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