What will Michigan make of its season?

There’s really no other way 
to spin it: 
picking up 
only one 
point last 
weekend 
against 
a reeling 
Michigan 
State team is 
embarrass-
ing.
From top 
to bottom, 
there needs to be a sense of 
urgency from the No. 15 Michi-
gan hockey team. There is no 
questioning the fight the team 
displayed over the weekend 
— 
but even though the individual 
effort was there, the results 
were not.
In order to be one of the 
best teams in the country as 
they showed they could be last 
season, the Wolverines need 
to find ways to win. After both 
games last weekend, Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson emphasized 

the need for his team to be able 
to grind out a game.
“We’re going to have to learn 
to play in games like this,” 
Pearson said on Friday. “It’s not 
going to be up and down hock-
ey every night. We’re going to 
have to stop, start, grind it out, 
keep it simple and then find a 
way to win games.”
Michigan has the talent level 
on its roster to be among col-
lege hockey’s elite. There are 
nine NHL draft picks on the 
team — just four other pro-
grams have more — including 
two first-round selections, sec-
ond only to Boston University’s 
four.
The Wolverines have shown 
flashes all season long. They 
matched a high-powered Penn 
State offense in Happy Valley — 
scoring 12 goals in two games 
— and duked it out against a 
defensive-minded Notre Dame 
team (save for a disastrous sec-
ond period in the 6-2 blowout). 
But inconsistencies continue 

to plague the team as though 
Moses himself is still looking to 
prove a point.
Speaking of that second 
period against Notre Dame, 
it is a prime example of the 
team’s inconsis-
tency. Michigan 
gave up three 
goals in a span of 
three minutes to 
begin the period 
— a period that 
senior captain 
Joseph Cecconi 
called “embar-
rassing” — and 
allowed one 
more before 
going into the second inter-
mission. Outside of the sec-
ond period of that game, they 
matched, if not outplayed, the 
fifth-ranked Fighting Irish — 
outscoring Notre Dame, 4-3.
The Wolverines are reach-
ing the pivotal halfway point 
of their season, marked by the 
annual Great Lakes Invita-

tional Tournament that takes 
place Dec. 30 and 31. As far 
as results go, they currently 
find themselves in a state of 
mediocrity — two points away 
from the bottom of the Big Ten 
standings and 
dropping eleven 
spots from 
their preseason 
No. 4 ranking. 
Remember, 
only the top-16 
ranked teams go 
on to the NCAA 
Tournament.
Last year, 
the Wolverines 
were 7-7-2 going 
into the GLI Tournament. A 
strikingly similar record to this 
season’s 6-6-3 with a series 
against Minnesota — one of 
three teams tied at the bottom 
of the conference standings — 
still remaining before the two-
game tournament begins.
“There’s no doubt about it,” 
Pearson said after Saturday’s 

game. “We were in a very simi-
lar situation last year. Can we 
come out of that funk? This 
weekend will be a good chance 
for us to right the ship and go 
home for a few days in a good 
mood. We’ll be ready to go this 
weekend.”
Last season, the GLI marked 
a turning point of sorts for the 
Wolverines. They rattled off 11 
wins in their next 16 regular-
season games, climbing to No. 
10 in the rankings after being 
unranked at the end of the GLI 
Tournament.
If last year is any indica-
tion, anything can happen this 
season. And though there is no 
uphill climb to make it into the 
rankings this year, Michigan is 
instead battling with a slippery 
slope, trying to cling to its top-
16 spot.
Senior defenseman Joseph 
Cecconi addressed the team 
after their loss on Saturday, 
reestablishing the team’s 
expectations and emphasizing 

the effort and buy-in needed 
on a daily basis. He made the 
decision to return to Ann Arbor 
instead of joining the Dallas 
Stars. Sophomore defenseman 
Quinn Hughes also opted to 
return in lieu of beginning a 
promising NHL career in Van-
couver. The defensive pairing 
— along with the other seven 
NHL draftees on the roster 
— clearly saw the potential to 
make another deep tournament 
run. There’s still half a season 
before that run is even a pos-
sibility.
Though the season is far 
from over, whether Michigan 
can find consistency and have a 
second-half push similar to last 
season remains to be seen.
And so, it’s time for the team 
to take a long look in the mir-
ror and decide what it wants to 
make of its season.

Cazares can be reached on 

Twitter @jcazares98 or via 

email at jcazares@umich.edu.

JORGE 
CAZARES

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson has guided a similar start as last season, with a 6-6-3 record through the first 15 games.

“We were in 
a very similar 
situation last 
year.”

8A — Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

