4B — December 9, 2019
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines fall to Nittany Lions, 3-1
Almost.
The Michigan hockey team
(6-10-2 overall, 2-7-1-0 Big Ten)
almost completed a comeback
against No. 6 Penn State (12-
5-0, 7-3-0-0). And if it had, the
comeback
would’ve
marked
the first time this season the
Wolverines were able to do so,
amid their first Big Ten sweep.
Instead, the game followed the
same trajectory that can sum up
the first half of the Wolverines’
season — they played well enough
to win, but ultimately couldn’t
finish the job.
“We
played
hard,”
said
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “All
we can do is ask our players to
give it their best and lay it on the
line and walk out of here knowing
they did that. I don’t know if we
can play much better than we did
tonight. We fought our way back
from that two-goal deficit, and
I thought in the third period, we
were the best team.”
But really, the Wolverines had
sealed their fate by the time the
first period ended. The Nittany
Lions nabbed a 2-0 lead heading
into intermission, and though the
Wolverines responded quickly, it
wasn’t enough. When the clock
expired at Yost Ice Arena, the
scoreboard favored Penn State
over Michigan, 3-1.
The Wolverines’ two-minute
struggle started when they took
a penalty for too many men on
the ice. It happened while senior
defenseman Griffin Luce was
heading off the ice for a line
change.
His
replacement,
freshman
defender Keaton Pehrson, had
already come over the boards.
Luce was a just a step from the
bench when the puck ricocheted
off the boards and hit his skate.
The referee blew his whistle —
and for the third time that period,
Michigan was going to have to kill
a penalty. The Wolverines had
successfully killed the Nittany
Lions’ first two opportunities,
and they hoped to continue their
shutdown of Penn State’s power
play.
But these hopes were thwarted
18 seconds later, when Nittany
Lions forward Nate Sucese buried
a one-timer to beat sophomore
goaltender Strauss Mann.
In the wake of Sucese’s goal,
Michigan needed to regroup and
badly. But it would have to wait for
the intermission, because barely a
minute after the first goal, Penn
State extended its lead to 2-0.
There
were
just
seconds
remaining when Nittany Lions
forward Evan Barratt found the
puck at the top right side of the
crease. Carrying the puck on his
stick, he danced around Mann
and finished on a wide open net.
“I think that was just a lapse,”
said redshirt junior forward Luke
Morgan about the second goal.
“We took the penalty, that’s tough,
and they score (while we’re)
shorthanded. We might have put
our foot off the gas at the end of
the period a little bit. You can’t do
that. They capitalized on that.”
Then, when the puck dropped
to signal the start of the second
period, Michigan mustered a
quick response to the Nittany
Lions’ late offensive push.
The
Wolverines
pushed
into the offensive zone off the
opening drawing. Junior forward
Michael Pastujov found himself
in the middle of a battle along the
boards. Pastujov was checked by
a defender and lost his balance
but not before he threw the puck
across the ice and toward the goal.
Simultaneously, redshirt junior
Luke Morgan streaked towards
the net.
Pastujov’s pass crossed his
path, and in one fluid motion,
Morgan rifled the puck into
the goal. With Morgan’s goal,
Michigan inched closer to a
comeback, but still trailed, 2-1.
“It was huge,” said senior
forward Will Lockwood. “You
could just tell, the momentum
swung there. That was really big
for us. I’m really surprised we
didn’t get another. I think if we
got that next one, got that bounce,
we would’ve won the game, no
doubt. Unfortunately, that didn’t
happen, but that first goal was big
for us.”
As the storyline has been
all season, the Wolverines had
chances, but didn’t finish them.
They outshot Penn State in both
the second and third periods,
tallying a total of 43 shots on net.
But none of these chances crossed
the goal line, none of them aided
the attempted comeback.
With time running out, and
Michigan still applying pressure,
still searching for an equalizer,
still looking to prove it could
stage a comeback Pearson made
the decision to pull Mann for an
additional attacker.
It almost worked. As Mann
skated to the bench, Pastujov
climbed over the board and skated
into the offensive zone. Fifty
second later, he was faced with
an open net, as the Penn State
goaltender was sprawled on the
ice. Pastujov fired a shot. It went
just over the crossbar.
The Wolverines had almost
tied the game.
But not even twenty seconds
later, Nittany Lions forward Denis
Smirnov shot the puck into the
empty and made the score 3-1.
As the teams lined up to shake
hands, the Wolverines’ ability
to respond quickly to adversity
didn’t matter. All their offensive
opportunities didn’t count for
anything more than stats in a
column.
When the game ended, the
score sheet favored Penn State
and though Michigan almost
staged a comeback, the only thing
reflected in the stats was how
damaging its two-minute mental
lapse proved to be.
Offense falls short in Penn State loss
Standing just below the left
circle, Michael Pastujov received
a pass from Jacob Hayhurst
behind the net. In an instant,
without wasting time settling
the puck for a shot, Pastujov
snapped a wrist shot toward the
mouth of the goal.
Penn
State’s
goaltender,
Peyton Jones, lied prone in the
crease as Michigan applied
pressure. It looked as though
Pastujov was going to find twine
and tie the game at two goals
apiece with just over a minute
left. The Wolverines even began
to celebrate as the puck flew
toward the net, thinking there
was no way it wouldn’t be a goal.
Pastujov was quick with his
release, and he had a wide-open
target to shoot at.
But instead, somehow, some
way, Jones got a piece of the
puck, deflecting it high and
neutralizing the scoring chance.
Seventeen
seconds
later,
forward
Denis
Smirnov
hit
the empty net to make it a 3-1
game with under a minute left.
Michigan’s chance at coming
back and getting the sweep was
gone.
“It’s kind of just been the
same story all year,” said senior
forward Will Lockwood. “Guys
just gotta bear down on chances,
including myself, and that’s
just a mindset. We gotta come
in with that mindsight right at
the beginning, but I think we’re
doing a lot of the right things.”
Throughout Saturday’s game,
the Wolverines struggled to
finish on scoring opportunities.
And
as
Lockwood
said,
Michigan’s offense has told
the same story throughout the
season.
Through
their
18
games
this season, the Wolverines
rank third in the nation with
584 shots on goal. Their shot
percentage, however, is 58th out
of 60 teams at just 6.7 percent.
The numbers state it about as
plainly as anything could —
Michigan just cannot find the
back of the net. In Saturday’s
matchup, the Wolverines put 43
shots on net and attempted 68 in
total.
They scored only one goal.
“We continue to struggle
scoring goals,” said Michigan
coach
Mel
Pearson.
“Last
night, we didn’t score on our
best chances. You saw we got
four, and we could’ve had nine.
Tonight, we could’ve had I don’t
know how many.”
And it isn’t a matter of not
getting opportunities, as the
Wolverines’ third place shot
total
demonstrates.
Every
game, players fail to convert on
Grade-A scoring chances.
Saturday,
that
stood
out
about as much as it has all
year. Throughout the lineup,
Michigan missed chance after
chance.
Senior forward Jake Slaker
was stopped by Jones on a one-
on-one breakaway from point-
blank
range.
Jones
stopped
sophomore
forward
Garrett
Van Wyhe that way, too. Late in
the game, when Pearson pulled
sophomore goaltender Strauss
Mann to give the Wolverines an
extra attacker, they continued
to fail to execute on scoring
opportunities.
Pastujov missed the best look
Michigan had with the extra
attacker, and freshman forward
Johnny Beecher had a couple
chances of his own that couldn’t
find the back of the net.
In the third period, Michigan
outshot Penn State, 19-10, but
couldn’t get a goal out of it.
“We probably had as many
good chances this weekend as
we’ve had all year, against a team
that has played well defensively,”
Pearson said. “Against a team
who likes to spend a lot of time —
I don’t think we spent much time
in our zone in the third period
when the game’s on the line.”
Even earlier in the game,
when
the
Wolverines
were
attempting to battle back from
a one-goal deficit, Michigan
demonstrated an inability to
convert on chances. Sophomore
forward Jimmy Lambert had
two open looks on the power play
in the second period. Hayhurst,
too, had multiple chances on
the doorstep of the crease and
couldn’t punch the puck in.
And
as
the
Wolverines
continue to try to dig themselves
out of last place in the Big
Ten, the offense needs to find
a
rhythm.
Michigan
hasn’t
won this year when it’s scored
less than four goals, and the
Wolverines average just 2.17
goals per game.
It’s
becoming
clear
that
without the offense finding a
way to light the lamp, this team
will continue to struggle at the
bottom of the conference.
“We have to score goals,”
Pearson said. “And we’re not
doing that.”
MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore forward Nolan Moyle was one of many Wolverines to struggle in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Penn State.
‘M’ to play Alabama in Citrus Bowl
Ever yelled “We want Bama” as
a joke when Michigan had a good
game? Well, you got your wish.
It’s official: the 14th-ranked
Wolverines will be headed to
Orlando to play No. 13 Alabama in
the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“Certainly a privilege and an
honor for our team to be … playing
a great team like the University of
Michigan with great tradition and
a great coach in Jim Harbaugh,”
Alabama coach Nick Saban said on
a conference call Sunday evening.
“And this is something that we —
a challenge that we certainly look
forward to.”
Harbaugh is 1-4 in bowl games
during his time at Michigan,
though the one he did win was also
the last time the Wolverines were
in the Citrus Bowl, where they
beat Florida to conclude the 2015
season.
All three teams Michigan lost to
in the regular season made either
the Playoff (Ohio State) or a New
Year’s Six bowl (Wisconsin and
Penn State), clearing the way for
the Wolverines to get a spot in the
Big Ten’s top non-New Year’s Six
bowl.
Meanwhile, the powerhouse
Crimson Tide seemed destined
for a College Football Playoff
spot — what would’ve been their
sixth in six years of the Playoff —
for most of the season, but when
quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went
down for the season with a hip
injury and Alabama lost to rival
Auburn, it fell out of a New Year’s
Six spot altogether.
Still, the Crimson Tide are
second in the country in SP+ and
have the third-ranked offense and
the No. 6 defense. Michigan is 19th
and ninth, respectively.
“The Alabama team is a great
team,” Harbaugh said. “I have the
utmost respect for them. They’ve
set the bar for college football over
the last many years, the model of
success and credit to Nick Saban
and his coaches. High-powered
offense, a great defense, and I’ve
already started to look at them.
“… That offense, they average
somewhere around 48 points
a game and their two offensive
tackles look to be guys that could
be top-20 picks in the draft. A lot
of good receivers. This could be the
best group of receivers maybe ever.
Three top picks, probably three
first-round picks in that group and
two really talented running backs.
Very impressed with (quarterback)
Mac Jones and the defense is, the
other thing is, the special teams is
dynamic. The punt returns, kick
returns, those two especially. We’ll
need to have a great plan in regards
to all three phases of the game.
Excited for the opportunity.”
The two teams last played in
2012, when they met at a neutral
site for the season opener. The
Crimson Tide won in a blowout,
41-14. Before that, their most
recent matchup was in the 2000
Orange Bowl — 20 years to the
day before their upcoming Citrus
Bowl tilt — where Tom Brady led
the Wolverines to a 35-34 win in
the first-ever overtime BCS Bowl
game.
Though Michigan and Alabama
rarely play each other, there is still
some level of familiarity. Offensive
coordinator Josh Gattis spent
the 2018 season as the Crimson
Tide’s co-offensive coordinator
as they made a run to the national
championship
game.
Shea
Patterson also faced off against
Alabama as Mississippi’s starting
quarterback in 2017.
Saban
and
Harbaugh
only
really have a passing relationship,
but as coaches of two blue blood
programs, they respect each other
and know the Citrus Bowl will
bring a unique challenge.
“I have a lot of respect for
Jim,” Saban said. “I think he’s
been a great coach and done a
great job at Michigan, did a great
job every place he’s been prior to
that. We have a lot of respect for
the University of Michigan, their
program, their tradition and the
job that he’s done as a coach.”
Normally, the Citrus Bowl
doesn’t feature marquee matchups
by design. But when schools with
two of the largest fanbases in the
country fell there, the meeting
seemed like a no-brainer for the
bowl.
Most of the Wolverines have
not announced whether they
intend to play in the bowl, though
linebacker Josh Uche and tight
end Sean McKeon, both seniors,
have indicated that they will play.
“We still got one more game
to play for,” McKeon said after
the loss to Ohio State. “One more
game to win. Looking forward to
preparing with the team one more
time and trying to get that (win).”
With a match against one of
the consistent best teams in the
country, that task just got quite a
bit harder.
“It’s
a
fabulous
team,”
Harbaugh said. “A very, very elite
team and as I said, credit to Nick
Saban and the coaching staff and
our preparation will have to be
at its highest level. Good to know
who you’re gonna play and get
started. It’s a big-time matchup.
We’re very much looking forward
to it.”
Dilk cuts down on turnovers in win
Oakland had just cut the
Michigan women’s basketball
team’s lead to seven, in the
midst of a 10-4 run, and Amy
Dilk had the ball at the top of
the key. The sophomore guard
looked to do what she does so
often: find sophomore forward
Naz Hillmon in the paint and let
Hillmon go to work.
But this time, Hillmon wasn’t
open, and Dilk threw the ball
over her head — Dilk’s second
turnover of the game. On the
ensuing possession, Grizzlies
guard Alona Blackwell drained
a corner 3-pointer, and the
Wolverines found themselves
leading by just four with two
minutes remaining in the third
quarter.
This wasn’t an uncommon
occurrence
for
Dilk.
She
averages over 3.5 turnovers
per game, and her greatest ball
security issues have come when
the stakes are highest. In the
Nov. 23 loss to Notre Dame, Dilk
had three costly fourth-quarter
turnovers, leading to a blown
five-point lead.
While Dilk has let her play
spiral after bad turnovers in the
past, she showed improvement
Sunday. She didn’t turn the
ball over the rest of the game,
and on each of the next three
possessions made no attempt to
be the hero as she had against
the Fighting Irish. She made
easy passes, took an open
shot in the paint and made a
great bounce pass to a cutting
Hillmon for an easy layup. The
Wolverines scored on all three
possessions, extending the lead
to 10 — a lead they wouldn’t give
up, defeating Oakland, 79-64.
“Amy Dilk’s decision making
has really really taken strides
in
the
positive
direction,”
said
Michigan
coach
Kim
Barnes
Arico.
“She’s
really
conscientious and trying to
stop hitting the home run
pass initially and moving the
ball more on the offensive
end.
(She’s)
showing
great
discipline.”
Added Dilk: “Coach is doing a
great job of if I make a mistake,
just let it go — don’t dwell on it.
There’s a lot of game left to be
played.”
From
a
ball
security
standpoint, Sunday was Dilk’s
best game since the loss to Notre
Dame, when she played the
entire game. While Barnes Arico
didn’t think that fatigue played
a role in Dilk’s lackluster fourth-
quarter play, she has made an
effort to give
Dilk
a
few
minutes on the
bench in every
game since —
especially when
she makes a bad
turnover.
This change
is in large part to
Barnes
Arico’s
newfound trust
in
sophomore
guard Danielle Rauch, who
has appeared in each of the
last four games at point guard.
While lacking some of Dilk’s
scoring prowess, Rauch has
shown the ability to be a capable
floor general with Dilk off the
floor and has impressed on
the defensive end, grabbing
four steals over the four-game
stretch.
Rauch played an important
role in a 12-2 Michigan run to
end the first half, assisting on
two of the Wolverines’ five field
goals in that span.
Having the ability to put
Rauch in for extended periods of
time has helped Dilk calm down
after making a bad decision and
keeps her fresh for the end of the
game.
“I think Danielle has proven
in practice every single day
she’s ready for the opportunity,”
Barnes Arico said. “She limits
her
turnovers
as well and her
decision making
has been really
good for us.
“Just to give
Amy
a
break
every now and
again to get her
re-focused
and
locked in really
helps
Amy,
as
well.”
The change in Michigan’s
use of Rauch has paid dividends
for Dilk, allowing her to calm
down when her play gets sloppy.
Sunday showed just how much
of a weapon Dilk can be when
she takes care of the ball, and a
spell on the bench after a poor
decision has made this version
of Dilk the new norm.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
The Michigan football team is looking for its first bowl win since 2016.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer
EMMA MATI/Daily
Sophomore guard Amy Dilk had just two turnovers against Oakland on Sunday.
Amy Dilk’s
decision
making has ...
taken strides