KALAMAZOO,
MICH.
—
Senior forward Jimmy Lambert
stood anxiously in the box,
primed to bolt onto the ice as
his minor penalty expired. As
his skates hit the ice, the puck
careened off the boards in front
of him and he found himself in
the play just like he’d prepared
for.
But as he found the puck on
his stick, the imposing figure of
Western Michigan defenseman
Aidan Fulp loomed over him.
Taking the hit and passing the
puck out behind him, Lambert
connected
with
sophomore
defenseman Owen Power, on
a breakaway with a golden
opportunity.
“Just
chip
the
puck
by,
absorb the hit, take the hit, keep
the puck moving,” Michigan
coach Mel Pearson said. “We
talked about that a lot today …
Western’s gonna step up and hit
you, you had to just make sure
you kept chipping.”
Power’s shot rang off the post,
but it marked a turning point in
the Wolverines’ approach to
facing the Broncos’ physical
game. They forged a newfound
poise
against
Western
Michigan’s heavy checking in
Saturday’s overtime win
Michigan
hadn’t
faced
a
true, grinding performance all
season. The closest it came was
against Minnesota-Duluth, but
that faded after the first period.
The Broncos kept it up all 62
minutes of the game.
Western
Michigan’s
play
centered around its ability to hit
hard and often, many of those
coming from its big defensemen.
For a speedy, finesse-oriented
group like the Wolverines, the
Broncos’ disruptive presence
proved a significant challenge.
Some
of
Michigan’s
adaptation came from the units
Pearson put on the ice. After
the Wolverines’ highly skilled
forwards
like
sophomore
forwards Matty Beniers and
Kent Johnson struggled to find
space in the first period, Pearson
sent the bottom six out to wear
down the Broncos.
Two key players in this were
senior forwards Garrett Van
Wyhe and Nolan Moyle. Two
of the most physical presences
on the Michigan roster, they
absorbed
many
of
Western
Michigan’s hits and threw a few
of their own. After countering a
zone entry from the Broncos by
standing up their forecheckers,
the duo opened up space for the
Wolverines’ second goal.
“Coming into their barn, we
knew it was gonna be a physical
one, especially after last night,”
Moyle said. “We’ve got a lot of
skill on this team, but just giving
it right back to them, trying to
grab as much as we could is what
we tried to stick with.”
The Broncos’ early hits caught
the Wolverines off guard, but
as the game progressed they
became
more
comfortable
taking them. Like the Lambert
play, they held the puck long
enough to make a play and paid a
physical price for that additional
time. Making that trade paid off
as Michigan created high danger
chances when it got the puck.
That comfort also limited the
grade-A chances that Western
Michigan tried to force through
its hitting. With eight minutes
left in the second period, two
Broncos
chased
sophomore
defenseman
Jacob
Truscott
behind the Wolverines’ net.
Truscott cradled the puck while
taking a hard hit, buying time
for a teammate to grab the puck
and clear it. What could have
been a goal against turned into
nothing.
“It ultimately comes down
to compete, your will and want
for it,” Moyle said. “We really
settled in and started competing
and taking some hits from them.
And at that point, working hard,
our skill will take over.”
But Michigan still struggled
with
Western
Michigan’s
checking. On both power play
goals for the Broncos, they
battled for territory in front of
the net. Sophomore goaltender
Erik Portillo couldn’t see the
puck through these screens, and
Western capitalized with goals.
The same screens almost cost
the Wolverines the game with
1:42 left, but the goal was called
back for a high tip.
Michigan fared poorly against
Western Michigan’s physicality
early on, but it adjusted on the
fly to counter their aggressive
style. Its performance was far
from perfect, but it’s a step in
the right direction to round out
its skilled style.
Entering the overtime period
in Sunday’s matchup between the
Michigan women’s soccer team
(12-3-3 overall, 6-2-2 Big Ten)
and Maryland (4-9-5, 0-7-3), it
seemed as if the Wolverines had
been cursed. In its final regular
season game, Michigan nearly
tripled the Terrapins’ shot total
and quadrupled their shots on
target. They dominated possession
and created opportunity after
opportunity in Maryland’s box.
They even hit the goalpost on
three separate occasions.
Despite controlling play, the
Wolverines found themselves on
the verge of losing both the game
and their home field advantage
in the upcoming Big Ten playoffs.
But, these fears were soon quelled,
as Michigan emerged victorious
with a goal just thirty seconds into
sudden death overtime, winning
2-1.
“I thought we played really
really well today,” Michigan coach
Jennifer Klein said. “It’s nice to get
the result and get a goal for all of
the opportunities and really nice
soccer that we had.”
On paper, the game didn’t look
like it would require overtime.
The Terrapins entered Sunday’s
matchup winless in conference
play and in last place in the Big
Ten. Yet despite their lackluster
season record, Maryland started
the game strong and put Michigan
on the back foot early.
After
about
10
minutes,
however, the game began to ebb
in the Wolverines favor. Michigan
looked
dominant
offensively,
forcing the Terrapins deep into
their own half. The game’s scoring
opened in the 30th minute when
graduate defender Alia Martin
played a ball to senior midfielder
Raleigh Loughman in the right
side of the box. Loughman took
the ball, and casually approached
Maryland goalkeeper Liz Brucia
before chipping it over her head
and into the left corner of the net
for her second goal in two games.
“Raleigh’s a player that has a
good work rate,” Klein said. “But
she also organizes and has good
sophistication.
I
think
you’re
starting to see those goals because
of the places she’s getting into and
the quality of her execution.”
After the goal, the Wolverines
maintained
their
momentum,
nearly adding to their lead in
the 32nd minute when senior
midfielder Meredeth Haakenson
fired a shot from close range
that rammed into the crossbar
before bouncing harmlessly away.
Just a minute later, another ball
was crossed to Haakenson, who
headed it directly towards the
goal, where it once again hit the
woodwork, this time bouncing off
of the left post.
Michigan entered halftime up
only one goal, though clearly the
game’s aggressor. But Maryland
didn’t give up easily and opened
the second half with an early goal
from forward Mikayla Dayes,
tying the game at one all. The
Wolverines bounced back and
regained control of the contest,
putting
intense
pressure
on
Maryland and creating several
major opportunities.
In the 58th minute, sophomore
forward Kacey Lawrence received
a
ball
from
Loughman
and
rocketed it off of the crossbar.
In the 63rd minute, freshman
midfielder Avery Kalitta collected
a rebound with Brucia out of
position and shot at a wide open
net, but the Terrapins defenders
stopped the ball on the goal line to
keep the game tied.
The remainder of the second
half played out with the Wolverines
thoroughly in control and getting
ever closer to putting the ball in
the back of the net, but never quite
being able to finish the job. Time
after time, the Wolverines put
themselves in excellent positions
to score, only to be denied by
either luck, miscommunications or
brilliant last-second defensive play
from the Terrapins.
“I think we did a really
good job with our one touches
throughout the box, but we also
need to capitalize on just shooting
it,” fifth-year midfielder Nicki
Hernandez said.
Despite
their
dominance,
Michigan was forced to enter a
sudden death overtime period
and face the possibility of losing
its home field advantage in the
conference tournament.
This fear lasted exactly thirty
seconds,
before
Hernandez
charged down the left sideline and
fired a shot from distance that flew
into the right corner of the net over
a diving Brucia, ending the game
and giving Hernandez her sixth
goal of the season and her first goal
in 10 games.
Ironically, the shot that won the
game for the Wolverines wasn’t
even intended to be on net.
“I was actually trying to cross
it,” Hernandez said, “So it had
a little bend into the goal, but it
worked out.”
Much like Hernandez’s shot,
the matchup didn’t go exactly
as expected for Michigan. But
worked out in the end, giving the
Wolverines a boost heading into
the postseason.
With the game fully in hand
midway through the fourth quarter,
the Michigan defense lined up for
one last 4th-and-1.
In a microcosm of Northwestern’s
offense for the day, quarterback
Carl Richardson fumbled the snap.
Out of the ensuing scrum, senior
edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson
emerged with the ball, celebrating
as if he’d just won the game for the
Wolverines.
The recovery, of course, had no
impact on the game whatsoever.
Michigan already led, 33-7 — which
would ultimately be the final score
— and the fumble occurring on
fourth down meant the Wildcats
couldn’t advance the ball anyway.
But for Hutchinson, that didn’t
matter. The recovery reflected
his play on every down: fierce,
unrelenting and mind-bogglingly
quick for his size. His unique level
of talent makes him a nightmare for
any opposing offense, whether or
not he’s actually dragging down the
quarterback on any given down.
Against Northwestern, that was
no different.
“I know he’s gonna be at the —
you all know — he’s gonna be at the
quarterback,” junior David Ojabo,
Hutchinson’s counterpart on the
edge, said. “ … It’s a lot of comfort
having Aidan Hutchinson, knowing
that he’s gonna do what Aidan
Hutchinson does.”
For anyone watching the game,
that impact is most clear when
he’s in the backfield — and he’s in
the backfield pretty often. On a
third down in the second quarter,
with the Wolverines nursing a
seven-point
lead,
Hutchinson
barrelled through the line and
sacked Wildcats quarterback Ryan
Hilinski, all while having one arm
held by a blocker.
But focus on Hutchinson every
down, and his influence is equally
visible even when he’s not making
tackles. Much of that comes from
effective scheming from Michigan’s
coaching staff.
Two plays before the sack, with
Hutchinson on the weak side,
Northwestern motioned two tight
ends to try and flip sides. Hutchinson,
given the trust of the coaching staff
to adjust his own positioning, shifted
back to the weak side, blew up a
crack block and hurried a rolling-out
Hilinski into a bad pass. The next
play, the Wildcats rushed to the side
opposite Hutchinson, right into the
teeth of the defense.
The rest of the Wolverines’
defense is tough enough to scheme
against.
It’s
made
infinitely
more difficult when an athletic
juggernaut
like
Hutchinson
is
waiting on one end of the line.
“Making the ball come out quick
is even more valuable than sacks
a lot of the time,” Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh said. “So you can’t
just go by sacks — though he did
have a sack and a fumble recovery —
he’s making the ball come out fast,
and imagine what that does for the
secondary.”
It’s not hard to imagine, because
it’s clear on every pass play. As
Hutchinson
continued
to
find
the backfield on passing downs,
Northwestern was forced to adjust
to a much shorter, quicker passing
game. Having the ball come out
mere moments after the snap
made it difficult for its receivers to
create any separation and allowed
the Wolverines’ defensive backs to
anticipate where the ball would be.
On
junior
cornerback
D.J.
Turner’s
fourth quarter interception, that
anticipation paid dividends. Hilinski
tried to hit a receiver on a quick hitch
route to the outside, where Turner
— trusting that Hutchinson and the
rest of Michigan’s pass rush could
stop any deep balls before they were
even thrown — was waiting to jump
the route.
“It makes it so much easier,”
Turner said. “The ball has to come
out quick. I know they don’t have all
day in the pocket. Just like on the
pick, it was a hitch, and I just know
you can’t just sit in the pocket all day
with Ojabo, and Aidan, and all kinds
of dudes up there. A D-line is a DB’s
best friend.”
In effect, fear of Hutchinson
is almost as valuable a weapon as
Hutchinson himself.
Michigan responds to physical challenge
Michigan narrowly defeats Maryland in
a 2-1 overtime affair
GABBY CERITANO/Daily
The Wolverines overcame a slow start to secure a comeback victory in overtime.
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
CHARLIE PAPPALARDO
For the Daily
EMMA MATI/Daily
Aidan Hutchinson epitomized the Wolverines energy in Saturday’s matchup against Northwestern.
On every down, Aidan Hutchinson makes his presence felt
JEREMY WEINE/Daily
The Wolverines matched Western Michigan’s physicality to win Saturday’s contest and split the weekend series.
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
10 — Wednesday, October 27, 2021