The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 — 7

Lockwood, captains trying to lead Michigan to defensive consistency

It hasn’t always been pretty 
on defense for the No. 14 
Michigan hockey team.
Some games, the defense 
excels and the offense grinds 
— like in the Nov. 9 game 
against No. 7 Notre Dame, 
which 
the 
Wolverines 
won 
2-1. Two goals scored doesn’t 
sound like a stellar offensive 
performance, but the Fighting 
Irish rank seventh in the nation 
in defense, allowing an average 
of 1.92 goals per game.
In other games, the offense 
breaks through and the defense 
has difficulty. But lately, the 
offense has been more and more 
consistent, while the defense is 
still struggling to settle in and 
perform at the same level every 
night. 
This 
past 
weekend’s 
series against No. 5 Penn State 
exemplified that.
The offense was undeniably 
important — it isn’t just about 
the defensive struggles. Without 
its talented forwards, Michigan 
may not have been able to come 
back from a two-goal, third-
period deficit — twice — over 
the course of the weekend. 
While 
Saturday, 
the 
game 
ended with a loss in overtime, 
the resilience and confidence 
of the offense 
was key for the 
comeback.
“I think we’ve 
gotta have that 
confidence,” said 
junior 
forward 
Will Lockwood. 
“I 
think 
it’s 
good 
because 
we know we can 
play with anyone 
now, which is 
important, but I think we have 
to be more consistent. I think 
that’s gotta be the message 
throughout the locker room is 
consistency.”

After two comebacks late in 
games, the Wolverines have 
enough confidence. They have 
plenty of players who can score 
and the offense 
is 
finding 
a 
rhythm.
Now, it’s time 
for the defense 
to find the same 
consistency and 
put all the pieces 
together for a 
complete team.
“We 
just 
have 
to 
get 
everybody 
on 
the same page and we have to 
make a commitment to team 
defense,” said Michigan coach 
Mel Pearson. “Once we do that, 
we’ll be even better. Otherwise, 

we’re just gonna be inconsistent 
like we are.”
And it’s up to Lockwood and 
his fellow letter-wearers — 
senior 
captain 
defenseman 
Joseph Cecconi 
along 
with 
alternate 
captains 
junior 
forward 
Jake 
Slaker, 
junior 
defenseman 
Luke 
Martin 
and 
senior 
defenseman 
Nick Boka — to 
help the team find a rhythm in 
all phases of the game.
“I 
think 
it 
starts 
by 
leadership,” 
Lockwood 
said. 
“(Pearson’s) been preaching it a 

little bit now, but I think now it’s 
gotta be up to myself and some 
other guys in the locker room 
to really get the guys going. 
That’s 
gotta 
be 
a 
platform 
for our game is 
(playing) 
with 
that energy all 
the time, not just 
a portion of the 
game.”
With a team 
that’s the fifth-
youngest 
in 
college 
hockey, 
leadership from 
the top down is important. It’s 
hard — especially at first — for 
the freshmen to feel comfortable 
stepping up and taking on an 
unofficial leadership role.

“I think we have some vocal 
leaders on the team,” Lockwood 
said. “I think those are the guys 
that are wearing the letters, 
but I don’t think 
guys should be 
shy who aren’t 
wearing 
letters 
to be vocal in 
the locker room. 
I think we have 
guys that lead 
by 
example 
and who aren’t 
specific leaders 
as far as letters 
go on the team, 
which is a great thing to see.”
Developing 
leaders 
is 
a 
slow process, but it seems 
that Lockwood and his fellow 
upperclassmen are ready and 

willing to encourage everyone 
on the team — not just those 
officially 
designated 
to 
be 
captains — to step up and take 
ownership.
As part of his responsibility as 
an alternate captain, Lockwood 
took advantage of a moment 
to lead by example against the 
Nittany Lions. Late in Friday’s 
game, the Wolverines had a 
5-4 lead, but Penn State had 
just pulled their goaltender to 
get an extra attacker and try 
to tie the game. But Lockwood 
managed to steal the puck 
from an opposing forward, and 
suddenly he was mere feet from 
a wide-open net. 
Rather than shoot the puck 
himself, he looked over his 
shoulder to find Slaker skating 
down the ice just behind him. 
He slipped the puck to his 
teammate, who tapped it home 
for his second goal of the night. 
It was selfless, pure and simple.
“I’ve played with Jake a lot, 
and I think he would do the 
same thing for me,” Lockwood 
said. “I think it was more of just 
setting an example of how we 
need to play as a team. We’ve 
gotta be thinking of the guy next 
to us and not just ourselves.”
Leadership 
won’t 
always 
come in obvious moments like 
that. Sometimes it’s the little 
things, 
like 
keeping 
your 
teammates fired 
up in the locker 
room 
when 
you’re facing a 
deficit or skating 
just a little bit 
harder toward a 
loose puck.
But 
maybe, 
just maybe, as 
the 
leadership 
from the captains trickles down 
through the rest of the team, 
Michigan will finally find the 
consistency on defense it’s been 
looking for all season.

EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Junior forward Will Lockwood believes his team knows it “can play with anyone,” after the Wolverines split their series with Penn State last weekend.

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

The Wolverines have struggled at times on defense this season, relying on their flourishing offense to win them games

“I think we 
have some 
vocal leaders on 
the team.”

“I think it 
was more of 
just setting an 
example.”

“We just 
have to get 
everybody on 
the same page.”

‘M’ to host Wildcats, Spartans as Tourney looms

Mark 
your 
calendar 
for 
Sunday, Nov. 25 — the 2018 
NCAA 
Division 
I 
women’s 
volleyball selection show. The 
tournament’s 
64-team 
field 
will be solidified that evening, 
and, perhaps more importantly, 
college volleyball will find 
out whether Ann Arbor’s Cliff 
Keen Arena will be a host site.
No. 
18 
Michigan 
(20-9 
overall, 
9-9 
Big 
Ten) 
is 
practically 
guaranteed 
a 
spot in the field. Coming off 
the heels of securing their 
fourth 
consecutive 
20-win 
regular season with a four-
set victory in East Lansing 
last weekend, the Wolverines 
have established themselves 
as one of the nation’s top-tier 
programs.
Interestingly 
enough, 
the 
Wolverines are also ranked 
18th in RPI. This formula — a 
critical tool in the selection 
committee’s seeding decisions 
— is used to measure teams 
across 
Division 
I 
on 
one 
uniform scale based on their 
wins, losses and strength of 
schedule.
Every team ranked inside 
the top-37 of the NCAA’s final 
RPI release has qualified for 
the tournament field since 
2010. The Wolverines may be 
a shoo-in for the big dance, 
but that doesn’t 
mean they have 
nothing to worry 
about 
at 
this 
point.
Because only 
the top-16 seeds 
host 
NCAA 
Tournament 
matches, 
Michigan needs 
to make a pair 
of 
statement 
wins 
when 
Northwestern (15-5, 5-13) and 
Michigan State (17-14, 5-13) 
come to town on Wednesday 
and Saturday, respectively.
With a win in both matches, 
Michigan can cement a season 
series sweep of each opponent. 
Since 
the 
Wildcats 
and 
Spartans are both well outside 

of 
conference 
contention, 
losing a match to either team 
will eradicate any chance of 
this year’s NCAA Tournament 
coming to Ann Arbor. After 
Michigan 
split 
its 
season 
series against No. 8 Wisconsin 
and 
unranked 
Maryland, 
dropped both of its matches 
to No. 6 Nebraska and No. 7 
Penn State and compiled a 4-2 
record against Big Ten teams 
it only faced once, it can’t pass 
up 
a 
golden 
opportunity 
to 
secure 
a 
pair of season 
series 
sweeps 
at home in its 
last impression 
on the selection 
committee.
If 
the 
Wolverines 
can take care 
of 
business 
against 
two 
subpar opponents this week, 
they’ll put themselves in a 
strong position to reach the 
Sweet Sixteen if they capture 
one of the tournament’s highly-
coveted top-16 seeds and its 
accompanying right to a pair of 
home matches.
“We 
have 
great 
student 

representation (in Cliff Keen 
Arena),” said Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen. “They’re so fun, 
they’re so passionate, they’re 
funny, and they’re creative. Any 
time we have the students come 
out, it makes a big difference.”
One aspect that separates 
Cliff 
Keen 
Arena 
from 
other NCAA venues is its 
configuration. 
The 
arena 
only has stadium seating on 
three sides of the court; the 
fourth 
side 
is 
solely dedicated 
to 
The 
Zone 
— 
Michigan’s 
notoriously 
rowdy 
student 
section.
Most notably, 
the distance from 
the court to the 
beginning of the 
stands is next to 
nothing. 
With 
very little space 
separating the match from the 
crowd, Rosen’s players often 
claim that the crowd is more 
impactful at Cliff Keen than 
anywhere else.
“When you play in Cliff 
Keen, all the fans are close, 
much more than other arenas 
for sure,” said senior outside 

hitter Carly Skjodt. “We’re able 
to take the fans’ energy with us 
and use it.”
Since 
stepping 
onto 
the 
court at Cliff Keen Arena for 
the first time in the fall of 2015, 
Michigan’s trio of seniors — 
Skjodt, libero Jenna Lerg and 
setter Maddy Abbott — have 
amassed a remarkable 51-15 
record at home. Hosting a pair 
of NCAA Tournament matches 
would give the Wolverines’ 
senior class the 
chance to build 
on its dominant 
record in Ann 
Arbor 
while 
simultaneously 
saying a fitting 
goodbye 
to 
the 
friendly 
confines 
of 
Cliff 
Keen 
Arena.
“Cliff 
Keen 
is our home,” 
said 
junior 
opposite 
hitter 
Sydney Wetterstrom on Oct. 
5 after sweeping then-No. 14 
Purdue. “We’re familiar with 
it — we practice there every day 
and it really feels like a home to 
all of us. The fans are a big part 
of that; they’re very passionate 
about representing Michigan.”

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

Zavier Simpson shines 
in Tip-Off Tournament

Zavier Simpson sat at a 
podium in Uncasville, Conn. on 
Sunday afternoon, somewhere 
inside the Mohegan Sun casino 
complex, fielding a slew of 
questions from reporters after 
Michigan won the Hall of Fame 
Tip-Off Tournament. It was 
a 
nearly 
identical 
situation 
to Saturday, when the junior 
guard was called on to answer 
questions about the Wolverines’ 
win over George Washington 
to advance to the championship 
game.
Only this time, he was flanked 
by freshman forward Ignas 
Brazdeikis and junior center Jon 
Teske — replacing sophomore 
guard Jordan Poole and redshirt 
junior Charles Matthews from 
the previous day.
Simpson’s repeated presence 
on the podium was no product of 
circumstance.
Poole and Matthews stole 
Saturday’s 
headlines, 
with 
a combined 7-for-10 3-point 
shooting 
performance 
that 
sparked Michigan to its best 
offensive day of the season. 
That duo went quiet on Sunday, 
totaling just nine points as 
Brazdeikis and Teske led the 
Wolverines 
past 
Providence, 
66-47.
“Everybody can play on our 
team,” Brazdeikis said. “It’s not 
gonna be one person that’s gonna 
be the best player on the court 
every day. It’s gonna be, one day 
(Simpson), one day Jon (Teske), 
one day Charles (Matthews).”
But both days, Simpson was 
the stalwart at the heart of the 
Wolverines’ success on each end 
of the floor. Known as one of the 
nation’s premier defenders, his 
near-triple double on Saturday 
put his offense in the spotlight, 
as he joined in on the 3-point 
barrage with four of his own — a 
sixth of his total from last season.
“For him to have that success, 
to make those four threes, that’s a 
lot of work,” said Michigan coach 

John Beilein after Saturday’s 
win. “Now let’s go do it again, 
whoever we play tomorrow.”
Simpson didn’t replicate his 
3-point performance on Sunday 
— he attempted just five field 
goals, none from beyond the arc 
— but played an equally sized 
role in the Wolverines’ win.
After allowing a season-high 
61 points against the Colonials 
(let that sink in), Michigan’s 
defense was back to its stifling 
form 
against 
Providence, 
limiting the Friars to 47 points 
on 16-for-57 shooting. As usual, 
Simpson was at the crux of that.
Before the game, Providence’s 
success was deemed reliant 
on point guard Alpha Diallo, 
who came in averaging 19.5 
points and five assists per game. 
Matched up against Simpson, he 
turned the ball over four times 
and managed just 10 points on 
three-of-13 shooting — good 
for his worst KenPom offensive 
rating in 15 games.
“I think of defense as my 
pride,” 
Simpson 
said 
after 
the game. “I just want to pick 
everybody up, try my best to 
not let them score or try my 
best to help somebody who may 
not be in the right position. So, 
at the end of the day, we stress 
defense.”
While only scoring six points 
against the Friars, he remained 
a key cog of the Wolverines’ 
offense, with eight of their 15 
assists.
When 
Providence 
cut 
Michigan’s lead to two points 
near the end of the first half, 
it was Simpson who assisted a 
three and scored a basket of his 
own on consecutive possessions 
to extend the lead back to seven. 
By the time the Friars scored 
again, the lead was in double-
digits for good.
As usual, the Wolverines had 
Simpson’s contributions on both 
ends to thank for that.
“He is a bit of a coach on the 
floor — a stubborn coach on the 
floor,” Beilein said. “But he is just 
all in to win for Michigan.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen and his team are competing to earn home-court advantage in the NCAA Tournament.

“We have 
great student 
representation 
(at home).”

“We’re able to 
take the fans’ 
energy with us 
and use it.”

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

