The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 — 7
Scraping
for
control,
Michigan
struggled
with
Minnesota-Duluth’s
offense
early on. The Bulldogs kept the
puck all over the ice, and the
Wolverines couldn’t force it
away from them.
That all changed with five
minutes left in the first period.
The
puck
nowhere
in
sight,
senior
defenseman
Nick
Blankenburg
took
a
massive strike to the head as
Duluth forward Noah Cates
rammed an elbow up high into
Blankenburg.
The
Bulldogs
earned a major penalty and
Cates was thrown out of the
game.
Before
the
hit,
Duluth
dominated. That all came to a
halt when Blankenburg fell to
the ice, and Michigan would
go on to win, 5-1. Unclipping
his helmet and failing to stand
up straight, the captain’s game
seemed to be over.
“Nick is a really strong
kid,” senior forward Garrett
Van Wyhe said. “After that
hit it woke us up because we
were flat footed in the first 10.
Seeing his determination to
get back out there really got us
going.”
The Wolverines looked to
capitalize on the power play
and
avenge
Blankenburg’s
strike. With an opportunity to
change the trajectory of the
game, Michigan needed to take
full advantage.
With 40 seconds left on the
clock, freshman defenseman
Luke Hughes found the puck
wide left of the goal, tying
the game 1-1. Michigan tied
the game, but in that moment
found a sense of resolve.
The hit turned the game
around.
“They took a major penalty
which was a turning point in
the game,” Michigan coach Mel
Peason said. “We scored there.
To get the first one was huge
and then we took over the game
in the second period.”
The Wolverines went on
to
outshoot
the
Bulldogs
30-11 in the second period.
Michigan
scored
midway
through the second period
through sophomore forward
Brendan
Brisson.
By
then
the Wolverines had the game
firmly in their grasp as Van
Wyhe and sophomore forward
Matty Beniers each scored.
Duluth, on the other hand,
couldn’t take advantage of
their own power plays, going
0-for-4 as Michigan embraced
a gritty mentality.
Should Blankenburg have
reacted differently, that all
could have ended differently.
In a situation where most
players would retaliate against
the Bulldogs, Blankenburg’s
experience showed. He got
back on the ice and played his
role.
“You get your emotions going
in the games, but Blankenburg
is as tough as they come,”
Pearson said. “He wanted to go
out and I wanted to make sure
we sat him for a shift or two …
he’s a competitor, a warrior and
you want him on your team.”
The captain proved his grit
on the night. Returning to the
ice after the hit, Blankenburg
led the charge and made clean
passes tape to tape. He kept
his composure in Michigan’s
biggest game of the year.
Michigan started the game
slow,
but
Blankenburg’s
response to the dangerous
hit set an example that the
Wolverines could look to the
rest of the game. Michigan
needed
its
leader
in
its
biggest game this season, and
Blankenburg delivered.
Major penalty provides spark in
Ice Breaker semifinals
Michigan manages mistakes in
comeback victory over Minnesota State
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Michigan senior defenseman Nick Blankenburg navigated his team to take advantage of opponents’ mistakes.
NICK MOEN
Daily Sports Writer
Eli Brooks and Zeb Jackson
not practicing
While teammates stretched
and
shot
around,
fifth-year
senior guard Eli Brooks and
sophomore guard Zeb Jackson
stood off to the side.
Brooks’ sported a walking
boot on his left foot, with the
injury announced as a mild
sprain. When asked whether it
would affect him longer term
and possibly bleed into the start
of the regular season, Brooks
replied matter-of-factly:
“I’m not going to miss any
games or anything.”
Jackson was out with an illness
rather than an injury, a team
spokesperson said on Friday.
His symptoms were enough to
prevent him from practicing, but
not enough to keep him home
and away from his teammates.
This resulted in senior guard
Adrien Nunez lining up on
defense with what appeared
to be the first-teamers, while
freshman guards Kobe Bufkin,
Frankie
Collins,
and
Isaiah
Barnes stood on the offensive
side of the ball.
Caleb Houstan is as advertised
On the topic of freshman,
forward Caleb Houstan showed a
glimpse of what he might bring to
this Michigan team.
In shootaround before the start
of practice, Houstan drained shot
after shot from mid-range and a
significant portion from beyond
the arc. In the team’s first drill, a
passing exercise, Houstan looked
smooth and natural. In the few
times the Wolverines messed up
and were forced to restart the
drill, Houstan wasn’t anywhere
near the ball.
Where he showed a flash of
what made him 247Sport’s No.
10 nationally ranked recruit was
in a mobile catch and shoot drill.
It called for players running
from baseline to elbow and
back again after each shot for
a minute straight. Each time
Caleb’s turn came, he drew the
gaze of the media. Shot after shot
fell through the hoop, making it
seem like Houstan would have to
try harder to miss a shot than he
would to make one.
“He shoots the lights out,”
Collins
said
at
Michigan
media day on Friday. “I mean I
personally, when I walk around
the gym and locker room, I call
him Klay Thompson.”
Houstan
showed
reporters
what Collins meant when he
said that on Friday. Though, it
is important to remember that
Houstan was not being guarded
during the drill, and once defense
is factored in, his efficiency
is guaranteed to drop. Still,
Houstan displayed his natural
talent, and it was something that
you couldn’t help but recognize.
A new-look Terrance Williams
II
When
sophomore
forward
Terrance Williams II took the
court,
he
looked
noticeably
slimmer.
His
6-foot-7
frame
presented itself as that of a
more agile small forward than
a bruiser who could throw
themselves around down low.
The
transformation
was
intentional on Williams’ part,
and encompassed a large part of
his offseason plan.
“Over the offseason, I ate. I
changed my eating habits. That’s
really what it was,” Williams
said. “Constantly eating greens
like vegetables, I didn’t eat a lot
last year. … It’s all paying off now
because I feel it. I feel better now
and I’m gonna continue to do my
diet. It’s working now, staying
disciplined”
Paired
with
a
workout
regimen that aligned with his
goals, Williams has shed 10
pounds, dropping from 240 to
230 entering the season.
But his transformation doesn’t
appear to be limited only to his
physical
attributes.
Williams’
jump shot looked a lot smoother
than the one he touted last year,
and he, too, shot at a very high
clip during the catch-and-shoot
drill.
“Terrance,
especially,
I’ve
seen his jump shot improve
tremendously,” senior forward
Brandon Johns Jr. said. “There’s
a lot more consistency.”
If Williams can find that
consistency in games, it will be a
boon to this Michigan team, and
It’s something that will be crucial
for his ability to find minutes in
the upcoming season.
Big men stretch the floor
At this point, it’s still all
speculative. Without watching
an intra-team scrimmage, drills
that
incorporated
full-speed
defenders or a game, it’s hard to
make any definitive conclusions.
That being said, freshman
big man Moussa Diabate and
sophomore
big
man
Hunter
Dickinson were sinking shots left
and right.
Diabate,
especially,
looked
talented. On the hoop where
he spent the majority of open
practice, it seemed he was
running
through
shooting
drills more than anyone else
on the floor. He hit shots from
the baseline, the elbow and
deeper shots closer to the arc.
In
warmups,
he
practiced
floaters from the free throw line,
making a meaningful amount of
them. At 6-foot-11, any kind of
shooting presence that he brings
could prove to be a problem for
opposing defenses.
“It’s just unbelievable what he
can do out there on the court,”
Johns said. “It surprises me all
the time.”
In another part of the court,
Dickinson participated in the
same drills. From the baseline,
he was banking his shots off the
backboard and in on most of the
ones he took. He also made a high
percentage from shots closer to
the perimeter.
Dickinson has been looking to
add a jump shot to his game to
take it to the next level. The work
he’s put in during the offseason
was apparent on Friday, and
truly becoming somewhat of a
shooting threat will be necessary
for his prospective NBA career.
“I think just the three pointers
are probably the biggest thing
that (NBA) teams want to see out
of me,” Dickinson said.
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
For Hire: Wayne, Oakland,
Washtenaw and parts of Livingston
County Area Salesperson
Contact: Paul Montgomery
Email: ccbrick@comcast.net
Phone: (248) 683-1300
Cadillac Brick Co
• Eager to learn about Brick Sales and industry
• No degree required
• Takes initiative and is organized
• Background in reading home prints to assess a
house a bonus asset
With the score tied at two apiece and the clock
dwindling, the Michigan hockey team transitioned out
of its defensive end with speed. As sophomore forward
Thomas Bordeleau cradled the puck, Minnesota State
defenseman Benton Maase tried to lift his stick, with
both of them angling towards the boards.
Using his body to block the defense, Bordeleau
gained one step, two step, then passed the puck into the
wheelhouse of sophomore forward Brendan Brisson.
With a snappy one-timer, Brisson turned a momentary
lapse by Maase into the game-winning goal.
“(Bordeleau’s) a really smart, cerebral offensive
player,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “You could
see that all the way and that’s a big time play … by both
those guys.”
Minor mistakes like Maase’s would go unnoticed
against most teams, but there was little breathing
room between two of the nation’s top teams. In a clash
of skilled teams, the Wolverines’ fate hinged on how
they managed those opportunities — both their own
and those of the Mavericks.
Michigan made mistakes early on in the form of
unforced penalties, which negated many of its rushes.
From a call on sophomore defenseman Owen Power
for indirect contact to the head, to a tripping call on
senior forward Jimmy Lambert, the Wolverines shot
themselves in the foot when they mounted quality
attacks.
Michigan handled these kills well by keeping its
structure and cutting off passing lanes, but those
shorthanded minutes also gave the Mavericks plenty
of time with the puck. That limited the Wolverines’
scoring opportunities and it allowed Minnesota State
to keep Michigan’s high-power offense far away from
its goal.
The Mavericks also gleaned a goal off of a hooking
penalty by senior forward Jimmy Lambert. Minnesota
State defenseman Akito Hirose pinched along the
boards to extend his team’s attack after a clear from
senior defenseman Nick Blankenburg. Soon after,
Hirose fired the puck on net and his rebound met the
Mavericks’ forward Ryan Sandelin for a goal.
“It hit my skate and then he was able to get the shot
off,” Blankenburg said. “So I think in general, we’ve just
got to be harder on pucks and harder to play against up
front, especially against teams who work so hard.”
That kind of play wouldn’t stand out much against
weaker teams, but it gave Minnesota State time to
regain its attack and get a lead heading into the second
intermission. Michigan realized it couldn’t afford to
make further mistakes, and it tightened up its game
accordingly in the next period.
But the Wolverines’ performance didn’t just revolve
around mitigating their own gaffes. In such a close
contest, they also took plenty of shots off of mistakes
by the Mavericks.
Small shifts in positioning led to big results for the
Wolverines as open skaters generated offense. On
Thomas Bordeleau’s game-tying goal four minutes into
the third, he cycled the puck to freshman defenseman
Jacob Truscott on the point and skated unnoticed
to the left side of the Mavericks goaltender Dryden
McKay, where he would tip the puck into the net for
Minnesota State’s defense played well in their own
end, winning back the puck with ease for the better
part of the game. However, positioning errors like the
Bordeleau goal and poorly timed plays like the Maase
stick lift gave Michigan a window to grab a close win.
That’s nothing new after the Wolverines’ win on
Friday, but the pressure of a close score exacerbated
every mistake. Whoever blinked first could dictate the
game winner, and that energy radiated through every
decision both teams made.
Michigan played a game in which tiny errors led to
some of its biggest moments. If the Wolverines benefit
off those tiny errors like they did Saturday, that bodes
well for a team that just grabbed both the Ice Breaker
trophy and national attention.
JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Freshman forward Caleb Houstan showed off his silky shot at media day.
NICK STOLL
Daily Sports Writer
Four biggest takeaways from the Wolverines’ preseason open practice
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Senior defenseman Nick Blankenburg received a high hit in the first period that ignited a spirited Michigan.