The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com January17, 2012

OK1

Hunwick keys
crucial sweep

By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Editor
CLEVELAND - At times dur-
ing Sunday's game, it looked like
Shawn Hunwick forgot he was
playing in an outdoor hockey
game.
Besides the giant ice luge in
the background and the below-
freezing temperatures, the fifth-
year senior goaltender looked
right at home between the posts.
Hunwick had 31 saves in the
Frozen Diamond Faceoff, as the
Michigan hockey team complet-
ed its weekend sweep of Ohio
State, 4 - 1. The Buckeyes' lone
goal was off a deflection and
was one of few open looks on the
night - Hunwick was at his best.
His performance on Sunday
came after a gem of a game on
Friday, where he saved a career-
high 46 shots in a 4-0 victory
over Ohio State. So, over the span
of two games, Hunwick allowed

only one goal on 77 shots.
"He gives our team a lot of con-
fidence, and he is playing rock-
solid right now," said Michigan
coach Red Berenson. "To come
out of the weekend with only one
(goal) against - you have to be
playing well to do that against a
team like Ohio."
Even though he entered the
game from the Cleveland Indians
dugout and not from the locker
room of the Schottenstein Cen-
ter in Columbus, Hunwick didn't
miss a beat from Friday's game.
"I thought (Hunwick) played
very well on Friday night, and
I thought he carried that again
tonight," said Ohio State coach
Mark Osiecki. "When he did have
a couple opportunities, he was
there, and he was rock solid. You
know that in him. He's a proven
goaltender."
It also helped that Hunwick
played most of the game while
See HUNWICK, Page 3B

Michigan 4
Ohin State. C0

Michigan - 4
Ohio State 1
Mic igan gets
back to its rootsM1

CLEVELAND -
There was a lot of talk in'
the months leading up
to the Frozen Diamond
Faceoff. It wasn't supposed to be
just a hockey game - it was so
much more.
It was the
first outdoor
hockey game
in the state of
Ohio. It was a
hockey game
in a major
league ball- LIZ
park where
a crowd of VUKELICH
up to 43,000
people would
come and watch two rival pro-
grams duke it out. It became an
event.
A 200-foot longsnow tube hill
and a skating loop constructed
in the outfield made ita fan
experience. Michigan and Ohio
State fans alike could watch
their team practice before head-

ing inside for a meet-and-greet
autograph session.
Michigan coach Red Beren-
son called the Frozen Diamond
Faceoff a "spectacle," different
to any outdoor game he had ever
coached in before, including the
Big Chill. The Ohio State play-
ers were in awe after their first
outdoor experience on a national
stage - Buckeye forward Chris
Crane said that even though the
loss stung, the atmosphere was
unforgettable.
But in the end, none of this -
the records, fireworks and fan-
fare - actually matters.
When all was said and done
--after Michigan walked away
with a 4-1 win over the Buck.
eyes and a giant trophy to prove
it - the players aren't going to
remember the playthat put the
game in the bag, nor any mis-
takes.
For the Wolverines, this
weekend was all about returning
See OUTDOORS, Page 3B

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wolverines aim to keep command of in-state rivalry

By LUKE PASCH baseline, their
Daily Sports Editor chests painted
with the num-
It has been 681 days since the ber of days it
Michigan State men's basketball had been since
team has beaten Michigan. a Michigan
Last season, the Wolverines men's basket-
flipped the in-state rivalry on its ball or football
head and swept the Spartans for team had beat-
the first time in over a decade. en Michigan
During the first game, at the State - 1,181.
Breslin Center in East Lansing, They left
four shirtless fans stood on the the game with

MSU at
Michigan
Matchup:
MSU 15-3;
Michigan 14-4
When: Tues-
day, 7 p.m.
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
ESPN

their heads hanging after their
team fell at home, 61-57.
On Tuesday night, the two
teams will open the 2012 series
at the Crisler Center, both hav-
ing much to prove. Michigan
State (4-1 Big Ten, 15-3 overall)
is looking to regain control of the
rivalry, and Michigan (4-2, 14-4)
wants to show that last year's
performances were not flukes.
But the Wolverines are a bit
hesitant to declare themselves

the better program after last sea-
son's heroics. After all, it was a
down year for the Spartans, who
weren't ranked at season's end.
"We. still got a ways to go
before we get our program to
the level where they've been at,"
said senior guard and co-captain
Stu Douglass. "They've gotten
to Final Fours, and they've been
very good the past 10 to 15 years.
So we know we've got a ways to
go, and we respect them alot, but

we can't dwell on sweeping them
last year and thinking it was the
greatest thing ever.
"I want to go out and sweep
them again this year and end my
career on a good note with the
rivalry."
This season's pair of contests
could be a bit more telling in
terms of the balance of power
in the state of Michigan. Both
squads are ranked - Michigan at
No. 20 and Michigan State at No.

9 - and they're neck-and-neck in
the conference standings.
There are no more excuses
this year.
"It makes it a bigger rivalry
when both teams are doing well,"
said Michigan State coach Tom
Izzo ina teleconference on Mon-
day. "Any time you've got a rival-
ry with two ranked teams, that
just stokes the fire even more.
We're not Duke-North Carolina
See STATE, Page 35


BANKING ON BURKE
y Michigan's upstart freshman is one
part of John Beilein's offense that
can't go missing. Page 4B

TRAINING TEAM 133
The Michigan football team's juniors
will have to fill the void left by a memo-
rable senior class. Page 2B

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