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.