12B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 20, 2004 4 : : r=f. '.'f,, :: : : How Michigan's top defensive line is helped by their friendship off the ice By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Writer 4 I It's 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. The coaches left the ice at Yost Ice Arena more than 20 minutes ago. Some of the players have already hit the showers, but a few others stay after practice. Five of them - including senior captain Eric Nystrom and senior Milan Gajic - are crowded around the net trying to slip one past goalie Al Montoya. Gajic puts a rebound over Mon- toya's blocker and celebrates with his stick. raised in the air, mocking Montoya. The sprints and drills are long over, and now it's time for goofing off, shooting around and having fun. But while it's fun and games at one end of the ice, it's all business at the other. Brandon Rogers and Matt Hunwick are at the far end of the ice, still drilling away. They start at center ice, dump the puck into the zone, sprint after it and bring it up out of the zone together. This is typi- cal of Rogers, the senior alternate captain, and Hunwick, the sophomore sensation. The two of them can be found trying to improve their chemistry long after the allotted practice time is over. Sometimes they do drills that work on their skills and puck handling; sometimes they work on their communication and ice sense. Even before they became defensive line part- ners, the two of them were two of the last skaters off the ice. "We both always stay out on the ice (after practice) anyway, and it just makes sense for us to be working on stuff together out there," Hunwick said. "I think it's good to have a partner who you can stay on the ice with and work with and develop continuity together and become better as a team." When they finally leave the ice, if they aren't going to spend time in the weight room or the trainer's room, they get show- ered and changed and head home for din- ner and relaxation. They live together - along with seniors Nystrom, Gajic, Mike Woodford and Jason Ryznar and sophomore T.J. Hensick. All of the guys enjoy watching television - especially hockey - on their two-TV setup in the living room, but Rogers and Hunwick have even more in common. "He and I both are big "Seinfeld" guys," Hunwick said. "So we usually just try to get some of that - watching them after prac- tice or at night sometime. A couple other guys like it, but I think, for the most part, we're the biggest fans." Whether it be "The Soup Nazi," "Festi- vus" or "The Contest," the defensive line pairing admits to watching an unhealthy amount of Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer. It's certainly not a requirement for a defen- sive pair to be friends off of the ice - and coach Red Berenson said that he didn't even know if Hunwick and Rogers hung out togeth- er - but both of the guys said that there is truly an added benefit to being close. "It definitely doesn't hurt (to be friends off the ice) because we can talk about things that went on on the ice," Rogers said. "And it's easier to communicate that way." In their case, sharing a house has brought them closer. In addition to watching "Sein- feld," the roommates also watch sports together - Rogers is a rabid Red Sox fan - and cook. Rogers even claims to have taught Hunwick to make their favorite dish: chicken and pasta with vegetables. "You know what he does that's great," said Rogers of his sophomore roommate. "He's real good at cleaning up the house. He's always doing the dishes and cleaning up the living room and the kitchen and pretty much 1 keeping things organized. He's al~ Without him, the dishes pile the disi up in a hurry." Rich Hunwick, Matt's leaninj dad, said that he's noticed his son's neat side through- out his entire life and described him as a real-life Felix Unger - the neat one from The Odd Couple. When Hunwick was playing for the U.S. national team, he got into a couple of fights. While his opponent was throwing off his gloves and charging at him, Hunwick was taking off his gloves and neatly placing them on the ice next to his stick. "I remember thinking, 'Are you going to organize everything and let this guy pound your head while you're organizing your equipment?' "his father said. When Hunwick first began playing on teams as a 6-year-old, his coaches imme- diately put him on defense. He said it was because he was the only kid on the team who could skate backwards. The coaches saw his. strong skating and immediately wanted him on the back line. His dad was the man who motivated Hunwick to learn how to skate.. When his h{ son was 3 years old, Rich Hunwick took him to an ice rink in Birmingham for pub- lic skating. As a 3-year-old, Matt wasn't quite as focused on becoming a star hock- ey player as he is now. Rich said that his son was bored just skating around the ice. So Rich challenged him to make a whole lap around the rink without falling and guaranteed him McDonalds if he did. It took him some time to make it all the way around, but when he did, his dad fulfilled the promise. Eventually, it didn't take Matt as long to finish his lap. "After a couple of times he sort of took off," Rich Hunwick said. "It would take 20 minutes to drive to the rink and three min- utes to skate around and it was time to leave. It was kind of cute when he was 3 years old and saying, 'Well Dad, it's time to get a ham- burger - I'm done.' We had only been there five minutes, and I don't even have my skates on, and (Matt wanted) to leave." Rogers learned to skate in his backyard in Rochester, N.H. His father, Tom, built a rink in their yard out of wooden boards. He rebuilt it every winter and d n maintained it every nays doing night. As Rogers got es and older, the wooden rink got bigger. Like U} " Hunwick's parents, Judy and Tom Rogers - Brandon Rogers took their son to the local ice skating rink when he was 3 years old. But most of his time honing his skills came in their backyard in the winter or in the driveway in the summer. He used to play against a collie from the neighborhood. "He would come home in the afternoon and start hitting the puck, and the dog would hear him and come down around the corner and would play with him," Judy said. "It was like playing with someone else because the dog would go after the puck." Like Hunwick, Rogers also played defense right from the start. But for him, his coaches' reasoning was a little bit different. "When I started, they put me with the best player - probably because I was the worst player," Rogers said. "I think that they just wanted to balance things out on 'D.' So they put me right back there right away." When they were younger, there were no tryouts to see what either player was good at, or trial games at different positions to get a feel for their talents. Both Hunwick and Rogers, now Michigan's top line on defense, were simply thrown into their job as defensemen on the first day of practice for the first team they played for. Rich said that, for a couple of years, Hunwick wanted to move up to forward, but eventu- ally he realized that being a great defender was more valuable than being an average forward, and now they both love it. "I like being the last guys who are depend- ed on to keep the puck out of the net," Rog- ers said. "You can see the whole ice better than you can as a forward, because the play is always in front of you. So you can see things develop. And then on the offensive zone, get- ting a chance to sneak into the slot and catch guys by surprise." According to Nystrom and the coaches, the thing that separates Hunwick and Rog- ers from their teammates is their work ethic. Rogers, especially, is a leader in the weight room and the locker room. "He does things the way you would expect players to do them," associate head coach Mel Pearson said. "As far as his work ethic at prac- 4 I 4 photos by TONY DING/Daily Brandon Rogers, top, and Matt Hunwick goof around at home. But on the Ice, it's all business. tice, he's a kid that's dependable, he's on time, he does the right thing ... on the ice. And that's why he's one of the captains on our team." That responsibility has always been a part of Rogers's personality. When he was about 10 years old, he hit a puck from his home- made ice rink through his neighbor's living room window while she was ironing. "Brandon pointed his finger like he was pointing upstairs," Judy Rogers said. "He shouted, 'I have the money upstairs!' " Hunwick is also a player accustomed to responsibility. He's won a gold medal with the U.S. national team, and last season he played most of his time on Michigan's top line. He teamed up with senior captain Andy Burns to go up against the opposition's top scoring lines. "It definitely helps to drive you knowing that you are going to play against someone like a Jim Slater (a Michigan State forward and preseason first team All-CCHA)," Hun- wick said. "For that weekend I think it's some- thing that pushes you all week. You know that your assignment is going to be against their top guys and shutting them down." Collectively, Hunwick and Burns had a plus-minus rating of plus-25 last season. But Burns was the epitome of a defensive- defenseman. He didn't score his first goal last year until the last game of the season against Boston College, and he only had four goals for his entire career. Hunwick, who has a tendency to move up into the play, was free to play by his instincts - knowing that his partner would be there to back him up. Rogers, as good as his coaches and teammates say he is on defense, is a two- way player. He likes to push up into the slot and try to score. And this season, the coaching staff is really trying to get its defenders more involved in the offense. But that means that the two of them have to be careful not to get caught too far up the ice at the same time. "When you give them the green light like that, sometimes they'll both jump up," Pear- son said. "They have to read off each other a little bit better when one should jump and the other should pull back a little bit." And that's where the communication comes in. Hunwick and Rogers continue to drill long after practice ends, and spend time together because they know that their com- munication is essential to the success of the Wolverines. "I think that the biggest thing is to have respect for the guy you're playing with," Hunwick said. "You have to respect him as a player and also off the ice as a person. So I think, in our case, it works out." q Question Brandon's Prediction Matt's Answer Matt's Prediction Brandon's Answer Favorite Michigan hockey alum? Bubba Berenzweig Marty Turco Turco Mike Comrie Favorite NHL player? Chris Chelios Steve Yzerman 4 Ray Bourque Bourque , Who's more likely to bring a different girl He'd say me. ButI don't think either of us are going to Me What would he say? e Hint (Matt) home Friday and Saturday night? give ourselves up that easy. Meal you make most often? Eggs Chicken and pasta Chicken and pasta Favorite beverage? O.J. " ,", Coke, I guess. Something healthy - a protein shake Chocolate Milk Roommate you're closest with? 1. liensic Hensik Eric Nystrom ***".... ,"" Nystrom Best Friday night: Rick's, Brown Jug, Jug with the boys I can't get into Rick's - too young Brown Jug Him? Rick's At the Jug with the boys watch a movie, do homework? Best channel: ESPN, ESPN 2, Regular The normal one .... The first one - regular ESPN Regular ESPN ESPN Classic or ESPN News? Britney or Christina? Britney "Britney umm ... Christina Britney Best birthday gift: Blender, pic- Sweater What kind of sweater? I'd say blender I think he'd say blender, too Blender e*'* ture frame or sweater? I'd rather watch: SportsCenter, West SportsCenter Of those, SportsCenter SportsCenter SportsCenter Wing, 60 Minutes, Sex and the City? Best late- night pizza: Backroom, Backroom Backroom Backroom Bell's 4 I 0 a