Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, January 10, 2014
Mac Bennett, professional DJ. The Michigan men's ice hockey captain likes the sound of that, but never imagined it was possible. Bennett, who is a senior defenseman at Michigan, arrived in Ann Arbor with plans to major in psychology. It was then when he linked up with former teammate Scooter Vaughan, who would DJ local parties when he wasn't out on the hockey rink. Vaughan began to work with Bennett and teach him some of his tricks and how to properly mix tracks.
[ MORE: View the 2014 BTN Frozen Fridays Schedule | Bennett's bio at MGOBLUE.com ]
"I really liked the idea of it, but I had no idea how I was going to learn to make actual music on my own," Bennett said. "I looked into it, started working with some programs, and then began taking some secondary music classes."
It wasn't long after that when Bennett decided to go in a different direction academically and change his major to Musicology.
Bennett and Vaughn began working on producing tracks together and eventually developed the name Beats.0. The duo have their own website, soundcloud.com/beats_0, where they share numerous tracks, Bennett being a master of the guitar and drums, while Vaughn does the majority of the spinning on the 'one's and two's.'
"I love music, and it all goes with the major," Bennett said. "It's more of a creative outlet for me, more than anything."
And that's because Bennett's first love is hockey, a sport that is a fixture among the Bennett family.
Bennett's father, grandfather and five uncles all played professional hockey. His uncle, Curt, enjoyed a 10-year playing career in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, the New York Rangers and the Atlanta Flames. He was a two-time All Star in Atlanta and became the first American-born NHL hockey player to reach the 30 goal plateau in a season.
Bennett's two sisters, Diana and Carly, also have a hockey background. Diana, 20, is a member of Boston University's women's hockey team. His youngest sister, Carly, is a member of Michigan's women's field hockey team.
Bennett dreams of following his family heritage and carving out a successful NHL career of his own one day. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (79th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, but instead chose to attend Michigan, a choice in which he is thankful for.
"I remember when I first came out and visited Michigan and saw the team play… I fell in love with the school," Bennett said. "I've had so many great memories here already, and I hope there's more to come this season."
Whether it be in hockey, music, or something else, I think it's fair to say that Bennett will have plenty of success in whatever it is he chooses to do in life.
Bennett and his Wolverines play Wisconsin at 9 p.m. ET in the second game of tonight's Frozen Fridays on BTN/BTN2Go. Michigan State plays Ohio State in the first game at 6:30 p.m. ET – read a Q&A with Michigan State goalie Jake Hildebrand here. Get ready at 6 p.m. with ?Frozen Friday Face Off? with Rick Pizzo and Paul Caponigri, then catch our ?Frozen Friday Final Rush? at 11:30 p.m. with complete highlights.
Here are a couple bonus questions that I asked Bennett during our Q&A interview.
BTN.com: What has been your most memorable moment at Michigan thus far?
Bennett: There are two moments that really stand out to me. The first one is playing in the "Big Chill" my freshman season. Michigan Stadium is just such a cool place. And my second would be playing in the National Championship. That was cool as well. Those are two things I will never forget.
BTN.com: What do you and your teammates do outside of hockey for fun?
Bennett: We're all a pretty close group of guys. Everyone on the team lives with a group of guys so we all hang out with eachother. We go bowling a lot. We've been golfing together. Music, school and hockey takes up a lot of my time, but I find time to do other things.
BTN.com: How do you balance everything? Doesn't it take a long time to create music?
Bennett: It does, and it really depends on the situation. Some tracks get made in a few hours. Some take, well, too much time.