Growing up 2,300 miles away in Seattle, Washington, redshirt junior Chris Blais never dreamed he would be the starting goalkeeper at Michigan.

And since Blais’s parents and grandparents were Notre Dame graduates and avid fans of the Fighting Irish, the fact that Blais now proudly dons a Michigan jersey is even more incomprehensible.

But Michigan and Blais were a perfect match — so much so that Blais now laughs when he recalls his days of rooting for the Fighting Irish.

“Obviously growing up, I was a little bit of a ‘Golden Domer’, as they say,” Blais said. “But once I got into recruiting, I took my visit to Michigan and (saw a) game at the Big House. I’m pretty much a sports junkie, so seeing all the big time sports Michigan has was a big thing for me. That was the combination for me — a big school with sports that obviously has very good academics.”

The goalkeeper is heading into his second season as the Wolverines’ starter, and the expectations for Blais are higher than ever.

A full time goalie since he was 10 years old, Blais has come to enjoy the high-stakes environment that a collegiate-level keeper competes in.

“I don’t feel pressure but I always feel anxiety to play the game,” Blais said. “Four or five hours before we play, I’m already anxious for the game ... Once the game starts, once the whistle is blown, that’s when everything changes for me and I’m just ready to go.”

A force in the net

While Blais’ position is a responsibility that senior defender Chase Tennant called “tough from the start,” Blais thrives on the intensity of the position he plays.

“As a kid I played basketball, baseball and soccer, and in some ways (being) goalie involved all three of them,” Blais said. “Being the only player who is able to use their hands and catching skills, it brought me to really like the position.”

The keeper decided to redshirt his freshman season in 2007, as former Wolverine Patrick Sperry was the starting goalie that year. Blais had to wait two seasons before the starting job became his, but now understands how valuable his seasons on the bench truly were.

“In my life, I never had to be the second guy (before my redshirt season),” Blais said. “Whether it was club soccer or high school, I was always the one playing. I learned a lot about myself especially that no matter who you were before you came to college you can always work harder.”

Following his redshirt season, Blais played three games for the Wolverines in 2008 with one start, which he won.
With two years of little to no game-time action, Blais tried to soak up as much of the veteran team’s knowledge as he could, knowing that his turn to start for Michigan was just around the corner.

“When I wasn’t the full time starter, I didn’t have that anxiety (for the game) as much,” Blais said. “You know as a backup goalie you might have a chance to get in the game, and you try and warm up in practice every day like you’re maybe going to play, but with a long season that is kind of hard.

“But when I knew I was the starter, I took every rep in practice so seriously and the preparation for the game was so serious. That was the biggest difference in becoming the main guy.”

Hard work pays off

Blais will always remember his first start last season, as it was against his family’s alma mater — Notre Dame.
Michigan lost the game 5-0, but it marked — somewhat ironically — the beginning of Blais’s career as the Wolverines’ keeper.

“It was a weird feeling because I had a lot of family there and to lose 5-0 your first game is never fun,” Blais said.
“But that was definitely a cool moment for me because it was Michigan (versus) Notre Dame and my family are all Notre Dame (fans).”

After making a career-high six saves in the Notre Dame loss, Blais went on to start the remaining 17 games of the season for the Wolverines. He finished last season with a record of 10-7-1 and 67 saves.

Blais was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team and Academic All-Big Ten teams in 2009, and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week two times.

“Being in the goalie position is very tough because you’re the last man, in a sense,” Tennant said. “(Blais) is put in a lot of pressure situations, and he handles it well.