Making something out of nothing

When the AP college hockey beat writer sat down to write his game column on last night's victory over North Dakota, he set up his laptop, took a sip of his extra large coffee, and thought to himself, Wow that Hunwick kid really played out of his mind tonight. "...and goalie Kevin Hunwick..." he wrote, moving on to the more important parts of his article. In some ways, this summarizes a Michigan hockey team that has 13 NHL draftees on it and won the CCHA. This team is less Kevin Porter and TJ Hensick and more Zach Novak and Jordan Kovacs: scrappy kids that, despite the odds and some physical deficiencies, find a way to get shit done. Make no mistake, North Dakota is better than Michigan, that much was obvious to anyone watching the game. But as is the case with single-elimination hockey tournaments, parity is supreme and anyone can win, even if it takes every bit of a 5'7" former walk-on to do so.

Last night's game can only really be described as terrifying. From the drop of the puck, it was clear that Michigan was in over their heads. Not only was North Dakota faster, they were also more physical, bigger, and smarter with the puck. Everything about last night was bad until Ben Winnett controlled a puck that had mockingly rang the crossbar and threw it into the net. The team celebrated like they had just won the Stanley Cup because, well, that's what it felt like. Against increasingly unlikely odds, Michigan took the lead against a team that on almost any other night would've pounded them into submission.

From that point on, Michigan mounted the bare minimum of offensive chances. Three shots in the second period and none of them memorable. In fact, I can't  remember a single good offensive chance Michigan had in the final two periods that didn't sail over the net on a 2-on-2 or result in a harmless clear. In the meantime, North Dakota was doubling Michigan's shot total and appeared to be the juggernaut they were advertised as. Except the puck never found the back of the net and now, Barry Melrose is shocked.

The weird thing is, it felt like Michigan played decent defense. A lot of North Dakota's shots were from the sideboards. Not only are these easy to stop, but they allowed the undersized, aggressive Hunwick to easily funnel rebounds into the corners instead of in front of the net. And when a puck was bouncing out front, Michigan was almost always able to clear it without a second shot getting to Hunwick.

In spite of everything, Michigan has moved on to the national championship game to face off against Minnesota Duluth. They'll need a similar effort from everyone involved if they're going to pull off the improbable, but when have you ever doubted that Zach Novak and Jordan Kovacs and Shawn Hunwick wouldn't give you their best effort every game?

Bullets

• The ice. One thing working in Michigan's favor (sort of) was a choppy ice surface. And I mean really choppy. Between the other Frozen Four game played just a few hours earlier and the conversion of the rink from an indoor soccer field just a few days prior, the ice temperature appeared way too high, making for a soft, sloppy surface. The puck wouldn't settle down for either team, but that worked to Michigan's benefit. I venture to say that if they played when ND/Minnesota Duluth played, that it would've been a very different outcome.
• Referees. This was a poorly refereed game. Michigan received penalty after penalty for things that were, ya know, not penalties. The elbowing call on Matt Rust was inexplicable. But the worst call of the night was giving Kevin Lynch a diving call on an obvious interference. Giving the players matching minors there was the worst call of the night, and made me yell expletives at my TV. And I like my TV, I don't want to talk to it that way. The only call that went Michigan's way was a terrible offsides call that came on the heels of one of Michigan's four dominant penalty kills. Despite the linesman standing just a few feet away from the puck and staring intently at it, he decided to blow the whistle on what was clearly an onsides play.
• Speaking of penalty kills, we have it. North Dakota couldn't get anything going on the power play and could barely get the puck in the zone. A real testament to Michigan's defense.
• Open net goals are good for your blood pressure.

Michigan hockey and Shawn Hunwick

I've lamented before around these parts that I've seen a bare minimum of hockey games this year. Of the things I've noted was that Michigan's break-in was ineffective and inherently kind of flawed (in the game I watched against MSU, anyway):

What I saw last night were a lot of schematic issues, the gravest of which was the team's break-in. Michigan spent a lot of time last night trying to stretch the ice by sending their wingers to the MSU blue line. That's all fine and good, but MSU almost always had three men back defensively and Michigan had no speed through the neutral zone, sans the puck carrier. This necessitated two different break ins: a dump and chase to the opposite side of the offensive zone or a 50-foot shot from the side boards. The dump and chase inherently didn't work because Michigan didn't have any speed. The MSU defenseman would just turn around for an easy breakout. The other break-in, a long shot from the sideboards, is almost never going to be effective. The only time it would is if you've got another player crashing the net, which again Michigan never did because of a lack of speed.

This was completely remedied this weekend, and watching the team, it's difficult to imagine a scenario in which they weren't dominant all year. They were consistently entering the offensive zone with three men, crashing the net effectively and looking to set up their offense rather than taking their chances with the dump and chase. Michigan attacked all weekend and it paid off.

The bigger storyline, however, is Shawn Hunwick, a walk-on who is getting a shot because of a groin injury to nominal starter Bryan Hogan. It should be noted that Hunwick (according to the Big Ten Network announcers before the Miami game) played for Honeybaked, one of the premiere amateur hockey programs in the country, not to mention the Detroit area. (Personal aside: I have long contended that I had a pretty decent shot of making the Michigan club hockey team. A few of the guys I played with in high school made the team and it gave me hope that I might've had a chance. I never tried out as I was too busy with The Michigan Daily and, ya know, school work. So when I heard that Michigan's walk-on goalie played Honeybaked, a club I had 0.00% chance of ever making, I sort of freaked out and now find it even more difficult to imagine how good the Michigan players actually are. But I digress.) Hunwick's walk-on status probably has as much to do with his diminutive 5'7" frame as anything else, given that pedigree. He has good positioning and a high hockey IQ, and is clearly capable of performing on this level. But he does have one glaring, terrifying flaw in his game: rebound control.

Watching Hunwick play is frightening. And not in that occasionally exciting Al Montoya "You're not a defenseman so get back in the net and let them handle the puck, dear God," kind of way. No, there's a pretty obvious fundamental flaw in the way he handles rebounds, and it's not something that works itself out with more playing time. Hunwick attacks shots. Given his size, he might have to. He can't sit back in the net and direct rebounds the way larger goalies can. This is not to say that coming out and challenging shots is wrong (in fact, it's one of the strongest parts of his game), but Hunwick has to exert himself so much--stretching to make a save, moving quickly to cover the corners, etc.--that steering rebounds to the corners and out of danger is something he seems unable to do.

This hasn't really been an issue yet. Michigan defensemen and back checking centers have frequently found themselves in the right place at the right time, playing strong in front of the net and clearing out players and rebounds. But Hunwick's play screams of high variance: he's going to make a lot of good saves and really carry a team sometimes, but will also give up soft ones because of big, errant rebounds. God forbid we go to overtime in any game. My heart won't be able to take it.

Hunwick is a wonderful story and is playing very well. He's made a few saves that have absolutely saved Michigan's season, but he's also caused a few too many scares for my liking. I'm concerned with how sustainable winning is (especially in a win-or-go-home format) with a goalie that plays this frantic a style.