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February 19, 2020 - Image 8

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The Michigan Daily

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8A — Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Mann thrives in sweep of Spartans

Monday
night
at
Little
Caesars
Arena,
Michigan
coach Mel Pearson took his
seat at the podium of the media
room and got right to it. Not
long
before,
the
Michigan
hockey team raised a trophy
in celebration of a three-goal
victory over Michigan State at
the Duel in the D. But with the
red carpet rolled and put away,
Pearson became critical and
turned to his team’s fortune.
“I’ll just start off by saying
that
I
thought
we
were
fortunate
tonight,”
Pearson
said. “I didn’t think that was
one of our better efforts, but
we found a way to win the
game.”
And behind the Wolverines’
fortune was Strauss Mann.
Despite Michigan’s 4-1 win,
the
sophomore
goaltender’s
stellar
performance
was
critical. He faced 32 shots
and saved all but one. There
were moments Monday where
it seemed he could stop just
about anything.
With under seven minutes
to go in the second period,
the
Spartan’s
defenseman
Cole Krygier fired the puck
at the left side of the net. The
low slot was crowded, yet
Mann blocked the shot. The
puck immediately bounced to
forward Brody Stevens near
the right side of the crease.
A goal looked inevitable, as
Stevens stared at the gaping
right side. But just as Stevens
swiped his stick at the puck,
Mann fully extended his left
blocker to deny the goal.
And then a few minutes later
Mann was at it again, this time
with an even more sublime
save.
Forward Nicolas Müller got
the puck at the far right side
of the low slot. Mann hovered
at the right edge of the crease,
waiting for the shot. When
it came though, sophomore
forward Garret Van Wyhe

extended his stick to deflect it.
The puck slid to forward
Josh Nodler at the other side of
the slot. Because of the sudden
deflection, Mann was totally
out
of
position.
Everyone
awaited the buzzer, but it
never came. As soon as Nodler
released his shot, Mann dove
across and blocked it with his
stick.
The puck then ricocheted
off his own helmet and headed
back towards the net. It clanked
off the right post and was just
about to slide past the red line
when Mann, who lay flat on
his chest after the initial dive,
and sophomore forward Nolan
Moyle cleared it away.
“Strauss Mann making a
hell of a save for us,” senior
forward Jake Slaker said. “So
that’s good to see.”
Added senior forward Will
Lockwood: “I don’t know how
it stayed out, honestly. He does
that at practice day in and day
out, so you know, we’re kind of
used to it at this point. But you
see it live like that, it’s pretty
spectacular.”
Mann’s .935 overall save
rate has him ranked sixth
in the nation. As one would
expect, that average has had its
variation. He started the new
year hot, saving 95.8 percent of
shots through five conference
games — the series against
Notre Dame and Penn State

plus a Friday game against
Ohio State.
Through the Saturday game
against the Buckeyes plus the
following
weekend’s
series
against
Wisconsin,
Mann
struggled a bit. He gave up 10
goals over those three contests,
saving just 90.3 percent of
shots.
In the most recent series
against the Spartans, though,
Mann was back at the pinnacle
of his game and notched a
stellar .966 save rate. And it
came at a crucial time.
Pearson
mentioned
that
Michigan
State
arrived
in
Detroit the night before, giving
the Spartans time for a practice
skate to be fully prepared
come game time. Michigan, on
the other hand, did not come
early — some of the players
were even taking tests Monday
morning. Thus, switching into
a hockey mindset became more
difficult. Perhaps a result of
this, the Wolverines struggled
with puck possession at times
during the game, especially on
the defensive end.
They were all the more
fortunate to have Mann there
to back them up and lead them
to a signature sweep.
“This has been his best
performance of the second
half tonight,” Pearson said
after Monday’s game. “And we
needed him.”

Injuries pave way for improved depth

At the beginning of the
Michigan
men’s
basketball
team’s season, roster depth
was a serious question swirling
around these Wolverines. It
seemed as if three players —
junior forward Isaiah Livers,
senior
point
guard
Zavier
Simpson and senior center Jon
Teske — would have to carry
the team.
That hasn’t exactly gone
according to plan.
Livers was sidelined with a
groin injury in late December
and reaggravated it against
Illinois a month later. On Sunday
against Indiana, he appeared to
injure his ankle — he’s currently
wearing a boot as a precaution,
and it’s unclear whether he’ll
play at Rutgers on Wednesday.
Simpson was given a one-game
suspension at the beginning of
the month for a traffic violation.
Teske has been slumping lately,
putting up double-digits just
once in the last five games and
shooting 30 percent.
Early in the season, any one
of these could have been a major
problem for Michigan.
Now,
while
missing
production from one of these
three is still less than ideal, the
Wolverines have figured out a
way to get by — and then some,
thanks to their bench play.
“Now that the season has
progressed, and we’ve dealt
with injuries and suspension,
guys have to step up,” Michigan
coach Juwan Howard said.
“That
allowed
guys
like
Brandon Johns, David DeJulius,
and others — Austin Davis, too
— to have a larger role with the
team. I’ve felt we were deep
from the beginning.”
To
bolster
the
interior
offense amid Teske’s struggles,
Michigan has turned to his
fellow senior center, Austin
Davis. Though this is the first
season in which Davis has
seen significant playing time,
he’s been making his presence
known in the last few games.
“Big Country is hooping,”
Livers said, grinning, last week,
referencing Davis’ nickname.

Davis
notched
nine
points
against
both
Indiana
and
Northwestern and a career-
high 11 against Ohio State at
the beginning of the month.
He’s also usually good for
somewhere
between
three
and five rebounds in around 10
minutes a game.
“He’s
improved
so
much,”
Teske
said.
“He’s
always
been
there. He works
hard every day,
and
you
just
want to get him
attempts
here
and there.
“I’m so proud
of
him
and
happy for him. To be able to
get his chance now — he’s been
taking with it and running with
it. These last couple games,
he’s been our sparkplug. I’m so
proud of how hard he’s worked
and what he’s done so far.”
When
Livers
has
been
sidelined, sophomore forward
Brandon Johns, Jr. has stepped
into the starting role. It was a bit
of an adjustment, but Johns has
been finding his stride lately.
He scored 14 points against the
Hoosiers on Sunday and put up
a career-high 20 two weeks ago
against Rutgers in New York,
a performance Michigan will
hope he can repeat when the
Wolverines travel to Piscataway
to face the Scarlet Knights again
on Wednesday.
Howard has been preaching
confidence to Johns all season,
and the results have been clear
in Johns’s game lately. It’s in
the way he carries himself, both
on and off the court: shoulders
squared, head high, eyes clear.
He’s self-assured, and he has
every reason to be. He’s taking
more shots, and more of those
shots are falling.
“He’s been solid all year,
man,” Howard said after the
Indiana game on Sunday. “He
has one of the prettiest jump
shots. I wish I could shoot the
ball back in the day like Brandon.
He’s another guy that comes in
practice and is always trying to
look for ways to improve. We’ve

seen the guy, this season, he’s
just blossoming, game after
game.
“With
this
energy
and
effort, the way how he attacks
the glass, with his force, his
athleticism, and now he’s flying
around, being active, that’s
him. That’s who he is. He’s our
energizer.”
Of
the
three
starters,
Simpson
perhaps
least
requires
a
capable
backup. It’s not
uncommon
for
him to play the
entire
game,
or close to it.
But that hasn’t
been
happening
as
much
lately,
as
sophomore
guard
David DeJulius has taken on
a bigger role — he started at
Nebraska when Simpson was
suspended — and more minutes;
he’s averaging a little over 20
minutes per game.
DeJulius
is
making
the
most of that time. He’s finding
opportunities
for
himself,
putting up 10 points against
Michigan State while facing
Cassius Winston, one of the
best point guards in college
basketball. But in true point
guard form, he’s also starting
to find them for his teammates;
he
had
seven
assists
at
Northwestern last week.
“I’m
trying
to
make
improvements each and every
day,” DeJulius said. “Being more
confident in that leadership
role, just in case (Simpson) goes
down, or gets in foul trouble,
or for any reason, it’s just being
able to be prepared for the
moment. I feel like being able to
make plays not only for myself
but for my teammates has
always been my game.”
Obviously, Michigan would
like to have Simpson, Livers
and Teske at their best. But
going forward, if that’s not the
case for whatever reason, the
Wolverines are in good hands.
This bench, shaped by the
adversity of a midseason slump,
is more than prepared to bolster
the team going forward.

Hajjar shows value in quality start

As Steven Hajjar boarded
the bus for the half hour drive
between Salt River Fields and
the Phoenix Municipal Stadium,
his adrenaline was pumping and
his nerves were racing.
The
left-handed
redshirt
freshman had waited a year for
his first start after a knee injury
sidelined him last season, but on
Saturday he was given only 30
minutes to prepare.
Because
the
Michigan
baseball team made an already
challenging week even harder by
adding a game against then-No.
3 Arizona State, the Wolverines
were forced to expedite their
pregame routine and skip their
scouting report.
“I was waiting a long time to
go out there and play with the
guys,” Hajjar said. “(I) got to
watch all last year all the success.
It was great to finally be a part
of it and be out there with the
guys. Obviously Arizona State is
a really good team.”
The odds were stacked against
Hajjar. He was facing a team
with some of the top hitters in
the country in his first collegiate
start while the defense behind
him was about to play in the
second game of a double header.
Hajjar was nervous — and
rightfully so.
But the lefty delivered a
performance that put all of his
prior nerves at ease.
In his first opportunity to
prove his worth and show his
potential to earn a spot in the

rotation,
Hajjar
pitched
six
innings and did not allow a single
run.
After the Sun Devils got three
quick outs in the top of the first,
Hajjar struck out the first two
batters he faced — two up, two
down.
Even more impressive given
who the second batter was —
Arizona State’s junior Spencer
Torkelson. He is also known as
the No. 1 college prospect in the
2020 MLB draft, according to
Baseball America, and a two-
time unanimous All-American.
The Pac 12 home run leader
from
a
year
ago
struck
out
swinging.
Arizona State’s
biggest
threat
was neutralized.
All
said
and
done, Torkelson
would go 0-for-3
on the day with
a walk.
With the help
of what Hajjar
described as an “absolute brick
wall” of a defense behind him,
the first inning was over. The
nerves were lessened and Hajjar
began to grow more and more
comfortable with each inning.
Despite growing more relaxed
throughout his outing, his game
plan remained steady and simple.
“I just try and go out there and
throw strikes as best I can and
compete,” Hajjar said.
A simple game plan, but one
that he followed with great
accuracy. Over the course of six
innings, Hajjar faced 23 batters

and only threw 87 pitches. That’s
good for an average of 3.78
pitches per batter.
After losing starting pitchers
Tommy
Henry
and
Karl
Kauffmann last year — putting
a major hold in the pitching
rotation — Hajjar proved that
he has the ability to get outs
against some of the best hitters
in the country in a high-pressure
environment.
The
biggest
question coming in to the season
is replacing the second spot.
Hajjar isn’t expected to become
Michigan’s ace, a spot most likely
saved for junior right-hander
Jeff Criswell, but
he
showed
on
Saturday that he
has the abilities
to
be
a
solid
weekend starter
and
possibly
become the No. 2
guy.
The
first
inning went as
well as anyone
could
have
expected. But the true impact
of Hajjar’s debut came when
he faced adversity in the later
innings. In the second inning,
allowing a walk and a hit with
two outs, Hajjar earned his
third K of the day, stranding two
runners on base.
In the fifth inning, with the
Wolverines leading 2-0, Hajjar
allowed
two
singles
and
a
sacrifice bunt to advance both
runners into scoring position
with only one out. However, the
Sun Devils were unable to make
strong contact with the ball. The
next two batters flew out to end
the inning.
Hajjar’s seven strikeouts and
three hits propelled him to win
his first Big Ten Freshman of
the Week and Big Ten Pitcher
of the Week awards. His four
pitch repertoire of low 90 MPH
fastballs, slider, circle changes
and curveballs proved to be
nearly unhittable for some of the
best batters in the country.
With only 30 minutes to
prepare, Hajjar couldn’t have
asked for a better start. There’s
no telling what his ceiling might
be given more time to prepare.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Sophomore forward Brandon Johns, Jr. has been part of a revamped bench for Michigan in recent weeks.

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer

LILY ISRAEL
Daily Sports Writer

I wish I could
shoot a ball
back in the day
like (Johns).

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann has excelled in Michigan’s hot stretch.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Erik Bakich received a boost with Steven Hajjar’s quality start Saturday.

I was waiting a
long time to go
out there and
play.

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