The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
December 10, 2018 — 3B

‘M’ falls to Minnesota, 4-3, on late heartbeaker

If 
the 
No. 
15 
Michigan 
hockey team thought it would 
get a breather after a fourth 
consecutive overtime game at 
Yost Ice Arena, it took less than 
ten minutes for it to realize that 
was a pipe dream, and 58 minutes 
for a win to become a pipe dream, 
too.
As the Gophers opened up a 
2-0 lead, the Wolverines found 
themselves 
at 
an 
inflection 
point. Though Michigan was 
outshooting Minnesota early, the 
Wolverines failed to capitalize on 
any breakaways or opportunities 
in the crease early on.
While Michigan responded 
by pulling the rug out from 
underneath Minnesota, it was 
eventually the Gophers who got 
the final laugh, scoring a game-
winner with 1:41 left in the game 
and walking out of Yost with a 4-3 
win.
A minute into the first period, 
both teams were playing fast-
paced, with largely crisp passing. 
Then, senior forward Brendan 
Warren intercepted a pass at 
the blueline and had a clear 
breakaway. 
But 
Warren 
got 
walled by Minnesota goaltender 
Mat Robson right at the crease.
And before the Wolverines 
could catch their breath, it was 
the Gophers that got on the 
scoreboard after a streaking 
Brannon McManus went five-
hole on freshman goaltender 
Strauss Mann.
Mann 
seemed 
to 
redeem 
himself three minutes later with a 
contorting, cross-body save with 
his right pad, but the rebound 
wasn’t 
cleaned 
up. 
Instead, 
Minnesota found the puck right at 
the top of the crease with Mann’s 
back turned and found the back of 
the net once again.
 “There’s a couple of shifts 
during the game where we seem 
like we’re all over the place in the 
zone,” said junior forward Nick 
Pastujov. “I think that’s where 
they get a lot of their chances.”

Then, 
7:43 
into 
the 
first 
period, freshman forward Nolan 
Moyle got a 2-on-0 breakaway 
opportunity 
with 
Pastujov, 
Michigan 
had 
another 
easy 
scoring opportunity. In Friday’s 
game, the game went to overtime 
because 
of 
the 
Wolverines’ 
inability to finish those point-
blank shots, and the trend seemed 
to be continuing.
With a flick of the wrist though, 
Moyle passed it to Pastujov, who 
went forehand, then backhand 
and slotted the puck into the five-
hole to give Michigan its first 
goal. Less than two minutes later, 
the Wolverines struck again from 
up close — as sophomore forward 
Michael Pastujov snaked around 
a scrum at the goal to equalize the 
game from behind the left post.
Though neither team scored 
for the next 16 minutes, the 
Wolverines 
found 
a 
rhythm 
offensively. After trading shots 
with 
Minnesota 
early 
on, 
Michigan went up 10 shots on 

the Gophers early in the second 
period. And by the end of it, the 
Wolverines eclipsed their per-
game average of 35.9 with 40 
shots and found themselves up 
3-2 thanks to a screamer from 
sophomore forward Josh Norris 
that flew into the top right of the 
goal from the left circle. For the 
game, they doubled the Gophers 
with 98 shot attempts to their 49.
 “We’ve outshot five of the last 
six games we’ve played in,” Norris 
said. We outshot them both times 
by a ton. It’s frustrating to not get 
a win after playing so well.”
But just as fast as Michigan 
seemed to be running away with 
the game, Minnesota created 
more chaos in the crease early in 
the third period. Though Mann 
again made a slew of saves in the 
shadow of Gophers defenders, 
Minnesota tied the score at 3-3 
by again taking advantage of 
Michigan’s inability to clear the 
puck.
The Wolverines seemed to 

have the equalizer on a scrum led 
by junior forward Will Lockwood 
late in the third period, but 
the goal was waved off due to 
interference. With Michigan’s 
momentum gone, the Gophers 
barreled in a shot with less than 
two minutes remaining.
 “We had what was it, 53 
shots?,” Norris said. “I think 
we did a good job there, but we 
need to do a better job of getting 
guys in front of the net. We had 
an unfortunate call at the end 
that might have been goalie 
interference … but if we start to 
(get in front of the net), more 
pucks will come our way.”
It wasn’t another overtime, 
but it was a familiar dread for the 
Wolverines — another tight loss 
against another team it outplayed 
for the majority of the game.
 “We’ve probably played well 
enough to win all these games,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
Mel 
Pearson. “Tonight more so than 
any of them.”

Offense struggles to convert 

Shots came easily, goals did not.
After last Saturday’s game 
against Michigan State, Michigan 
hockey 
coach 
Mel 
Pearson 
commented on his team’s recent 
lack of “puck luck” as a big reason 
for his team’s low conversion 
rate on offense. The bounces 
just weren’t going their way all 
weekend. Shots rattled off the pipe 
and trickled through the crease –– 
teasing the Wolverines.
Unfortunately for the Michigan 
hockey team (6-7-4 overall, 2-4-4-2 
Big Ten), that trend continued this 
weekend.
The Wolverines followed up 
Friday’s 
42-shot 
performance 
with 53 shots in Saturday’s 4-3 loss 
against Minnesota. Junior forward 
Nick Pastujov shared his team’s 
frustrations.
“We were right there on a lot 
of chances,” Pastujov said after 
Saturday’s game. “We just gotta 
finish those chances. I think the 
game could’ve been 7-2 our way.”
Michigan has been getting 
shots on net but has been unable to 
translate those shots into goals.
Despite 
outshooting 
their 
opponents in five of their last six 
games, the Wolverines have not 
emerged victorious in regulation 
during that span. The team’s last 
regulation win was in Happy 
Valley against Penn State on Nov. 
16.
During a second period power 
play for Michigan on Saturday, 
a scrum in front of the Gophers’ 
net led to a loose puck just in front 
of the crease. In the chaos that 
ensued, sophomore forward Jack 
Becker collected the loose puck. It 
appeared as though it would be a 
sure goal for the Wolverines with 
the goaltender out of position.
A score would give them a 
commanding 4-2 lead, but, instead, 
Becker’s shot hit a Minnesota 
defenseman who was on all 
fours in the crease. The Gophers 
went on to clear the puck, killing 
off the penalty and preserving 
the tie heading into the second 

intermission.
“We had a number of really good 
scoring opportunities and we don’t 
get it,” Pearson said after Saturday’s 
game. “Then it becomes a one-shot 
game. They go out and get a break 
or a rebound and then you’re tied. 
I think that’s really the story of the 
game and been the story the last 
three weeks. ... We’re making every 
goaltender look like they’re an All-
American right now.”
Collectively outshooting your 
opponent, 248-164, in your last 
six games while being outscored, 
12-14, will do that. The offense 
is generating chances by getting 
the puck in goal-scoring areas but 
finishing those chances continues 
to be a problem. And it is becoming 
a costly problem for Michigan, as 
Minnesota is now tied with the 
Wolverines for fourth in Big Ten 
standings despite having played 
two fewer conference games.
It is not for a lack of effort on 
the part of Michigan. It outplayed 
Michigan State two weekends 
ago and came away with only one 
point. This past weekend against 
Minnesota as well, shots depicted it 
the better team but the Wolverines 
left the weekend with just two 
points.
The level of parity in the Big Ten 
is keeping them afloat and within 
reaching distance of the top of the 
conference. A hot streak can rocket 
them to the top of the standings 
and secure them a spot in the 
NCAA Tournament. But failing to 
come out of a weekend with more 
than one or two points will keep 
them in the middle of the pack, or 
may even send Michigan to the 
bottom of the table.
Converting 
on 
its 
scoring 
opportunities will be a key to 
success in the second half of 
the season. The Wolverines are 
heading into the break in a similar 
spot as last season: hovering 
around a .500 record and plagued 
by inconsistent play.
“Not unlike last year at this 
time,” Pearson said about the state 
of the team. “Now, can we turn it 
on like we did? That’s the question 
that remains to be seen.”

Church, Munger lead Michigan to win

The first two of the Michigan 
women’s basketball team’s 85 
points came a minute into the 
game on a fast break layup by 
senior guard Nicole Munger. 
From then on, the Wolverines 
(7-3) never relinquished the lead 
cruising to an 85-59 victory over 
Oakland (2-8).
Munger, who led all Michigan 
players with 21 points, fueled a 
dominant first quarter for the 
Wolverines. She scored 11 of the 
team’s 27 first-quarter points on 
4-for-6 shooting, including a trio 
of 3-pointers.
However, Munger didn’t score 
in the second quarter. Instead, 
it was freshman forward Naz 
Hillmon 
who 
controlled 
the 
scoring, complimenting Munger’s 
high-scoring first quarter with a 
10-point quarter of her own. 
“I 
think 
Nicole’s 
playing 
with a tremendous amount of 
confidence,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach Kim Barnes Arico in a 
post-game interview. “Being a 
senior, her leadership role, her 
confidence (and) her experience 
(are) shining through and tonight 
was another example of that. I 
think her teammates are doing a 
great job now of really finding her 
and getting her some open shots, 
and she’s just able to knock them 
down. She’s prepared herself her 
whole life to make these shots, 
and I’m really proud of her having 
these opportunities.” 
While it was Munger and 
Hillmon who led the Wolverines 
in their scoring efforts, it was 
sophomore guard Deja Church 
who facilitated the offense and 
took charge on defense.
Church ended the game with a 
career-high nine assists, including 
seven in the first half, and was 
tasked with guarding the Golden 
Grizzlies’ leading scorer, guard 
Taylor Jones (15 points per game). 
Even though Jones did finish the 
game with 15 points, Barnes Arico 
was more focused on the fact that 
it took her 20 shots to get there.
“Deja 
Church 
was 
outstanding,” 
Barnes 
Arico 
said. “I thought she had a great 
game on both the offensive and 
defensive ends. … So Deja really 

did a great job on the defensive 
end and then I think that sparked 
her offense. She ran point for us, 
the wing for us.
“She 
distributed 
the 
ball 
exceptionally well, she made 
some free throws, she made some 
shots. She just all-around had 
a great high energy and a great 
game. I was really happy for her.”
Yet, 
despite 
the 
overall 
dominant 
performance 
for 
Michigan, in which Munger, 
Hillmon and Church excelled, 
others struggled — specifically, 
freshman guard Amy Dilk and 
senior center Hallie Thome.
Dilk, who finished with a 1:1 
assist-to-turnover ratio and shot 
2-for-12 from the field, has hit 
just five of her last 31 shots and 
has an assist-to-turnover ratio 
of 16:13 during a frustrating last 
four games. Still, the freshman 
has shown flashes of why she was 
named Miss Basketball in Indiana 
last year after very promising 
performances 
against 
two 
formidable opponents, Texas and 
Washington, earlier this season.
“We have two big off-days 
right now, so I think it will be big 
for her to get back in the gym and 
take easy shots and be able to get a 

high volume of shots up,” Munger 
said. “That’s what I did and it 
seemed to help. I’ll definitely be 
in her ear because she’s a great 
listener and she just wants to get 
better. She’ll respond and she’ll be 
good.”
Thome, meanwhile, did not 
necessarily 
struggle 
against 
Oakland, but rather was unable 
to leave her mark on the game due 
to back spasms; she played just 12 
minutes and scored six points. 
Aside from the back spasms, 
though, Thome has been relatively 
quiet in her past few games. After 
taking at least nine shots in all but 
one of the Wolverines’ first six 
games, she has not reached that 
shot total in any of her last four.
“We work really well together,” 
Munger said. “We live together 
too, so we’re able to talk about 
(her struggles) whenever we need 
to. But Hallie will be fine. She had 
a really, really good workout. She 
knows what she needs to do, so 
she’s gotten back in the gym to get 
her touch back. She’ll be fine.”
Michigan will take on Morgan 
State on Saturday, Dec. 15 and 
play two more non-conference 
games before Big Ten play begins 
Dec. 28.

Michigan dominates Indiana, 32-7

Jackson 
Striggow 
has 
something to celebrate going 
into finals week. Entering the 
second period of his match tied 
2-2 in a defensive standoff, the 
redshirt junior left Sunday’s 
contest 
with 
both 
fists 
in 
the air, a smile 
across 
his 
face 
and 
an 
automatic 
win 

from a 15-point 
pin.
The Michigan 
wrestling team 
(3-0) dominated 
Indiana 
(2-3), 
32-7, in a contest 
riddled with bonus points, near 
falls and strong performances by 
several Wolverines. With high-
scoring wins from Striggow, 
fifth-year senior Malik Amine, 
redshirt junior Myles Amine 
and redshirt freshman Jelani 
Embree, Michigan will leave 
for the holidays with a big win 
and momentum for its next dual 
meet versus Illinois.
Starting 
the 
meet 
well, 
sophomore Drew Mattin and 
redshirt junior Stevan Micic 
delivered wins in the 125 and 
133-pound 
weight 
classes, 
respectively. 
Mattin, 
ranked 
tenth 
in 
his 
weight 
class 
nationally, and Micic, ranked 
second 
in 
the 
133-pound 
division, both faced unranked 
opponents.
With two clean wins and 
a six-point lead over Indiana, 
eighth-ranked 
redshirt 
sophomore Kanen Storr entered 
the only ranked matchup of the 
day versus 15th-ranked Cole 
Weaver, a fifth-year senior from 
Hudson, Mich. Both three-time 
Michigan high school state 
champions at 141 pounds, Storr 
and Weaver trained in the same 
gym in high school. But their 
familiarity didn’t faze Storr, he 
said.
After a scoreless defensive 
struggle in the first period, 
Storr delivered a key near 
fall, bringing the score to 2-1. 

Though Weaver escaped to 
his feet to earn a point, Storr 
responded with an escape in 
the third period, securing the 
win and a 9-0 team score for 
Michigan.
“There’s a little bit of pressure 
because he’s like an older 
brother figure to me: always 
trains 
with 
me, he’s older 
than 
me, 
he’s 
from Michigan, 
(three)-time 
state 
champ. 
I 
know 
he’s 
gonna be a great 
opponent,” 
Storr 
said. 
“I 
kind of had a 
down week, but 
overall, I came 
out here, I gutted out a win. I 
didn’t feel my best, so there’s a 
lot to be proud of there but a lot 
to build off of also.”
Following Storr’s close win, 
Malik Amine put on a booming 
performance in the 149-pound 
division, winning his match 
18-0 and generating a five-point 
technical fall for the Wolverines. 
Amine’s 
momentum 
largely 
manifested in the third period, 
when he pushed the score from 
4-0 to 18-0 with three four-
point near falls and one two-
point near fall.
Despite 
redshirt 
freshman Layne 
Van 
Anrooy’s 
loss in the 157-
pound 
weight 
class, 
seventh-
ranked redshirt 
junior 
Logan 
Massa 
quickly 
reestablished 
Michigan’s 
success and won his match 
at 165 pounds, ushering in 
another bonus-point win in the 
174-pound division by third-
ranked 
Myles 
Amine, 
who 
won 19-1 in the second period 
with three near falls and three 
takedowns. Combined, Malik 
and Myles Amine outscored 
their opponents 37-1 for the day.
Embree, ranked 19th, piled 
on that success, beating his 

opponent 
14-2 
in 
a 
major 
decision and increasing the 
Wolverines’ team score to 26-4.
Massa, Myles Amine and 
Embree’s successful outings, 
though, 
culminated 
in 
Striggow’s 197-pound matchup. 
After a difficult first period, 
tied 2-2, Striggow delivered a 
dramatic pin to win his match 
and drive the team score up 
further.
“I think some guys, including 
me especially, could’ve done a 
little better at the beginning 
coming out with a little more 
momentum, 
carrying 
the 
momentum from each match, 
but overall I think we had a 
pretty good day,” Striggow said. 
“I’ve kind of struggled in that 
position in a couple matches 
this year and it’s cost me one 
or two matches already, so I’ve 
really been working on it in the 
practice room and to finally get 
it, I was pretty pumped up to 
have it finally work out for me.”
Despite Indiana’s win in the 
final 
heavyweight 
matchup 
against 
redshirt 
freshman 
Luke 
Ready, 
Michigan 
still 
won the meet handily due to 
several standout matchups. The 
Wolverines 
emphasize 
those 
bonus-point wins, said Striggow, 
partially with a hammer trophy 
that one player 
earns each week 
by scoring the 
most 
points 
in 
that 
meet. 
Sunday, 
the 
contest 
was 
a 
tight one with 
multiple 
high-
scoring matches.
“I was super 
pleased with the 
way we wrestled 
on the mat,” said Michigan 
coach Sean Bormet. “After I 
congratulated those guys on a 
good performance today, the 
first thing we talked about as a 
staff was that it’s an important 
week to really dig in and focus 
on school work (and) rest, 
because we’re still gonna have a 
good, hard eight days of training 
ahead. We have some work to 
do.”

RIAN RATNAVALE
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore forward Josh Norris scored the Wolverines’ overtime winner on Friday night against Minnesota.

BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger led Michigan with 21 points on Sunday night.

LILY FRIEDMAN
For the Daily

“... I was pretty 
pumped to have 
it finally work 
out for me.”

“I was super 
pleased with 
the way we 
wrestled ...”

WRESTLING

ICE HOCKEY

JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer

