I don't know how exactly the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa was able to translate a NASA experiment simulating a mission to Mars into the "anchor story" of a Sunday hockey notebook, but he did just that, producing a good read along the way:

[O]n Oct. 15, 2014, when the Blackhawks played their third regular-season game, three men and three women entered a two-story dome on Mauna Loa, a Hawaiian volcano. The mission, known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), simulated a visit to Mars. The team members did not leave the habitat until June 13, two days before the Blackhawks beat the Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Nearly three months later, researchers are studying the data from the eight-month mission. So far, their findings have uncovered that a calculated team-building approach and good chemistry within the group were critical to the mission’s success. NHL general managers and coaches would not be surprised by such conclusions.

“You can have a group of highly competent individuals who are great at what they do,” said Dr. Wendy Bedwell, assistant professor of psychology at the University of South Florida and HI-SEAS research scientist specializing in term performance. “You can put them together and it may not work out so well. We’ve seen examples of that in sports, for sure.”

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