The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 — 19

This season, the Michigan 

hockey team’s penalty kill has 
been crucial in shutting down 
high ranked opponents. But on 
Thursday, it was a major factor 
in the Wolverines’ downfall. 

Before its second matchup 

against Penn State, Michigan 
had killed 19 of its 22 penalties. 

“We 
have 
faith 
in 
our 

players,” sophomore forward 
Nick Granowicz said on Nov. 20. 
“We practice our penalty kill a 
lot… it’s worked out for us.”

Facing the Nittany Lions, 

though, all of that skill and 
endurance 
seemed 
to 

fade away. The 
Wolverines 
allowed 
Penn 

State to convert 
on four of its 
six power play 
opportunities. 

Michigan 

coach 
Mel 

Pearson felt the 
out of character 
performance was a product 
of both exhaustion and the 
fact that the Wolverines were 
missing two of their best players 
on the penalty kill: junior 
forwards Garrett Van Wyhe and 
Nolan Moyle. 

With the former injured 

and the latter out with a game 
misconduct penalty, Michigan 
had to rely on their less adept 
members of the roster even as 
it continued to give up penalty 
after penalty. 

“We were playing with fire,” 

Pearson said. “And we got 
burned bad.” 

Even 
within 
that 
game, 

there were moments when the 
prowess of Michigan’s penalty 
kill unit came through. 

Two minutes into the first 

period when the Wolverines 
were already down by two, 

junior forward Nolan Moyle 
earned a five-minute major 
penalty for contact to the head. 
With Michigan already in a 
hole, a five-minute power play 
for the Nittany Lions became an 
opportunity for the Wolverines 
to dig themselves deeper. 

The penalty kill unit held 

Penn 
State 
to 
five 
shots, 

allowing Michigan to escape 
unscathed. 

“That was a critical point in 

the game,” Pearson said. “And 
even though we ended up losing 
the game, at that point, it gave 
us a chance to stay in the game.”

The issue isn’t that the 

Wolverines 
can’t 
kill 
their 

penalties, 
but 
that 
they’re 

racking 
up 

too 
many 
to 

begin 
with. 

Michigan 
has 

had a reputation 
throughout the 
years 
as 
one 

of 
the 
most 

disciplined 
teams 
in 
the 

league. 
But 

in 
their 
first 

eight 
games, 

the Wolverines have averaged 
almost 10 minutes with a player 
in the penalty box and one more 
penalty per game than last 
season.

It’s 
an 
issue 
Pearson 

identified right from the start. 
In Michigan’s first game of the 
season, the Wolverines gave 
up seven penalties but only 
allowed Arizona State to get to 
the net on one.

This 
team 
isn’t 
overly 

physical, 
but 
they 
have 
a 

tendency 
to 
make 
small 

mistakes that end up sending 
someone to the box. A perfect 
example came within the first 
game against the Sun Devils. 
Freshman 
forward 
Brendan 

Brisson touched the puck as he 
was released from the penalty, 
drawing an interference call 
that sent him straight back into 

the box. Pearson said he’d never 
seen the penalty in his entire 
coaching career. 

Those 
types 
of 
small, 

technical errors — what Pearson 
calls “tick-tacky penalties” — 
are expected with a young team 
like the Wolverines. But it’s not 
only the freshmen that have 
continued to make the mistakes. 

Other 
than 
Brisson, 
the 

biggest source of penalties have 
been Moyle, junior forward 
Jimmy Lambert and junior 
defenseman Nick Blankenburg. 

Minnesota 
— 
who 
the 

Wolverines will face on Tuesday 
— is dangerous on the power 
play, converting on almost a 
third of its opportunities thus 
far. And with Pearson unsure 
whether Van Wyhe will be 
ready to play, it will be even 
more important for Michigan to 
limit its penalties. 

“We 
can’t 
be 
taking 

penalties,” Pearson said. “If 
we do, we’re just asking for 
trouble.”

Through the Michigan hockey 

team’s first six games, its lines 
remained 
nearly 
unchanged. 

The only alterations were injury 
replacements and rotations in and 
out of the lineup among its lesser 
skaters.

But after being swept by Notre 

Dame a week ago in a series in 
which the Wolverines scored just 
three goals in two games — none 
of which came on the power play 
in three opportunities — and failed 
to generate any momentum in the 
offensive zone, Michigan coach 
Mel Pearson made some significant 
adjustments entering his team’s 
series against Penn State.

Senior forward Jack Becker — 

who played on the Wolverines’ 
second power play unit — came out 
of the lineup, allowing for tweaks 
to both units. While these tweaks 
were small, they paid dividends. 
Michigan generated two goals 

on five power plays against the 
Nittany Lions.

“We just decided because we 

changed the lines up a little bit to 
change units,” Pearson said. “They 
weren’t drastic. … But I thought 
they played well. I thought our 
power play was really good.”

With Becker as a healthy scratch, 

junior forward Jimmy Lambert 
shifted to his spot both at even 
strength and on the power play, 
allowing senior forward Michael 
Pastujov to replace Lambert on the 
top unit.

Pastujov made an immediate 

impact on the man advantage for 
the Wolverines. In the second 
period of their 3-1 win against Penn 
State on Wednesday, he scored an 
impressive goal directly in front of 
the net, faking out the goaltender 
and putting the puck in an open 
net. The goal ended up being the 
deciding tally for Michigan.

“He knows what to do around 

the net,” Pearson said. “He’s got 
some offensive instincts that he 
knows where to go.”

The 
addition 
of 
Pastujov 

added 
another 
dimension 
to 

the Wolverines’ top power play 
unit that at times has seemed 
predictable. Freshman forward 
Brendan Brisson was the focal 
point, with the goal of every power 
play to get him the puck for one-
timers. While Brisson is dangerous 
from the right circle, he only has 
one goal on the man advantage this 
season, a result of opposing teams 
anticipating his shots.

But with Pastujov on that 

unit, Michigan often worked the 
puck into the slot and Pastujov 
generated 
multiple 
dangerous 

chances in addition to his goal. 
Against the Fighting Irish, Pearson 
thought the Wolverines played 
on the perimeter too much on the 
power play, oftentimes trying to 
force feed the puck to Brisson. 
With the shake-up to the top unit, 
Pearson effectively found a way to 
solve this.

And while it didn’t come against 

the Nittany Lions, if Pastujov 
continues to thrive near the net, 
Michigan should be able to get 
more open looks for Brisson.

For the time being, though, that 

will have to wait. Five Wolverines 
are leaving for World Juniors in 
advance of their two games against 
Minnesota, including Brisson and 
three other players on the top unit 
— sophomore forward Johnny 
Beecher, sophomore defenseman 
Cam York and freshman forward 
Thomas 
Bordeleau. 
With 

makeshift lines for the series, 
Michigan may struggle on the 
power play.

“You’re going to see two different 

(units) this weekend, so get used to 
it,” Pearson said. “I’m gonna throw 
it in the blender and mash it up too. 
So you’re gonna kind of see a little 
bit of everything.”

While playing without nearly 

its entire top unit will be less than 
ideal, the Wolverines may have 
found a power play weapon in 
Pastujov that could be key to their 
success on the man advantage for 
the rest of the season.

Power move

Special teams key in Wolverines’ top-five matchup with Minnesota

Turnovers a lingering issue in win

Danielle Rauch let out a sigh 

of relief. 

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team led all but the 
first seven seconds of the game 
in its 82-59 over Wright State. 
To the naked eye it looked like 
the Wolverines — especially 
their offense — was firing on 
all cylinders. The team as a 
whole shot 49 percent from the 
field, including going 7-for-15 
from 3-point range. 

Firing on all cylinders, right? 
Still, Rauch was relieved, 

knowing the ceiling of this 
team. She knew, despite the 
win, the Wolverines didn’t play 
nearly as well as their potential 
suggests. Thanks to sluggish 
starts to the first and second 
halves, the Raiders remained 
in striking distance — cutting 
the deficit to 12 at the end of 
the third quarter — for far too 
long. 

“We just kind of let them 

speed us up a little bit,” Rauch 
said. “We wanted to just kind 
of settle, settle back down, 
get back to running our stuff, 
go back to what was working, 
and just play our game. We 
definitely want to be able to 
put two halves of really great 
basketball 
together 
in 
the 

upcoming conference (games).”

Once 
again, 
despite 

its 
efficient 
offensive 

performance, 
turnovers 

plagued 
Michigan. 
The 

Wolverines 
committed 
18 

turnovers against Wright State, 
adding to their average of 16.75 
turnovers per game. 

But they limited the damage 

done by some poor decision 
making — as they did in two of 
their three other games against 
Oakland and Central Michigan. 
Wright State had just 10 points 
off these turnovers. This was 
partly due to playing better at 
the end of the halves than the 
beginning. It also has to do with 
the lack of competition, outside 
of Notre Dame, they have faced 
thus far. Despite the turnover 
issues, they started the season 

4-0.

Eleven of the 18 turnovers 

forced by the Raiders came off 
steals. Whether it was picking 
the pocket of junior point 
guard Amy Dilk or intercepting 
an errant pass or half-court 
heave, Wright State was quick 
to attack the ball. There were 
ample opportunities to turn 
these steals into fast break 
points, but the Raiders failed to 
do so. This will not be the case 
when Big Ten play starts. 

The 
offensive 
turnovers 

coupled with trouble on the 
defensive 
end, 
specifically 

trouble defending the glass, 
led to some slight miscues. 
Junior forward Naz Hillmon 
typically 
dominates 
both 

ends of the glass, however, 
she was outsized by Wright 
State’s 6-foot-4 center Tyler 
Frierson. Hillmon was boxed 
out 
consistently, 
something 

that doesn’t usually happen, 
and the Raiders dominated the 
offensive boards with 26. 

“(Better 
rebounding) 
as 

well as limiting turnovers, I 
think that’s the biggest thing,” 
Rauch said. “Just kind of really 
honing in on making every 
possession count and taking 
care of basketball.”

This offensive rebounding 

discrepancy can be explained by 
Michigan’s switch to a 2-3 zone 
defense. With non-conference 
competition 
winding 
down, 

the Wolverines wanted to gain 
more experience playing in this 
scheme knowing they would 
give up offensive rebounds. 

“They’re 
a 
team 
that 

dribble penetrates very well,” 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico said. “They got in the 
paint a lot in the first half. 
We wanted to make sure we 
protected the paint and try to 
take away their paint touches. 
We knew we were probably 
going to play them in zone, and 
it was good for us to work on 
that defense as well.”

Some of the sloppy play can 

also be attributed to the team’s 
effort to give their bench 
players meaningful minutes. 
With 
a 
highly 
competitive 

conference 
like 
the 
Big 

Ten, 
giving 
young 
players 

experience early in the season 
could be invaluable. 

“I think we are very deep 

with a lot of experience,” 
Rauch said. “You saw today 
that people gave really great 
minutes. 
Everyone 
works 

extremely hard. We all trust 
each other. We’re only as 
strong as our weakest link. We 
want to make sure that we’re 
a balanced attack from one 
through 13.”

Despite winning by 23 points 

in the end and improving to 4-0 
in the process, with one non-
conference game remaining, 
there are still plenty of kinks 
to work out. This was a win, 
but it also wasn’t against a Big 
Ten quality opponent. The 
Wolverines will need to shore 
up the turnover issue if they 
expect to achieve their goal of 
a Big Ten championship. It’s 
yet to be seen if there will need 
to be more sighs of relief in the 
future.

Michigan beats Wright State, 82-59

Coming off a historic win 

against Notre Dame on Thursday, 
the Michigan women’s basketball 
was confident going into its game 
Sunday against Wright State.

Yet 
the 
Wolverines 
(4-0) 

showed they still have work to do 
in a 82-59 victory over the Raiders 
(0-2).

Wright 
State’s 
inability 
to 

make shots and Michigan’s own 
efficient 
shooting 
saved 
the 

Wolverines from sloppy play — 
turnovers, questionable passing 
and allowing second-chance shots 
on defense.

Junior guard Amy Dilk had a 

momentous first quarter, earning 
the 300th assist of her career. Still, 
as it did against the Fighting Irish, 
Michigan struggled at first with 
turnovers, giving up the ball seven 
times in the first quarter. All told, 
Dilk and junior forward Leigha 
Brown finished with five and four 
turnovers, respectively.

“We let them speed us up a 

little bit,” Rauch said. “We wanted 
to settle back down, get back to 
running our stuff, go back to what 
was working, and just play our 
game.”

Michigan continued to hit their 

shots, though, through the first 
quarter, ending with Dilk finding 
junior guard Danielle Rauch for a 

3-pointer to close it out. 

Down low, the Raiders’ defense 

frustrated junior forward Naz 
Hillmon early on. Starting the 
second quarter with only three 
points, she made up for that slow 
start by going eight-for-eight from 
the line and ending the half with 
14 points and six rebounds.

Hillmon’s 
early 
troubles 

weren’t the only thing indicative 
of Michigan’s struggles under the 
rim. Outrebounded on its own 
glass, Wright State’s 26 offensive 
rebounds led to 26 second-chance 
points. The difference came from 
a Wolverine team experimenting 
with a zone defense for the first 
time this season. 

“We wanted to make sure we 

protected the paint and tried to 
take away their paint touches,” 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico said. “It was better, except 
for the fact that it gave them 
the opportunity to rebound the 
basketball well.”

Standout performances from 

Brown, Dilk and Hillmon in the 
second quarter gave Michigan the 
edge, ending the half with a 48-27 
lead. 

Brown was the difference in 

this matchup, coming into the 
second half buzzing. Whether 
it was a layup or jump shot, her 
versatility in shot making and play 
creation 
furthered 
Michigan’s 

lead. She led the team with 24 

points. 

Brown’s ability to score is 

crucial, but not the only way she 
affects the game. 

“I thought she helped us on the 

rebounding end tonight,” Barnes 
Arico said. “She helped us with 
her toughness and she was able 
to get out and transition a bunch 
with the ball in her hands and 
finish some great plays. She had a 
great night.”

The third quarter came with 

a switch in momentum, with 
the 
Raiders 
outscoring 
the 

Wolverines 19-10 in an attempt at 
a comeback. Wright State had 20 
offensive rebounds going into the 
fourth quarter, while Michigan 
had just eight. 

The 12-point margin heading 

into the final quarter wasn’t as 
large as it should have been on 
paper, but in the final quarter 
the Wolverines at last put their 
struggles behind them. 

“Once we settled in and moved 

the basketball and executed some 
stuff, we had some tremendous 
possessions in the fourth quarter, 
where we really looked good,” 
Barnes Arico said. “I thought that 
was important there. They were 
super physical and tried to take us 
out of what we wanted to do.”

In spite of the flaws Michigan 

came out strong in the fourth and 
found a way to extend its lead, 
putting the game out of reach.

NICK MOEN

Daily Sports Writer

LILY ISRAEL

Daily Sports Writer

LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Editor

JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Michael Pastujov has generated dangerous chances on the power play when stationed near the opposing net.

We were 

playing with 

fire. And we got 

burned bad.

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team overcame sloppy play to blow out Wright State on Sunday.

JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily

Turnovers plagued Michigan all afternoon, though it managed to win.

