2B — November 11, 2019
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Defense, goaltending not enough against Gophers

There’s a saying in sports
that the score of a game doesn’t
always reflect how close it was.
Sometimes misused, it was
emblematic
Saturday
night
when the Michigan hockey
team fell, 3-1, to Minnesota.
The third goal the Wolverines
gave up was an empty netter
in the final minute, while the
second was the result of a
fluke play where sophomore
goaltender Strauss Mann tried
to collect a rebound off the
boards behind the goal line, but
the puck bounced too far to an
opposing player in the crease.
And chance played a pivotal
role on the first goal, too. The
Golden Gophers were on a
two-on-one against freshman
defenseman Cam York, whilst
redshirt junior forward Luke
Morgan hustled back. Both
players dove to choke the
passing lane, but the puck
ultimately bounced off York,
then off Morgan’s left skate to
a Minnesota forward near the
crease.
If any of those bounces went
another way, the game could
have had a different tone.
Thus there is weight behind
the saying. But this raises the
question, what kept the game
close to begin with? And the
answer to that is, undoubtedly,
the defensive effort.
“The one nice thing, not nice,
but the one underlying thing
here is we’re playing so hard
defensively and doing a lot of
things on the right side of the
puck,” said Michigan coach Mel
Pearson. “So when we do start
to score, we’ve already got that
mentality of how we need to
play away from it, and how hard
we have to play defensively.”
While the offense struggled
to score till late, the defense
was cohesive. On the penalty
kill, the players skated in
unison to block shooting lanes.
There were many more dives
throughout
the
game
than

those on the conceded goal —
many that actually worked. For
instance, following a faceoff in
the Wolverines’ attacking zone
late in the opening period the
Gophers got a quick rush, but
sophomore defenseman Jack
Summers went on all fours to
keep the game close early on.
“I think that’s been real
key for us we’re not scoring
a
ton
right
now but we’re
playing
great
defensively,”
Mann
said.
“And
my
defensemen are
playing
really
great in front
of me which is
great and that’s
really a recipe
for success in
the future.”
A
substantial
portion
of
Minnesota’s scoring chances
weren’t
due
to
mistakes
in the defensive zone, but
rather simple giveaways on
the attack that led to odd-
man rushes. This was evident
late in the third period when
junior forward Dakota Raabe
took a weak slap shot from

near the blue line. Due to the
lack of pace, forward Blake
McLaughlin grabbed it out of
the air, and thus Michigan had
to defend another rush.
“We’ve got control of the
puck and we whiff on it and
they poke it and they’re gone
and it ends up in the net. It’s
frustrating,”
Pearson
said.
“It’s really frustrating. I feel
bad
for
our
guys,
actually,
because they’re
working
hard.
They’re working
their
tails
off
and
we
don’t
have anything to
show for it.”
Mann
was
the
backbone
of the defense.
Ignoring
the
gaffe on the second goal, he
made key saves all night. Seven
minutes into the game, junior
forward
Jack
Becker
lost
possession right in front of the
Wolverines’ net resulting in an
easy chance for the Gophers,
but Mann deflected the puck
upward to get out of harm’s
way.
Late in the second period, he

made a stellar glove save off a
two-on-one attack to keep his
team within one. And he stayed
calm despite the mishap on the
second goal. This was pivotal
midway
through
the
final
frame, when Minnesota moved
the puck back and forth from
near the left circle to the slot.
Mann maintained his position
and moved quickly to block the
shot when it finally came.
“I feel bad for him because
he’s losing games,” Pearson
said. “And you look at his record
and if you didn’t know his goals
against you wonder, ‘Oh this
kid just keeps losing, why do
we keep playing him?’ But he
continues to do a great job. …
You look at the goals against
and we can’t fault him on any of
that for sure.”
Not faulting Mann and the
defensive unit is the most
logical, as without them the
Wolverines
likely
wouldn’t
have had any shot at winning.
But
Michigan
must
also
complement it’s defensive unit
with a better attack, otherwise
the efforts will continue to
go to waste and the team will
have to keep residing to mere
sayings.

Offensive struggles continue for Wolverines

The game was right there on
Jimmy Lambert’s stick.
He cut toward the net and into
the left faceoff circle, alone and
waiting. The scrum on the other
end of the zone resulted in Johnny
Beecher caressing the puck away
from the battlefield of bodies,
and the freshman forward was
looking to pass.
And he found Lambert, whose
extended stick indicated he was
ready for the pass and looking
to score the easy goal — one that
would break the 1-1 tie and win
the Michigan hockey team the
game.
But the puck slid toward
Lambert. Then it slid past him. He
whiffed on the shot and tumbled
down onto the ice, sprawling on
all fours as he looked to the distant
puck, left to wonder what could
have been in the eventual tie.
Only a minute later, the puck
made its way back over to Lambert
for a chance to redeem himself, all
alone in the faceoff circle with his
stick readied. He found himself in
a similar position as before.
This time, Lambert connected

with the puck, but it didn’t even
come close to being on frame.
He sailed his shot wide right,
and another scoring chance was
wasted.
“He fell,” said Michigan coach
Mel Pearson. “Nobody around
him. Good opportunity coming
down the slot, just whiffs on it. He
had three or four (whiffs). Once
you’re not scoring and you’re a
forward, you really start to press.
It can get in your head.”
But Lambert wasn’t the only
Wolverine who couldn’t capitalize
on opportunities; the team as a
whole proved unable to finish
pucks on net.
The Wolverines’ lone goal
came in the third period off a tip-
in by graduate transfer forward
Jacob Hayhurst off a shot from
senior defensemen Luke Martin.
It seemed their offense had finally
made it over the hurdle. But it was
a false hope. Hayhurst’s goal was
followed up by a string of missed
opportunities.
One came from senior forward
Jake Slaker, who fired the puck
directly into the skate blade of a
Golden Gopher. Another came
from Hayhurst. And then three
of four from Lambert. It didn’t

matter the offense was getting
significantly more shots to the
net than in the previous period
because it couldn’t finish on them.
“We’re struggling offensively
right now,” Pearson said. “Boy oh
boy, I wish I had some answers,
but we just have to make sure
we’re playing well defensively.
The offense is gonna come, it’s
just a matter of time, but we’re in a
funk right now.”
On top of the fanned shots
and
overpassing,
Michigan’s
offense has been generated by a
small group so far this season. On
Friday night, that was apparent.
Overall, it had 34 shots on net, but
most came from a select group
of four of five players including
Slaker and freshman defenseman
Cam York, who collectively had
eight shots.
“We don’t score a lot of goals,”
said Michigan coach Mel Pearson.
“We’re gonna have to find a way
to all chip in. We have to start
doing a better job of that. We had
some open looks and guys whiff
on shots, guys falling down. Great
opportunities. We’re just really,
really struggling on the offense.”
Contrasting the onslaught of
offense in the third, in the second

period Michigan fell flat. It tallied
only five shots on net despite
attempting 14, a stark contrast to
the 18 shots it registered in the
following 20 minutes.
Rather than shooting the puck,
the Wolverines opted to pass. And
pass. And pass. When they did
manage to put the puck on net, it
sailed wide or over the crossbar
or didn’t even connect with a
player’s stick.
And it was the wasted chances
that plagued Michigan. Too many
times had the extra pass across
the crease fail and frustrate
players. The hard-gripped sticks
only got gripped a little tighter
each and every failed attempt.
“We’re
just
not
burying
opportunities,” said Hayhurst.
“We’re getting chances. As you
can see we had a ton in the third,
we’re just not putting them on the
net.”
After losing three straight
and
tying
Minnesota,
but
surrendering the extra point, it’s
obvious Michigan’s offense needs
to regroup.
What’s less obvious is whether
the Wolverines will be able to do
so before their standing in the Big
Ten suffers even further.

After late-game issues,
‘M’ looks for composure

When both Michigan and
Appalachian
State
players
shuffled off the court towards
their respective benches at the
11:05 mark of the second half on
Tuesday, everything was going
according to plan for Juwan
Howard.
The
Wolverines
held
a
26-point advantage, seemingly
setting the new coach up for
his first victory. Michigan’s
leading scorers on the night,
senior center Jon Teske and
junior guard Eli Brooks, were
subbed out for sophomores
Colin Castleton and Adrien
Nunez — things looked that
good.
Then,
that
cushion
evaporated into thin air. Over
the next ten minutes, the
Mountaineers
whittled
the
Wolverines’ lead down to just
five.
“We just got away from
the little things,” Teske said.
“Things got a little tense, we
just had to relax. I mean we
were up 30 points.
“We were trying to make
a quick shot. We had a lot of
one-pass
possessions
where
we tried to take a quick shot or
make a quick move.”
The fastbreak opportunities
and easy buckets of the first
half gave way to half-court
sets and a lack of offensive
cohesion.
Against
the
3-2
zone that Appalachian State
implemented
at
halftime,
Michigan turned the ball over
nine times and couldn’t hit any
of the open looks it was given.
In the face of the offensive
collapse
and
the
surging
Mountaineers,
the
message
inside the Wolverines’ huddle
was simple: composure.
“They’re gonna give you
open shots in a zone,” Howard

said. “ ‘You just gotta be
patient.’ That’s exactly what I
was telling our guys. ‘Be patient
with the zone. Let’s make sure
that we work the basketball
around and move. And at times
you see seams, drive it.’ ”
While the rest of Crisler
Center
may
have
been
panicked
and
frustrated,
Howard remained positive and
calm in his first experience
commanding a huddle as a head
coach — something his team
recognized.
“He was more of a motivator
than anything,” Brooks said.
“Coach Howard was definitely
talking the most. He did a good
job of controlling the huddle.”
Similar directives came from
the team’s veterans. Senior
point guard Zavier Simpson,
junior forward Isaiah Livers
and Teske tried to keep the
team focused and confident.
“You kinda expect us to hit
a bump,” Brooks said. “Not
everything is going to go
smoothly with a new coach
and new system. It was just
keep moving forward, next play
mentality. Just get back to what
was successful at the beginning
of the game.”
Michigan
never
fully
regained its offensive efficiency
from the first half, but it scored
when it needed to. Livers
converted a follow-up layup
from underneath and Brooks
went 5-for-6 from the foul line.
The Wolverines escaped what
would have been a disastrous
start
to
their
season
and
Howard’s tenure.
The late-game conversations
may not have been the sole
reason
Michigan
survived,

but Howard got a small taste
of high-stakes coaching on
Tuesday night.
And, in a new role and a
rebuilt roster, that might not be
such a bad thing.

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann played well this weekend, but it wasn’t enough as Michigan took just one of six points.

You look at the
goals against
and we can’t
fault (Mann).

MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert whiffed on an easy scoring chance Friday night, encapsulating the Wolverines’ offensive frustrations on the weekend.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

Michigan drops opener

When
sophomore
heavyweight
Mason
Parris
dislocated his finger in the
midst of his match, there was
no doubt in his mind that it
would not affect the rest of his
wrestling. The crowd went silent
as the trainer stepped onto the
mat to reset the finger. Parris,
after a quick flex of his fingers,
was ready to wrestle again. It
was a gruesome embodiment
of the mentality the Michigan
wrestling team has adopted
early this season — effort and
confidence.
But, in an up-and-down first
dual meet against
North Carolina,
the
Wolverines
struggled
to
maintain
this
resiliency, losing
19-17.
After
a
dominant
performance
from
redshirt
sophomore
Jack
Medley
at
125-pounds,
winning 10-2, the match-up
leveled off, with the Tar Heels
winning the next 2 matches.
“(Jack Medley) wrestled a kid
who he maybe wasn’t supposed
to beat, but he really took it to
him, and I was impressed by
that,” said 197-pound fifth year
senior Jackson Striggow.
Things seemed to be looking
up for Michigan when redshirt
freshman Nick Freeman took
the 149-pound match, gaining
eight points from a near fall and
two take-downs. However, his
individual win couldn’t spur
enough
momentum
for
the
Wolverines, especially since his
match led into intermission,
giving UNC a chance to re-group.
“It was definitely a match that
we thought we were capable
of winning, and again it goes
back to wrestling hard all three
periods and forcing your offense
on an opponent,” said Michigan
coach Sean Bermot. “(Freeman)
is really capable of doing that.
He kind of held off until the 3rd

period.”
The Tar Heels came out of
intermission strong, winning the
next four individual matches.
The most detrimental matchup
for Michigan was the 174-
pound match between redshirt
freshman Max Maylor and UNC
redshirt sophomore Clay Lautt.
Lautt gained advantage quickly
and executed a fall just two
minutes and 20 seconds into the
first period ending the match and
giving the Tar Heels an extra six
team points.
After
two
wins
for
the
Wolverines from Jelani Embree
and Jackson Striggow, it was left
to Mason Parris to finish out the
night, who faced UNC’s Andrew
Gunning in the
heavyweight
match.
Down
by
five
team
points,
Parris
would
have
to complete a
fall in order to
win the match.
Parris
fought
hard, and won
the match 4-0,
with a takedown
late in the third period, but it was
not enough as Michigan fell two
points short.
The Wolverines were also
unable to capitalize on bonus
points,
something
heavily
emphasized by the coaching
staff. They split the matches
evenly with the Tar Heels,
each team winning five, but the
difference in team score was in
bonus points.
“I think bonus points are
always big,” Bermot said. “We’ve
been working on that stuff a lot.
We do have some younger guys
in the lineup, and first-time
guys competing at (Cliff) Keen
Arena. I think as they continue
to become more confident, more
aggressive, we’re going to see
more bonus points.”
While the dual result ended in
a loss for Michigan, both players
and coaches were hopeful for the
rest of the season, ready to get
back to practicing.
Ready to metaphorically reset
the finger.

WRESTLING

ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Writer

There were still
a lot of things
we need to
work on.