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.