The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
January 27, 2020 — 3B
A different perspective for volunteer assistant coach Matt Hunwick
When the second intermission
at the Great Lakes Invitational
ended,
the
coaches
walked
across the ice and to their places
behind the bench.
But
there
was
something
different about the sight of them,
gripping along the glass as they
trotted. There was a new face,
or at least a new face in that role
and that place.
Matt
Hunwick,
a
former
Michigan hockey captain who
was hired as a volunteer assistant
specializing in defensemen this
year, came out alongside the
regular coaching lineup.
It was the first time all year
he had coached from behind
the bench. Normally, Wolverine
coaches
Kris
Mayotte,
Bill
Muckalt
and
Mel
Pearson
occupied that space, while he
would watch from the press box
level — floors above. But at Little
Caesars Arena, for one period, he
stood behind the players.
And he didn’t like it.
Or at least, that’s what he
initially thought after his first
experience there.
“I thought I preferred being up
top versus that first experience,”
Hunwick said Saturday, after a
4-1 exhibition loss for Michigan.
“But tonight, I really did enjoy
being on the bench. I think it
was good. I liked, you know, that
I can talk to players and kind of
read the game from a different
perspective being close.”
Up top, it was easier for him
to see systematic things — like
forechecks, opposing game plans,
different faceoffs. Sitting behind
the bench offers an angle where
those aspects are hard to see.
Players standing up — impeding
a coach’s vision. Bending over
necks to watch a play. Up top he
could see it all.
Down on the bench, however,
his perspective changes — in
more ways than just vision.
He now had a direct line of
communication, a read for a
game similar to a player’s — a
view he was used to. It was a
better feel for him.
***
With Muckalt and Mayotte
traveling for recruiting, Pearson
turned to Hunwick to fill their
spots on the bench against the
U.S. National Team Development
Program (NTDP).
It wasn’t the first time Pearson
turned to Hunwick with a role
in mind. At the end of summer,
after it became clear that a neck
injury would keep Hunwick
from playing in the NHL this
season, Pearson brought up the
idea of coming back to Michigan.
Hunwick had done it many times
before, in the summertime, just
looking to work out or skate
around. He loved his time in Ann
Arbor and liked to stay around
the program.
But
this
time,
Pearson
proposed, he should come back
as a coach.
“I never really envisioned
anything in a formal capacity,”
Hunwick said.
But Pearson offered, and he
considered.
When Mayotte was hired as
the penalty kill and goaltender
specialist
mid-August,
Steve
Shield’s volunteer role as a
goaltending
coach
become
repetitive. So the team phased
him into a player development
role, leaving the volunteer role
vacant.
Pearson wanted someone who
could coach defensemen. Had
Hunwick’s neck injury allowed
him to play the 2019-2020 season
in the NHL, Pearson would have
had to find another defensemen
to fill that role.
“It was kind of hinged on
my ability to play this season
and if I was going to go back to
Buffalo.” Hunwick said. “And
unfortunately (or) fortunately,
however we want to look at it,
my neck didn’t get better. So I’m
here.
“This is a great kind of
transition, out of playing but
still, you know, still involved in
the game daily and on the ice,
just not quite as intense as it was
maybe a year ago.
Hunwick was only a few
months removed from being
a professional player with the
possibility of returning to the
ice — the Buffalo Sabers had
placed him on injured reserve.
He was 12 years removed from
being a Michigan player — a
four-year skater who captained
the team his senior year. And he
was 16 years removed from being
a USNTDP player — a drafted
prospect excited to face the
Wolverines.
While he had never coached
formally, former Michigan coach
Red Berenson asked him to be an
instructor at his summer camps
multiple times — in addition to
having helped out at USA and
USNTDP hockey schools.
Through his experiences on
all levels, and his recency of
playing, he had a perspective of
the game the other players or
coaches might not have — the
players especially.
“I
certainly
(am
able
to
relate to them),” Hunwick said.
“There’s a million things going
on with kids that move away
from home for the first time. So
knowing that experience and
having lived it, I think it helps
me kind of relate and understand
what they’re going through.
“Some stuff, you know, I’ve
had a good idea of and maybe
even the coaches haven’t had
exposure to it just because the
NHL game the pro game has
changed. So just being able to
bring those here to these guys.”
His players will ask him all
sorts of questions. Sometimes
about the speed and style of
the game at the next level.
Sometimes about specifics in a
game. And it’s easier to answer
when he’s right behind them,
standing by their side during a
match.
“They’ll ask specific questions,
different plays, how you want to
do stuff,” Hunwick said. “And if
I see stuff, I try and point it out
right away.”
Coaching has been an aspect
of hockey that Hunwick found to
be a joy.
“I was excited just to be able
to come back and give back,” he
said.
And he’s given plenty back.
Sharing
his
knowledge
and
experience with the players and
watching them grow has been
the biggest thing for him. The
steady improvement in whatever
area he could help in has been
fun for him to watch.
***
He’s pondered if he wants to
continue the experience or not.
Regardless, he thought learning
the ins-and-outs of the job were
necessary to do so — therefore
experiencing every aspect. He
wants to make an informed
decision, and coaching would
require
getting
behind
the
bench at some point, so he used
Saturday’s USNTDP game as an
opportunity to do so.
From up top, things seem
easier.
“You guys probably think
you can go out there and do it,”
Hunwick said. “It looks simple.
But speed picks up as you get
close to the game and being
on the bench and being able to
handle the bench, the pairs, and
making sure your guys do all the
things, that’s what it’s all about.”
So he took his place next to
Pearson, with a different but
familiar perspective.
“That’s what I did for all the
years growing up, just a couple
feet behind where I used to sit.”
Wolverines fall, 4-1, to USNTDP in exhibition
Staying focused in a competition
that has no stakes is often
difficult. It’s hard to hold yourself
accountable from start to finish
when you know there will be no
repercussions.
And Saturday night at Yost
Ice Arena, that seemed to be a
key factor as a previously red-
hot Michigan hockey team fell,
4-1, in an exhibition against the
U.S. National Team Development
Program (NTDP) U18 team.
“I think from start to finish
we didn’t play how we need to,”
freshman forward Johnny Beecher
said. “We came out pretty slow, I
don’t think the guys were into the
game as much as we needed to be.
To be honest, it looked like we did
two months ago. It’s unacceptable,
we need a good week of practice
this week to get ready for Ohio
State.”
It was a game in which both
sides played effortlessly. Only that
one side made things look easy
while the other didn’t fully commit.
The contest counted for points in
the USHL — the league the NTDP
plays in — while it meant nothing
to the Wolverines. For Michigan,
that turned out to be a recipe for
disaster.
That disparity in motivation
is something volunteer assistant
coach Matt Hunwick can relate to.
Hunwick played for the NTDP and
before a four-year playing career
at Michigan, so he has been on
both sides of an affair like tonight.
Such a track record forms a unique
perspective.
“As a player at USA, you are so
excited to play in that game against
Michigan, against any college team
really,” Hunwick said. “And then
you get to Michigan, that’s a little
bit different because you’ve already
done it. You’re on the other side.
Maybe the juice isn’t quite as much
as it would be for the USA kids, but
you can see how much scale and
speed, and how hard they played.”
The NTDP got called for
interference
less
than
three
minutes into the game, giving
the Wolverines’ power play an
opportunity to display the growth
it has made throughout this season.
But instead, quite the opposite
happened for Michigan (10-11-3
overall).
Soon after the ensuing faceoff,
freshman defenseman Cam York
lost possession in the offensive
zone, and that turnover proved
to be deadly. Forward Thomas
Bordeleau
immediately
skated
diagonally across the ice, while
forward Landon Slaggert joined
the rush.
Sophomore defenseman Nick
Blankenburg tried to stop the two-
on-one, but came up short. At the
last second, Bordeleau sent the
puck to Slaggert who then sent it
through sophomore goaltender
Strauss Mann from the right
side for the first goal of the night.
Such a play was uncharacteristic
of the defense, which has yet to
give up a shorthanded goal in a
normal game. The remainder
of that opening power play was
unsuccessful for the Wolverines.
“They were ready to play and
we weren’t,” senior forward Nick
Pastujov said. “I think that was
apparent from the start. Giving up
a shorthanded goal and then just
the flow of the game, we obviously
weren’t as invested and they were.
Showed up in the score.”
Michigan’s defense struggled
to steal the puck early on. The
NTDP maintained possession well
in the opening period and moved
it around quickly. The effort did
damage to the Wolverines.
“Their team’s good,” Michigan
coach Mel Pearson said. “Credit
to them, they worked hard, they
played hard. I saw them Monday,
they were really good. So much so
that my wife said, ‘They pass the
puck a lot better than your team,’
and they did tonight for the most
part. Good team.
“Good lesson for our team. Real
good lesson on preparation and
how you can never underestimate
or take a night off unless you want
to get beat. Doesn’t matter who you
play.”
Midway
through
the
first
period, forward Ty Smilanic dove
near the boards to pass the puck
to defenseman Tyler Kleven who
then took a shot from the blue line.
Forward Hunter Strand got into
the crease to help channel the puck
into the net, and thus Michigan
found itself down two goals early.
For the second frame, senior
goaltender
Hayden
Lavigne
entered the game in place of Mann.
Just like in the first period, the
Wolverines got another power
play in the opening minutes of the
second. This time, Michigan made
better use of the man advantage
than the first attempt and actually
created
scoring
opportunities.
Regardless, the offense came up
empty handed once again.
For Pearson, the lackluster
performance was emblematic of a
poor week of preparation.
“We didn’t lose this game,”
Pearson said. “We lost starting
Monday. We were not very good
in practice all week, so bad to the
point I told them to stay away
from the rink on Friday, so we
didn’t practice yesterday. We were
just mentally, physically — not
everybody, but a majority of the
guys, you could tell — you have
a feel in practice of the intensity,
the attention to detail, the focus,
the work ethic, the compete, the
execution, we were sloppy.”
One of the Wolverines’ key
scoring chances of the game
came while the second period
was still fresh. The puck had been
jammed up near the NTDP’s goal
post but Michigan ultimately got
the better angle, and soon after,
redshirt sophomore forward Emil
Öhrwall found the puck at the
crease with nobody between him
and goaltender Drew Commesso.
Öhrwall immediately took the
shot, but Commesso moved just in
time to prevent the buzzer from
sounding.
With just over nine minutes to
go in the game, the NTDP regained
possession of the puck in their
defensive zone and went rushing
down the ice. Soon, forward Luke
Tuch rifled the puck past Lavigne.
And in the final few minutes of
the game, the Wolverines deficit
widened when forward Smilanic
found the back of the net one final
time for his side.
In the last sixty seconds,
Beecher fired a shot from the slot
to finally get his team on the board.
But it was too little, too late, and
nobody needs to explain that to the
freshman.
“I think this was a wake up
call,” Beecher said of the loss. “Like
coach said in the locker room, we
almost needed this. It was a little
slap in the face to us, nobody wants
to go out and get beat by high
school kids. We know that what we
just did was wrong, and I’m sure
the guys will be battling all week
and trying to get better.”
Close wins propel ‘M’
to national tourney bid
It
was
getting
late
in
Champaign
as
Michigan’s
last match against Ole Miss
went to a third-set tiebreaker.
With the teams tied at three,
the Wolverines’ bid to the
ITA
National
Team
Indoor
Championship
hung
in
the
balance.
A lightning-fast serve and
mistakes
from
the
Rebels’
Finn Reynolds helped propel
freshman Ondrej Styler, and
with him the Michigan men’s
tennis team (4-1), to a 4-3 victory
Saturday night. Michigan’s 2-0
weekend at the ITA Kickoff —
also featuring a similarly close
4-3 victory over Texas Tech on
Friday — earned
them a bid to
next
month’s
tournament
in
Madison.
“For
a
freshman
to
play
under
that
pressure,
knowing
going
to the national
tournament was
on the line, was
incredible,”
Michigan
coach
Adam Steinberg said. “In 30
years I don’t think I’ve ever seen
that, with it tied up three-all
like we had.”
Friday’s
match
against
the Red Raiders also ended
dramatically,
with
senior
Nick Beaty and Texas Tech’s
Francisco Vittar set to break
the 3-3 tie going into the final
singles
match.
Beaty,
who
remains undefeated in singles
play so far, prevailed on the
match point in the third set after
initially trailing.
Beaty’s
performance
in
singles
play,
alongside
undefeated
junior
Mattias
Siimar,
was
an
important
factor
in
the
Wolverines’
weekend success. On Saturday,
the pair’s respective matches
gave Michigan an early 3-0
lead before Ole Miss beat
sophomores Andrew Fenty and
Ryan Fu to narrow the margin.
“(Beaty and Siimar) are our
two lefties and they’ve been
playing great tennis,” Steinberg
said. “For them to get us on the
board like that, get us three
quickly was very important and
it took a lot of pressure off the
other guys.”
Michigan, as it did last
weekend against Washington
and
Oregon,
showcased
its
ability to fight for the doubles
point in both of the weekend’s
matches. The duo of juniors
Harrison Brown and Kristofer
Siimar alongside senior Connor
Johnston
and
Styler
were
dominant over the Red Raiders
and the Rebels to secure the
point.
“We
all
play for each
other
and
it
really shows in
the
doubles,”
Steinberg said.
“You know, it’s
just one set and
it’s tense but
that’s when we
shine.
“We’re
not
going
to
achieve our goals without that
doubles point; some think it’s
just one point but when you
play these really good teams, it
comes down to that one point
like it did this weekend.”
Despite
their
successes
under Steinberg’s coaching, the
Wolverines before now failed to
reach his objective of qualifying
for the ITA tournament. After
consistent success in the spring
season, he views it as the natural
next step.
“It’s a huge moment for our
program,” Steinberg said. “It’s
something we’d really set as a
goal, to check that box. To play
in that tournament is special
and how they did it was pretty
incredible, so it was a lot of fun
to see their faces afterwards in
the locker room. They deserve it
and have competed incredibly in
the past few weeks.”
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Volunteer assistant coach Matt Hunwick sat behind Michigan’s bench on Saturday, a familiar perspective to when he played for the Wolverines from 2003-07.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
KELSEY PEASE/Daily
Forward Johnny Beecher called Saturday’s loss to the NTDP a wake-up call.
AIDAN WOUTAS
Daily Sports Writer
It’s something
we’d really set
as a goal, to
check that box.
MEN’S TENNIS