Detroit 5, Canisius 9

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Tim

This game was more even than the final score indicates, but a late collapse by UDM gave Canisius a relatively stress-free end to the game.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Canisius 2016
Detroit Canisius
Faceoff Wins 7 Faceoff Wins 10
Clearing 9-12 Clearing 16-17
Possessions 20 Possessions 30
Goals 5 Goals 9
Offensive Efficiency .250 Offensive Efficiency .300

There was an efficiency gap here, no doubt, but the bigger story was the difference in possession, from this observer’s perspective. Detroit didn’t win enough faceoffs, and couldn’t clear, and that let the Griffins run away late.

Notes

The timing of the possession disparity coincided with Canisius running away with the game late, which underscores the issue (especially since a healthy possession advantage in the fourth allowed them to get momentum at home). Through three quarters, Canisius had a 22-17 possession advantage, then dominated the fourth 8-3 in possession and 4-1 on the scoreboard. Detroit failed a clear and went 1/6 on faceoffs in the frame, and that was all she wrote.

Jason Weber had a pedestrian performance, saving 50% of shots he faced, and against a Canisius team that shot only .262 on the year. An excellent goalie, even one put in tough circumstances, should do better than that. Canisius did assist on six of its nine goals, with attack Ryan McKee and midfielder Jeff Edwards each contributing a pair (Edwards also contributed a goal). Attackmen Vince Gravino (4G) and Connor Kearnan (3G, 1A) did the bulk of the finishing for the Griffins. Two of Canisius’s goals (including a relatively meaningless one with 30 seconds left) came assisted on the EMO.

If the possession game in the fourth didn’t tell the majority of the story, the keeper battle may have. Canisius’s Liam Ganzhorn only faced one fewer shot than Weber, but made 12 saves to give his team an advantage there.

Detroit was led offensively by Andy Hebden (2G, 1A) and JD Hess (1G, 1A), with Mark Anstead contributing an assist and Brad Harris and Sean Birney each scoring a goal. The Titans didn’t launch a ton of shots – thanks in part, of course, to a slow game at a severe possession deficit.

Ben Gjokaj didn’t have his best day on faceoffs, even though Canisius’s Steven Coss wasn’t as good over the course of the year. There’s something to be said for the fourth quarter momentum (which accounted for more than the difference between the two FOGOs), and probably wing play – each only picked up two ground balls for the game.

Detroit committed a fair number of penalties (Canisius went 2/3 on the EMO, but UDM committed five total penalties), but they didn’t have a huge effect on the game overall – other than that momentum factor. Canisius’s go-ahead goal in the third was on EMO, as was their final goal with 31 seconds remaining. Some of those penalties were desperation or frustration in the fourth trying to mount a comeback.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Canisius recap. Highlights.

Up Next

With their MAAC playoff hopes all-but dashed, Detroit had one last chance to finish the season on a strong note at home against Marist.

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Michigan 13, Johns Hopkins 19

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Tim

One day, Michigan wants to be a blueblood of college lacrosse. That day hasn’t yet arrived (nor does it seem particularly close), so when they do face off against such a squad, things don’t go well.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Johns Hopkins 2016
Johns Hopkins Michigan
Faceoff Wins 20 Faceoff Wins 15
Clearing 11-13 Clearing 17-17
Possessions 33 Possessions 34
Goals 19 Goals 13
Offensive Efficiency .576 Offensive Efficiency .382

The high scoring (and resulting high volume of faceoffs) may give a first-glance impression that this was a very fast game, but it really wasn’t. The Blue Jays and Wolverines both just played an extremely efficient game in the offensive end.

Notes

That efficiency number for Hopkins is ludicrous. The Jays consistently boast some of the country’s top offensive talent (though the results on the field don’t always bear that out), and when facing a struggling defense like U-M’s, they can turn that into a flaming scoreboard. Five different Hopkins players notched four points(!), three others accounted for a pair, and four Blue Jays had a single point on the day.

Michigan’s offense had an uncharacteristically impressive day itself. Kyle Jackson returned to the lineup for senior day, and scored five goals. Ian King and Sean McCanna each had a pair of goals and two assists, as well. King became Michigan’s single-season assist record holder, hitting 16 on the year (pretty impressive for a guy whose reputation through his first couple years was “definitely not a feeder). Freshman Decker Curran scored two goals and added an assist.

It was an interesting day on faceoffs for Michigan. Craig Madarasz had a mostly-mediocre year for Hopkins, but was able to chase Brad Lott (3/13) by midway through the second quarter. Then, little-used Mike McConnell entered and won 7 of 13 against Madarasz. Madarasz got putlled for Hunter Moreland (and it wasn’t just Hopkins playing their bench – it was a three-goal game in the third at that point), who had a similar performance during the competitive portion of the afternoon.

Hopkins ended up with a five-possession advantage in faceoffs, but Michigan chipped away at an early deficit over the course of the game. Michigan made up some of that deficit on faceoffs by clearing perfectly, while riding Johns Hopkins into a couple failed clears.

Michigan scored the first two goals of the game – a good start, which we’ve seen from this program even in the first couple years when they were really bad – but allowed Hopkins to score the next seven. That was aided by a couple EMO opportunities for the Jays, and you can really start to see where U-M didn’t stand up to the pressure of playing against a traditional power, yeah? The game was pretty back-and-forth after that, with Michigan slowly eating into that lead, before Hop took command for the final time with a three-goal run late in the fourth to put it away.

Gerald Logan faced a ton of shots (19 shots on goal – which is the number that got past him – would be plenty). He did make 12 saves, and 11 of the Jays’ 19 goals were assisted. He was put in a ton of tough positions, and there’s only so much he could do. Meanwhile, he certainly outdueled JHU’s Brock Turnbaugh, who allowed 13 goals and saved just seven (and again, wasn’t facing nearly a comparable level of talent).

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Johns Hopkins recap. Photo gallery. Re-watch on BTN2Go.

Up Next

The Maize and Blue wrapped up the season against Penn State.

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Detroit 9, Monmouth 8

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Tim

When you aren’t playing the league’s best team, an early four-goal deficit is much easier to dig out of. Detroit did just that against a relatively young program in Monmouth.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Monmouth 2016
Detroit Monmouth
Faceoff Wins 14 Faceoff Wins 7
Clearing 18-20 Clearing 19-20
Possessions 35 Possessions 29
Goals 9 Goals 8
Offensive Efficiency .257 Offensive Efficiency .278

In contrast to the previous game, Detroit showed that holding a possession advantage can help steal a contest when the team isn’t quite as efficient – as long as that efficiency gap isn’t too great.

Notes

Shout out to Ben Gjokaj, who won two-thirds of his faceoffs. He chased Monmouth starting FOGO Keegan Teluk after a 3/12 start (and it must be noted that while Teluk was hardly one of the country’s best specialists, he was far better than .250 on the year, and one of his three victories was on a violation from the Titans), then held his own with a 5/9 mark against replacement Chandler Vanderbeek. Without a 7/9 mark in the fourth quarter, the Titans aren’t in position to make the big comeback.

That comeback was impressive indeed, and actually started in the third quarter. After Monmouth drew the second half’s first blood to take a 5-2 lead, Detroit closed the score to one by the time the fourth quarter began, then continued its run with two more to open that frame and take its first lead. The teams went back and forth through the middle of the quarter before UDM took a two-goal lead with 1:36 remaining, and Monmouth’s goal with five seconds left was obviously not going to be enough to stage a comeback of their own.

Kyle Beauregard (4G), Andy Hebden (2G, 1A), and Mark Anstead (2A) were the offensive standouts for Detroit. Those three assists were the full output in that metric for UDM, so it was a day for individual offense, rather than sharing the ball.

It should come as no surprise that Jason Weber had a nice game, and with 14 saves and eight goals allowed, there’s an argument to be made that he was the MVP. His saves were spread throughout the contest, so there’s no “he turned it on and Detroit made a run” moment, but when you have a strong performance, you have a chance to win, and both Weber and the Titans did just that.

Detroit’s man-up has spent time as one of the nation’s best, and while that wasn’t the case in 2016, it had a nice day in limited opportunities against Monmouth. Detroit capitalized on both its opportunities (while the man-down went 1/2 stopping the Hawks).

Detroit committed a bunch of turnovers in this one (raise your hand if you’re surprised), with 16. Monmouth did force nine of them, but again, we see that the quickest way for UDM to make incremental improvement is to value the ball better.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Monmouth recap. Highlights. Photos.

Up Next

Detroit headed to Buffalo to take on Canisius.

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Michigan 7, Ohio State 10

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Tim

A week after a near-miss against Maryland, the “near” portion of that situation didn’t come into play at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took home the comfortable victory.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Ohio State 2016
Michigan Ohio State
Faceoff Wins 8 Faceoff Wins 13
Clearing 17-21 Clearing 17-21
Possessions 33 Possessions 38
Goals 7 Goals 10
Offensive Efficiency .212 Offensive Efficiency .263

The teams struggled equally on the clear, but Ohio State benefitted from more possessions (from faceoffs), more EMO opportunities, and – by the end of the contest – a big home crowd to power the Bucks to a win.

Notes

Brad Lott had a very good year for Michigan on faceoffs, but Ohio State’s Jake Withers was on another level – and followed through on that in this one. Going .381 against such a good specialist is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s certainly not the recipe for an upset. Withers also picked up seven ground balls himself, and managed to get off two shots, so perhaps shifting up the strategy to muck things up and prevent fast break might have been wise. Most of Withers’s success did come in the second half, so maybe the staff had hoped Lott would return to his first-half form.

Gerald Logan didn’t have a great year – which is unfortunate, because he’s very talented – but was U-M’s best player in this one. Though he allowed 10 goals, he made 19 saves, and a number of those he let in were plays on which his defense really hung him out to dry.

The Wolverines’ offensive production was fairly spread out, with eight different players notching a point, and only two (freshman Sean McCanna with two goals, sophomore Patrick Tracy with a goal and an assist) registering more than one. Ian King was back on the field, but not back to full health – which he may not have ever returned to this season – and launched four shots with no goals, and turned the ball over three times. Fellow star offensive player Kyle Jackson missed the contest.

Michigan played a very sloppy game, giving the Buckeyes four extra-man opportunities (Ohio State cashed in twice, though U-M did get a short-handed goal near the end of the game, as well). Like the lack of a decisive win or stalemate on faceoffs, that’s not the recipe for an upset. The two penalties that the Buckeyes scored on really helped them build momentum: the first came to level the score in the first quarter, and the second capped a four-goal Buckeye run to build a three-goal lead in the third quarter.

Former Michigan commit (and Bellarmine transfer – I guess dude just didn’t know where he wanted to go to school) Austin Shanks was one of the Buckeyes’ top performers with a goal and two assists, though the entire OSU starting midfield also had three-point days, too.

Logan’s performance sort of obscures (from the stats at least) how disheveled the Michigan defense looked at various points in the game. The late (or way-too-early) slides reared their ugly head in this one. Michigan did start a couple freshmen on close D – MJ Melillo and Nick DeCaprio both started the final six games of the season, a nice look to the youth movement – so there may be some explanation, though that isn’t an excuse, either.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Ohio State recap.

Up Next

Michigan returned home to take on Hopkins, but didn’t experience a much better result against a team that would be Dancing just a few weeks later.

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Detroit 4, Quinnipiac 14

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Tim

Quinnipiac turned out to be the best team in the MAAC by a pretty healthy margin, so the result here isn’t such a surprise. The margin? Maybe, especially in poor weather conditions that you might have otherwise expected to slow down the pace of play.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Quinnipiac 2016
Quinnipiac Detroit
Faceoff Wins 7 Faceoff Wins 15
Clearing 16-19 Clearing 13-16
Possessions 29 Possessions 34
Goals 14 Goals 4
Offensive Efficiency .483 Offensive Efficiency .118

Detroit controlled possession in the game, for the most part, but thanks to an offensive efficiency that was less than a quarter of their opponents’… it did not go well.

Notes

QU scored the first four goals, and Detroit never got closer than a brief dalliance at a three-goal deficit for the rest of the game. This was a wire-to-wire domination by the Bobcats. That happened despite relatively even possession – in fact, a slight advantage to the Titans at 7-6. That would be the story throughout the contest.

Speaking of that possession game, I alluded in a previous post to the Titans finding a groove on faceoffs to end the season with Ben Gjokaj taking control of the faceoff position. Gjokaj went 15/22, and managed to grab four ground balls in the process. While 2016 didn’t go the way the Titans wanted at the dot, his late-season success is a sign of positive things to come in 2017.

Something that didn’t show improvement over the rest of the season? Turnovers. The Titans committed 18 of them in 34 possessions, and while a relatively aggressive Quinnipiac team (seven forced) played a role in that… we saw over the year that this team simply needs to improve valuing the ball.

Jason Weber didn’t have his finest game, with 14 goals allowed and 10 saves, but he faced plenty of rubber, in his defense. With 13 shots faced in the first half alone (seven goals allowed), he was tested early and often. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, his team was down seven goals, so it’s fair to say allowing four goals while making just one save was at the point where focus starts to slip a bit against an insurmountable lead.

Jordan Yono had one of the notably positive defensive performances for the Titans. He caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls on the day.

A meager offensive output for Detroit was led by Mark Anstead, who had a goal and an assist (UDM’s only of the day, unsurprisingly on the man-up). Alec Gilhooly, Sean Birney, and Adam Susalla all contributed a goal. Volume-shooting, another of the Titans’ bugaboos spanning a couple seasons now, was an issue. It took Birney seven shots (four on goal) to get that score, and Andy Hebden and Kyle Beauregard were both held scoreless despite six shots apiece.

This was a super-sloppy game with nine total EMO opportunities. Quinnipiac probably didn’t need the help (and from Detroit’s perspective, playing a sloppy game when overmatched by the opponent is not the way to spring an upset), but capitalized on three of four chances. Detroit converted just one of five opportunities.

It should come as no surprise that Quinnipiac had some good offensive performances, led by attack Brian Feldman’s five goals and three assists – slight work – and three-point days out of midfielders Ryan Keenan and Foster Cuomo.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Quinnipiac recap. ESPN3 replay.

Up Next

Hey! It’s time to recap a win! Detroit took down Monmouth on the road the following weekend.

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Michigan 6, Rutgers 13

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Tim

A week after a near-miss against Maryland, the “near” portion of that situation didn’t come into play at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took home the comfortable victory.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Rutgers 2016
Michigan Rutgers
Faceoff Wins 16 Faceoff Wins 7
Clearing 11-13 Clearing 21-23
Possessions 31 Possessions 32
Goals 6 Goals 13
Offensive Efficiency .194 Offensive Efficiency .407

Even in possession, not even on the scoreboard. Rutgers ran away with the game (especially late), thanks to a much more efficient performance on each side of the ball.

Notes

With the way things went against Maryland, you might have expected this one to be close as well (after all, though Rutgers is pretty good this year, nobody was as strong this season as Maryland – however their Memorial Day weekend turns out). That did not happen, though it wasn’t quite as ugly as the final score. Michigan collapsed in the fourth quarter, allowing a two-goal margin entering the final frame to turn into a seven-goal blowout.

The defense was not so hot, with the Maize and Blue scrambling futilely for answers to Rutgers attackmen Scott Bieda (2G, 4A) and Jules Heningburg (5G). Those two were first-team all-league, so it’s not like other programs necessarily had the solution, but after a nice game against Maryland, the longpole trio of senior Chris Walker and freshmen MJ Melillo and Nick DeCaprio couldn’t get it done. The third starting attackman, Adam Charalambides, also chipped in a goal and an assist.

Despite the weak defensive performance in front of him, Gerald Logan didn’t have a particularly poor day in goal. He saved 12 shots while allowing the 13 goals, though only five of those goals were assisted (generally considered tougher to stop because they tend to be time-and-room or on the doorstep).

Ian King returned for the Michigan offense, and although he didn’t start, he led the way with a goal and two assists. Patrick Tracy and Sean McCanna each had a goal and an assist, as well. Aside from a Peter Kraus goal, the starting lineup was kept completely off the scoreboard.

In what was not a banner day on either end of the field, the play in getting there wasn’t bad. Brad Lott had an outstanding (16/23) faceoff performance, and Michigan rode the Scarlet Knights into a pair of failed clears. However, they also coughed it up in transition a couple times themselves, and with far fewer opportunities, that allowed Rutgers to slightly win the possession battle.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Rutgers recap. Highlights.

Up Next

Scarlet is not a color that treated Michigan well in April. Ohio State was the next opponent.

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Detroit 6, Siena 7

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Tim

That Air Force turned out to be a pretty good team (this game came on the heels of a win over Duke, for example) makes this result impressive… but you’re judged on wins and losses, not moral victories. Close, but no cigar.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Siena 2016
Siena Detroit
Faceoff Wins 8 Faceoff Wins 8
Clearing 17-20 Clearing 17-17
Possessions 28 Possessions 28
Goals 7 Goals 6
Offensive Efficiency .250 Offensive Efficiency .214

UDM actually did a couple things well that it rarely did in 2016 (face off, clear), but still lost. A scoreless fourth quarter means that Detroit’s score to bring it within a goal at 4:48 of the third was the final salvo.

Notes

I tend to not like to say extremely negative things about either of the in-state programs, but you you do a good job on the things you usually don’t – as mentioned above, facing off and clearing, but also not turning the ball over – and still lose at home against a team that shouldn’t have been better than you, you just weren’t a particularly good team this year. Another day will be the time to build on that idea, and look toward the future.

There was something else strange about this contest: Connor Flynn got the starting nod over Jason Weber. There was a keeper switch at the half, with Weber closing things out (and taking the loss). They had identical save percentages (.667), but given the proven commodity Weber is, you have to wonder if he would have been able to make a couple more big saves int he first half. Of course, with such personnel decisions, you never know if the coach’s decision is strictly performance-related (to “mix things up” in this instance), or if it’s more of an internal team matter, about which there isn’t much budging.

So the things that went well. We’ll start with faceoffs, since this contest was a turning point at the dot to build toward the end of the season. Ben Gjokaj took every draw, and won exactly half of them. He managed to not grab a single ground ball in the process, so he has his wing play to thanks, as well.

Andy Hebden and Alec Gilhooly, each with a pair of goals, led the way offensively. Charlie Hayes and Patrick Walsh added a score each, while Mark Anstead and Adam Susalla gave UDM its only assists on the day. Oddly, despite two man-up goals from the Titans, neither assist came on the EMO.

Paul Bitetti and Austin Polson-McCannon each forced a pair of turnovers out of Siena, and the Titans forced nine overall, sort of a throwback to the more exciting style of play from a couple years back.

Although they were unable to knot the score, you can’t blame the Titans for lack of trying in the second half, when they launched 14 shots in the fourth quarter alone. Unfortunately, only five of those were on-cage (21 of 42 for the game), so too many of them didn’t have a chance to level the score.

It’s fair to give credit to Siena goalie Tommy Cordts, of course. He saved 15 shots while allowing six goals, so standing tall between the pipes was a big part of his team taking home the win.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Siena recap. Re-watch the whole darn thing on ESPN3.

Up Next

Eventual MAAC Champ Quinnipiac closed out the three-game homestand in similarly poor weather conditions.

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Michigan 7, Maryland 8

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Tim

Ohhhh man. A couple things go sliiightly differently, and the feeling coming out of this Michigan season changes drastically. It doesn’t suddenly become great, but a whole lot better with the Wolverines’ first major win.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Maryland 2016
Maryland Michigan
Faceoff Wins 9 Faceoff Wins 9
Clearing 13-16 Clearing 12-12
Possessions 25 Possessions 24
Goals 8 Goals 7
Offensive Efficiency .320 Offensive Efficiency .292

This game was about as even as can be. Both teams had decent offensive performances despite poor weather conditions, and did it on almost even possessions. That one possession for UMD in the end was the difference.

Notes

By definition, a one-goal game that’s close in possessions could be decided in either direction based on that one last chance with the ball, but this was about as close as it can get. Michigan did have the final possession with the ball, but Maryland’s game-winning goal came on the penultimate possession (and U-M had a shot saved and hit a post with time running out). Close, but no cigar.

So, how does Michigan lose to Maryland by the same margin that it lost to Dartmouth and Marist? “By playing its best game of the year” seems like the obvious answer, but it’s the right one, too. Even though both Kyle Jackson and Ian King were out, Michigan had a good offensive performance. There was also an adequate defensive performance and a very good job done in the possession game.

About that possession game… Maryland was just a good team on faceoffs (slightly worse than Michigan for the year), but not many people expected the Maize and Blue to get to a stalemate there, despite the season-long stats. Brad Lott took every draw and won half, chasing Austin Hennigsen (5/10) and Will Bonaparte (0/3) before the Terps found something that worked in longpole Curtis Corley (4/5).  Michigan also rode Maryland pretty well, with three failed clears for the Terps (as opposed to a perfect mark for U-M, unsurprising given Maryland’s lack of emphasis on the ride).

The difference between the goalkeepers – and perhaps shot selection – probably made the ultimate decision in this game. Gerald Logan saved just six shots, while Kyle Bernlohr saved 12. There’s no shame in being out-dueled by one of the best in the nation (and the Big Ten’s First-Team All-Conference honoree), but with the Wolverines putting much more rubber on the net than the Terps in a one-goal game, “what could have been” certainly involves a slightly different performance from each keeper.

With Jackson and King out, Peter Kraus (3G) and freshman Sean McCanna (2G) carried the torch offensively. Michigan had just three assists on its seven goals, which can be attributed to multiple factors. First, of course, is Maryland’s outstanding team defense (hardly a revelation), but also of note is Michigan’s developing offensive talent. U-M now has players who can win one-on-one matchups, even with two of its best missing the game. There’s a negative for Michigan, too though…

Michigan will regret the penalty situation. The Terps committed zero for the game, reducing the chance for man-up goals, which tend to be assisted. Michigan committed four infractions, with Maryland scoring on two of them. Each of those two goals gave the Terps a lead when the score had been tied in the second half, so cleaning things up could have helped in a big way.

Maryland’s talent is never in question, and in addition to Bernlohr, the standouts came on offense, with Matt Rambo and Bryan Cole – potential All-America selections – leading the way. Cole had a pair of goals and two assists, while Rambo chipped in a pair of goals.

Despite that, LSM Chase Brown was able to put together a big day with five caused turnovers and four ground balls. Lott (6GB) and fershman attack Rocco Sutherland, who started on account of the Jackson/King absences had four as well.

It’s fair to give the cold, windy, snowy conditions their due in helping Michigan keep this game close. Even though the offenses didn’t seem to have too much trouble (despite 17 turnovers for Maryland and 11 for Michigan, the efficiency marks were fine), the pace of play certainly played into an upset bid. If this one was played in pristine conditions, it’s fair to assume Maryland might have been able to play a cleaner game and win by a greater margin.

Talk about a youth movement. Five freshmen started for Michigan, including two attackman, a midfielder, and two defenders. The Wolverines’ injury situation this year stunk – and made for a year that didn’t meet expectations – but should help going forward.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Maryland recap. BTN subscribers can re-watch the game, if so inclined.

Up Next

Michigan hit the road to try to earn a Big Ten Tournament bid with wins over fellow non-blue bloods Rutger and Ohio State. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.

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Detroit 5, Air Force 7

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Tim

That Air Force turned out to be a pretty good team (this game came on the heels of a win over Duke, for example) makes this result impressive… but you’re judged on wins and losses, not moral victories. Close, but no cigar.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Air Force 2016
Air Force Detroit
Faceoff Wins 11 Faceoff Wins 4
Clearing 17-17 Clearing 19-21
Possessions 30 Possessions 25
Goals 7 Goals 5
Offensive Efficiency .233 Offensive Efficiency .200

Detroit’s faceoff struggles against anyone with a pulse continued, putting the Titans into a possession disadvantage. Pair that with very poor offense, and even solid defense isn’t going to be enough to spring an upset.

Notes

 

About those faceoffs… four different Titans took a turn on draws, with only one – longpole Jordan Yono – having any sort of success (2/4). While other specialists had spurts of success earlier in the season, Ben Gjokaj (0/2), Greg Marzec (1/3), and Mike Sforza (1/6) didn’t have great days. It was pretty clear by this point in the season that some overall change in strategy on faceoffs was needed (and as we’ll see in the next few game recaps, it appears that a change did come).

UDM, by the nature of the game, did have more clearing attempts than Air Force to even out the possession game a bit, and they cleared pretty well on this day (.905), their fourth-best of the season behind only perfect outings against Siena and Marist and a .958 against Marquette in a game where they needed basically all of them. That was balanced out a bit by 14 total turnovers (a TO in the offensive end is ultimately the same result as a TO on the clear), only four forced by the Falcons.

Given only five goals – only three of them assisted, including the game’s lone EMO tally – this wasn’t a day with sterling offensive performances. Only Mark Anstead, with a goal and an assist, was a multi-point scorer. The Titans didn’t even get that many shots off, 23 for the game, with 14 of them on-goal.

After most of a year in which the Titans had moved away from a force-the-issue defense, they appeared to be pretty aggressive in this one, forcing eight turnovers among Air Force’s 17 total TOs committed. Paul Bitetti, Charlie Hayes, and Jason Weber each forced a pair.

Speaking of Weber, the goalkeeper had another nice game between the pipes. He saved 10 shots while allowing seven goals, helping build toward a top-20 save percentage in the nation. Facing 17 shots isn’t a ton, but Weber did a solid job against a good offense.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Air Force recap. Re-watch the whole darn thing on ESPN3.

Up Next

Detroit would come even closer, but fail to close the deal against Siena.

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Michigan 6, Marist 7 (OT)

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Tim

This (and the Dartmouth game that preceded it) is where the season briefly went off the rails. Take wins in both of those games – along with the canceled Detroit contest – and 6-8 looks a whole lot better than 3-10. Alas, it was not to be.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Marist 2016
Marist Michigan
Faceoff Wins 7 Faceoff Wins 10
Clearing 14-19 Clearing 19-27
Possessions 34 Possessions 42
Goals 7 Goals 6
Offensive Efficiency .206 Offensive Efficiency .143

Both teams cleared horribly (it was a windy, cold, at times drizzly day, but still), leading to a pair of really bad offensive efficiency numbers. Despite a big possession deficit, Marist was able to make more of its opportunities, and hold onto the only possession of overtime and make it count.

Notes

Through significant portions of this season, the third quarter had been a trouble area for the Maize and Blue (as much as the coaches didn’t want to admit it), with the fourth quarter featuring a nice comeback to get things close. In all wins, they’d had comfortable third quarters, which should have boded well for this game after a 2-0 mark gave them a 5-2 lead entering the final frame. However, strong fourth quarter play escaped the Maize and Blue, with Marist making a 4-1 comeback to send things into overtime (where the Red Foxes had the only possession). That’s bad, IMO.

The clearing game was bad both ways, but after Michigan had spent much of the year (against far better opposition) rounding into one of the better clearing teams nationally, this really sunk them. Weather excuses, etc., but when building a three-goal lead almost halfway through the fourth quarter, you need to buckle down and just play a mistake-free game to win. Michigan couldn’t do that.

With that said, it’s tough to put direct blame on individuals, especially with the weather conditions, but longpoles and Gerald Logan didn’t cover themselves in glory. That said, 13 different Wolverines had turnovers, so whether or not a TO was on the clear, it was a sloppy game all around.

Six goals isn’t going to constitute an offensive day to write home about, but there are a few nice performances to note. Rocco Sutherland had a goal and two assists, Mike Hernandez had two goals, and Evan Glaser had a goal and an assist. A nice day for the Michigan midfield (perhaps no surprise, since this was one of the game with neither Kyle Jackson nor Ian King at attack), with the attack’s only contribution being a goal by Brent Noseworthy.

The defense was good – in part because the offense was bad, sure – led by goalie Gerald Logan. He saved 14 shots and allowed seven goals, for a very solid .667. This isn’t a poor-shooting Marist team, so that’s impressive.

Brad Lott struggled as a junior after the faceoff rules changed, but he really had a nice season as a senior. Sure, Marist’s Nick Nye was literally the single worst faceoff specialist in the country (.320) with enough attempts to qualify for the national leaderboard, but Lott went out and did his job. He only picked up one ground ball (as was his trend after the rules changes), so wing play certainly helped him out regularly – but in instances like this, where he won the clamp nearly every time against Nye, it may have brought things back down toward 50/50, too.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Michigan recap. Marist recap.

Up Next

U-M played another close one… this time against much better competition. The result was ultimately the same against Maryland, though.

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