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.”