It’s 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. The coaches left the ice at
Yost Ice Arena more than 20 minutes ago. Some of the players have
already hit the showers, but a few others stay after practice. Five
of them — including senior captain Eric Nystrom and senior
Milan Gajic — are crowded around the net trying to slip one
past goalie Al Montoya. Gajic puts a rebound over Montoya’s
blocker and celebrates with his stick raised in the air, mocking
Montoya. The sprints and drills are long over, and now it’s
time for goofing off, shooting around and having fun.

But while it’s fun and games at one end of the ice,
it’s all business at the other. Brandon Rogers and Matt
Hunwick are at the far end of the ice, still drilling away. They
start at center ice, dump the puck into the zone, sprint after it
and bring it up out of the zone together. This is typical of
Rogers, the senior alternate captain, and Hunwick, the sophomore
sensation. The two of them can be found trying to improve their
chemistry long after the allotted practice time is over. Sometimes
they do drills that work on their skills and puck handling;
sometimes they work on their communication and ice sense. Even
before they became defensive line partners, the two of them were
two of the last skaters off the ice.

“We both always stay out on the ice (after practice)
anyway, and it just makes sense for us to be working on stuff
together out there,” Hunwick said. “I think it’s
good to have a partner who you can stay on the ice with and work
with and develop continuity together and become better as a
team.”

When they finally leave the ice, if they aren’t going to
spend time in the weight room or the trainer’s room, they get
showered and changed and head home for dinner and relaxation. They
live together — along with seniors Nystrom, Gajic, Mike
Woodford and Jason Ryznar and sophomore T.J. Hensick. All of the
guys enjoy watching television — especially hockey — on
their two-TV setup in the living room, but Rogers and Hunwick have
even more in common.

“He and I both are big “Seinfeld” guys,”
Hunwick said. “So we usually just try to get some of that
— watching them after practice or at night sometime. A couple
other guys like it, but I think, for the most part, we’re the
biggest fans.”

Whether it be “The Soup Nazi,”
“Festivus” or “The Contest,” the defensive
line pairing admits to watching an unhealthy amount of Jerry,
Elaine, George and Kramer.

It’s certainly not a requirement for a defensive pair to
be friends off of the ice — and coach Red Berenson said that
he didn’t even know if Hunwick and Rogers hung out together
— but both of the guys said that there is truly an added
benefit to being close.

“It definitely doesn’t hurt (to be friends off the
ice) because we can talk about things that went on on the
ice,” Rogers said. “And it’s easier to
communicate that way.”

In their case, sharing a house has brought them closer. In
addition to watching “Seinfeld,” the roommates also
watch sports together — Rogers is a rabid Red Sox fan —
and cook. Rogers even claims to have taught Hunwick to make their
favorite dish: chicken and pasta with vegetables.

“You know what he does that’s great,” said
Rogers of his sophomore roommate. “He’s real good at
cleaning up the house. He’s always doing the dishes and
cleaning up the living room and the kitchen and pretty much keeping
things organized. Without him, the dishes pile up in a
hurry.”

Rich Hunwick, Matt’s dad, said that he’s noticed his
son’s neat side throughout his entire life and described him
as a real-life Felix Unger — the neat one from The Odd
Couple.

When Hunwick was playing for the U.S. national team, he got into
a couple of fights. While his opponent was throwing off his gloves
and charging at him, Hunwick was taking off his gloves and neatly
placing them on the ice next to his stick.

“I remember thinking, ‘Are you going to organize
everything and let this guy pound your head while you’re
organizing your equipment?’ ” his father said.

When Hunwick first began playing on teams as a 6-year-old, his
coaches immediately put him on defense. He said it was because he
was the only kid on the team who could skate backwards. The coaches
saw his strong skating and immediately wanted him on the back
line.