The Wolverine

2012-13 HOCKEY PREVIEW I ver, Wisconsin, Western Michigan and Holy Cross relying on a rookie for more than half of their starts. Of those seven teams, only the Bron- cos and Pioneers made the NCAA Tournament, and of the nine first- year goaltenders to start between the pipes, just four had winning records. This season, Michigan will entrust its starting netminder position to a freshman, most likely Jared Rut- ledge, though Steve Racine will have a chance to best his classmate, while the two will also compete with junior Adam Janecyk and redshirt sopho- more Luke Dwyer. n 2012, nine Division I hockey programs employed a freshman goaltender, with Harvard, Mas- sachusetts, St. Cloud State, Den- BY MICHAEL SPATH "It's a little nerve-wracking at first, there is some pressure on their shoulders because we have a great goalie tradition, we have really big goals this year, and whoever starts is replacing Shawn Hunwick, but both Jared and Steve, and Adam and Luke, too, are fully capable. "They're talented and I don't think they'll have a problem adjusting." Hunwick started 83 games over the past two seasons, posting a .929 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average in leading Michigan to a 46-21-7 record. He didn't leave many opportunities for Janecyk (six career 56 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2012 a rookie in net wouldn't have been met with such trepidation in Ann Ar- bor. Beginning in 1987, U-M started a true freshman every four years, first in 1987 (Warren Sharples), then 1991 (Steve Shields), 1995 (Marty Turco), 1999 (Josh Blackburn), 2003 (Al Mon- toya) and finally 2006 (Billy Sauer) after Montoya left school following his junior campaign. However, it has been seven seasons since the Maize and Blue counted on a goalie without a single game of college experience. Rutledge and Racine, obviously, have none. "We wouldn't be bringing these two kids in if we didn't think they could be successful," said Blackburn, who has served as Michigan's goalie coach since 2009. "If you look at our program's track record, this isn't new to us, our staff, and even to our fans, and for the most part the goalies we've started as true freshmen have been successful. Not so long ago, the idea of starting STARTING FROM SCRATCH Michigan Turns Its Netminding Responsibilities Over To A Pair Of First-Year Goalies appearances, but only 133 minutes) or Dwyer (no time), but the plan has always been for Rutledge to inherit Hunwick's post. "Rutledge is the guy," head coach Red Berenson said. "The kids back- ing him up are not out of the loop, but Rutledge will start the year our No. 1 goalie, and then the Racine kid is a bit of an unknown — he's an older kid [21], and an Ivy League- type student, and he will push Rut- ledge. And we kept four goalies for a reason. We like the way Janecyk is developing, and Dwyer could be a player down the road.

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