The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 16, 2022 — 11 Noah Kingsley: With eight-minute brawl, Michigan and Notre Dame take away from the rivalry SOUTH BEND — With the Wol- verines up four goals with eight minutes to play, the No. 3 Michi- gan hockey team’s game against No. 18 Notre Dame on Friday probably should have ended quietly. For 52 minutes, the Wolverines dominated the Fighting Irish, con- trolling tempo and time of posses- sion. But in those last eight minutes, that dominant play faded into the past. Fight after fight after fight broke out, as the game devolved into nothing short of a brawl. “I think they were frustrated because we took it to them most of the game,” Michigan coach Bran- don Naurato said. “… I don’t blame them for being down and being frustrated, and doing what they did.” Naurato isn’t wrong; the Irish were frustrated for obvious rea- sons. Tensions run hot in rivalry games. Each hit adds a little more fuel to the fire, and soon those ten- sions boil over. Plays where players would have been previously con- tent to just exchange words end up in full-on fights — it’s part of hockey. But the way that Friday’s clash devolved, it felt like more than typi- cal in-game feuds. After eight min- utes of constant fighting, including 13 penalties and three misconducts in that stretch alone, it becomes more than that. While both teams will try to leave tonight in the past, those eight minutes won’t brush off as easily as other games will. Well before that treacherous final stretch, the heated back-and- forth of a rivalry game was already underway. With two minutes left in the first period, Notre Dame defen- seman Jake Boltmann slammed sophomore forward Mackie Samo- skevich into the boards, earning himself a game misconduct and a five-minute major for hitting from behind. The Irish successfully challenged another hit on the play, sending freshman forward Adam Fantilli to the box with a five-min- ute major of his own for contact to the head. In a vacuum, those hits and the resulting majors might not have had a lasting impact. Similarly, none of the individual fights of the last eight minutes would have left much of a mark in a vacuum. When sophomore forward Dylan Duke took a shot after the whistle, of course Notre Dame defenseman Ryan Helliwell would stand up for his goalie. When senior forward Nolan Moyle ran into goaltender Ryan Bischel, of course forward Trevor Janicke would protect him. And when something similar happened on the other end, of course sophomore forward Mark Estapa was there to protect junior goaltender Erik Por- tillo. But therein lies the crux of the matter: it wasn’t in a vacuum. As one fight devolved into eight minutes of a brawl, it grew into something more. Yes, fights are going to happen in hockey, but rarely in a manner like this. When it does happen like this, it’s no longer a one-game thing. “They’re gonna come out 10 times harder (tomorrow),” soph- omore forward Mackie Samo- skevich said. Saturday, the Irish won’t sim- ply forget the frustration they had the night before. But that hatred between the two teams that prevailed in the final eight minutes will almost certainly carry beyond tomorrow, to when the two meet again in Ann Arbor and potentially beyond. There’s no love lost between the Wolverines and Notre Dame; there never has been. But with a game like this, with a mess like what culminated Friday, that changes the composition of the rivalry for the rest of the season. Maybe it’s for the better; maybe both teams come out fired up, and it elevates the game. But more likely, continued fighting leads to distractions from the game at hand. Because for 52 minutes, Mich- igan displayed a commanding performance against one of its biggest rivals. Yes, tensions ran hot, but for the most part, those tensions held to the time before the whistle. Sports MEN’S ICE HOCKEY SportsMonday: Go ahead and enjoy Emoni Bates JARED GREENSPAN Managing Sports Editor Three years ago, my friends and I packed ourselves into a car and drove the 15 minute drive to Ypsi- lanti to catch basketball’s next big thing: Emoni Bates. At 15, Bates graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the head- line, “Magic, Michael, LeBron… and the 15-year-old who’s next in line.” Many considered him the best high school prospect of the decade. Inevitably, talk of his prow- ess swirled in Ann Arbor, so we wanted to see it for ourselves. And on that blustery January evening, Bates’s stardom was in full bloom. He dropped 27 points, leading Ypsilanti Lincoln to a win and surpassing 1,000 career points in just his 35th high school game, a meteoric pace. He was as good as advertised. We left that night enchanted by the prospects of Bates reviv- ing one of our dormant NBA fran- chises — the Knicks, the Pistons or the Thunder. Yes, he was only a sophomore in high school. But with Bates, everything and anything seemed possible, no matter how far down the road. But after Bates endured end- less on-court struggles during his time at Memphis, recently I began to wonder if that sensation still existed. So on Friday, I traveled to Detroit to cover Michigan’s contest with Eastern Michigan. That way, I could watch Bates from a courtside vantage point again. I assumed that the talent remained, but I wanted to see if Bates would be as captivat- ing as he was three years ago, even though the mythos surrounding him has largely dissipated. Turns out, that pure brilliance is very much still present. “They had a game plan, and he had 30,” Eastern Michigan coach Stan Heath said, smirking. Friday’s game evolved into theater, with Bates the main act. He reveled in the swelling crowd inside Little Caesars Arena, which swayed for every one of his deathly crossovers and silky shots. Bates christened the game with a contested 2-pointer, an apt beginning for the brilliance that followed. He elevated for a nasty one-legged fade away after put- ting redshirt freshman wing Isaiah Barnes on skates. Moments later, he soared through the lane for a vicious putback dunk over fresh- man center Tarris Reed, hurling expletives toward Reed and draw- ing a technical foul. Late in the first half, he canned a step-back 3-point- er before motioning to the crowd, shouting at courtside fans and glar- ing at the Wolverines on the floor. Bates was in his element. Regardless of the neutral site atmo- sphere, Bates had won over the crowd. Bates didn’t slow down in the second half, either. He rocked the rim with a thunderous base- line dunk, shimmying on junior forward Terrance Williams II after the play. He hit Barnes with another ankle-snatching crossover, knocking down a mid-range jump shot. Between the electric crowd and the back-and-forth battle, it felt more like an NCAA Tournament contest than an early November tuneup. This was college basketball at its finest, largely thanks to Bates. Bates — an enigmatic, electrify- ing former consensus top prospect — went blow-for-blow with Hunter Dickinson, Michigan’s All-Ameri- can junior center. The arena clung to every one of his shots, gasping in anticipation when the ball left his hands and exploding once the ball snapped nylon. Bates screamed; they screamed back. It was a poignant reminder of what Bates brings to the sport, and also what we’ve missed over the past few years amid Bates’s trou- bling decline. Bates’s winding route to East- ern Michigan is well-documented; his fall from stardom exhausted. He committed to Memphis as the crown jewel to Penny Hardaway’s ballyhooed recruiting class, reclas- sifying to arrive a year prematurely. But Bates’s presumed-generational talent didn’t translate and, in Feb- ruary, he took an extended absence from the team due to a back injury. Without Bates, Memphis found its groove, and that was telling So that’s how Bates wound up here, at Eastern Michigan, his hometown school but also a peren- nial bottom dweller in the MAC. He entered the transfer portal this offseason, though few high-major programs expressed legitimate interest. The trajectory is discon- certing. In September, his on-court woes took a back seat in favor of more pressing matters — he was arrested and charged with two felony gun charges. The traffic stop was an indict- ment on how far Bates has fallen. And yet, perhaps there is still a path for Bates to grow. After Friday’s game, Eastern Michigan guard Noah Farrakhan praised Bates’s character, saying that the locker room looks up to him. For one night, at least, it felt like everyone had been tossed into a time machine, back to those blissful days when Bates looked you in the face as Sports Illustrated’s 15-year- old cover athlete. This was vintage Bates, if vintage can even be used in reference to a 18-year-old kid. Scouts from six NBA teams attended Friday’s game, a con- stant reminder that whatever Bates does in the present — and whatever he has always done — is tied to speculation about his future. People have always want- ed to know where he’d wind up, where he’d play next, how good he’ll be down the road. No one ever slowed down, paused and took a moment to appreciate what we were watching in the present. Bates didn’t play in Eastern Michigan’s season opener due to disciplinary reasons. Between injuries and anxieties, there’s no GRACE BEAL/Daily telling how his tenure with the Eagles will unfold, or how many more performances on par with Friday’s theatrics will ensue. So take a lesson from all 15,000 people who packed the arena Friday and don’t worry about next month or next year. Just enjoy Emoni Bates while you can. Because there’s no telling what’s left in store. Former number one overall recruit, Emoni Bates, is back in his hometown and once again excelling. Michigan field hockey loses in overtime to UAlbany, ending its season CAROLINE CRECCA Daily Sports Writer The No. 4 Michigan field hockey team was heavily favored in its first round matchup in the NCAA Tour- nament. But nobody could foresee how much the Wolverines would struggle in their first game with a home field advantage. Ultimately, Michigan (14-5 over- all) was upset by UAlbany (15-4) on Friday, losing 2-1 in a close over- time match during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss stemmed from the Wolverines seem- ingly lacking in intensity and energy, especially during the first quarter. The majority of the game was a tight battle between the two teams, with possession and offensive opportunities split evenly between them. But the first quarter was the exception. With Michigan seem- ingly caught off guard and unpre- pared, the Wolverines renewed effort against the Great Danes for the final three quarters wasn’t enough to overcome their slow start. “I think we just have to come out with more fire when we’re in these NCAA games,” sophomore midfield- er Abby Tamer said. “Our main thing is just trying to play with positivity as much as possible because when we’re frazzled, something like the first quarter tends to happen, where they’re down our throats the whole time.” UAlbany put a lot of pressure on the Wolverines’ defense during the first 15 minutes of play. Their defense was unable to clear the ball past the fifty yard line, making for a tiresome quarter, ending in a 0-0 stalemate. Despite having a slow start, Mich- igan came out with more fire in the second quarter. Tamer found multi- ple breakaway opportunities, which eventually led to corners and a pen- alty stroke for fifth-year midfielder Katherine Peterson. The shot was blocked, but there was an evident shift in the team’s morale and effort. The Wolverines finally capital- ized on their offensive progress with 30 seconds left in the half. On their third offensive corner, midfield graduate student Tina D’Anjolell was able to get a touch on Peterson’s ini- tial shot and tipped the ball into the back of the net as time ran out. The Wolverines went into half- time with rejuvenated energy, having scored just seconds before the buzzer sounded. As the third quarter commenced, it seemed as though they would add to their lead, as the team had four more corners and six shots on goal. But Michigan was unable to capitalize on these opportunities, and UAlbany escaped the quarter unharmed. Their strong defense was once again to thank for keeping it a one score game, as was goalie Hannah Mangan, who had 8 saves. After a small lull in the third quarter, the Great Danes brought new energy to the fourth, putting increased pressure on the Wol- verines to keep their composure. UAlbany had four offensive cor- ners in a row during the last 10 minutes of play, which took a toll on Michigan’s energy. With fewer than three min- utes left in the game, Michigan junior defender Rosie Hope was issued a yellow card, putting the Wolverines down a player for the remainder of the game. Soon after, the Great Danes were awarded another corner. This time, they were able to convert it into a goal. Sophomore midfielder Floor de Ruiter tipped in the initial shot, tying up the game. With the score even and little time left to play, the frustration from Michigan’s bench was evi- dent. They were unable to find another scoring opportunity before regulation ended, and the game went into overtime. As the clock wound down, it seemed as though the sudden death overtime period would end without either team scoring, as both teams struggled to find a decent opportunity at the net. However, in the final minute of the period, UAlbany forward Sophia Schoonmaker had a break- away one-on-one with Michigan’s fifth-year goalie, Anna Spieker. She found an opening and sent the ball into the cage, ending the game — and with it, the Wolver- ines’ season. FIELD HOCKEY MARIA DECKMANN/Daily In its first NCAA Tournament game, Michigan was upset by UAlbany, ending the Wolverines’ season. ANNA FUDER/Daily Read more at MichiganDaily.com Read more at MichiganDaily.com NOAH KINGSLEY