better defenses in 
the country with the nation’s 
best goaltender. After 2-1 losses 
both nights, many commended 
Michigan for its fortitude in 
a 
powerhouse 
matchup. 
But 

that 
commemoration 
was 

representative of an underlying 
storyline at play. The truth 
was that, after the Notre Dame 
defeats, no one expected the 
Wolverines to get over the hump 

of securing victories against the 
nation’s best.

That all changed the next 

weekend.

Michigan went on a four-game 

win-streak against top-15 teams 
in Minnesota and Penn State. It 
didn’t look back.

A newly diversified attacking 

arm 
consisting 
of 
veteran 

offensive performers such as 
junior Cooper Marody and senior 
Tony Calderone supplemented 
by the likes of sophomore Jake 
Slaker, freshman Jack Becker 
and others now defined the squad 
poised for a postseason run. But 
they’ll certainly face a challenge 
with the battle-tested Fighting 
Irish defense headed by Jordan 
Gross and Cale Morris.

One thing is for sure, though, 

Notre Dame seems to be playing 
the same hockey now that it was 
at the beginning of the season 
— steady defense with slow, 
calculated 
offensive 
pressure. 

On the other hand, Michigan 
is clearly playing with more 
confidence and it has shown 
in its impressive, unpredicted 
postseason performance. With 
Calderone and Marody at the 
reins 
with 
supplementary 

bombardment 
from 
the 

Wolverines’ depth, Morris won’t 
be able to stop the Michigan 
offensive train unless he conjures 
up Brodeur-esque style.

In 
the 
other 
matchup 
— 

Ohio State against Minnesota-
Duluth — both teams happen 
to be quite similar. Both have 
outstanding power plays. Both 
are defined by a stalwart back 
line. And much like the media 
has hinted at for the past week 
and a half, the Wolverines will 
meet the Buckeyes in the national 
championship to duke it out for 
the sixth time this season.

Just like the first six matchups, 

though, Ohio State’s penalty kill 
paired with its deadly offense 
headlined by Tanner Laczynski 
and Mason Jobst could be too 
much. But Michigan has since 
built a reputation as a fast, 
scrappy team since the two’s last 
faceoff in the Big Ten semifinal.

My guess, it’s up for grabs.

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

The Michigan men’s hockey team faces a familiar foe on Thursday in Notre Dame, and if it wins, it could face another one Saturday in Ohio State. 

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Michigan coach Mel Pearson says he likes his team’s matchup with Notre Dame heading into the Frozen Four.

THE 
MICHIGAN 
DAILY 

HOCKEY BEAT

