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At the sign-ups, Shawn saw these little goalie pads in the
corner of the room, and that was it. Rich did his best to talk
him into another position, but Shawn was having none of it.
He wanted to be a goalie.
This whole journey - this story - it all started because a
little boy saw some oversized goalie pads and thought they
looked cool.
As kids cycled through positions while experimenting
with the sport, Shawn was in net. He played without those
oversized pads in the offensive zone a few times and hated
it. Out there, you have to return to the bench every once in
a while. Shawn didn't like coming out. He was content with
never taking a breather.
It didn't hurt that he had an older brother who was will-
ingto shoot on him for hours and hours, either. Shots to the
head didn't faze him - they were just part of the game. He
wasn't scared of anything.
Shawn enjoyed the pressure, too. He liked that the team
relied on him and that not everyone could do his job. Goalie
might be the most important position in any team of any
sport. Something about that drew Shawn in.
"If you are a forward, you can probably take a night off
without anyone noticing that you didn't play that well,"
Shawn said. "When you are a goalie you can'treally do that.
If I take a night off we are going to lose the game."
He could have switched positions when he stopped
growing, but he knew he was a goalie. Tall, short, or in
between, no one could take that away from him. They tried,
but the little kid who had been blocking shots his whole life
just blocked that one too.
Nobody doubted the kid was a hell of a goalie. He had a
knack for knowing where the puck was going, even at an
early age.
In one youth tournament he played in, the most valuable
player of each game received the puck. Shawn received a
puck almost every game, even though his team didn't win
a single time.
"The pucks just kept coming in," Robin said. "Every time
he turned around they were giving Shawn the puck."
By then, the Hunwick boys were devoting every wak-
ing moment to hockey. They played every sport and joined
every group, but all other activities fell into place around
hockey.
"We would have a day off and he would be like, 'I'm
bored, we don't do anything,' " Rich said. "I would always
say, 'What the hell are you talking about? We've been going
21 days in a row!'"
The United States Developmental Teamshowed no inter-
est in Shawn, even after Matt played on the team two years
before. The team is a Michigan hockey pipeline, and sends
players to other top schools as well. Undeterred, Shawn fin-
ished high school and started playing junior hockey.
He played for the Petrolia Jets of the Western Ontario
Junior Hockey League (WOJHL) at age 18, where he won
the WOJHL Rookie Goalie of the year award. The team
finished in ninth place the year before he joined and the
year after he left. When Shawn was there, the Jets finished
fourth.
He still didn't warrant significant interest from colleges,
so he joined the Alpena IceDiggers of the North American
Hockey League (NAHL). The IceDiggers were in Alpena
for five years, and when Shawn was on the team in 2007,
they finished with their best record in team history.
Yes, he was short, but he was also talented with an
impressive track record. Success followed him anywhere
he went. Still, colleges didn't care.
"He didn't come up the easy way," Berenson said.
Shawn committed to Adrian College in the summer of
2007; his parents even sent money to the school for Shawn's
6B I Faceoff, October 21, 2011
housing. But everything changed when
Steve Jakiel decided to leave Michigan
for Curry College.
All of a sudden, Berenson needed a
third goalie.
Then-Wolverines Chad Kolarik and
Kevin Porter approached the coach
about bringing Shawn aboard, and
Berenson eventually agreed. He knew
the Hunwick family because of Matt
and had seen Shawn at a few tourna-
ments, so he knew he was getting an
undersized, but quality individual in
Shawn.
For comparison's sake, Jakiel is
6-foot-4 - the Berenson prototype.
There isn't much risk with a third
goalie. He sits on the end of the bench,
doesn't get much time at practice and
isn't expected to do much. Shawn
wasn't going to play, so if Berenson
didn't like him he could get rid of him
easily. Shawn Hunwick lo
"I told him if he were to come here he
would have to be a great teammate, work
hard at practice and push the other goalies," Berenson said.
"Being the third goalie is a very difficult role to play."
It wasn't even a decision for Shawn. He accepted the
offer immediately.
"I think Shawn would have wanted to go to Michigan
even if he wasn't on the team," Robin said. "He just wanted
to be there. Even if he didn't get to play, he still thought it
was a good experience for him, a good fit."
He would have been one of Adrian's best players imme-
diately, but he wanted nothing more than to become a
Wolverine. He would be a glorified practice player, but he
would be a Michigan practice player. That was the only
thing that mattered.
"I think a lot of people that we knew didn't necessarily
like the decision," Matt said.
Shawn's first two years at Michigan played out exactly
how they were supposed to. He sat on the bench and did
everything he could to be a good teammate. Berenson loved
him in the locker room, but Shawn never got a shot at play-
ing time.
He played in one game his freshman year, tallying two
saves in three minutes in a 10-1 Michigan victory.
During his sophomore season, he didn't appear in a sin-
gle game.
"There were days and weeks where I thought I could
play, and there were days and weeks and months where I
didn't think I would play," Shawn said. "I was improving
in practice, but it was hard to be consistent when you aren't
geared up to play. It's easyto take days off and all that stuff,
especially when you get into January and February and you
still aren't playing. In the back of my mind, I just wanted to
work hard."
He would go on the ice 45 minutes before practice
everyday for an individual workout with goalie coach Josh
Blackburn. Billy Sauer and Brian Hogan were splitting time
during games and practices, so Shawn didn't see much time
in the net during practice.
There was no imminent reward of playing time. But
Shawn never called home and complained. Not once.
The thought of leaving the team never even crossed his
mind. Ask him about giving up, and you geta look of pure,
unrestrained confusion. Quitting? What's that?
"I never grew tired of the program," Shawn said. "I
couldn't really be disappointed because I came in knowing
this is what I was going to be, the third goalie."
FILE PHOTO/Daily
oks on in disbelief after Michigan lost the National Championship.
But third goalie turned to second when Sauer graduat-
ed. And second became first on senior night against Notre
Dame.
The night before the Notre Dame game, Shawn told
himself he was never going to start a game in a Michigan
uniform. Hogan would be returning for his senior season,
which would essentially eliminate Shawn's shot.
For Shawn, one day made all the difference.
If you wanted to map out the early career of Shawn Hun-
wick and then do the exact opposite, Bryan Hogan would
be your prototype. Heavily recruited and 6-foot-1, Hogan
played significant minutes in his first two years at Michi-
gan in front of Shawn. By the start of his junior year in
2009, Hogan had won the starting job outright.
But the season was not going well for the Wolverines.
Entering the final series of the year against Notre Dame,
the Wolverines were 18-16-1 and in 7th place in the CCHA.
For the first time in 20 years, Michigan was not going to
make the NCAA tournament.
Eleven minutes into senior night, Hogan suffered a groin
injury and had to leave the game. Making just his second
appearance of the season, the important game was put into
the hands of the goalie nobody wanted.
Shawn stepped in and made 14 saves en route to a 4-0
shutout of the Fighting Irish.
"My only thought was that I don't want to ruin senior
night for these guys," Shawn said. "You only get one senior
night, and I don't to be the reason we lose to Notre Dame."
Shawn started the next night against Notre Dame and
lost the first start of his career, 5-3. He figured he'd be right
back on the bench when Hogan returned for the CCHA
tournament.
But it turns out Hogan's injury was more serious than
expected. When you spend the whole game crouching and
diving and stretching, the groin needs to be fully function-
al.
And after almost three years, the kid that never gave up
finally got his shot.
In order to keep the NCAA tournament streak alive,
Michigan would have to win the CCHA tournament as a
No. 7 seed. No team in the history of the conference had
ever done that.
And the last time Michigan didn't make the tournament,
Ice Ice Baby was a No. 1 single and Space Jam was making
its debut.
No. 1
J1
L uke Glendening almost gri- ga
maced when he admitted tea
that the Michigan hockey
team had seen the most recent ver- se
sion of the NCAA hockey rankings. en
Earlier this week, Michigan ga
coach Red ea
Berenson said
he wasn't sure br
if his players fo
were aware of cr
the rankings.
They were, but -
the didn't want Ht
to talk about it. an
When ZACH
you're the No. HELFAND
1 hockey team go
in the nation, rig
that number becomes pretty hard ye
to ignore. Glendening, though, said on
that the number means "absolutely th
zero." for
"We've played four games," se
Glendening said, dismissing the
topic. sa
Through those four games, ov
Michigan has gone undefeated
and currently sits at second in the mi
nation in both goals per game and 16
goals against. Not too bad. di
And through those four games, tw
the only thingthat distinguishes Na
the current iteration of the Michi-
STAFF PICKS
The Daily hockey
writers take their best
shot to predict what will
happen in the world
of college hockey
during Michigan's
2011-12 campaign.
ranking?.
ust a pretty
n hockey team from the 2005 If the Wolverines win it all this
am is the size of its Hunwick. year, they'll be the first Michigan
The 2005 team earned a pre- team to be ranked No.1 during the
ason ranking toward the back season and win the tournament.
d of the top 10. After just four There's a lot to like about these
mes and four impressive wins, it Wolverines. They've played tight
ned the No.1 ranking. defense, have lots of offensive con-
The 2005 team lacked a true tributors and have a goalie who
eakout scorer. Three players tied plays best in big games.
r the team lead in goals, but none Michigan has done enough
acked the 20-goal mark. to earn the No.l ranking. It has
The 2005 team had a Hunwick played a weak schedule but has
fifth-year senior goalie Shawn taken care of business. A 10-3 win
unwick's older brother, Matt - as over anyone is impressive.
alternate captain. The 10 goals against St. Law-
Sound familiar? rence look more impressive to
It should. From the spread of its pollsters than they actually were.
al-scoring, to the ranking and Berenson said that St. Lawrence
ght down to the Hunwick, this actually outplayed Michigan for s
ar's team is a near clone of the significant portions of the game, b
e six years ago. And what does but the Wolverines could do no u
e No.1 ranking ultimately mean wrong when shooting. g
r each team? This early in the They scored on shots from the
ason, it means little. blue line. They scored on rebounds t
"It doesn't matter," Berenson that the goalie failed to cover up. p
id. "We've been ranked No.1 a lot They scored on shots when the b
er the last 15 years." goalie seemed to not be paying C
A lot, but not as often as you attention. ti
ight think. Only four of the past The ranking may also be inflated U
Michigan teams have held the by the fact that much of the rest of
stinction during the season, and the top 10 recorded losses in the N
'o of the past 16 teams have won first two weeks. n
ational Championships. The Wolverines, in a way, w
Those groups don't intersect. became the USCHO poll's safety k
ia
Everett Zach
Cook Helfand
number
chool. The other elite teams might
e more talented, but they screwed
p on the entrance exams. Michi-
gan became the de facto choice.
After all, the Wolverines have
oo many question marks at this
oint in the season to be considered
etter than teams like No. 2 Boston
ollege, or even CCHA competi-
ion like No. 6 Notre Dame or No.
0 Miami.
Will sophomore defenseman Jon
Merrill come back? Can they elimi-
ate the costly penalties? Can they
win a title with freshmen playing
ey roles? Those questions can't
be answered until conference play
begins.
As Berenson said, "These early
games are good, but they're not the
real games."
The same is true for early
rankings. It's certainly good to
be ranked No. 1, but it's not a real
ranking.
Just ask the 2005 team. After its
No. 1 ranking, it finished third in
the CCHA and lost 5-1 in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament.
It finished outside the top 10.
That's the only ranking that mat-
tered.
Mat
Slovin
CCHA First Place Miami (Ohio) Miami (Ohio) Notre Dame Notre Dame
CCHASecond Place Notre Dame Michigan Michigan Miami (Ohio)
ccHAThird Place Michigan Western Michigan Miami (Ohio) Michigan
Mason CupWinner Michigan Western Michigan Miami (Ohio) Notre Dame
CCHA Coach of thevYear Red Berenson, Michigan Andy Murray. WMU Jeff Jackson, ND Entsc Blaisi, MU
GLIChampion Boston College. Michigan.Boston College Michigan
Michigan MVP Shawn Hunwick Hunwick Hunwick Hunwick
MichiganTopScorer LukeGlendening Davidwohlherg AJ.Treas Wohlberg
Top Michigan Freshman Phil Di Giuseppe ............................Di Giuseppe Di Giuseppe ..... Di Guiseppe............
Frozen Fouri Boston College Boston College Boston College Denser
Frozen Four2 North Dakota Miami (Ohio) Notre Dame Boston College
Frozen Four3 Colorado College Denver Colorado College Notre Dame
Frozen Four4 Michigan North Dakota Minnesota Boston University
National Champion North Dakota Boston College Boston College Denver
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com 38