In an extraordinary year, the
Michigan hockey team looked like it
might make it to the end.
Everything
the
world
could
have
thrown at the
Wolverines,
it
did. An insanely
long
offseason.
An
athletic
department-
wide shutdown.
A season-ending injury. At each turn,
they’ve proven time and again that
they’re capable of playing through
unprecedented
circumstances.
Sitting as a two seed and the No. 8
team in the country, they had a real
shot to make some noise in the NCAA
Tournament.
But on Friday, just hours before
the puck dropped on its first game,
Michigan was forced to withdraw
from the NCAA Tournament due to
COVID-19 protocols.
Before anything else, let’s put this
into perspective.
The
Wolverines
have
been
practicing since July. According
to coach Mel Pearson, the team
hadn’t had a single case of COVID-
19 between then and the Big Ten
Tournament. In that span, Michigan
went through some rough patches
performance-wise, but ultimately
entered the postseason with a
respectable 15-10-1 record and playing
some of its best hockey.
Then, in an instant, it was over.
For the senior class especially, it’s
downright tragic. For the second
straight season, they’ve had a
promising
postseason
campaign
suddenly
and
unceremoniously
wiped out by the pandemic.
“The first time was really tough
last year, because it was so sudden, and
everybody’s healthy, and there’s no
issues,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson
said. “Once we found out there was an
issue within our program (this week),
you know, all bets are off. I think there
was some real concern amongst our
team.”
Last season, nothing could’ve kept
the season from ending the way it
did. It was the very beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United
States. A shutdown of college sports
was, at the time, inevitable. But this
year? It was entirely avoidable.
As with virtually everything else
the NCAA has done in 2020 and
2021, the plan for how to approach
the college hockey postseason fell
woefully short. According to the
NCAA’s Return to Championship
Guidelines, players were expected to
test negative prior to departing for the
tournament, then test negative again
upon arrival. Any player who tested
positive would be sent to a designated
quarantine location for 14 days, along
with any close contacts.
But
disease
detection
is
not
disease
prevention.
The
expectation, apparently, was that
the 16 teams would all arrive at their
respective regional sites and simply
have no positive tests. Or, if there
were positive tests, they would
just be limited to a few players and
not cause problems with contact
tracing. That worked for 14 teams,
but for three others, there was no
backup plan.
Sure, there’s no way to completely
eliminate the risks involved with
playing a tournament during a
pandemic, but there are definitely
ways to mitigate them.
One such way is a mandatory
quarantine period, a protocol that
the NCAA has bafflingly refused to
implement for any of its tournaments.
It’s really not that complicated: Have
everyone arrive one to two weeks
before games are scheduled to start to
prevent outside contact, test everyone
each day and isolate anyone who tests
positive.
Sure, there would be logistical
hurdles, and there’s no guarantee
a quarantine period would have
prevented Michigan’s removal from
the tournament. But it’s hard to argue
that it wouldn’t have helped at this
stage. It should have happened for
the men’s and women’s basketball
tournaments, and it should have
happened for hockey.
“Absolutely. (A quarantine period)
would
have
absolutely
helped,”
Pearson said. “Now, do I think we
should do that across all sports? That’s
above my paygrade, but it absolutely
would have helped. Or similar to
basketball, they go into a bubble. But I
know with expenses, and everything
else that’s going on — again, that’s way
above my paygrade.”
In response to a request for
comment,
NCAA
associate
director of communications Greg
Johnson referred to the Return
to Championship Guidelines, the
NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Group
and the Resocialization to College
Sports page.
Pearson
may
have
also
inadvertently hit on a major issue
at play: money. Namely, men’s
basketball draws national attention
and, thus, brings in more money.
Of course, the March Madness
bubble in Indianapolis has its own
problems, but at least they have a
bubble.
For more context, the men’s
basketball tournament had one
team out of 68 drop out because
of
COVID-19.
For
the
men’s
hockey tournament? Three of 17
involved teams have withdrawn.
If the approach for basketball was
imperfect, the plan for hockey was
unacceptable.
Part of that comes from a lack
of central guidance. For most of
the college hockey season, each
conference has had its own health
and safety guidelines and protocols,
and that didn’t change leading up to
the tournament. Lacking consistent
standards across conferences for
testing and dealing with positives
can cause confusion for coaches and
players trying to navigate playing
hockey during a pandemic.
“I sure wish we could’ve used the
Big Ten protocols,” Pearson said. “…
I can’t even tell you what they are in
the NCAA.”
But at the end of the day, there’s
no incentive for the NCAA to fix
its problems. It’s college hockey
— there’s no massive TV audience
missing the games, no national
media calling the league out for
its failure. If the players spoke out
about the protocols, they might
make a few rounds on Twitter, or
have some student papers or college
hockey blogs write on it, but that’s
about it.
And that’s a damn shame, because
the players are affected all the same,
regardless of the popularity of the
sport. Just ask Michigan’s seniors.
Roose can be reached at rooseb@
umich.edu
or
on
Twitter
@
brendanroose.
How Michigan’s season ended
Leigha Brown comes up just short for Michigan
About
four
hours
before
the
Michigan
hockey
team’s
scheduled
NCAA
Tournament
game against Minnesota-Duluth,
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
got a call from assistant sports
administrator Josh Richelew. He
knew the news wouldn’t be good.
Richelew
informed
Pearson
that the game would be canceled
due to a positive COVID-19 test
and contact tracing within the
Wolverines’
travelling
party.
While Pearson was disappointed,
it didn’t come as much of a surprise
given the events that transpired in
the days leading up to Michigan’s
departure for Fargo.
The Wolverines hadn’t had a
positive COVID-19 test since the
beginning of July, but prior to
leaving for Fargo on Tuesday, a
Michigan player was left behind
due to COVID concerns.
“At that point, we knew we
could have some issues,” Pearson
said.
But
when
the
Wolverines
arrived, every member of their
travelling party tested negative,
and Michigan athletic trainer
Brian Brewster took measures to
ensure that the team would have
no further issues.
Brewster
determined
which
players were cleared to practice in
North Dakota and made additional
hotel arrangements to limit close
contacts between players. But even
though everyone with the program
attempted to keep the Wolverines
safe in order to allow them to play,
Pearson clearly had some doubts.
“We’re here,” Pearson said
following Michigan’s practice on
Thursday. “Between our athletic
training department and our
sports medicine department, they
just tell me … if we’re good to go. …
I hope they get to play.”
Later that day, another cloud
was cast over the game’s status
when another player experienced
COVID-19
symptoms,
and
a
subsequent test came back positive,
putting the status of Friday’s game
in question. But even at that point,
Pearson believed that Michigan
had enough healthy players to
field a team.
“At that point we thought we
were still in good shape,” Pearson
said. “We had 24-25 healthy
guys who were testing regularly
and had no issues. But obviously
that wasn’t good enough for the
NCAA.”
Despite the positive test, the
Wolverines went to sleep on
Thursday believing that they would
take the ice against the bulldogs
on Friday. Prior to Pearson’s
conversation with Richelew, the
players were in their hotel rooms,
preparing for the game like they
would on any other game day,
preparing to leave Scheels Arena
at 12:45.
But at 11:30, Pearson called a
team meeting to inform his players
of the cancellation. According to
him, the team already suspected the
bad news to come. While the team
was disheartened, Pearson said
they handled it well — especially
the seniors, whose college careers
may have just come to an end
following two consecutive seasons
with abrupt finishes.
“I think initially just shock,”
Pearson said. “Then comes the
disappointment obviously about
the future, what the future holds.
The first time was really tough last
year, because it was so sudden. I
think once we found out there was
an issue within our program, our
team, then … there was some real
concern amongst our team. But I
think they’ll move forward quickly.
They’re young, and they have to.
We can’t change what’s happened,
but we have a say in what’s going to
happen in the future and how we
react to it.”
Put simply, Michigan’s season
came to a devastating end on
Friday following a hectic week. In a
season full of uncertainty due to the
ongoing pandemic, the Wolverines
largely avoided any COVID-19
related issues. But at the worst
possible time, it all came crashing
down.
“I just wish we could have
completed the journey,” Pearson
said. “Or at least had the opportunity
to compete on the ice.
“It just is a real shallow feeling
to be beaten by COVID.”
Leigha Brown dribbled down
the lane after catching the ball off
the inbounds pass. Forgoing her
signature mid-range jumper, the
junior wing brought the ball all the
way down to the block for a layup.
The ball rolled out of her hands
and into the hoop with just 19
seconds left in overtime. Down
by three, the Michigan women’s
basketball team needed someone to
step up and make a big play. Brown,
like she’d done all second half, was
the one to do so.
Though the No. 6 seed Wolverines
would end up losing 78-75 to No. 2
seed Baylor, Brown’s second half
nearly powered them to another
upset.
In
the
Sweet
16
matchup,
Michigan needed its offense firing
on all cylinders. Early on, the offense
fell flat, relying solely on junior
forward Naz Hillmon.
Facing an aggressive Baylor
defense,
Brown
had
struggled
throughout the first half to play a
big offensive role. Typically the one-
two punch with Hillmon, Michigan
needed Brown to step up in the
second half to help turn the tide.
Coming out of halftime, Brown
did just that. As the Bears continued
to
double
down
on
Hillmon,
Michigan needed someone else to
produce on offense, as has been the
case so many times this season.
Brown started the second half
with just four points. She ended
the game with 23. Flaunting her
signature mid-range jumper, Brown
created space for herself on offense.
“Obviously all of you guys see the
offense that she brings to the floor,”
Hillmon said. “When I’m drawing
a lot of attention, her eyes light up …
she takes over any chance that she
has the opportunity to.”
Pushing the ball in transition,
Brown racked up some transition
points, alongside a clutch 3-pointer
late in the second half. She also
went 4-for-4 from the free-throw
line, most of which came on driving
layups in the lane.
Up until the end of the game,
Baylor led the Wolverines, gaining
a 12 point lead early in the first half.
Throughout the second half, the
Bears struggled to hold onto their
lead as Brown continued to light up
their defense.
“You guys see how special she is,”
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico
said. “Such a dynamic 1-2 punch
with her and Naz and so many
teams just focus on Naz that it really
opened things up for Leigha. She’s an
incredible, incredible player. She’s a
competitor.”
At the end of overtime, after a
Baylor player stepped out of bounds
with the ball, Michigan had one last
chance to salvage the game.
Cutting toward the inbounder,
Brown received the pass a couple
feet behind the 3-point arc. With 0.9
seconds left on the clock, Brown only
had time to turn and shoot over her
defender. Chucking up a shot that
narrowly missed the rim, Brown
could only stand and watch as the ball
landed on the court and time ran out.
Brown might have carried the
Wolverines through the second half,
but when push came to shove, Brown
just wasn’t enough.
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Editor
ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Writer
EMMA MATI/Daily
COVID-related issues within Michigan’s program prevented the Wolverines from facing Minnesota-Duluth on
Friday, putting a premature end to their season.
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
After over seven months without a positive COVID-19 test, the Wolverines left Fargo without playing a single
postseason game.
The NCAA messed up. Michigan’s players are paying the price.
BRENDAN
ROOSE
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
14 — Wednesday, March 31, 2021
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