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Sports
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 — 7

Michigan power play refreshed in new system

Jack Becker didn’t even need
to look to find the open man.
After
Michael
Pastujov’s
shot missed just wide of an
open net, his brother — senior
forward Nick Pastujov — sent
a pass to Becker, who was
waiting
on
the
edge of the left
faceoff
circle.
Without a glance,
Becker
knew
he
had
Jimmy
Lambert
wide
open across the
ice.
The
no-look
pass hit Lambert’s
stick right on the
tape and a split
second later, the puck was
in the net behind Windsor
goaltender Jonathan Reinhart.
With the score, Michigan had
its second power-play goal in
three opportunities on Sunday.
“I thought (Lambert’s unit)
was spectacular,” said senior
forward Will Lockwood. “They
looked great. My unit needs
work on a few things, we were a
little sloppy … Cheers to them,

and we’re going to have to work
on our unit a little bit.”
The power play system is
new for the Wolverines this
year, but their performance
Sunday wouldn’t show it. Three
goals on six opportunities is an
impressive showing, though it
requires the acknowledgement
that it came in an exhibition
matchup
against a team
that
doesn’t
compete
in
any division of
the NCAA.
When
Michigan
coach
Mel
Pearson hired
assistant Kris
Mayotte to run
the
penalty
kill this offseason, the move
required associate head coach
Bill Muckalt to run the power
play. Muckalt decided to switch
to a modern four-forwards-
one-defenseman system, rather
than
the
traditional
three
forwards and two blueliners.
Through
one
game,
the
new system is paying off —
and Muckalt, off recruiting in
British Columbia, wasn’t even

in the building to make sure
things ran smoothly.
“I thought we didn’t score on
some of our best chances on the
power play, but it looked good,”
Pearson said.
Last season, the Wolverines
finished 44th in the nation
with a power play percentage
of 15.6-percent. One game,
especially
an
exhibition
matchup,
is
an
inadequate
sample size to
make
claims
about
how
things
could
go
this
year,
but it was clear
that both units
looked
more
cohesive
and
creative than they did last year.
“We added so much skill
to the team,” Lockwood said.
“We’re gonna have two really
good units this year and two
units that are going to be
threats. I don’t know if it’s
going to be a specific first and
second unit. I think you can
throw both units out there.”
While
having
an
extra
forward opens up offensive

opportunities, there are risks
associated
with
one
fewer
defenseman on the unit, and
Michigan saw that firsthand
on Sunday.
As forward Alex Friesen’s
penalty
expired,
forward
Brady
Pataki
noticed
him
coming out of the penalty
box and sent the puck up the
ice to his teammate. Friesen
found himself with a one-on-
none opportunity in front of
sophomore goaltender Strauss
Mann, but Mann grabbed the
puck out of the air and snuffed
out the breakaway chance.
“It’s
a
little
scary,”
Pearson said. “They got a
little breakaway on it tonight
because your forwards start
on the power play (and) they’re
not thinking defense. That
happened to us the end of the
year last year. Guys came out of
the penalty box (and scored), so
we’re going to have to address
that for sure, but you’re going
to have that creativity (with
four forwards).”
A year after their power
play units scored just six goals
on 54 opportunities in the
second half of the season, the
Wolverines’
power
play
looks refreshed.
The new system
seems to have
injected
some
new
life
and
creativity, and
the
balance
between
offense
and
defense
with
an
additional
forward is something that will
come in time. As Pearson often
said last year, special teams
— the power play and penalty
killing — is key to winning
games.
Last
season,
Michigan
struggled in both aspects of
special teams. This year, at
least the power play looks to be
on good footing heading into
official games.

‘M’ withstands pressure

Nicki Hernandez dribbled
near midfield 20 minutes into
the game. At the moment, there
were no defenders between the
junior midfielder and the goal.
Nebraska
goalkeeper
Aubrei
Corder saved her shot, but
the breakaway provided the
first hint of how the Michigan
women’s soccer team would win
the game.
Sophomore
midfielder
Meredith Haakenson scored
on the ensuing corner, en route
to a 4-1 Wolverine victory in a
game that was characterized by
the Cornhuskers’ high pressure
leaving them exposed at the
back.
The pressure from Nebraska
caused problems for Michigan
throughout the game, as the
Wolverines tried to maintain
possession of the ball in their
own
defensive
third.
They
continually tried to pass out of
the pressure from Nebraska,
looking to play quick passes to
their center midfielders to get
the ball out of congested areas.
But Michigan couldn’t always
do so successfully, turning the
ball over in dangerous areas and
providing good opportunities
for Nebraska’s attack.
“It’s an area that we need to
continue to get better at and be
comfortable possessing with

pressure,” said Michigan coach
Jennifer Klein. “I think we’re
very capable of doing it.”

The
Wolverines

demonstrated that capability
in a few key moments, leading
them to breakaways similar
to Hernandez’s. 14 minutes
after her initial breakaway,
Hernandez scored by getting
behind the Nebraska backline
again, while fifth-year senior
defender Sura Yekka scored
her first goal as a Wolverine on
a breakaway of her own in the
second half.
The
relatively
easy
breakaway goals came from
Michigan’s ability to break out
of initial pressure from the
Cornhuskers – once the first
line of defenders was broken,
the Wolverines always had a
numbers advantage.
Even with these goals, the
Wolverines want to increase
the number of times they
successfully escape pressure
and decrease the number of
dangerous turnovers. However,
it is not easy to maintain the
composure needed to find the
right pass.
“The more we talk and
communicate,
the
easier
it
is,” said sophomore defender
Janiece Joyner. “That’s mostly
what we try to focus on, to not
panic in those situations, but
embrace the challenge and
work through it together.”

Juwan Howard bringing new energy

It’s
a
tall
enough
task
coaching in Ann Arbor at all. No
matter the sport, expectations
for Michigan teams, and an
athletic department that spends
the third-most among public
schools nationally, are lofty.
But following one of the
greatest coaches ever to lead
the Wolverines in John Beilein?
How do you even begin to think
about that?
Juwan Howard’s message at
Big Ten Media Day was clear:
Beilein was great. But he’s going
to be his own man. That’s how
he’s bringing Michigan into the
Howard era.
“I’m sure a lot of people
think, you have a lot of pressure
on you to try to fill those shoes,”
Howard said at Media Day. “All
I can say is this: I’m not going
to try to be like coach Beilein.
He has his philosophy, his
way of doing things. I have my
philosophy, and I feel that works
for our team moving forward.”
Message received: new coach,
new era.
And as the team starts to get
into the rhythm of practice, of
a new coach, of a new team and
a new basketball season, the
storylines that will shape this
new era in Michigan basketball

are starting to take shape.
After a 10-season playing
career in the NBA, and six
years as an assistant coach for
the Miami Heat, Howard has
turned the talent he showed
in his years at Michigan into
knowledge of the game on par
with the coaching talent leaving
Ann
Arbor.
Beilein
would
often pick Howard’s brain in
the offseason, and Howard’s
plans for the team’s defense are
already drawing comparisons
to
former
assistant
coach
Luke
Yaklich’s
defensive
wizardry.
“He
actually
reminds me of
Coach Yak,” said
junior
forward
Isaiah
Livers.
“The
defensive
pressure,
the
defensive mind,
all of that. His knowledge of the
defensive side of basketball is
just insane.”
But, true to his word, Howard
is running practices his way.
It’s inevitable in some ways:
Howard is a good 20 years
younger than his predecessor.
The wonder in his face and in
his voice when he points at the
block ‘M’ pinned to his lapel,
the grin on his face when he

talks about his team and about
the program he’s building in
Ann Arbor — it’s impossible to
ignore.
The energy, the excitement
that he’s bringing to Michigan
basketball
—
it’s
almost
palpable.
That enthusiasm that has
embodied
his
approach
to
this new challenge hasn’t just
showed up in quotes from on
high, from behind a podium to
a room of reporters. It’s in how
he’s
running
this program.
“The vibe is
a lot different,”
said
senior
guard
Zavier
Simpson.
“It’s
definitely
a
positive
vibe.
Juwan brings a
lot of energy.”
Youthful
energy doesn’t
preclude urgency, though. In
preseason polls, the Wolverines
were picked to finish fifth in
the Big Ten. They disagree, and
they’re determined to prove
they’re right early on under
Howard.
“The vibe? Serious,” Livers
said. “We all know where
they’ve got us projected, and we
do not like it. At all. We’re not
supposed to like it.”

Wolverines prepare to face Peters

Jon Runyan Jr. still plays
Mario Kart with Brandon Peters
on his Nintendo Switch. The
former Michigan quarterback
is better — Runyan estimates
Peters wins 55 percent of the
time — but Runyan still takes
pleasure in taking his wins and
rubbing them in.
In
those
moments,
it’s
almost like the two are still
roommates.
Runyan and Peters lived
together last year. On Saturday,
when the Michigan football
team visits Illinois — where
Peters is now the starting
quarterback — the two will
be reunited as players on two
opposing teams, fighting for
two disparate goals.
“I’m
excited
to
hit
a
quarterback that’s on my team,
actually — that was on my
team,” said fifth-year senior
linebacker
Jordan
Glasgow.
“He was a good friend of mine
while he was here and it’s gonna
be fun to play against him and
hopefully we put him on the
ground a lot. Hopefully nothing
happens, but I want to make his
day as rough as possible.”
From Runyan’s perspective,
Peters was a quiet guy who
kept mostly to himself. But
sometimes,
Peters
opened
up and talked about himself.
After all, Peters didn’t have the
normal career trajectory of a
6-foot-5, four-star quarterback
Jim Harbaugh once compared
to Andrew Luck.
Peters was once anointed
Michigan’s savior, coming into
a 2017 game against Rutgers
to raucous cheers after it was
clear John O’Korn would no
longer cut it. It seemed like
Peters could finally be the
quarterback
the
Wolverines
had been missing.
The feeling lasted for three
fleeting games. Then Peters
suffered a concussion against
Wisconsin, could only watch as
O’Korn was dreadful in a loss
to Ohio State and looked utterly
pedestrian in a bowl loss to
South Carolina. That April,

Shea Patterson was granted
an
instant-eligibility
waiver
and Peters’ entire career was
thrown into flux.
“He never really voiced any
displeasures to me,” Runyan
said. “After that 2017 season, he
was full on board with trying
to win this spot even with Shea
transferring and not knowing
his eligibility. And he battled
really hard throughout spring
ball and throughout fall camp
and I think they declared Shea
the starter halfway through
camp. ... In the end he did what
was best for him and he’s in a
pretty good place right now (at)
Illinois.”
Runyan
first
heard
that
Peters
wanted
to
transfer
around
December,
when
Michigan was beginning to
prepare for the Peach Bowl, but
he believes Peters was thinking
about it before then — and who
could blame him?
But Peters stayed invested in
the team every step of the way
and once the season was done,
he took a hefty course load
before leaving for Champaign
in order to be eligible for a
graduate transfer.
“He was always studying
and I was always there just
watching him,” Runyan said.
“I felt bad for him, but he
eventually did what’s best for
him.”
Peters’ main options were
Illinois and a handful of MAC
schools, and the process wasn’t
always kind. Peters was gone
almost every weekend taking
another visit. Some schools
strung him along, offering him

a visit, pulling it when they
offered another quarterback,
then begging for him back
when that quarterback looked
for other options.
But with the Illini, Peters got
a starting job, the reputation
of the Big Ten and a new home
less than two hours from his
hometown of Avon, Ind. And
when the Wolverines see him
there, they’ll be nothing but
happy for him.
“I really liked Brandon a
lot and he won us ballgames,”
Harbaugh
said.
“
…
Been
following him, and I’d say the
same for how he’s playing there
at Illinois. Good player.”
Normally,
the
perfect
reunion for Michigan would
be Peters playing a good game
while
the
Wolverines
still
winning anyway — by a lot.
But they aren’t guaranteed to
get their happy ending. Peters
left last week’s game with an
injury, and he’s questionable
for this week. After what Peters
has been through, having to
watch one of his team’s biggest
games of the season — against
his former team — from the
sidelines would be a cruel twist
of irony.
So now, the Wolverines are
just hoping they get to see him
out on the field and in a better
place — and, of course, leave
Champaign with a win. Then
Runyan will have bragging
rights much bigger than Mario
Kart.
“He’s got his stuff going on,
we’ve got ours,” Glasgow said.
“But I wish him the best, except
when he plays against us.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Jennifer Klein wants her team to get better against pressure.

MATTHEW CHANG
For The Daily

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert’s power play unit scored in Michigan’s 8-2 win over Windsor on Sunday.

I thought
(Lambert’s
unit) was
spectacular.

We’re gonna
have two really
good units this
year.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters will face his former team Saturday.

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
The Michigan basketball team feels a new energy under Juwan Howard as it enters his inaugural season.

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

I’m sure a lot of
people think,
you have a lot of
pressure.