Incoming Miami goaltender commit, Jay Williams, really wanted to join the melee between Sioux Falls and Sioux City. Well, he bit off a little more than he could chew but was “gracious” in defeat. Matt Skoff gets this decision and it’s good to see Williams wasn’t more seriously injured as his leg buckles near the end of the fight.
Miami senior netminder Connor Knapp was, once again, named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week for his performance in the RedHawks’ sweep of then #13 Notre Dame last weekend.
Knapp stopped 59 of 60 Irish shots on the weekend (I’m sure there’s a joke there somewhere) including a 3-0 whitewash on Friday night and was named the #1 star in both games. The only goal he allowed came on an Irish two-man advantage off a rebound in Miami’s 4-1 win on Saturday.
The senior from York, N.Y. has now claimed the league’s weekly goaltender recognition three times this year as he improved to 11-6 on the season. Knapp has an unbelievable 1.65 goals-against average (second nationally) and a save percentage of .934 which is third in the nation. Both marks lead the CCHA as the big man has seized control of the Miami net. He has now won 10 of his last 13 starts and hasn’t allowed more than one goal in nine of his last 11 games. In league play only, he is also tops in the CCHA with a 1.55 GAA and a .939 save percentage (source: MURedHawks.com).
With four consecutive wins, Miami has moved to 15th in this week’s USCHO.com poll, and amazingly has reappeared in the USA TODAY/USA Hockey poll also at 15th. The continued exclusion of the RedHawks would have forced the poll into irrelevance because it’s hard to imagine there are 15 better squads than this Miami team.
More importantly, Miami has climbed into a tie for 11th in the PairWise rankings which are far more relevant than polls anyway.
Connor Knapp made 31 saves and Miami received goals from freshmen Blake Coleman and Tyler Biggs and junior Reilly Smith as the RedHawks defeated Notre Dame 3-0.
Blake Coleman opened the scoring at 2:08 of the first period and that was all senior netminder Connor Knapp would need as he cruised to his third shutout of the season and the 11th of his outstanding Miami career. He is just one behind classmate Cody Reichard and underloved David Burleigh for the school’s career record of 12 shutouts. If it were up to me, Knapp would be in net again tomorrow as Miami goes for the series sweep.
In giving Miami a 1-0 lead, Coleman ensured the RedHawks would improve upon their superb record when scoring first. Miami is now 15-5-1 when scoring first this year.
Coleman took the puck off the half boards on the left wing and skated toward the UND net wristing a quick shot on Notre Dame junior netminder Mike Johnson who was far too deep in his net hugging the near post. Coleman picked his spot and hit it with deadly accuracy as Johnson never had a chance given how he was playing the shot. It was another example of poor goaltending that, along with an inability to find the opposing net, has hindered this talented, but underachieving, Irish squad.
In actuality, the Irish outshot Miami 31-16 on the evening, but it certainly didn’t feel that way as, quite frankly, I was never concerned that Notre Dame could dent the net. If they had 31 shots, then they were the quietest 31 shots I’ve seen in a long time.
As we noted in the preview, Miami had to control Notre Dame’s top line including sophomores T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee. And, the Miami defense, led by Chris Wideman and Will Weber did just that as head coach, and newly minted man, Enrico Blasi utilized the last change to match his top defensive pairing against the Irish top line all night.
And, as we said in the preview, goaltending was a major factor in tonight’s game as Miami got it from Knapp while the Irish suffered through yet another substandard performance from Mike Johnson who made just 13 saves on 15 shots (Biggs’ goal was an empty-netter as Miami put the Irish away) for another ugly loss where his save percentage was just .867. That’s simply not good enough in college hockey of today.
For Miami and Connor Knapp, it was another dominating defensive performance as the RedHawks appear to be finding their defensive legs just in time as the season winds down. Knapp lowered his goals against average to 1.69 and improved his save percentage to .931 in earning his 10th win of the season. Knapp’s GAA and save percentage are career highs while his win total is just short of the 13 games he won in his freshman season when Miami reached the NCAA title game.
Junior forward Reilly Smith would add his league leading 22nd goal of the season in the second period when he gobbled up a rebound of a Ben Paulides shot off a rush. Smith made a nifty play taking the puck from his skate to his backhand to beat Johnson who was still recovering from Paulides’ wrister. Biggs picked up the other assist on the play giving him two points on the evening as he would add an empty netter late in the third period as the Irish pulled Johnson during the waning moments of a powerplay that went for naught.
Notes
– Both teams finished just 0-for-2 on the power play
– Miami head coach Enrico Blasi earned his 200th career CCHA victory, becoming the ninth coach in history to win 200 CCHA games
– Miami found itself shorthanded just twice tonight as they did what they had to to stay out of the box and play a disciplined game against a very questionable opponent in terms of tactics. I actually thought CCHA officials Keith Sergott and Barry Pochmara called a great game as they let the players decide the outcome in this important weekend matchup.
– The RedHawks are now 9-1-2 against Notre Dame in the last 12 contests head-to-head and go for the series sweep tomorrow night at 7:05PM EST at Steve Cady Arena
– With a few games yet to final tonight, the victory has propelled Miami into a tie for 11th in the PairWise rankings strangely enough with Michigan State due to Alaska falling out of TUC status with a loss to the Spartans. Miami could use some help from the Space Bears as they take on the Spartans again tomorrow night. Speaking of the Space Bears…enjoy.
The Notre Dame Racist Nicknames Fighting Irish travel to Steve Cady Arena this weekend for the teams’ only two regular season clashes this season.
Last season Miami and Notre Dame split a series in Oxford and tied twice later in the season in South Bend, Ind. However, in the one that really counted, Miami (17-13-2, 11-11-2-1 t7th CCHA) dominated the Irish (16-13-3, 11-10-3 t7th CCHA) in the CCHA semifinal in Detroit, Mich. winning 6-2 behind four points from eventual Hobey Baker winner Andy Miele and another three from junior forward Reilly Smith en route to the Mason Cup. Notre Dame is led by head coach Jeff Jackson who brings his brand of whiny hockey back to Oxford where Miami is 18-8-2 all-time against the Irish. The RedHawks lead the all-time series by a substantial 36-16-10 mark and are 8-1-2 against the Irish in the last 11 games.
Despite what appears to be a wealth of offensive talent, the Irish have struggled to score goals this year averaging just 2.8 goals per game while featuring a veteran team coming off a Frozen Four appearance. Up front, the Irish are led by sophomores T.J. Tynan (12-26-38) and Anders Lee (14-16-30), neither of whom have shown signs of a “sophomore slump.” The Irish are also led by junior hack forward Riley Sheahan (9-15-24) who has a knack for running opposing goaltenders and was suspended for one game earlier this season for knocking Western Michigan’s best player, senior Dane Walters, out of their series with a blow to the head. Walters would also miss the subsequent series against Miami when the RedHawks swept the Broncos in Oxford. In what was considered a first in the CCHA, that suspension was appealed by the Irish who have no problem resorting to questionable tactics but absolutely cannot stand it when their opponents are physical with them. I expect Miami to come at the Irish and try to get them off their game this weekend.
Clearly, the RedHawks must slow Tynan and Lee who have combined for 16 points in five career games against Miami. However, the Irish are deep and talented, if not underachieving, as they come into Oxford having won just three of their last ten contests. But, this squad is perhaps as deep as they have been under Jackson with 10 players with 10 or more points including senior forward Billy Maday who has faced the RedHawks more than any other Notre Dame player. Maday has played in nine contests against the Red and White and has notched five points.
Defensively, the Irish have struggled this year allowing a rather lofty 2.8 goals per contest. Goaltending has been problematic as sieve junior Mike Johnson and sophomore Steven Summerhays have been fairly awful this year. This despite playing behind a talented blueline featuring senior captain Sean Lorenz, sophomore Stephen Johns and junior Sam Calabrese – all three of whom were members of the USNTDP. Last season, Lorenz was named the CCHA’s Defensive Defenseman of the Year and he is the lone senior defenseman for the Irish.
Regardless of pedigree, the Irish have been unable to overcome the mediocre play of their goaltenders. Johnson, who Miami has often lit up like a Christmas tree enters the weekend carrying a 9-7-3 record with a 2.59 goals against average and .889 save percentage. Summerhays has actually been worse this season despite, in my opinion, having more talent than Johnson. The sophomore is just 7-6 with a 2.93 goals against average and .887 save percentage. Johnson’s goals against numbers are good enough for 13th in the CCHA while Summerhays’ are dead last at 16th. And, the two Irish goaltenders are 15th and 16th, respectively, in save percentage – second-to-last and dead last if you’re scoring at home.
In contrast, Miami senior netminder Connor Knapp leads the CCHA with a sparkling 1.81 goals against average and is fifth in the league in save percentage at .925. However, Cody Reichard is 11th and 14th, respectively in what most would consider a disappointing season for the Miami senior.
Scoring first could be big this weekend as the teams’ have shown dramatic differences in getting a jump on their opponents.
Notre Dame has allowed the first goal of the game in 18 of the team’s 32 games to date. When they allow the game’s opening goal, the Irish are just 7-10-1. But, when they score first, Notre Dame is 9-3-2 on the season. In contrast, Miami has scored first in 20 of its 32 games this year, going 14-5-1 in those contests. Miami’s only three wins when it didn’t score first were Nov. 26 at Denver, Jan. 13 at Lake Superior and last weekend (Feb. 11) vs. Alabama-Huntsville. Miami has scored within the first 10 minutes of the game 13 times this year and six times within the first five minutes (source: MURedHawks.com and UND.com).
Clearly, if Miami can get off to a good start both nights, they’ll have an opportunity to sweep the series as MU is a terrific team when they have a lead and the Irish do not play well from behind.
This series could very well determine which of these two bubble teams makes the NCAA tournament without likely having to plow through the CCHA tournament and capture the Mason Cup in order to get in. Miami enters the weekend 13th in the PairWise rankings while Notre Dame is currently on the outside looking in at 18th. The six points will be huge in the CCHA standings as the teams enter locked in a tie for seventh place with four games remaining.
Miami has played reasonably well against TUCs this year going 14-13-1 against top competition while Notre Dame has gone 12-12-3 in similar contests. Each team averages 2.8 goals per game but Miami is significantly stouter defensively allowing just 2.2 goals per game which I think could tilt this series toward the RedHawks. And, with the Irish coming in slumping, Miami could be catching them at the right time as the RedHawks attempt to get hot entering the post-season.
If Miami can slow down Notre Dame’s top line and get secondary scoring from the likes of senior captain Alden Hirschfeld, who has his only career hat trick against the Irish and notched seven points against them in five games last season, they’ll have a great opportunity to take at least four points this weekend heading into the regular season’s final weekend.
Notes
– Notre Dame sophomores Stephen Johns and T.J. Tynan played alongside Miami freshman forward Austin Czarnik for Team USA in the World Junior Championship early this year in Alberta.
– Friday’s game will air nationally (7:35pm EST) on the CBS Sports Network as Ben Holden will handle play-by-play duties while Jim Paradise will provide color commentary and Shireen Saski will serve as the rink-side reporter.
– Last season, senior forward Alden Hirschfeld and junior forward Reilly Smith combined for nine goals, seven assists and 16 points in five games against Notre Dame. Smith had four goals and five assists while Hirschfeld tallied five goals and two assists. Hirschfeld recorded his only career hat trick last year against Notre Dame on Dec. 4, 2010 in Oxford. In last year’s CCHA Tournament semifinal, which Miami won, 6-2, Smith handed out three assists and Hirschfeld notched a goal and an assist. (source: MURedHawks.com)
– Miami head coach Enrico Blasi has a career record of 199-122-39 in CCHA games and needs just one more win to become the ninth coach to win 200 CCHA games in a career (source: MURedHawks.com). Since today was his 40th birthday, a sweep this weekend would provide a nice present from the boys. He is 19-9-7 all-time against the Irish.
As a reminder, here’s what Miami did to the Irish the last time the two schools met on the ice. Enjoy the games, folks.
Well, it’s official. Miami head ice hockey coach, Enrico Blasi is a man. Congratulations on this tremendous honor, Coach! You’ve done the class of 1994 proud. Of course, that only means that I’ll be a man next year…
In the event that you don’t follow us on twitter … wait … that would be unfortunate. In the event that you don’t use twitter, here are your Saturday and Sunday #SixPacks. If you’re not following us (for shame!!!), head over to http://www.twitter.com/redskinwarriors to follow along!
Saturday
Nice solid win for the #RedHawks last night to rebound from a rough weekend in Ann Arbor. Here comes your Saturday #SixPack. #MiamiU
Hawks are 14-5-1 when scoring first, 11-1 when leading after 2 periods. 7-1 vs UAH all time. 5-2 in non-conf play. #MiamiU
Miami outshoots UAH 32-12, allowed 2 shots in the 3rd per. 5th time this season Hawks allow 3 or less shots in per. #insidetheboxscore
Paulazzo took a 5 min major and game misconduct for a high hit. That’s Miami’s 11th major of the season with 8 game misconducts & 3 game DQs
13 of #MiamiU ‘s 16 wins have come against Teams Under Consideration (TUC’s) in the PairWise. Now up to 16th & squarely on the NCAA bubble.
Dane Walters scores in OT to lead WMU over Ohio State. If you’re counting (we are), that’s 0-7-4 with 4 SOL’s in 2012 for OSU. #collapse
Ferris State continues to roll, shuts out ND 3-0. FSU: 44, WMU: 42, Mich/MSU: 38, ND/Miami/OSU: 36, LSSU: 35, NMU: 33 #CCHA #Standings
Hope you enjoyed the #SixPack. “Skate with the Hawks” tonight, and #MiamiU will be wearing Swoop’s Stoop jerseys. #CodyReichard #GoRedHawks
Sunday
After the second period, we posted this to follow up on Saturday’s #SixPack:
Did you see the #SixPack today? Add another period where #MiamiU holds their opponent to 3 shots or less. 19-3 advantage that period.
After a bit of nervousness, the @MiamiIceHockey #RedHawks pull it together and finish the sweep against #UAH. Sunday #SixPack time!
#MiamiU allowed 1st goal last night, now just 3-8-2 when that happens. However, 2 goals in 14 seconds in the 2nd fixed that #fastandfurious
Ben Saksa @bensaksa played in his second game as a RedHawk last night, and recorded his first save on a 2-on-1 break. #kicksaveandabeauty
On a night honoring Senior Goalie Cody Reichard, it was Cody’s idea to let Saksa finish up. #trueleader #brotherhood (included link to Game Recap at MURedHawks.com)
#MiamiU hasn’t lost to UAH since their 1st mtg in 1998, now 8-1-0 and 6-0 in Oxford. 48 shots last night were the most this yr. #firingrange
FSU & NMU were able to #sweeptheleg this weekend. Standings at http://www.ccha.com. Ohio State won (gasp!!!) for the first time in 2012.
Ferris has a 5 point lead in the #CCHA, magic number is just 8 to clinch, play vs BG and home/home vs WMU.#whydontwejustcrownthemalready
There’s your Sunday #SixPack. See you next weekend as the RedHawks take on Notre Dame in Oxford. #mustwin #brotherhood #MiamiU #LoveandHonor
It wasn’t long ago – until just two months ago, in fact – that The University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers thought they were playing in their final season at the Division I ice hockey level. At times, it seemed like they are as pitiful as my adult rec league team, having been shut out for the weekend by Ohio State in Huntsville, followed by another shutout loss at the hands of Providence. UAH got on the board after those 3 consecutive shutouts, but the Chargers were again shut out for a weekend by Merrimack and UMass-Lowell, and finally were shut out for their weekend series against Bemidji State.
The men’s Division I Ice Hockey program is on life support, as UAH is the only remaining independent team Division I men’s ice hockey, and the team’s 2011-12 results may be an indication of that uncertainty for the program. If you are in love with have a man crush on NCAA hockey like the Redskin Warriors, go HERE to support the Save UAH Hockey cause, as the future of the program still swings somewhat in the balance.
As of recently, the newly installed President at the university has re-pledged his support to the hockey program, and it seems to have lit a small spark under the student athletes from hockey’s southernmost college program.
Huntsville’s record may be a weak 2-26-1, but don’t be fooled. On January 6th, they took down then 10th-ranked Denver. Two weeks ago, UAH stood strong against Current #2 Minnesota-Duluth, losing twice, but both were 1-goal games. Last Friday, the Chargers almost upset Maine. The Chargers were up 3-0 after two periods, but Maine flexed their muscle and came back for a 4-3 overtime victory. After being up 3-0, UAH allowed 9 unanswered goals, however, and lost Saturday night 5-0 as well. That was the 10th time overall the Chargers have been shut out, and Miami will be the team’s last 2 regular season games before playing the USNTDP in 2 weeks.
In addition to the hockey series in Oxford, Cody Reichard will be featured for his off-ice accomplishments as well. His charitable organization, Swoop’s Stoop will be featured this Saturday in a number of ways. First of all, to raise additional funds for the charity, the RedHawks will also wear a special jersey on Saturday night to honor Reichard and the children he supports. The jerseys will later be auctioned off to Miami fans and supporters, with all proceeds to benefit the charity. Before the start of the game, a pregame ceremony will feature Cody, and you can bet that he’ll be in net on Saturday night for the Hawks.
For his efforts, Cody was nominated as a Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist last week. The Humanitarian award will be presented at the Frozen Four on the same night as the Hobey Baker award, Friday April 6th in Tampa, FL. According to MURedHawks.com, Reichard is “one of just five finalists for the BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented to college hockey’s finest citizen.”
For more information on Swoop’s Stoop, check out the above links as well as the following:
Visit the MU RedHawks Swoop’s Stoop page which will link you to a few other stories.
In addition, if you haven’t seen Cody’s helmet featuring Swoop’s Stoop, here’s a sneak peak of what he’ll wear this weekend, as well as the online photo album. (click on the picture for a larger view)
If skating around with 20 year old young men who smell like hockey after skating their rear-ends off for 2.5 hours is your thing, join the RedHawks for their annual Skate with the Hawks night on Saturday as well.
Good luck to the Lady RedHawks this weekend as well! Miami’s Women’s Club Ice Hockey team heads to Grand Rapids, Michigan for their conference tournament. They kick off play against Ohio State Friday night. We’ll keep you posted on how the RedHawks fare this weekend.
Weekend Notes:
UAH Comes in having scored just 35 goals on the season and allowing 119. This could be the weekend the ‘Hawks need to re-open the scoring gates after being limited to just 1 goal last weekend. To contrast, Reilly Smith has 20 goals himself.
The Chargers are led by Freshman Kyle Lysaght with 7 goals and 6 assists, and Sophomore Mac Roy, who has 6 goals and 6 assists.
Miami was shut out for just the 2nd time this season last Saturday at Michigan. If it makes you feel any better, those 2 shutouts came against Ferris State and Michigan, the #1 and #3 teams in the CCHA, and the #2 and #4 teams in the PairWise.
Miami stands at #18 in the PairWise, and need all the wins they can get in order to make the NCAA tournament for the 7th straight season.
This weekend’s series is the first time since December 2-3 that their opponent isn’t a ranked team. Northern Michigan was not ranked that weekend, although they are now ranked #19 by USCHO.
Fearless Predictions:
Miami will come out strong and bury the weaker foe both nights. 5-1 on Friday. Cody’s night wouldn’t be complete without taking the all-time shutout mark at Miami. Cody gets the shutout 4-0 on Saturday.Both games this weekend will air on ONN in the state of Ohio. Friday’s puck drops at 7:35 and on Saturday, things get started around 7:05 after the Swoop’s Stoop/Cody Reichard recognition ceremony.
Thank goodness for good friends this weekend. Taking in a game at Yost Ice Arena was something every NCAA Hockey Fan should experience. The loudest arena in the country, hosting an important series at the end of the season where every point matters. I won’t say that Miami made it easy for the Michigan faithful, but they didn’t seem to make it hard to cheer, and jeer, this weekend.
All I can say about Friday is: momentum. After the first goal came less than 2 minutes into the game, the ice was tilted in Michigan’s favor for the rest of the period and Miami couldn’t recover. As mentioned in the Saturday #SixPack, Miami has allowed 10 goals within 3 minutes of scoring this season, having allowed one 4 times within 1 minute of the most recent Miami tally. The 4th Michigan goal on Friday night was a dagger that killed the momentum Miami had gained. After the first period that saw 3 Michigan goals, 2 of the power play variety, Miami had outshot Michigan 11-1 in the second period, and had just scored to bring the game to 3-1. The reply goal in this case was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Miami never recovered and went down 4-1.
I’ve uploaded several pictures for your perusal. Head over to our Facebook page for the full album. Don’t miss the end of the album to enjoy the “many faces of Rico Blasi” portion. Coach Blasi was bummed out absolutely incensed with the officials in the third period of Saturdays game after a weekend of inconsistency and unbelievable calls. The following pretty much sums it up. Thanks to these fashionable crazily dressed Wolverine fans for the picture opportunity:
The biggest issue that I’ve always had with CCHA Referees like Brian Aaron, Mark Wilkins, Barry Pochmara and last weekend’s pairing of Keith Sergott and Brian Hill is the inconsistency. The best thing I can say about the refereeing is that they are consistently inconsistent. The forever lively Michigan Student section said it best during both games: “The refs have lost control! … The refs have lost control! … The refs have lost control!”
In addition to a number of offsides calls that were just too close to blow a whistle, the weekend’s referees missed several blatant slashes and blows to the head from each side of the ice. Keith Sergott and Brian Hill had actually been pulled after 1 game of a series earlier this season, after some say he mis-managed the first game of the Western Michigan against Notre Dame series on January 13-14. With such a budding, yet heated rivalry between Miami and Michigan, it’s a mystery why Sergott and Hill were even in charge of this series less than a month after such an incident.
There are two things you’ll notice after the 2:00 minute mark of the highlight video posted above. First of all, take a look at the goal/no-goal that Rico was rather furious about. From just about every vantage point I’ve seen – on the replays in the arena (I’m amazed the arena staff kept replaying it on the video boards) and afterwards on the DVR – the puck doesn’t appear to cross the line.
A goal is scored when the puck, … passes between the goal posts, entering from the front and below the top of the net, and completely crosses the goal line …
I can’t find any reason referees Brian Hill and Keith Sergott should have overturned the call. It hurts to say that. The goal would have pulled Miami to 2-1 in a heated 3rd period that featured 76 penalty minutes total. Despite the blatant inconsistency, I believe that they got this one right, and that video replay was inconclusive in showing whether the ENTIRE puck made it the ENTIRE way past the goal line. Coach Blasi did say to the media afterwards: “When 6000 people go ‘uhhhhhh’ it’s a pretty good chance that the home team knows that it’s a goal. The explanation was that from [Brian Hill’s] view, it wasn’t a goal. So, we’ve got to accept that and move on.”
On the other hand, if you had watched the game on CBS College Sports this weekend, the overhead replay was not available on the play, and it was NOT due to the broadcast not having rights to this camera. As to why, we can only speculate at this time. I was sitting directly behind the penalty box area several rows up, and never did we see the requisite overhead view on the monitor with our limited view. In an arena with something like THIS hanging from the rafters, you’d think they would have a working overhead replay camera that is 1. required by the CCHA, and 2. actually functions. In this case Michigan will have to pay a fine, and get away with highway robbery on what could have made a tough weekend for Miami one that was more easily swallowed.
The second item to look for is immediately following Chris Brown’s undressing of the usually steady Will Weber to score the 3rd Michigan goal of the night. Brown pulls a Tebow on the ice as he skates in front of where the Miami parents were sitting for the game. If you saw this action with 1 minute left in the game (please watch your volume here – slightly NSFW), you now can see why Weber had good reason to drop the gloves.
With just 1 minute left in the weekend’s play, Michigan freshman Alex Guptill slashed Connor Knapp well after the puck was buried and play had been whistled dead. This was not the first time this had happened on the weekend, and Weber made it known that it would not be tolerated with a solid crosscheck to Guptill to clear the crease area. Guptill didn’t like it, appeared to hit Weber in the helmet with his stick, and followed that foul up with a blatant spear to Weber’s midsection. The aforementioned Brown skated in and laid a Tyson-esque right hook to Webers head, followed by a facemasking penalty that would carry a 5-minute major and game misconduct in any other situation. Weber stood his ground, and after the dust settled, both had been sent off for fighting majors and game disqualifications.
In my eyes, Weber, who had been through an awful weekend of play, not to mention endless jeers from the relentless Michigan students, had every right to protect his goaltender. (In return, as you see in the video, Connor Knapp comes to ensure that Brown got what was coming to him at the hands of Weber after a game full of chippy-ness from both sides.) Weber and Brown face 1-game suspensions due to the Game Disqualification penalties they received to go along with their fighting majors. While a Miami blueline without Will Weber is certainly going to take some adjustments and younger players to step up, Miami takes on Alabama-Huntsville in non-conference play next weekend. Michigan will face the Spartans of Michigan State, and missing their leading scorer will certainly be a tough pill to swallow in perhaps the CCHA’s only more heated rivalry besides the Miami/Michigan one.
Other Notes (forewarning – these aren’t fun):
Miami was 0-12 on the power play on the weekend and allowed 2 power play goals in Michigan’s 3-goal first period to start the weekend series. Miami drops to 49th nationally on the Power Play, and jump to 3rd in total Penalty minutes in the country with 518 total (17.3 PIMs per game is 6th most).
There were 35 penalty minutes handed out on Friday, and an impressive 98 PIMs Saturday, including 76 in the third period.
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson won his 745th game as a head coach. He is now alone in 5th all-time in NCAA coaching victories.
Michigan D-man Lee Moffie scored an assist on Friday night and had two goals on Saturday night, including the game winner, which was also shorthanded. Throw in 3 blocked shots on the weekend and Moffie is your CCHA Defenseman of the Week.
Michigan Goalie Scott Hunwick stopped 53 of 54 shots on the weekend (and added in a 2-minute tripping minor penalty) and took home the CCHA Goaltender of the week as well.
Miami is now 5-46-1 at Yost Ice Arena all-time.
Poll Update:
In the USCHO poll, Miami hangs on for the #20 spot
Inside College Hockey dropped Miami 1 spot as well in their Power Rankings
More importantly, Miami’s two losses catapulted Michigan to the #2 spot in the PairWise Rankings, and dropped Miami to 18th. With 2 non-conference games, 4 CCHA games, and the CCHA Tournament looming, Miami seems to be on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament at this point.
UPDATE: After Monday’s Beanpot semifinal games where Boston University beat Harvard 3-1 and Boston College beat Northeastern 7-1, Michigan drops to a tie for 3rd
We’ll have your preview later in the week as the RedHawks return to action Friday night at 7:05 and Saturday at 7:35 against the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Both games will be televised on ONN across Ohio.
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