100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Download this Issue

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

This collection, digitized in collaboration with the Michigan Daily and the Board for Student Publications, contains materials that are protected by copyright law. Access to these materials is provided for non-profit educational and research purposes. If you use an item from this collection, it is your responsibility to consider the work's copyright status and obtain any required permission.

October 22, 2019 - Image 7

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 — 7

Johnny Beecher settling in faster than expected

There were 46 seconds left
on the clock. Michigan led,
4-3, but Lake Superior State
was pressuring after pulling its
goaltender for an extra attacker.
If the Wolverines could get the
puck cleared out of their zone, it
would likely seal a sweep over the
Lakers.
In that high-pressure situation,
where a faceoff win could mean
the difference between victory
and defeat, Michigan coach Mel
Pearson had a decision to make.
Seconds
later,
6-foot-3
freshman
forward
Johnny
Beecher glided into the faceoff
circle to take the draw against
6-foot-6
forward
Hampus
Eriksson. As the referee dropped
the puck, Beecher beat Eriksson
to the puck, twisting as he sent
it back between his legs to senior
defenseman Luke Martin, who
waited in the corner.
Martin brought the puck up
toward the blueline, looking to
get the clear or put the puck in the
empty net, but forward Ashton
Calder was waiting to keep it in
the zone for his
team
and
his
play created two
scoring chances
for Lake Superior
State.
After
a
flurry of activity
in front of the
net,
sophomore
goaltender
Strauss
Mann
covered the puck,
which
meant
another faceoff was coming.
This time, there were just nine
seconds left. Once again, Pearson
gave Beecher the nod. Once
again, Beecher won the draw.
“You just kinda have to dial it in
and focus on the draw,” Beecher
said after the game. “Obviously,
there’s a lot on the line with a
one-goal lead, but I’m extremely
happy that coach has that much
faith in me and my teammates as
well. I just wanted to go out there

and try to win the draw for them.”
The second time, Beecher
beat Calder off the drop and
sent the puck out and around
the corner, where sophomore
defenseman Nick Blankenburg
chased it down. Blankenburg’s
pass around the boards came up
to senior forward Will Lockwood
at the point, who ensured a game-
winning clear for
the Wolverines.
“(Beecher)
was really good,
we
tried
him
there and he’s
been excellent,”
Pearson said after
the game. “Two
big
important
faceoffs, and we
win them. But
we got to make
sure we get those out though,
especially the first one. But got a
lot of confidence in Johnny in his
faceoff ability.”
Just four games into his
Michigan
career,
Beecher’s
earned Pearson’s full confidence
to win crucial draws at key
moments of the game — and
Beecher’s 16-of-20 record on
draws
throughout
Saturday’s
game exemplifies why Pearson
trusts him implicitly.

But he didn’t always expect to
be turning to Beecher this early
in his career. Earlier in October,
Pearson told MIHockey.com that
he thought it would take Beecher
time to adjust to college hockey.
In his two years at the U.S.
National
Team
Development
Program, Beecher was somewhat
buried on the line chart behind
future
top-
five picks Jack
Hughes
and
Alex
Turcotte.
His role wasn’t
to be the go-to
scorer — Hughes
and
Turcotte
and
their
linemates
were
there for that.
At
Michigan,
Beecher’s role is
expanding, and Pearson thought
it would be a month or two before
Beecher — the No. 30 overall pick
to the Boston Bruins in the 2019
NHL Draft — fully adjusted.
But with three points in his
first four games, it’s clear that
Beecher is settling in faster than
anyone expected.
“He’s got a quick learning
curve,” Pearson said Monday.
“He’s picked a lot of things up. …
His practice habits have gotten

better. I think that’s the biggest
area we’ve seen and then that’s
flown into — just flow right into
the game with his preparation
and whatnot.
“Practice, it took him a while to
get going, and now he’s practicing
better. He sees the importance
of it and understands, and that’s
part of the learning curve, too.”
And Beecher’s
teammates
can
also
see
and
appreciate
how
quickly
he’s
adjusted to the
pace and style of
play in college
hockey.
“I
don’t
think
it
really
took
much,”
Lockwood said.
“I think he kinda jumped right in
and has been great. He really uses
his speed well. In practice, he
wasn’t always utilizing that, but
in games, he was blowing by guys.
I think the first couple games he
was a bounce or two away from
having three, four breakaways
and then this past weekend, I
think he did have three or four
breakaways.
“He’s been able to jump and do
really well.”

Michigan women take fourth place

As the sound of the gun
pierced the fall air and sent
a
flurry
of
runners
into
the
opening
straight,
the
Wolverines clad in pink ran
to battle against some of the
nation’s top programs.
The No. 5 Michigan women’s
cross country
team
took
fourth
place
out of 37 teams,
only losing to
the other three
top-10
teams
that
were
present at the
meet:
No.
7
Washington,
No. 3 BYU, and
No. 6 Colorado.
It was a strong performance
from the Wolverines, but still
wasn’t enough, as they were 80
points off first place and never
truly in contention for the
team title.
“We’re satisfied, but at the
same time looking to improve,”
said Michigan coach Mike
McGuire.
The main problem for the
Wolverines was the back half
of their top five not moving

up enough. Their top runner,
freshman Erika VanderLende
— who ran the second-fastest
time for a freshman at this
course in the meet’s history —
came in fifth, but their second
runner, junior Kathryn House,
came in 31 seconds later in
31st
place.
In
comparison,
the
winning
team

the
Washington Huskies — put
their entire top
five
ahead
of
House. Michigan
did tie for the
most in the meet
with six runners
in the top 50, but
nearly all of that
depth was near
the back of that
group.
“Our
key
is
gonna
be
our depth moving up a bit,”
McGuire said.
However, this doesn’t mean
that depth is a problem — in
fact it is one of the Wolverines’
strong suits. In the open race,
where Michigan used their
runners not in the top seven,
they showcased this with a
one-two finish, and put five
runners in the top seven.
“I thought the performances
we had in the open race put us

in a good position going into
Big Tens,” McGuire said.
And, with the regular season
coming to a close, giving way
to the November postseason,
all of the Wolverines’ goals are
still attainable. McGuire hopes
that the team will hit its stride
once the postseason hits.
“We’re happy with the 12
we had today,” McGuire said.
“We’ll continue to build on
that.”
The race did see some very
strong individual performances
as well. VanderLende held the
lead up until the last kilometer,
senior
Anna
West
raced
competitively for the first time
this season, and junior Jenna
Metwalli had what McGuire
labeled a “career performance”
— coming in 43rd and besting
her 6k personal record by 26
seconds.
As Michigan looks ahead to
the EMU Fall Classic on Friday
and beyond, they know what
they have to work on as a team
before they can reach their
goals.
“We’re
excited
for
the
opportunity that’s presented
to us going forward,” McGuire
said.
And what an opportunity
that is.

Wolverines’ practice competition
intense after offseason departures

Charles Matthews, Jordan
Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis.
If
you
followed
Michigan
basketball at all last season,
those three names probably ring
a bell.
Names like Brandon Johns Jr.,
David DeJulius, Adrien Nunez
and Franz Wagner likely don’t,
at least not to the same degree.
And yet, some combination of
this youthful quartet, the first
three all sophomores and the
last a true freshman, will feature
significantly for the Wolverines
this year. The departures of
Matthews, Poole and Brazdeikis
— who together accounted for
56 percent of Michigan’s scoring
last season — make it so.
“We’re ready to step up to that
challenge,” DeJulius, a guard,
said. “It’s big shoes to fill losing
those three. We understand that
and are mature enough to know
that. All of us are just locked in
to fill those big shoes.”
Roster turnover is an intrinsic
part of college athletics —
basketball especially — but losing
three starters to the professional
ranks, all of whom had eligibility
remaining, came as a bit of a
surprise for the Wolverines.
As the saying goes though:
when one door closes another one
opens. Let’s just say that door is
gaping.
Especially with the recent
news
that
Wagner,
who’s
received the most praise of
anyone early on, suffered a non-
surgical fracture in his right
wrist this week and is set to miss
four to six weeks.
On the perimeter, there will
likely be two starting positions
up for grabs between senior
point guard Zavier Simpson and
junior forward Isaiah Livers —
who primarily played the ‘4’ last
season. So far in practice, the
aforementioned young guns and
junior point guard Eli Brooks are
all in the battle.
“There’s always competition,
especially when there’s a sudden
change,” Brooks said. “You just

gotta do your job. You wanna
be the best teammate you can
be because at the end of the day,
they’re still on your team. You
have to just let the better player
get the job.”
While Brooks has the most
playing experience of that group,
he hasn’t been much of a scoring
threat throughout his career,
averaging just 2.2 points per
game. Brooks knows that and
has tried to focus on it in the
offseason.
“One thing I lacked was
offensive production,” Brooks
said. “So I’ve been looking for
my shot more, getting to spots
where I’m comfortable at and
being more aggressive.”
Regardless
of
Brooks’
expected
improvements,
DeJulius and Nunez pose a
significant threat to his playing
time.
DeJulius
featured
in
25 games last season and has
impressed new coach Juwan
Howard with his work ethic.
“He’s like (Simpson) in so
many ways,” Howard said.
Nunez, who was left on the
outside looking in last season,
is also trying to make a leap
forward this season with his
sharpshooting ability being his
biggest asset.
Both Johns Jr. and Wagner
are natural scorers who are more
than capable of slotting into the
starting lineup this season, too.
Johns Jr. played in all 28 games
last season, flashing his offensive
potential in an eight-point, eight-
rebound performance against

Indiana in early January.
“Brandon is a very athletic guy
who has a beautiful stroke in his
jumpshot,” Howard said. “He’s
been competing hard in practice.
He’s grasping a lot of the new
responsibilities in teaching what
is asked of him. I see that he’s
gonna have his chance to play a
lot this year, but as he knows, it
starts in practice. You gotta earn
your minutes.”
Wagner’s temporary absence
will put even more of an onus on
his teammates, like DeJulius and
Johns Jr. to pick up the slack. The
freshman played professionally
in his native Germany as an
18-year old last season. His
polished offensive game, sneaky
athleticism and maturity have
been major talking points thus
far. Upon his return, look for
Wagner to eventually crack the
primary rotation.
Until
then,
the
fierce
competition that characterized
practice will be even more
important. That relentless drive
to improve is just what Howard
wants from his team though.
“Coach said that any drill
we do, where we’re trying to
compete, is like the Hunger
Games,” Nunez said. “At the
end of the day, we’re all family
and teammates. When it gets on
the court though, we’re all just
trying to compete and earn that
spot.
“It’s
all
just
healthy
competition but whoever is the
hungriest is gonna be the one
who plays in the end.”

Defense spurs victory

As the No. 9 Michigan women’s
field hockey team took the field
Friday night, the lyrics of Queen’s
We Will Rock You blasted through
Ocker Field.
The song proved a fitting
backdrop to the type of match that
followed: a smashmouth, defensive
slugfest. For the Wolverines (11-3
overall, 4-1 Big Ten), it was a team
effort on the defensive end that
ushered them to a 1-0 victory over
No. 2 Maryland (13-2, 5-1).
“We just worked as a team
together,”
said
sophomore
goalkeeper
Anna
Spieker.
“Everybody knew exactly where
they were supposed to be, in their
right pockets and having a good
angle with the ball.”
Throughout the game, the
Wolverines’ press was relentless
and aggressive, often forcing
Maryland into sloppy play and
rushed passes.
“It all starts with the forwards,”
said senior midfielder Guadalupe
Fernandez Lacort. “The forwards,
they had a great press. You would
see their sidebacks fumble the ball
or hesitate, not knowing what to
do. It really all started from there.”
Limiting
Maryland’s
corner
opportunities
also
keyed
the
defense. The Terrapins are known
for having a robust corner game,
led by two standout drag flickers,
forwards
Bibi
Donraadt
and
Jen Bleakney. With Michigan’s
press
helping
keep
the
ball
predominantly in the Wolverines’

possession,
Maryland
only
managed to create three corners.
When
the
Terrapins
did
slip through the cracks in the
Michigan defense, Spieker was
there to thwart any notion of a goal.
Despite facing ten shots, Spieker,
the anchor to the Wolverines’
defense, ensured none reached
the back of the net by recording
four saves. The shutout helped her
improve upon her nation-leading
.75 goals against average.
“She made really solid, poised
decisions
back
there,”
said
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz.
“Obviously she shut them out, and
that’s not an easy team to shut out.
So it was a great game from her.”
Michigan
was
humming
defensively from the very start,
allowing no shots and no corners
in the first quarter. Any doubt that
the Wolverines would lose the
intensity and physical play for the
remaining 45 minutes gradually
washed away as the game went on.
Stout defensive performances
are nothing new for this Michigan
squad — the team now has eight
shutouts on the season. Yet doing
it against a Maryland team that
entered the match eighth in the
nation with 3.29 goals per game
is an impressive reminder of the
team’s
defensive
capabilities
moving forward.
“They
played
60
minutes
tonight,” Pankratz said. “That’s
one of the goals we’ve had all
season, to play an entire 60
minutes really strong. We know
we had to against Maryland, and
they did.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan women’s cross country team finished fourth of 37 teams in Pre-Nationals over the weekend.

SPENCER RAINES
Daily Sports Writer

Our key is
gonna be our
depth moving
up a bit.

JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Writer

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Anna Spieker made four saves Friday, helping Michigan to a shutout.

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Freshman forward Johnny Beecher won two crucial faceoffs late in Saturday’s game against Lake Superior State.

I’m ... happy
that coach has
that much faith
in me.

He’s got a quick
learning curve.
He’s picked a
lot of things up.

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore guard David DeJulius will likely see an uptick in playing time.

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan