The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 — 11
Michigan dominated by Ohio State special
teams in 4-2 Faceoff on the Lake loss
NOAH KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Editor
CLEVELAND — As a scarlet-
and-maize mob filled the stands
of FirstEnergy Stadium, fireworks
rocketed into the crisp February
air, signaling the start of the Faceoff
on the Lake.
But for the No. 4 Michigan hock-
ey team, those were the only fire-
works of the night.
Dominated on special teams, the
Wolverines (20-10-2 overall, 12-9-1
Big Ten) fell to No. 10 Ohio State (18-
11-3, 11-9-2), 4-2, in the Faceoff on
the Lake. The Buckeyes killed off all
seven Michigan power plays while
adding two power play goals and a
shorthanded goal of their own.
“We had some chances, their
goalie made some saves, maybe we
didn’t execute as much as we want-
ed,” Michigan coach Brandon Nau-
rato said. “Credit to their (penalty
kill). We can’t go 0-for-7 and expect
to win. That was probably the dif-
ference in the game.”
Opening the game with two
power plays in the first period
alone, the Wolverines got the
opportunity to take hold of the con-
test immediately. But in a preview
for the rest of the night, they man-
aged just three shots on goal across
the two advantages.
And when Ohio State drew two
back-to-back power plays of its own
soon after, it served as a warning
sign for what was to come to Michi-
gan. For six straight minutes, the
Buckeyes hemmed the Wolverines
in their own end, firing off eight
unanswered shots.
While junior goaltender Erik
Portillo turned each of those away
to keep the game tied, the Buckeyes
already controlled the special teams
battle — with seven more combined
opportunities still to come.
“On the PK, you’ve got to be
ready to compete,” Ohio State
defenseman
Tyler
Duke
said.
“There’s gonna be loose pucks, and
you’ve got to be ready to get it down
and get it 200 feet. I think we just
all bought in tonight.”
Even outside the penalty kill,
the Buckeyes applied that mindset
of competing for every loose puck.
So when an errant pass with six
minutes left in the second period
skittered out of Michigan’s offense
zone, Ohio State pushed forward
to grab it. Creating a 2-on-1 break-
away, that set up defenseman Cole
McWard to score the go-ahead goal.
As the two sides headed to the
locker room for an early second
intermission as ice crews dealt
with divots in the sheet 40 seconds
after the goal, the Wolverines got a
chance to figure out what plagued
them on special teams.
But instead, after the early break,
their special teams woes only grew.
Because on three of the next four
power plays in the game, Michigan
conceded a goal.
It started just two minutes
after the teams returned to the
ice, as sophomore forward Mackie
Samoskevich earned himself a two
minute minor for cross-checking.
Within 30 seconds, Buckeyes for-
ward Jake Wise collected a cross-
crease pass and fired it blocker-side
past Portillo to stretch the lead to
two.
A minute later though, freshman
forward Gavin Brindley respond-
ed with a wrister of his own from
above the left dot. And when the
Wolverines drew a penalty on the
following shift, their power play
got a shot at redemption.
But it crumbled again instead.
“I think I was just skating up
the ice, we were trying to get a
clear,” Duke said. “Wise got the
puck behind the net. … I saw a
lane and I hopped in there and did
my best to put it in.”
Taking that lane, Duke blasted
a goal past a falling Portillo for
the eventual game-winner while
shorthanded.
Still, Michigan hung around
for a while. With 11 minutes left
in the game, senior forward Eric
Ciccolini potted a rebound to trim
the deficit to one once again. But
within 20 seconds of his goal,
graduate forward Nolan Moyle
took an interference penalty.
Again, the Wolverines needed
their special teams to step up to
stay in it. And again, they failed to
deliver.
This time, sophomore defense-
man Ethan Edwards tipped Ohio
State forward Stephen Halliday’s
pass into his own net — marking
the final nail in Michigan’s coffin.
Failing to convert on a seventh-
straight power play chance three
minutes later only rubbed salt in
the wound.
“Usually, the team that wins
the special teams wins the game,”
Ohio State coach Steve Roh-
lik said. “Both teams had their
chances on the power play. We
scored two, and our PK was fan-
tastic.”
So as the Wolverines watched
fireworks shoot into the air again
as the final horn sounded, there
was no excitement, no hopeful
anticipation like earlier. Because
despite having seven chances
to do so, their special teams
couldn’t create any fireworks of
their own.
Sports
ICE HOCKEY
Lack of support hangs Leigha Brown’s performance out to dry in 74-61 loss to Ohio State
LIZA CUSHNIR
Daily Sports Writer
Facing
an
early
3-point
onslaught from No. 16 Ohio State,
the No. 12 Michigan women’s bas-
ketball team desperately needed a
response.
And by halftime, it appeared
that the Wolverines might have
found that answer in the form of
fifth-year wing Leigha Brown.
But without support from the
rest of the team, Brown’s career-
high performance drifted away as
the Wolverines (20-7 overall, 10-6
Big Ten) fell to the Buckeyes (23-
5, 12-5), 74-61.
“Leigha is on the top of every-
one’s scout,” Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico said postgame. “…
When we want to be success-
ful, we need more contributions
whether that’s the offensive or
defensive end. So that’ll be, obvi-
ously, something that we work on.
But I think when we are success-
ful, we definitely have more con-
tributions than we did tonight.”
After the Wolverines built a
rapid eight-point lead, Ohio State
took a timeout. Coming out of
that break, the Buckeyes went
on a tear of their own. They con-
nected on each of their next eight
3-point attempts to turn their
initial deficit into a 10-point lead,
leaving Michigan scrambling for
an answer.
That was the moment when
Leigha Brown seemingly could
provide one on her own.
Scoring Michigan’s first 10
points of the second quarter,
Brown — who was honored pre-
game for reaching 1,000 points as
a Wolverine against Minnesota —
willed her team back into conten-
tion, single-handedly cutting the
deficit to as few as three points
before any of her teammates
found the basket in the quarter.
But Ohio State also had an
answer. Each time Brown and the
Wolverines threatened to retake
the lead, Buckeyes guard Rikki
Harris had a response. Harris’s
12 second-quarter points nearly
matched Brown’s and ensured
that Ohio State never relin-
quished its lead.
Still, Michigan entered the
locker room down just four
points, 41-37.
Brown’s 21 first-half points
were doing all they could to keep
the Wolverines afloat, yet they
desperately needed someone else
to step up to prevent them from
sinking. Sophomore guard Jor-
dan Hobbs chipped in with two
3-pointers but was the only scorer
besides Brown during the second
quarter. The key contributors that
normally helped steer the ship
couldn’t deliver.
And in the second half, no first
mate appeared, with only two
players besides Brown finding
the scoring column in the final 20
minutes of play.
“I definitely feel like we have
the pieces to be successful, we
just all need to play well at the
same time,” Hobbs said. “… The
three games prior to (Thursday’s
loss to Indiana) we were playing
great together and just playing
some team basketball, which was
really successful. So if we can just
find a way to get back to that.”
Michigan only mustered 11
points in the third quarter, from
just three players. But the Wol-
verines still kept themselves in
the game by holding Ohio State to
14 points.
With Brown lacking a support-
ing cast, Harris’s 23-point per-
formance ensured that Brown’s
career-high 36 points would be
nothing more than a silver lin-
ing in a deflating loss. Harris had
three steals in the third quar-
ter alone as the Buckeyes began
to pull away in the low-scoring
period. She hit a clutch 3-point-
er early in the fourth frame to
bring Ohio State’s lead back up to
double digits for the first time all
half, pushing Michigan’s come-
back attempt firmly off course.
“(Harris) was huge for them
for sure,” Barnes Arico said. “I
thought we were undisciplined,
we fouled her shooting a three.
SOPHIA AFENDOULIS/Daily
She does a great job of drawing
fouls. And she made big plays for
them as the shot clock was run-
ning out, she made a big three. I
just thought she stayed within
herself and did a really good job.”
Michigan couldn’t pull close
again. With 15 second-half turn-
overs and just nine points scored
by players other than Brown, the
Wolverines couldn’t run their
offense.
Brown’s 11-for-11 performance
from the free throw line was jux-
taposed against an abysmal and
uncharacteristic 5-for-12 show-
ing from the rest of the team,
alongside zero bench points.
There was nobody there to help
Brown right the ship.
And try as she might to find
ways to keep Michigan adrift,
whether that was by getting to
the charity stripe eight times in
the final frame or gathering nine
rebounds throughout the con-
test, the Wolverines only plunged
deeper into the hole.
And that failure to step up
and create secondary production
around Brown doomed Michigan
to sink in yet another ranked con-
ference bout.
In Faceoff on the Lake, Michigan doomed
by inability to win faceoffs
CHARLIE PAPPALARDO
Daily Sports Writer
CLEVELAND — With less than
four minutes to play in the outdoor
Faceoff on The Lake against No.
10 Ohio State, the No. 4 Michigan
hockey team finally started doing
something it hadn’t for the previ-
ous 56 minutes. The Wolverines
started winning faceoffs.
Trailing by two goals with its
net empty, Michigan retained
possession on six of the last eight
draws and kept pressure on the
Buckeyes until the game ended.
But while the last three minutes
of faceoff success gave the Wolver-
ines a chance in the game’s waning
moments, their floundering start
in the circles was a large part of
the reason why they found them-
selves trailing.
“We talk about it a lot, I know
our centers are probably sick of
me getting on ‘em, but it’s such a
big part of the game,” Ohio State
coach Steve Rohlik said. “When
you think about 50, 60, 70 times a
game somebody’s gonna fight for
possession, and it’s such a key right
to the end.”
And in those fights for posses-
sion — 82 of them to be exact — the
Buckeyes were dominant. Win-
ning 53 draws to Michigan’s 29,
Ohio State outpaced the Wolver-
ines and none of the seven Buck-
eyes who took draws finished the
night with a win rate of less than
50 percent. Conversely, only two
of the Wolverines’ 10 skaters who
took draws finished over 50 per-
cent in the circles, and it hampered
them all night.
Losing draw after draw, Michi-
gan consistently started on the
back foot by handing the Buckeyes
possession. Before any offense
could be created, the Wolverines
usually had to first pry the puck
away from Ohio State, and then
break past their stout neutral zone
trap. That proved to be an incred-
ibly difficult task for Michigan,
and the Buckeyes controlled pos-
session for the vast majority of the
game in large part because they
controlled faceoffs.
“I mean, it’s a difference in the
game,” Rohlik said. “Lots of credit
to the centers, but there’s a lot of
other guys in there fighting to get
the puck back. It’s a big part of it.”
The Wolverines just couldn’t
outdraw Ohio State. But the issue
wasn’t just that Michigan’s lack-
luster performance at the dots
gave the Buckeyes chances. It was
also that it took chances away
from the Wolverines. What Michi-
gan lost in being outdrawn by 24
is best highlighted by the few suc-
cesses they had.
Late in the second period, fresh-
man forward Adam Fantilli won a
clean offensive zone draw back to
freshman forward Gavin Brindley,
who immediately wired a wrister
into the back of the net. And late
in the game when the Wolverines
finally built momentum in draws,
they also pressured the Buckeyes
harder than they had all night.
“It’s a possession game, and
(faceoffs
are)
field
position,”
Michigan coach Brandon Naurato
said. “So you win the draw, it
definitely puts you in the driver’s
seat.”
But for the vast majority of
the night, Michigan found itself
riding passenger. For example
Brindley and Fantilli — despite
their one moment of production
— were otherwise uncharacter-
istically silent. And in large part,
that was due to their combining
for a paltry 6-for-22 success rate
in the circles.
Throughout the entire night,
the Wolverines couldn’t seem
to find a foothold on the game.
Ohio State stymied their offense,
broke down their special teams
and controlled the pace of the
game. But those issues started
with Michigan’s inability to find
a foothold in the faceoff dots.
The Buckeyes held possession
off of draws and made plays
happen. The Wolverines consis-
tently started on the back foot
by giving possession away, and
plays happened to them.
At the final buzzer, Michigan
fell 4-2 in an aptly named event.
The Wolverines lost the Faceoff
on the Lake in large part because
they couldn’t win faceoffs to
begin with.
ICE HOCKEY
Dickinson and Reed Jr. will Michigan to victory over Michigan State, 84-72
Earlier this season, freshman
forward Tarris Reed Jr. gave the
Michigan men’s basketball teams’
two-big lineup a nickname:
Thump and Bump.
Comprised
of
junior
center
Hunter Dickinson and Reed, the
lineup hasn’t been showcased much
throughout the later half of the
season. But in Saturday’s matchup
against Michigan State, the two bigs
thumped and bumped their way to a
win down the stretch.
In the Wolverines’ (15-12 overall,
9-7 Big Ten) tilt with the Spartans
(16-10, 8-7), Reed and Dickinson
were instrumental in sneaking out
the 84-72 win, successfully avoiding
getting swept by their in-state rival
in the process.
“They’re a threat for sure, when
you’ve got two (six and seven foot-
ers) out there,” sophomore guard
Kobe Bufkin said. “I’m glad to see
it and glad they’re able to work
together.”
Getting out to a hot start — all at
the hand of freshman guard Dug
McDaniel — it seemed as if Michi-
gan’s bigs were going to have a rela-
tively quiet night.
But as the Spartans’ quick transi-
tion offense turned their early defi-
cit into a lead just over five minutes
into the matchup, the Wolverines
were left scratching their heads,
desperately looking for an answer.
Typically, Michigan can turn
to Dickinson to get crafty and find
some points. But with the Spartans
playing lock-down defense in the
paint with a two-big lineup of their
own, Dickinson was held to just five
points in the first half. Reed fared
even worse against Michigan State’s
defense in the first half, going score-
less while picking up two personal
fouls.
Failing to regain the lead in the
first half, the Wolverines miracu-
lously entered the locker room
down by just three after a few key
3-pointers kept the Spartans lead
from growing insurmountably.
But at the start of the second half,
it looked like the trends would con-
tinue.
Michigan’s offense struggled to
produce without a dominant pres-
ence in the paint, and Michigan
State continued to capitalize on
defensive miscommunications. The
Wolverines managed to keep the
Spartans in check, notching key
buckets and keeping the deficit from
getting out of hand, but were never
able to fully regain a lead for most of
the second half.
And when freshman guard Jett
Howard went down with an injury
with 14 minutes left to play, Michi-
gan could’ve rolled over.
But at the eight minute mark, a
spark flickered.
As Michigan coach Juwan How-
ard put Dickinson back into the
game while leaving Reed in, thump
and bump was ready to do what it
does best. A quick assist from Dick-
inson to graduate guard Joey Baker
led to a drained 3-pointer — cutting
the once six-point lead the Spartans
had taken after Jett’s injury to only
one.
“We started
playing
small
ball
against
their
biggest
lineup,” Michi-
gan State coach
Tom Izzo said.
“That’s the big-
gest lineup in
the Big 10 and
they played both
together.”
Trading a few
more
buckets,
Michigan State had ample chances
to pull away. But with Dickinson
and Reed locking down the paint
on defense, the Spartans’ offense
faltered.
“I play off him,” Reed said. “He
shoots, I’m wedging, I’m getting
that rebound and putting it back
up. He catches it and they come to
double, I’m cutting right there I’m
getting a dunk or an and-one layup.
Just playing off him and knowing
that he’s our guy on the offensive
side.”
And with just under six minutes
left, Dickinson and Reed officially
took the game into their own hands.
An offensive putback from Reed
found the bottom of the net, and a
Spartan foul sent Dickinson to the
line. As Dickinson sunk both free
throws, Crisler Center erupted.
Because the Wolverines had just
overtaken Michigan State.
Clinging to their two point lead
after a block and another made
bucket from Dickinson, Michigan
entered the final media timeout just
as it had entered the first — with the
lead in hand.
Despite attempts from the Spar-
tans to contain Michigan’s momen-
tum swing, nothing could be done to
stop Dickinson and Reed’s charge.
“On the offensive end, (Tarris)
was aggressive, being able to take
advantage of how the defender
was playing him and attacking the
paint,” Juwan said. “… I see the con-
fidence is increasing. He’s getting
better.”
And as Dickinson sunk a 3-point-
er from the wing with only a minute
left, he sent Michigan State pack-
ing, officially putting the game out
of reach for the Spartans.
Dickinson finished the game
with 14 points, seven rebounds
and three assists, alongside Reed’s
eight points and 10 rebounds. While
those stats aren’t career highs
for either, they came at a crucial
moment down the stretch when the
Wolverines needed them most.
Because in the end, Dickinson
and Reed did what they do best to
lead Michigan past Michigan State.
They thumped and bumped.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
GRACE BEAL/Daily
GRACE BEAL/Daily
ABBIE TELGENHOF
Daily Sports Editor
ANNA FUDER/Daily
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL