The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 - 7A
'Starstruck' Dwyer makes official debut
Redshirt junior
records three saves
in front of sold-out
Yost Arena crowd
By ALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
Luke Dwyer knows that
he'll never start a game for the
Michigan hockey team.
The 5-foot-1O junior
goaltender redshirted, then
didn't play a single minute
his freshman or sophomore
seasons. He has seen other
netminders come into the
program and immediately
leapfrog him on the depth
chart. On his player profile
on MGoBlue.com, his career
highlights all say "to come."
Last weekend against
Michigan State, a highlight
finally came.
Up 6-1 with 3:32 remaining
in the game,
Michigan
assistant
coach Billy 61
Powers took
away Dwyer's would'v
clipboard,
which he had around
been usinga
to record sik n
faceoffs. Thei
unsuspecting
goaltender's
teammates and
the sold-out
crowd at Yost Ice Arena greeted
the surprise substitution with a
loud roar.
And for the final minutes, a
"starstruck" Dwyer stonewalled
the Spartans, making three
saves as the Wolverines rolled to
a 7-1 win.
On his first play, a draw
in Michigan's zone, Dwyer
sprawled out onto the ice to
corral a loose puck, laying face-
down on the ice with it clenched
in his glove. Later, with the
Wolverines on the power play,
he had to apologize to the
referee after covering a shot that
most goaltenders would have
left for a teammate.
"I didn't want to let anything
by, so I had to," Dwyer said after
the game, shakinginexcitement.
And when the final horn
sounded, his teammates poured
onto the ice in jubilation - not
because of the win, but because
of Dwyer.
"The team jumped off the
bench like they had won the
Stanley Cup," said Michigan
coach Red Berenson. "That's
what he means to the team."
Dwyer was never meant to be
a varsity athlete at Michigan.
Even Berenson admits as much.
The coach
knew of the
netminder in
fish I high school,
but the
e looked Wolverines
already
and let it had three
goaltenders
1 a t" on their roster
and had no
need for a
fourth. But
when a spot
opened up
for the 2011-12 campaign after
two graduations the previous
season, Berenson knew who to
call.
"We needed a goalie,"
Berenson said. "I'd heard of him
goingto the Cube with his goalie
equipment and just playing....
I'm really glad we connected
with him."
In his spare time, Dwyer had
been joining pickup games at
the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. When
the Michigan coaches came to
watch and offered the then-
freshman a spot on the team, he
jumped at the opportunity.
Until this season, the
goaltender had been comfortable
in his niche off the ice. Berenson
called Dwyer one of the team's
best leaders, though he had
never seen a moment of playing
time in exhibitions or otherwise.
"If he sees something he
doesn't like, he'll speak up,"
Berenson said. "He's not afraid
to act like a daptain."
His team noticed and
pleaded for Dwyer to play if the
Wolverines had a substantial
lead at the end of their Dec.
5, 2013 midseason exhibition
against the U.S. Under-18
National Team Development
Program. So the coach complied.
When the announcer called
Dwyer's name and he skated to
his spot in the crease, Michigan
held a comfortable 4-2 lead. Just
a couple of minutes remained.
His teammates pounded their
sticks against the ice and the
boards in anticipation of the
moment.
But that night offered no
storybook ending. The NTDP
scored twice in the final minute
of the third period and added
the winner in overtime. Dwyer
finished with three goals-
against and only one save in 5:31.
Afterward, the team blamed
itself for defensive breakdowns
while Dwyer was in net.
"He has been the hardest
worker here for two-and-a-half
years, and he has nothingto show
for it," said junior forward Alex
Guptill. "That's why everyone
was begging to get him in there
at the end, and I've got a sick
feeling in my st
for us to blow t
of that
remembers ev
moment, from
making his un
the bitter realit
"I was think
much," he said
overwhelmed b
Against M
Dwyer had ano
this time, he d
down.
This time, w
omach right now told him that they were making
hat lead for him." the substitution, Dwyer didn't
game, Dwyer have time to think about the
ery excruciating enormity of the situation. This
the anxiety of time, when he crouched in the
official debut to crease before play resumed, he
:y of having lost. didn't glance to see how many
ing a little bit too minutes remained.
I. "I was a little This time, he didn't even
y the moment." spend what little time it would
have taken to glance at the 5,800
*** pairs of eyes on him from the
bleachers.
lichigan State, "I wish I would've looked
ther chance. And around and let it sink in a bit,
idn't let anybody but I didn't really want to do
that at the time," Dwyer said. "I
then the coaches was just focused on not giving
anything up. ... I was too dumb
to look around and just relax.
I'm sure it would've been a cool
sight."
When the final horn sounded,
this time, there were no
melancholy pats on the helmet
or players volunteering to take
blame.
This time, he gave himself
something to show for his
dedication to Michigan: a
highlight.
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Michigan coach Red Berenson praised Luke Dwyer for his leadership, even though the goaltender rarely sees the ice.
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