Division-1 women and Devision-3 men on the docket for this afternoon.
Division-1 Women
Detroit @ Siena, noon (Loudonville, N.Y.)
Division-3 Men
Calvin v. Concordia-Wisconsin, 4 p.m. (Grand Rapids Christian HS)
Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.
I thought this would be a close game that Detroit couldn’t pull out in the end, and in a way the score looks like that’s the case. However, the order of scoring (UDM scored the final three goals to make things look a little closer than they actually were) belies that.
Falling to what appears to be a very good Navy team is nothing to be ashamed of, and playing opponents like this will help the Titans prepare for a run in-conference.
From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:
| Navy 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | Navy | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 10 | Faceoff Wins | 12 |
| Clearing | 17-22 | Clearing | 24-28 |
| Possessions | 36 | Possessions | 45 |
| Goals | 7 | Goals | 11 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .194 | Offensive Efficiency | .244 |
Yet again, a pretty fast-paced game that looks strong defensively for both teams (obviously moreso for Navy). I’m not sure if that’s just the style of play Michigan and Detroit have had so far, if the new clock rules lead to more possessions (and more wasted possessions), or what.
UDM held their own on faceoffs – more about that in a moment – but had some struggles in the transition game that led to a significant possession deficit. Some of that deficit was made up in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late for Detroit.
On faceoffs: most of UDM’s success came in the fourth quarter (a 7/8 stretch, all of the wins by Tyler Corcoran), and much of it once Navy replaced starting faceoff specialist Evan McGoogan (10/15 on the day) with Sean Reilly (2/5). When the game was actually in its more competitive portions, the Titans were crushed on draws.
Detroit hasn’t been a unit that’s causing as many turnovers defensively as in recent years, though it’s unclear whether that’s a product of competition faced so far this year (very good) or a style change. In just over 3/4 the number of possessions, they had as many turnovers caused against them as they caused. That ain’t good. It could also speak more to poor valuing of the ball on offense, rather than causing turnovers on D.
Your offensive star of the day – surprising nobody – was Shayne Adams. His four goals did come on 12 shots, however (eight of them on goal), so passing up the OK look might be something to work on. This Detroit team isn’t good enough to not capitalize on every offensive opportunity to the best of their ability each time down. Adams added an assist for five total points, and Alex Maini’s one and one made him the only other multi-point Titan.
On defense, Jamie Hebden caused five(!) turnovers and picked up five ground balls, earning MAAC defensive player of the week. Jordan Houtby and Jon Dwyer caused two each. Goalie Chris Kelly went the distance between the pipes, and made 11 saves while allowing the 11 goals.
For Navy, attack Tucker Hull was the star, scoring three times and assisting on three teammates’ goals. Austin Heneveld added one of each, while Sam Jones made two assists (but didn’t manage to find the back of the net on five shots). Goalie Nolan Hickey faced only 14 shots, saving seven.
Detroit official site recap. Navy official site recap. Conference press release on Hebden’s award. Game photos. Coach Holtz postgame.
Detroit travels to Moon Township, Pa. Saturday afternoon for one of the more winnable games on the early schedule. Bellarmine has knocked off the Colonials already this year, though it was a close game.
There are obviously no sure things – and if there were, this wouldn’t be one of them – but a Titan team that plays its best game of the early season should have a chance to bring the first win of the year back to the Motor City.
I’m assuming – perhaps incorrectly – that I’ll be talking about Michigan’s first win of the year right about here.
MCLA-1
Western Michigan 6, MSU-Mankato 13
Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.
We’re still seeking the first Division-1 win of the year… and Albion’s comeback salvaged what was otherwise a rough day yesterday.
Division-1 Men
Michigan 6, Bellarmine 12
Division-1 Women
Detroit 7, Robert Morris 13
Division-3 Men
Albion 10, Kenyon 9
Calvin 7, Baldwin-Wallace 10
MCLA-1
Western Michigan 5, Minnesota-Duluth 19
Michigan State 11, Wittenberg 13
MCLA-1
Western Michigan @ MSU-Mankato, 1:30 p.m.
Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.
Postgames from the Michigan and Detroit contests this weekend coming up later (maybe Tuesday or Wednesday), so mentally prepare yourself to wait.
Until then, a game column from The Wolverine on Michigan’s loss to Bellarmine.
UDMand Western Michigan came up short last night, but there are several games today that can bring a positive weekend – including a chance for some WMU redemption.
Division-1 Men
Detroit 7, Navy 11
MCLA-1
Western Michigan 6, Minnesota 12
Division-1 Men
Michigan @ Bellarmine, 1 p.m. (Louisville, Ky.) Preview and stream information.
Division-1 Women
Detroit @ Robert Morris, 3 p.m. (Moon Township, Pa.)
Division-3 Men
Albion v. Kenyon
Calvin @ Baldwin-Wallace
MCLA-1
Western Michigan @ Minnesota-Duluth, 7:30 p.m.
Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.
Michigan’s loss to Bellarmine last year, in my mind, was the nadir of Team One’s performance. It came off the heels of a decent performance against Loyola, and sunk what would have been a huge confidence-builder into nothing. Michigan would rebound to close out the season with some decent performances against good teams (before getting blasted by UNC in the final outing), and a win against Bellarmine would have meant Team One left a sour taste in very few fans’ mouths.
Fear the stylized Knights!
1 p.m. EST Feb. 16, 2013
Louisville, Ky.
Live Stats. Live video.
One game of numbers is more like a boxscore than a look at the full stats, so keep in mind when digesting these numbers that Bellarmine’s victory over Robert Morris on the road last weekend would have been a pretty big upset, per the numbers of last year. As always, it’s possible that Robert Morris got worse instead of Bellarmine getting better, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
| Bellarmine 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellarmine | Opponents (RMU) | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 17 | Faceoff Wins | 13 |
| Clearing | 17-22 | Clearing | 20-25 |
| Possessions | 44 | Possessions | 43 |
| Goals | 9 | Goals | 8 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .205 | Offensive Efficiency | .186 |
This was about as even as games come. Robert Morris made up for a slight disadvantage on faceoffs by turning a few of those defensive possessions into clearing opportunities. The teams were separated by just one possession, and one goal.
Totally fitting for a game that never saw more than a two-goal lead (7-5 RMU at halftime), it went down to the wire. It was a very big defensive battle as well, with neither offense able to have much success.
For now, take a look at their status coming into the year, which gives a picture of where they’re expected to improve and slide back (let’s pretend like I didn’t say the defense would be bad).
This early in the season, take scoring totals with a grain of salt. However, Bellarmine was in a neck-and-neck game against Robert Morris, so it’s fair to assume they played their first lines as much as possible.
Bellarmine put put a very even scoring effort, with nine goals coming from seven different players. Five of those goals game from starting attackmen (two each form Michael Ward and Cameron Gardner, plus Ward added a couple assists). D-pole Sean Joyce also chipped in a goal, likely on a transition opportunity from the ride.
Early returns make this looks like an attack-centric offense, though transition opportunities from a heavy ride (despite a decent clearing day from RMU, Bellarmine was a heavy-riding team last year, and I would be surprised if that’s changed) help get more personnel involved.
Despite some obvious weaknesses on Michigan’s defense, a greatly improved situation in net, combined with the mediocre (so far) output of the opposition gives some confidence.
I was down on the defense coming into the year, but they absolutely smothered a Robert Morris offense that was one of the country’s best last year. I have a hard time believing that a BU defense replacing damn near every starter improved by that much. Did Robert Morris get worse? Was there terrible weather in Pittsburgh last week (the boxscore mentions it was cold, but nothing about precipitation or wind).
For a team to clear the ball relatively well but accomplish next to nothing on offense should speak to good D… but the similarly poor offensive output from Bellarmine makes me think it might be a fluke.
Bellarmine was a poor faceoff team last year, but David Herring performed excellently on draws against RMU, so that may not be a problem this weekend. Of course, Michigan will be getting Brad Lott back on the active roster, and if he lives up to high expectations, Michigan should still be able to hold their own, at the very least.
Both teams employed a heavy ride last year, but we didn’t see much of it from either team in season openers. For Michigan, that may have been to avoid transition opportunities for a talented Penn State team (they showed 10-man ride several times, but popped the goalie back into the cage pretty quickly when the ball advanced), and for Bellarmine… well, you can’t knock what they were doing when even a poor ride was part of a gameplan that just destroyed the Robert Morris offense.
Every game for Michigan is a chance to earn the first win of the year (until it happens, of course), and prove that this thing will work out. The Wolverines could have beaten BU last year but for one of their worst performances in Year One, and a greatly improved Michigan squad will be hungry. After only one win all last season, U-M is still seeking its first official victory over an ECAC foe, as well.
Michigan weekly release and preview. Bellarmine site preview.
If Michigan’s going to win a conference game this year, I’m pretty confident in saying this is their best shot. Despite the away game factor, Bellarmine is closer to Michigan’s level than to the rest of the league.
Like with Detroit, I have a hard time predicting Michigan upset wins until I’ve actually seen one. I’m almost leaning toward picking the Wolverines on the strength of what I perceive to be a likely possession advantage, but until they’ve shown they can close out a game against an opponent that’s not completely overmatched (as Mercer was in the only Michigan win last year), I’m not predicting it. Bellarmine 13, Michigan 11.
The season is still young, so we don’t know a whole lot about teams that we didn’t know coming in. Navy smoked hapless VMI to start the year, so the early returns are bound to look good. Can Detroit change that?
No frills on that logo.
7 p.m. EST Feb. 15, 2013
Annapolis, Md.
Live Stats. Live video ($).
One game of numbers is more like a boxscore than a look at the full stats, so keep in mind when digesting these numbers that VMI was the sixth-worst team in the country last year despite an excellent ability to possess the ball.
| Navy 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | Opponents (VMI) | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 17 | Faceoff Wins | 13 |
| Clearing | 18-22 | Clearing | 10-18 |
| Possessions | 47 | Possessions | 35 |
| Goals | 20 | Goals | 7 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .426 | Offensive Efficiency | .200 |
Not only did Navy dominate what has been a solid possession team in VMI (which, to be fair lost Stephen Robarge), but they were ruthlessly efficient on both sides of the ball. Is it a product of competition faced, or are the Midshipmen for real? We won’t know until we have a few more games of data.
For now, take a look at their status coming into the year, which gives the expectation of some serious improvement.
This year’s leading scorer to date is not any of those I pointed to in the season preview, but rather junior attackman Austin Heneveld, who was a very small role player last year. Again, with one game of data you never know how much that’ll hold up, but he’s at least one to watch as a distributor.
Last year’s leading scorer, fellow junior attack Sam Jones, was second on the day (tied with midfielder Erik Hoffstedt, who also notched three goals and an assist), so it’s not all new faces. Given the nature of the blowout win over VMI, plenty of depth players got opportunities – twelve different players scored for the Middies – so it’s wait-and-see what endures.
Although the defense was hit hard by graduation, Navy didn’t miss a beat in the season opener. Nolan Hickey got the start between the pipes before giving way in the final frame to his backups. He allowed four goals and saved five shots.
The close defense was a handful of fresh faces, but LSM Pat Kiernan picked up his 2012 form, leading the team (and game) with six ground balls.
This is where things get questionable. VMI has always been really bad on offense and really bad on defense. For Navy to dominate in the 6v6 is no surprise. However, despite the Keydets’ general ineptitude over the years, the one area they’ve been successful is on faceoffs. Navy’s Sean Reilly dominated there to the tune of 13/18 before his backups made things look a little more even than they actually were over the course of the game. Has VMI run out of magic on draws, or is Navy that good? It shouldn’t matter against a weak UDM unit, of course.
In the transition game, VMI has traditionally been a decent clearing squad and one that doesn’t focus on the ride. That makes Navy’s nice day on the clear expected, but not VMI’s awful 55.5% performance.
Detroit has been thisclose to a breakthrough season over the last couple years, and the lack of a non-conference “signature win” (they got it in-conference against Siena two years ago) has been one thing that has helped hold them back. This is another opportunity to get it.
UDM site preview. A Lax Links post isn’t going to happen, so Ryan Callaghan’s honor as MAAC rookie of the week can go here. Navy preview and weekly release.
Detroit hung tough last weekend against an Ohio State squad that I think will end up better than Navy this season. The key to this week is finishing.
I was fooled last year by Detroit, and although I think they’ll be improved overall this season, I have to see a win like this get pulled off to believe it. Detroit can hang with teams like this, but that winner mentality to finish games is something that develops over the years, and UDM is still a young program. The Titans carry a 7-6 lead into halftime, but Navy prevails, 13-10.
How about a little Friday evening lacrosse? No complaints? OK, let’s hit it.
Division-1 Men
Detroit @ Navy, 7 p.m. (Annapolis, Md.)
MCLA-1
Western Michigan @ Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Corrections, omissions, etc. always appreciated in the comments.
