The Wolverine

October 2011

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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2011-12 hockey preview F By Michael Spath rom 1991-94, goalie Steve Shields started 149 of Michigan���s 172 games (86.6 percent). Over the next four years, Marty Turco started 165 of 174 U-M contests (.948), and so it went, with Josh Blackburn from 1999-2002 and Al Montoya from 2003-05. Red Berenson was a one-goalie coach and readily admitted he didn���t see his philosophy changing. When Montoya exited prematurely, takes because they know that he can back them up. ���When you look at our games the past few years, we���ve used different goalies Friday and Saturday, and our team didn���t play as well in front of one goalie as they did the other goalie. But now, this is the goalie, and we have to play well in front of him every night. We have no excuse for being a different team on a different night. ���I like the confidence the team gets from one goalie, the momentum they On His Shoulders Senior Shawn Hunwick Is Michigan���s Clear-Cut No. 1 Goaltender however, the Wolverines were forced to hurry Billy Sauer into school. Sauer was overwhelmed, and he would jockey back and forth with senior Noah Ruden in 2006. Both goalies would start 20 games that season, marking the first time in Berenson���s tenure, dating back to 1985, that had occurred. Sauer reestablished Berenson���s one-goalie system in 2007 and 2008, but then in 2009, the Maize and Blue split starts between Sauer and Bryan Hogan, and with Hogan and Shawn Hunwick in 2011. This year, there will be no pingpong between netminders. The job is Hunwick���s and Hunwick���s alone. His r��sum�� ��� a 30-12-4 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage ���warrants his status as Michigan���s No. 1 goaltender. The coaches were planning on opening up the competition to freshman John Gibson, but the rookie never arrived on campus, choosing to play major junior hockey. His decision solidified Hunwick as the Wolverines��� every-night goalie, with sophomore Adam Janecyk his backup. ���I like the fact that the team knows what to expect from its goalie every night,��� Berenson replied, when asked about the positives of a one-goalie approach. ���They get confidence in him, and they���re not afraid to make mis50��� the wolverine��� ������ October 2011 get, the confidence your goalie plays with. Hunwick would much rather play two games per weekend than one, and I think his game will continue to grow because he���s never had a chance to be the No. 1 guy. His time has come; he���s earned it.��� A walk-on with a single career appearance his first two seasons ��� Hunwick redshirted in 2008-09 ��� the Sterling Heights, Mich., native burst onto the scene as an emergency fillin for an injured Hogan late in the 2010 campaign. Undersized, at 5-7, 166 pounds, and overlooked, Hunwick went 6-0 in leading Michigan to a CCHA Tournament title, recording a 1.50 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. He then went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, stopping 93.5 percent of the 62 shots he faced when U-M dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Miami (Ohio) in the Midwest Regional finals. After sharing starts with Hogan during the first half of the 2011 season ��� he was the goalie Michigan didn���t play well in front of on Friday nights ��� Hunwick took over the full-time role in December after Hogan went down with another injury. Hunwick A fifth-year senior, Hunwick has posted a 30-12-4 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in his U-M career. photo by lon horwedel

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