8B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 16, 2004 m 4 I ~~*ta. Ag- Sr h ILA W, Ir -4; I du,.; a ,.? 4 d -is, w : E it " ..1, 1 .., , Y , * ° Photo by DANNY MOLOSHOK Headline illustration by SAMUEL BUTLER - I r 0 NI 4 By Gennaro Filice and Jim Weber Daily Sports Editors - ~ _Willirngress_ At the end of the weekend, Montoya receives notes and a DVD from Matwijiw that critiques Montoya's play. "He'll go over the video with my notes and replay situa- tions, so that he understands exactly what I was talking about, what I was seeing, what he could have done dif- ferently, and he changes it," Matwijiw said. "And that's very important at this point - at this level - because, as successful as he's been, he still has room for improve- ment. And guys that have played years in the National Hockey Legue still have room for lImprovement."" . ' R Montoya says that he played "everything" growing up, including basketball, soccer and football. In fact, he almost quit hockey to play football during his freshman year of high school; tight end was his position of choice. Said Matwijiw: "For a big guy, a guy his size (6- foot-2, 185 pounds), he's very athletic." - Dtrif njti on- Very confident in his quickness, Montoya regularly plays out in the front of the crease. The 19-year-old sophomore seems to enjoy the physical aspect of the game and isn't afraid to poke, strike and even cross- check any opponent that invades his territory. "He's very aggressive," goalie coach Stan Matwijiw said. "He's out in the shooter's face - he doesn't give them much to shoot at." Opponents constantly dump the puck deep into the Michigan zone, but Montoya deters possible attacks by vacating the goal and swiftly retrieving the puck. He has a knack of catching teams offhand during line changes by flipping the puck up to wide-open Wolverines. "It's just such an advantage to our overall game scheme in how honest he keeps other teams - especially on line changes - because they know if they make a bad line change, he's moving the puck up and we're going in on a 2-on-o," Matwijiw said. "How many goalies do you see do that? That's a huge advantage to our defensemen, knowing that they've got a guy that's as skilled as he is CURTIS HILLER/Daily back there playing the puck." The Glenview, Ill., native started skating at the age of three. Growing up, Montoya always played in the older age groups. Michigan did not have a goalie lined up for the 2002-03 year, so he fast-tracked his way through high school in three years and started for the Wolverines as a 17-year-old freshman. Said Matwijiw: "He looks for perfection in his game." yC+*o r f e ce I JEFF LEHNERT/Daily Following most games in which Montoya excels, other Wolverines are asked to comment on their goalie's performance. Their response is programmed, just as that by Matwijiw: "That's Al. He gives us a chance to win every time we hit the ice." Montoya says that he loves being the last line of defense. "He's a leader by example. Every night our team knows that we're going to get good goaltending. That's a lot to say for a goalie, when his team is never unsure of their goaltending," Matwijiw said. =ke A Warfe5=E Montoya never loses the puck ... or anyone on the opposing team. Montoya describes ice awareness simply: "Say (the opponents) are coming down on me in a 2-on- 1. The guy without the puck on the offensive team is busting down the lane and going backdoor. I know that that guy's there and I know what kind of stick he's got and where he's going to put it before he does." Said Matwijiw: "Ice awareness is knowing where every- thing is on the ice. He's never surprised. He knows where everything is at and he's always one step ahead of the game, and that's why he doesn't allow weak goals." !, ieillJ.i ~PERIO D 4 i mSECOND PUJOD STAN 1' 2-1 h1ockrsmide *" "Becarful1iiv Mhaking Goalie coach Stan Matwijiw (Mah-twiv) is in his fifth .. . -n.evn ,O "- hif n ...,. " "loveside, great job holding white ice, shot misses blockerside." " "2-lgloveside, again great patience holding your ice, bud. That's confidence." " "Dump glove wrapped, did Cooke call for 'Play it?' If so 'Play it' was the right play." " "Dump gloveside, #8 calls 'Play it' which you do, but make the safe play and use the boards. You try and make the direct pass which " "GT (TIME) #4." " "Dump fall short blocker- side, smart play to bring it back-behind goaflne and 4 " 7* A " " *Note* - Al, our move- " "What an ugly (expletive) play, mani. Not much I could say abotit that, Al. Brutal!!" S u smart read, Al, shooter was on his backhand, so you play deeper playing pass. SMART!" " "Face-off check." cross-ice pass Al. Remem- ber play K.I.S.S. Don't try and do to much." 4 d