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