Monthly Archives: March 2012
Walton behind the mic again for tonight’s Hockey East tournament
Miami’s own John Walton will again be behind the mic for tonight’s Hockey East second round series opener between the Evil Empire Boston College Eagles and the UMass Minutemen. Earlier this season, Walton called the Yale/Harvard matchup and will again work with the NBC Sports Network team to bring his talents to the college hockey nation.
And, as the radio voice of the Washington Capitals, Walton will call the Capitals/Bruins tilt on Saturday afternoon so it will be a nice little weekend in Beantown for Mr. Walton.
Tonight’s game will faceoff at 7:30pm EST on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus formerly OLN formerly Outdoor Life Network).
John, we’ll be watching from Colorado…well, at least I will.
Czarnik Named to All-Rookie Squad
Miami forward Austin Czarnik has been named to the 2012 All-CCHA Rookie Team. The Washington, Michigan native leads the RedHawks in assists with 20 and is second on the team in total points scored, with a total of 29. He joins defensemen Joe Hartman (09-10) and Chris Wideman (08-09) as well as goaltender Connor Knapp (08-09) as the only current RedHawks to have earned the honor. RedHawk forward Jimmy Mullin also received an honorable mention.
Here’s a list of past Miami players to be selected to the All-Rookie Team:
– Craig Fisher (88-89)
– Ken House (88-89)
– Dan Diakawa (91-92)
– Justin Krall (92-93)
– Dan Boyle (94-95)
– Randy Robitaille (95-96)
– Josh Mizerek (96-97)
– Andy Greene (02-03)
– Matt Christie (03-04)
– Marty Guerin (03-04)
– Connor Knapp (08-09)
– Chris Wideman (08-09)
– Joe Hartman (09-10)
Bowling Green eliminates Northern Michigan, advances to second round
Congratulations to Chris Bergeron and the Bowling Green State University Falcons who earlier tonight defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats 4-1 to win their CCHA first round series two games to one. The Falcons got five goals and seven points from freshman Dan DeSalvo and dominated the series from the midway point Saturday right through tonight’s game. The Falcons will next take on Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich. in another best-of-three weekend series March 9-11.
With the Bowling Green upset, the CCHA playoffs reset to look like this.
#1 Ferris State v. #8 Bowling Green
#2 Michigan v. #7 Notre Dame
#3 Western Michigan v. #6 Lake Superior
#4 Miami v. #5 Michigan State
That Michigan/Notre Dame matchup could be fantastic, and regardless, means that only one of those two will make it to Joe Louis Arena in two weeks. If the top seeds prevail, it would mean that Miami would face Ferris State in one semi-final and Michigan and Western Michigan would duke it out at the Joe for the second time in two years. Of course, the Broncos upset Michigan last year before falling to Miami in the CCHA Championship game when the RedHawks claimed their first ever Mason Cup.
We’ll have a playoff preview later this week, but frankly, Friday can’t get here soon enough.
CCHA Playoffs: Round One
It’s been a fairly boring weekend of playoff hockey in the first round of the CCHA playoffs with only the Bowling Green State University Falcons providing a bit of drama.
Beginning last season, when the CCHA contracted to 11 teams after the loss of UNO to the WCHA, the top five teams in the regular season standings receive a bye in the first round meaning there are three first round best-of-three playoff series at campus sites.
On Friday, all higher seeds held serve at home as Northern Michigan defeated Bowling Green, Lake Superior topped Alaska and Notre Dame beat duhOSU.
And, on Saturday, Notre Dame finished off duhOSU while Lake sent Alaska back to Fairbanks with two-game sweeps.
However, in a rematch of last year’s 6 vs. 11 series that saw Bowling Green upset Northern Michigan 2 games to 1, the Falcons appear to be staging that same first round drama as they beat the Wildcats 5-3 last night to force a third and deciding game despite trailing 3-1 in the second period. Former Miami captain and assistant coach, Chris Bergeron’s, team has been a thorn in the side of NMU and are hoping to reach the second round of the CCHA playoffs for the second consecutive year after a last place regular season finish.
If Bowling Green pulls off the upset and advances, here’s how the second round match-ups would play out. The teams are re-seeded after each round.
#4 Miami v. #5 Michigan State
#3 Western Michigan v. #6 Lake Superior
#2 Michigan v. #7 Notre Dame
#1 Ferris State v. #8 Bowling Green
If Northern Michigan pulls it together and staves off the Falcons, you’ll see these match-ups.
#4 Miami v. #5 Michigan State
#3 Western Michigan v. #6 Northern Michigan
#2 Michigan v. #7 Lake Superior
#1 Ferris State v. #8 Notre Dame
I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see Chris Bergeron do it again and advance to the second round where they’d have a real shot at knocking off #1 seed Ferris State. I’d also LOVE to see Notre Dame and Michigan in the second round meaning one of those two teams would not make it to the Joe. Plus, I think it would be a great series with the Irish possessing the talent to take two of three from the Wolverines at Yost. A Lake/Michigan series would greatly favor the Wolverines and I’d expect a sweep.
We’ll update the match-ups after tonight’s game. The Falcons and Wildcats face off in a winner-take-all decisive game at 7:35pm EST at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.
Smith makes INCH Hobey “Big Board”
As Miami junior forward Reilly Smith continues to light the lamp with regularity (26-12-38), the whispers of a Hobey Baker campaign are becoming louder. Today, Smith was added to Inside College Hockey’s “Hobey Tracker,” a recurring column about the leaders for college hockey’s most prestigious individual award. Of course Smith has big shoes to fill considering last year’s winner was Miami’s own Andy Miele. Yet, it’s great to see the national recognition pour in for a guy that was “only able to score 28 goals last year because he played on a line with Miele.” Yeah, right.
Smith has been a huge part of Miami’s success this season and here’s hoping he remains hot throughout the post-season.
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