0 0---- mw Nor s 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