Michigan 6, Bellarmine 12

Playing a bit of catch-up here, and I’m writing about a pretty disappointing game with more recent (and less depressing) evidence also under the team’s belt, so things may be slightly less down that this game would make you think.

Tempo Free

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

This was a game defined by inconsistency, and nowhere was that more evident than on faceoffs. Brad Lott started the game 7/11, but won only once in his next seven tries, for a slightly sub-.500 day. Charlie Keady won once in three attempts.

One undeniably positive thing to take from this game (and the next one, against Hopkins): Michigan’s clear is no longer terrible. Last year, the Wolverines were second-worst in the country, and whether it’s a scheme change with the new offensive coordinator or simply an upgrade in stick skills, things are much better.

The downside to drawing a stalemate in possessions is that it means your blowout loss came because of really poor ability to stop the other team from scoring. There were some reasons for that in this game, but either way, it’s still the case.

Notes

I already touched on faceoffs, but I also want to make a couple observations. Although the Michigan faceoffs specialists haven’t succeeded much yet this year (just wait until I write up the Hopkins game!), part of the issue in this one was wing play. If U-M’s specialists control the draw, the wing players need to make plays. FOGO Brad Lott did mention that chemistry might be part of it – and this was his first game of the year, so there was little time to build that up – so we’ll see if there’s some development as the season rolls along.

The big story of this game was transition, particularly transition opportunities for Bellarmine. Michigan’s 6v6 defense was solid, even if it looks a little hectic at times in slide recovery. It was the fast break that really won this game for Bellarmine. U-M gave up the majority of the scoring on breaks (including a brutal stretch at the beginning of the fourth quarter with four goals in barely over a minute), and limiting those opportunities is the next step. That comes from being careful with the ball on offense, and perhaps playing a more conservative ride if it’s not going to pay off in failed clears by the opposition.

Despite giving up 11 goals (Dylan Westerhold gave up one), Gerald Logan had another good performance. He’s an excellent ball-stopper, and although he’s not a clearing machine, he’s hardly a liability in that area, either. He got banged up in this game, but did return to face Johns Hopkins this weekend.

Kyle Jackson and Thomas Paras (two goals each) and Mike Hernandez (two assists) were the offensive stars in this one. It was Hernandez’s first game of the year, so again there’s a good chance he continues to improve as the year ticks on.

For Bellarmine, outside of the sheer athleticism of the unit to get out and run on the break, attack Cameron Gardner was the star. He scored five goals and added an assist, though it took him 11 shots (one was not on cage, and five were saved by Logan) to reach it.

Quotable

Freshman faceoff specialist Brad Lott:

“It was exciting to be able to come home finally and to be able to play in a Division I game. I have a lot of friends on the other team like Bobby Schmitt, Ryan Cinta, Cole Killion. Bobby played a really good game. I had to watch out for him on the faceoff. But other than that it was a great experience being able to see all your hometown fans.”

“Communication is a big thing. We’ve just got to keep getting better and keep working forward.”

Head Coach John Paul:

“We knew coming in that one of the keys was we had to make this a 6-on-6 game and not turn it into a transition game. Especially during that flurry where they scored on us in the third quarter, we were giving up transition. A lot of those were simple mental mistakes. There are easy fixes if our mindset’s right.”

“We know that [Brad Lott]’s our best faceoff option, but he has a long way to go and a lot to learn. He has to get a lot better on ground balls and he has to get a lot better with his game control and understanding situations, and what move do I use when, how do I use my wings, those kind of things. He’ll get better at that, this is his first time doing it, he’s only been practicing with us for a month. He obviously is talented and you could see it at the start of the game.”

“You’re going to see a lot of [freshman midfielder Peter] Kraus this year. He wasn’t available to us last week, but now that he is you’ll see him a lot. He’ll be in our rotation, he’ll play some man-up, and he’ll be a factor all year.”

Elsewhere

Michigan official site recap. Bellarmine official site recap. Boxscore. The Wolverine game column.

Up Next

Michigan traveled to Baltimore Saturday to take on Johns Hopkins. It… didn’t go as poorly as it could have. Recap coming later this week on GLS.