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.