Feb. 7, 2007

Michigan seniors T.J. Hensick and Matt Hunwick

Michigan seniors T.J. Hensick and Matt Hunwick have been playing hockey together long before they put on the maize and blue. As 10-year-old kids playing for the HoneyBaked organization, Hensick and Hunwick grew from teammates to best friends. With his senior season coming to an end, Hensick reflects on growing as a hockey player and maturing as a person with somebody he considers a brother at his side the entire time.

Reaching the End of the Line
By T.J. Hensick

Matt and I first became friends when we were around 10-years-old and playing for the HoneyBaked organization. As I recall, the first couple times we hung out together were at each other's houses for sleepovers and at the rink for practice and games.

The two of us played for Doug Itami for all seven years we were with HoneyBaked, where he taught us how to play hockey, and more importantly, how to be young adults. During our time at HoneyBaked, Matt and I grew closer as each year progressed. Our families became close, which in turn made us become closer. We also use to play golf a lot together with our coaches.

Our time in youth hockey was very exciting and fun because of the talented teams we were on. At HoneyBaked, we won numerous tournaments, but none more prestigious than the World Quebec Peewee Hockey Tournament in Quebec City. Winning that tournament was pretty extraordinary because of the amount of teams at the tournament. We lived together with a host family while there and had a lot of fun.

Aside from Quebec City, hockey took Matt and I all around North America, including Chicago, Minnesota, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. We also skated with numerous current and former CCHA players, like Josh Sciba (Notre Dame), Ryan Mahrle (Western Michigan), David Booth (Michigan State) and Alex Spezia (Ferris State). This talented group of players made youth hockey for Matt and I fun and exciting.

As the two of us moved on to the U.S. National Team Development Program, we became closer and confident in our hockey skills. The two of us enjoyed numerous exciting memories while playing for our country, but none more important than winning the World Under-17 Challenge in Winnipeg and being crowned champions over some of the best players in the world. Our time at the NTDP allowed us to meet some very interesting and important people. We traveled to Europe numerous times to play for our country, which was one of the most memorable times of our lives thus far. While visiting such countries as Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia and Slovakia, we would spend our off days exploring and spending money very quickly because the U.S. dollar went a long way in Europe at that time.

Eventually, Matt and I had to decide on what university to attend and play college hockey for. We wanted to attend the same university because of our relationship and we felt another four years together would be pretty exciting and fun. It came down to two schools: Michigan and Notre Dame. We were both very interested in what each had to offer but when it came down to it we felt Michigan was a better fit for us because we had played in Ann Arbor for a couple years with the NTDP. Also, we knew many people attending the school, especially guys on the hockey team. We felt Michigan would be fun and the education would increase our chances of getting a good job once we graduated.

Now in our senior season, Matt and I still enjoy hanging out together just as much as we did when we were 10 years old. We go to the movies a lot, eat out at restaurants, attend Detroit Red Wings games and engage in video game battles that usually end in us not talking to each other for a while.

Matt and I have met many people that have helped us get to where we are, including Itami, Tom Mullen, Moe Mantha and our families. We believe that we owe a great deal to all of these people for helping us get to where we are. Through our entire hockey experience and all the good and bad times, we were able to grow and mature together and are thankful that hockey brought us together. Matt and I have become as close as brothers and we are both sad to see our final year playing together come to a close.