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.

