8A — Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

A 4-part series of forums on 
accountability, transparency 
and powerholders in Ann Arbor

Wednesday, Dec. 5 @ 7PM
Ann Arbor District Library
343 S 5th Ave. Ann Arbor

FEATURING PANELISTS

Who Holds the Power
 in Ann Arbor?

Speak Truth to Power: 
The Role of Journalism

PRESENTS:

ALEXA ST. JOHN
2018 Michigan Daily
Editor in Chief and Moderator

ROBERT YOON
Political Journalist
Howard R Marsh 
Visiting Professor

MICKI MAYNARD
Forbes contributor
 Adjunct lecturer at UM

DAVID JESSE
Higher Education reporter,
Detroit Free Press

KATREASE STAFFORD 
Detroit government 
watchdog reporter, 
Detroit Free Press

Hayden Lavigne shows progress in overtimes

The first overtime period 
of the season didn’t amount to 
much for the No. 14 Michigan 
hockey team.
Against Penn State on Nov. 
16, the extra period lasted 
approximately 
six 
seconds 
when Nittany Lion forward 
Sam Sternschein scored the 
overtime goal.
So 
the 
first 
real 
taste 
of overtime came in this 
weekend’s 
series 
against 
Wisconsin, 
with 
both 
a 
double-overtime win and a 
shootout loss.
And Hayden Lavigne stayed 
front and center.
The 
junior 
goaltender 
played a major factor during 
regulation 
in 
both 
games, 
allowing only one goal in 18 
attempts Friday and two in 37 
attempts Saturday. It was in 
the overtime periods that he 
shined the most, however.
Lavigne has struggled to 
maintain his spot in the net. 
After coming into the season as 
the unquestioned starter, his 
shaky performances pushed 
freshman Strauss Mann in the 
rotation to add competition. 
Against Penn State, though, 
Mann received starting nods 
to start the entire weekend, 
rather 
than 
splitting 
with 
Lavigne — a rotation Michigan 
has maintained throughout 
the season.
So this weekend’s extra 
periods were, in a sense, 
redemption.
“Hayden 
Lavigne, 
excellent,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
Mel 
Pearson. 
“He’s 
the reason we got the point 
tonight. Good for him. That’s 
the Hayden that we’ve come 
to expect and know, so a really 
good weekend for him.”
It didn’t come easy. Friday, 
Lavigne fended off two Badger 
pushes in overtime before 
forcing 
a 
double-overtime 
period 
that 
ended 
briefly. 

But after Quinn Hughes, Will 
Lockwood and Josh Norris 
took control of the puck, little 
needed to be done goaltending-
wise. The Wolverines had 
scored in their first offensive 
possession.
And it came to Lavigne’s 
relief. The fast-paced nature of 
three-on-three hockey makes 
Lavigne “really anxious,” and 
the team doesn’t practice any 
three-on-three.
That was until Saturday, 
when Michigan found itself 
in another double-overtime 
period. Except this time, it 
was in a worse situation. The 
Wolverines had committed a 
penalty right before the initial 
overtime period ended, which 
carried into the next period.
So rather than playing an 
already 
troublesome 
three-
on-three hockey, Lavigne had 
to battle against Wisconsin’s 
man-advantage.
“I just kind of knew that 
there was going to be a guy 
open at all times, and look for a 
one-timer like how they scored 

their first power play goal on,” 
Lavigne said. “Sure enough, 
we did a good job of getting in 
lanes. So there wasn’t an initial 
shot option for most of the 
guys, and I just tried to try to 
stay calm and make sure I was 
making reads and knowing 
where everybody was.”
Added Pearson: “They made 
a couple nice plays, had guys 
all alone, and Hayden made 
key saves. He battled tonight. 
He competed tonight. He was 
sharp, he was sharp. You could 
tell he was on it and he made it 
look pretty easy.”
Staying calm was a strategy 
that 
proved 
successful 
in 
double overtime for Lavigne. 
So when play extended to a 
shootout, he did it again.
“I try to stay calm,” Lavigne 
said. “The biggest thing is 
outwaiting the shooter.”
In the first shootout attempt, 
the patience paid off. Choosing 
to put pressure on the shooter, 
Lavigne positioned himself out 
far to block off the shot lanes. 
He inched back to the goal, 

facing the shooter as he slid 
back into the net.
Wisconsin 
defenseman 
Wyatt Kalynuk couldn’t find 
any openings and tried a 
backhand flick as the ice in 
front of him wound down. It 
was a save to extend the game 
at least one more play.
The 
second 
attempt, 
however, 
showed 
a 
brief 
moment 
when 
Lavigne’s 
patience didn’t benefit him.
“I did well on the first 
one, the second one I might 
have waited a little bit too 
long, he kinda beat me on 
that,” Lavigne said. It’s kinda 
patience pretty much, just wait 
for him to make a move and 
wait for that instead of trying 
to make a move first.”
The skater took his time, 
curling in an “S”-shaped route 
before centering himself in 
front of Lavigne. Not wanting 
to bite too quickly on a 
potential fake, Lavigne stayed 
up and wasn’t able to react to 
the five-hole shot that ended 
the game.

Notebook: Pastujov 
sees offensive uptick

Last season, junior forward 
Nick Pastujov recorded just four 
goals and 11 assists in 36 games. 
This season, he has seven goals 
and four assists through 13 
games — nearly doubling his 
scoring production just a third 
of the way through the season.
The New York Islanders’ 
draft pick saw an increase in 
offensive production from his 
freshman season — where he 
scored one goal and added 
two assists in 28 games — to 
his sophomore campaign. The 
trend has quietly continued 
into his third year with the 
Michigan hockey team.
Being a point producer has 
never been Pastujov’s calling 
card, but he thrives when 
embracing physicality, creating 
havoc in the offensive zone and 
winning faceoff battles. This 
season, he is second on the 
team in faceoff-win percentage 
at .571, an increase from last 
season’s .452-win percentage in 
the circle.
The jump in production has 
not gone unnoticed by Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson.
“He’s so much better than 
he was offensively,” Pearson 
said. “I think he’s hitting the 
net more, more confidence. 
He was playing with a couple 
freshmen last year and they’re 
sophomores now — they’re both 
having better years than they 
did last year, too. So, I think it’s 
a combination.”
After practice on Tuesday, 
Pearson also noted that this past 
summer was Pastujov’s most 
impressive as far as training.
“(I) worked on little things 
like 
winning 
battles 
and 
winning 
stick 
battles, 
winning corner 
battles, 
getting 
stronger,” 
Pastujov 
said. 
“Just 
getting 
stronger, faster 
and a little bit 
smarter.
“We’re 
on 
the power play 
now, too, and gotten some goals 
there, so we’re getting a lot 
more ice time. Getting to create 
more chances, getting out there 
more and being able to get in a 
groove as the game goes on. And 
I think that’s played a big role in 
that uptick in production.”
One area of play that has 
been an issue for Pastujov this 
season, though, has been his 
plus-minus. He currently sits at 
minus-four, which would be the 
lowest of his collegiate career.
“It’s something where we’ve 
been in the room a lot watching 
video, focusing really heavily 
on turning that minus into a 
plus,” Pastujov said. “Hopefully 
before Christmas but definitely 
very, very quickly. That has to 
be the biggest thing to work on, 
just keeping that production up.
“Just gotta score, or get 
scored on.”

Goaltender 
competition 
continues

For 
two 
consecutive 
weekends 
now, 
Pearson 
has opted to start the same 
goaltender 
on 
back-to-back 

nights, after previously rotating 
starters 
for 
each 
game. 
Freshman Strauss Mann got 
the nod in net for both games 
against 
Penn 
State, 
while 
junior Hayden Lavigne started 
this 
past 
weekend 
against 
Wisconsin.
Michigan came out of both 
weekends with three points 
and 
all 
four 
games 
were 
competitive to the final buzzer. 
The difference? Mann allowed 
11 goals to a high-powered 
Nittany Lions offense while 
Lavigne surrendered just three 
to Wisconsin.
“It just depends on how they 
play,” Pearson said. “If Hayden 
gets the opportunity to play 
Friday and plays like he did 
this past weekend and strings 
games together then I think 
he’s making a strong case to 
be ‘the guy.’ And Strauss, it’s 
a little bit of work in progress. 
He’s very capable, I’ve got a 
lot of confidence in him, as the 
team does. But he did give up 11 
goals — whatever way you slice 
it — against Penn State, and he 
played well.
“But Hayden comes in and 
gives up three goals. Now 
different teams — you look at 
where they are in the offensive 
stats in the country and you take 
that into consideration, too, but 
no timeline at this point.”

Luke Morgan and Adam 
Winborg record first goals of 
season

There were times during 
practice coming into this season 
where 
redshirt 
sophomore 
forward Luke Morgan looked 
like the best player on the ice, 
according 
to 
Pearson. 
And 
on Saturday — 
his 13th game 
of 
the 
season 
— 
he 
tallied 
his 
first 
goal 
in a Michigan 
sweater.
“It felt good, 
definitely,” 
Morgan 
said. 
“It’s a big relief, 
it 
took 
a 
lot 
longer than I’d 
like it to, but 
it’s definitely a big relief going 
forward knowing I don’t have to 
worry about it.”
Junior 
forward 
Adam 
Winborg 
joined 
Morgan 
in 
recording his first goal of the 
campaign over the weekend. 
The 
Stockholm 
native 
saw 
plenty of ice time in his first 
two seasons, playing in 30 and 
39 games, respectively. Thus 
far, he has played in seven of 
thirteen regular season games, 
but has been a mainstay in the 
lineup since the Lake Superior 
State weekend series.

Cam 
York 
announces 
commitment to Michigan

Cam York, a defenseman 
for the U.S. National Team 
Development 
Program, 
announced his commitment to 
Michigan on Tuesday. He has 
recorded 16 points through 21 
games this season. York — a 
five-star prospect and likely 
an eventual NHL-first rounder 
— decommitted from Boston 
College in September and joins 
fellow USNTDP forward John 
Beecher as a Wolverine commit.

JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer

ICE HOCKEY

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne allowed three goals in 55 shot attempts over Michigan’s series split with Wisconsin.

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Junior forward Nick Pastujov has nearly doubled his scoring production thus far.

“He’s so 
much better 
than he was 
offensively.”

