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