There are eyes on Mike Legg - constantly. The eyes belong to different people, all whom see different things that Legg, a senior center on the Michigan hockey team, accomplishes. His actions are watched and his movements are recorded.
But it all starts with the eyes.
In a hospital, the first eyes to make contact with a baby are usually the father's. In Mike Legg's case, his dad hasn't looked away since.
When Legg was growing up in the small town of London, Ontario, he loved his father. Not that admiration was unusual, for most kids love their dads, but his father gave back with love - a love for the game.
A slow starter, Chuck Legg didn't take to the ice until he was 19. But once hooked, he didn't let go. When Mike was a child, it was his option to play hockey. If Mike weren't interested, that would be fine, but if he was, the sky was the limit.
"He chose to play hockey because it was his No. 1 love," Chuck Legg said.
Mike made up for the time his father missed in the game. By the time he turned 19, Mike had already played in the NCAA tournament and had netted 10 goals for the Wolverines.
"(My father) has been there all through (my career), ever since he got me into (hockey)," Mike said. "He just suggested it. He didn't force me into it. He said, 'If you play this game, it's up to you.' So it started me off, and my love for the game just grew. He's been there through it all."
And his dad lives through Mike's play.
Chuck's eyes watch every game, home and away. Over the course of Mike's Michigan career, his parents have missed only eight games. No distance was too great to watch their son play.
At Yost Ice Arena, the stands behind the Michigan bench are reserved for the players' families. Many of the parents live too far from Ann Arbor to regularly attend games, but a three-hour drive is no problem for the Leggs.
"It just shows me they really care about it," Mike says. "They want to see me play good all the time. When they're always there, it's pretty special."
This time, those watching Mike Legg had to rub their eyes. Never had fans been so deceived by their own pupils.
No one could score like that. Or so they thought. Television executives were thankful for instant replay, because they couldn't believe what they had seen.
Legg's game-tying goal in the middle of the second period against Minnesota came from behind the net. Lacrosse-style, he picked the puck up on the blade of his stick and placed it over the Minnesota goalie's left shoulder into the net.
Most fans worldwide don't even know Legg's name. But they sure know his handiwork.
When Legg went to work on that day, he knew it would be important. After all, Michigan's season was on the line. But he never could have dreamed of the impact the game would have on his life.
After the goal, he became internationally-known. A Swedish hockey magazine named the shot its play of the year. His goal was written about in all the newspapers, and it was shown on all of the television highlight shows.
Legg received awards, garnered plaques, and swept the yearly honors for various play of the year honors. And yet, for all the people around the world who know him as the "goal guy," he is unchanged.
"He got a lot of recognition," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "He got a lot of respect and attention, which is good because it was overdue for a player like Mike. I like the way he handled it. He brushed it off. He's just a nice kid. He doesn't get big-headed about it, but I do think it gave him more confidence."
Berenson's eyes have watched No. 15 skate up and down the ice day in and day out for four seasons, but at times, the view has been blurry.
Berenson demands all-out effort. He gave 100 percent when he was a player and his coaching philosophy evolved as an extension of his playing career - go all out, all the time.
Maybe that is why Berenson was troubled that Legg rarely played the game of which he was capable. During his first three seasons, Legg would have good nights, when he fulfilled his enormous talent, littered in between the nights when games didn't go as well.
This season, things changed for Legg.
"He's always been a good player on our team, but rarely been a great player," Berenson said. "Now, he's playing great hockey. He's focused, he's motivated, and he's confident. And when you put all those things together with a skilled player, you see what you're getting (now)."
What Berenson's getting now is Legg's breakthrough campaign. After this weekend's two games against Miami, Legg is among the team leaders in goals and assists - an unusual position for the senior. His 31 points are approaching his career high of 40 points set last season - and there are still 10 games left in the regular season.
"In the past, there's always been something missing," Berenson said. "He's always showed signs of greatness, but (Legg) never played that way. And now he is."
Berenson and the coaching staff's observations are an essential part of Legg's continuing development. And Legg gives them credit.
"They're so supportive," Legg said of the coaches. "(Assistant coaches) Mel (Pearson), Billy (Powers) and Red are unbelievable. They just want to see us do good and make us men out of boys when we get here."
When Berenson watches Legg skate off the ice for the last time, he will see a player who has changed and matured.
"Anytime you go anywhere with him, you're always waiting for him," said Harold Schock, Legg's roommate and a Michigan defenseman. "Guys will be ready to go to a movie, and (Legg) has to go upstairs and fix his hair. You've always got to wait for him."
While idiosyncrasies exist within any friendship, Legg's roommates maintain that the soft-spoken senior is unwavering in his loyalty.
"He's the kind of person you could ask any favor of, and he wouldn't think twice about doing it," Schock said. "He's someone you could tell anything to."
Legg's personality fits in well in a lockerroom dominated by high-profile stars. While he has been drafted by the NHL's New Jersey Devils, it is players like captain Brendan Morrison who garner most of the publicity, and that's perfect for Legg's demeanor.
"He has one of the more laid-back attitudes on the team," Morrison said. "He really loosens things up once in a while. He fits in really well and is liked by the guys."
Legg asserts his leadership by acting as a role model.
"On the team, everybody can be a leader," he said. "It's not who is (a captain.) You can show leadership on the ice by just working hard. No one is really set apart from anybody else."
Legg's eyes can see what's around him, as well as what is within him.
The senior will pull off his Michigan uniform - whether it's after the national championship game March 29 or earlier - for the last time, without regrets.
"(Coming to Michigan) is the best decision I made," he said. "The guys on the team and the coaching staff made (Michigan) an unbelievable place to come. They have it all. They're a No. 1 organization in academics and hockey."
It is the camaraderie at Michigan that reminds him he is part of a team, one functioning unit.
"On our team, if someone's going to go out somewhere, they call everyone on the team to see if they want to come with you," he said. "No separate little groups. In that sense, it's a beautiful place to be."
Whatever his memories are, Legg will miss Michigan.
"It's our last year," Legg said. "It just seems like we were here yesterday, in the dorms. It's really special this year. The head leaders on the team, we just try to do (for the freshmen) what (former captains Steve) Shields and (Brian) Wiseman did for us when we came in."
Four years at Michigan have left an impression on Legg, but more than that, he left a mark on the program.
As a member of one of Michigan's most successful senior classes, Legg laughs when asked about his place in history.
"It's hard to look at it," he said. "Maybe when I step back, I can look at that. It's sort of hard right now to do that. I've heard that we could be the best class that's ever been here. But I can't say that."
Even in history, his modesty will remain.
"I'm not worried about (the NHL) right now," he says. "I'm trying to have a real strong finish, and if I do that, things will fall into place."
For the next two months, one thing is for sure, Mike Legg will do everything possible to close out his college career with another national championship.
With everyone watching.