Monthly Archives: October 2012
#8 Miami Completes Weekend Sweep of Colgate
Light the Lantern! Miami opens 2012-13 season with impressive non-conference sweep of Colgate.
Behind another stellar goaltending performance by one of their freshman and five goals from five different players, #8 Miami completed an opening weekend sweep with a 5-1 victory over the Colgate Raiders.
As in Friday’s game, one of Miami’s heralded freshman goaltenders stymied the Raiders as Jay Williams made 2o saves while surrendering just one first period goal as Miami rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to score five unanswered goals.
Sophomore Cody Murphy notched three assists for a career high, and Kevin Morris and Riley Barber collected their first collegiate goals. Miami’s other tallies came from junior Bryon Paulazzo, his second of the year, sophomore Blake Coleman (3rd) and sophomore Alex Wideman (1st). Coleman had a weekend line of 3-1-4 in a bid to earn the conference’s weekly offensive player award while the Miami penalty killers were a perfect 13-for-13 in the two game sweep.
Next weekend, Miami remains in non-conference action at home as the Providence Friars from Hockey East travel to Oxford to take on the RedHawks. Last season, Miami defeated Providence 6-2 in the first game of the Denver Cup at Magness Arena en route to capturing the tournament title. Blake Coleman notched two goals in the game and Jimmy Mullin tallied to lead Miami to the win.
Notes
Curtis McKenzie was again absent from the Miami lineup.
MURedHawks.com has a full recap HERE.
USCHO.com has a full recap HERE.
Read Colgate’s official recap HERE.
McKay, #8 Miami blank Colgate in Season Opener
Photo: Ryan McKay courtesy MURedHawks.com
Looking completely “as advertised,” Miami freshman netminder Ryan McKay made 24 saves and Blake Coleman added two goals as Miami shutout Colgate 3-0 at Steve Cady Arena on Friday night.
Wearing 90s throwbacks, and the number 35, McKay could have been confused for former Miami goaltender Mark Michaud for those old enough to remember, as he efficiently turned away each Raider chance. McKay comes to Miami with an incredible resume. Playing the last three seasons with Green Bay of the USHL, McKay backstopped the Gamblers to the Clark Cup title in 2011-12 as Green Bay notched a league record 98 points last season. During his time in along the shores of Lake Superior, McKay’s “worst” goals against average was 2.20 and “worst” save percentage was .909 as he was named the recipient of the Dave Peterson Goalie of the Year by USA Hockey and the USHL’s Co-Goaltender of the Year sharing the honor with the Fargo Force’s Zane Gothberg – now with North Dakota. McKay helped the Gamblers reach the Clark Cup finals each year he was on the team winning twice.
Sadly, my review is woefully incomplete because Miami’s new internet partner through IMG Sports’ partnership with Neulion was interweb inept.
The video feed was so terrible that it was unwatchable. For the entire first two periods the feed “skipped” and at that point, I would have settled for the past’s awful quality just to listen to Dave Allen and at least be able to see the action. Hockey is the most important sport on campus. Get it fixed and now because Mike Commodore, and others, pay real American dollars for this stuff.
As for the game, Miami’s many new faces will undoubtedly need time to gel, it’s expected the team will be led by the back end and McKay. But, the offense found a spark from sophomore Blake Coleman who opened the scoring at the 13:02 mark of the first period with assists from senior transfer Marc Hagel and sophomore Alex Wideman. Coleman’s goal was the only one tallied in the first period as Miami took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
Miami added two goals in the second period as junior Bryon Paulazzo notched his first on an assist from sophomore Austin Czarnik and Coleman would add his second of the night, unassisted, with just 1:15 left in the second to effectively seal the deal.
Typically, Miami was whistled for a game-high nine penalties but killed all eight Colgate powerplay chances. The Raiders did lose freshman forward Mike Borkowski to a game misconduct for contact to the head in the second period but the RedHawks were unable to convert on the ensuing 5-minute major penalty. Miami was 0-for-4 with the man-advantage on the night.
McKay made 12 of his 24 saves in the third period as the Raiders pressed to get back into the game and had this to say about his performance, “I’ll take it any way I can get it, but definitely starting out with a shutout is a nice way to do it. I felt like as a team we played well enough to deserve a shutout tonight,” McKay said. “A lot of these guys I played with along the way when I played in the USHL with Green Bay. That definitely helps the transition part. Our coaching staff also prepared us well for the season.” source: MURedHawks.com
It was the first time in program history that Miami opened a season winning in shutout fashion. Not a bad start for the youngster from Palatine, Ill.
Tonight, the RedHawks look to improve to 2-0 and again host the Colgate Raiders at 7:05pm. Let’s hope Miami IMG and Neulion figure out the interwebs for the betterment of all mankind.
Notes:
Rachel Lewis of Triple Deke Photography has a game photo gallery that can be found HERE.
McKay’s shutout was certainly the first ever for a Miami goaltender in an opener, but I need to do a little more research to determine if it’s the first time a goaltender has made his Miami debut and finished with a shutout.
Blake Coleman now has 14 goals in his first 40 games as a RedHawk.
Junior Bryon Paulazzo’s contribution to the evening is huge. If Miami can get scoring from the California native, that should ease some of the pressure off the sophomores and freshmen.
The RedHawks started nine new-to-the program players including senior transfer Marc Hagel, three freshman defensemen and a freshman goaltender. Wow.
Senior forward Curtis McKenzie was strangely absent from Friday’s lineup.
Weekend Preview: Colgate v. #8 Miami
The Colgate Raiders and their cool logo invade Steve Cady Arena as #8 Miami kicks off 2012-13 Season
Finally!
Yes, tonight the #8 Miami RedHawks kick off their 2012-13 season hosting the Colgate Raiders of the ECAC in non-conference action. And, boy will we see some unfamiliar faces suiting up for the red and white as 11 freshmen don the opening night roster for Miami along with senior transfer Marc Hagel (Princeton). Most notably, will be the difference in net where for the first time since the 2007-08, someone other than Cody Reichard or Connor Knapp will man the Miami goal as freshmen Ryan McKay and Jay Williams inherit the crease from the highly decorated outgoing pair.
Up front, Miami moves on after the graduation of grinding leaders like Trent Vogelhuber and Alden Hirschfeld and the early departures of Reilly Smith and Tyler Biggs. However, the RedHawks welcome highly skilled forwards Riley Barber and Sean Kuraly to a lineup featuring returning stars Jimmy Mullin, Blake Coleman and Austin Czarnik.
If there was another team in the nation that can relate to the changes that Miami is enduring to its roster, it is Colgate.
The Raiders watched as Hobey Baker Finalist Austin Smith left campus after four outstanding years in Hamilton, N.Y. where he led the nation last season in goals (36) and finished with 57 points. In addition, linemate and sophomore Chris Wagner (17-34-51) also left early for the pros meaning that overall, Colgate loses 78 of 121 goals scored (65%) from just a year ago. However, the Raiders are particularly strong defensively and return junior netminder Eric Mihalik (Avon Lake, Ohio) who was 14-12-2 with a 2.88 GAA and .898 save percentage. Twenty-year veteran head coach, Don Vaughan, said of Mihalik, “Our strength is going to be on the back end. We have a lot of experience and a goalie [junior Eric Mihalik] who has proven he can win the big games. I’m excited, looking forward to get going.” source: USCHO.com
So, the real question for Colgate is, who will score?
Well, they began to craft an answer as the Raiders thoroughly thrashed Niagara 10-2 on Tuesday night. In doing so, the Raiders scored the most goals in a game in 14 years as seniors Kurtis Bartliff, Billy Rivellini and Robbie Bourdon scored two goals apiece and Mihalik made 18 saves en route to the blowout victory in front of 735 strong at Starr Hockey Rink in Hamilton.
This season Colgate is expected to be led by sophomore forward Joe Wilson (10-13-23) who played alongside Smith and Wagner and senior defenseman Jeremy Price. But, if others like Bartliff, Rivellini and Bourdon can contribute and Mihalik is solid in net, the Raiders could have a surprising year as they have been picked to finish in the bottom half of the surprisingly competitive ECAC standings.
In terms of this weekend, I’m calling a split here with Colgate winning tonight 2-1 and Miami returning the favor 4-2 tomorrow night in Oxford. Last season the teams split a pair of games in Hamilton after Miami blew a lead and lost the game in overtime on Saturday night or they would have swept the Raiders on their home ice.
For Miami, it will be interesting to see how quickly all the new names and faces mesh. There is a ton of talent on this team, but they are young and inexperienced. This will be a good non-conference test against another young, fast team. Overall, this should be a fun and exciting season of Miami hockey.
BB hired as the next AD at BC
The most hated school in the land Boston College Eagles announced today that Brad Bates will be their next Athletic Director after 10 years in the same position at Miami. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Miami doesn’t exactly like Boston College because of recent hockey defeats at the hands of the Eagles.
As the Miami Athletic department scrambles to find a new Athletic Director and faculty member (he taught undergrad and graduate courses in sports administration), let’s take a look back at a few highlights in Brad Bates’ 10 years in Oxford.
- November 2002 – hired on as Miami’s Athletic Director
- Football:
- Back-to-back football bowl game appearances in nearly 30 years (2003-04)
- MAC Championships in Football in 2003 and 2010
- Hiring and firing of Shane Montgomery after a couple years we’d like to forget
- Hiring of Mike Heywood and later the hiring of the current regime at Yager Stadium including Don Treadwell
- Ice Hockey:
- Our beloved hockey team won a Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championship and Miami’s first Mason Cup as CCHA tournament champions.
- Appeared in two consecutive NCAA Frozen Fours, including the national championship game in 2009.
- On the hardwood, Bates was highly criticized for allowing Charlie Coles to stay in Oxford until his retirement last year, and has recently hired John Cooper as Coles’ replacement.
- 14 of Miami’s 18 teams won at least one conference championship: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s cross-country, football, field hockey, ice hockey, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, synchronized skating, women’s tennis and volleyball
- Bates also helped raise student-athlete graduation rates. His overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 89 percent in 2011 was near the top in the nation.
- October 9, 2012 – hired as Boston College’s Athletic Director
With Miami’s search will also come some uncertainty from Oxford. Of course, there’s the issue of replacing Bates with new blood, but several other questions are also raised.
- Will Miami’s commitment to the hockey program continue? Will funding be pulled because Miami Hockey is roughly a break-even sport?
- How will this impact our commitment to the NCHC?
- Will the new man on campus put a renewed focus on basketball and football where it is sorely needed?
- With a new AD, the possibility exists that existing coaches will be less than pleased with the new leadership. Is this the push Coach Blasi needs to jump to another hockey program, or perhaps the NHL?
And one final note…
Does anyone else think that Brad is awfully excited to get out of Oxford? Before his press conference today, Brad had already created his new twitter handle (@BCBradBates), he met the hockey team before their practice today, and then spoke to their 1-4 football team after their practice. I’m not saying good riddance, but good riddance.
Let the search begin. We suspect Steve Cady may be a leading candidate, and some have suggested that Jason Lener may be near the top of the list as well. Lener is a former RedHawk Deputy Athletic Director and current Illinois Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director. In any event, we hope that the next guy for the job is a hockey fan!
2012-13 Preview: Here goes nothin’
After last year’s up and down season, followed by an unbelievable momentum swing and an unceremonious exit to the NCAA tournament, the RedHawks lost a group of 10 seniors, and endured early departures by leading scorer Reilly Smith and an underachieving, but promising freshman in Tyler Biggs. With a revamped team that includes 11 freshmen and 13 new faces, Miami enters the season this weekend with a home exhibition against Western Ontario. Today, we look ahead to the season with our 2012-13 Preview.
The Schedule:
- First off, you can find the schedule here and we take a quick look at the TV schedule here.
- As mentioned above, the RedHawks take the ice on Sunday afternoon with an exhibition against Western Ontario. We all know how these usually go, and this should be a great way to start things off for a group of skaters that is extremely young (18 underclassmen!), but extremely talented. Western Ontario will cross the border to take on Western Michigan on Saturday, and will then head to Oxford on Sunday. I would expect Coach Blasi to test out each of Miami’s new netminders (all 3 are rookies!) in the contest, as Freshmen Jay Williams and Ryan McKay will likely split much of the playing time this season. More info on the situation in net in our upcoming season preview articles.
- The first 4 weeks of the season will be an interesting set of games, and should test the young ‘Hawks early. After the exhibition game, Miami welcomes both Colgate and Providence to Goggin Ice Arena and then opens CCHA play at Michigan in week 3 – a place where Miami historically has been
AWFULsub par. Follow that up with a trip for an always entertaining series in Big Rapids, MI against Ferris State, and you have a recipe for a .500 start if I’ve ever seen one. Ferris State has 18 returning letter-winners compared to Miami’s 18 underclassmen, and the Bulldogs are coming off of their first ever Frozen Four berth and National Runner-Up finish. - Miami finishes out November with home series against Northern Michigan and Michigan State, and then makes the long trek to Alaska.
- December opens with a home series against Lake Superior State. The ‘Hawks then have a road series in Columbus against Ohio State before Winter Break.
- Miami’s first “special appearance” comes in between Christmas and New Year’s, as the ‘Hawks travel to the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational, hosted by Robert Morris. Miami will take on Ohio State on Friday night – likely to be the premier game of the weekend. Depending on the outcomes, Saturday’s opponent could be Robert Morris or Penn State, who will be playing their first season of Division I Hockey in 2012-13. Yes, if you’re counting, that will mark 3 consecutive games against Ohio State during this stretch in December. Get an early jump on your hatred of the Suckeyes now by taking a look at their awful uniform selections from recent years (scroll down to view pictures).
- As the new year opens, Miami will head to Northern Michigan, and then has perhaps their toughest road trip of the year to Wisconsin in mid-January. Wisconsin comes in with high expectations on the season, being ranked 18th in the USCHO preseason poll – a ranking that is rather high for the traditional powerhouse.
- Bowling Green and Alaska come to Oxford, followed by a road trip to Western Michigan before the biggest series of the season for the RedHawks.
- Miami will play Notre Dame on Friday February 15th in the confines of The Goggin, and then the same teams will face off in Chicago’s Soldier Field in the Hockey City Classic on Sunday the 17th. Wisconsin and Minnesota will play in the late game in Chicago. We’ll have full coverage of the event from every angle, including what we hope to be an on-ice picture inside Soldier Field for the Warriors. Tickets are on sale now for the games. Contact the Miami ticket office for seats in the Miami section, or head to Ticketmaster.com for other accommodations. We’ll see you in Chicago!
- The season ends with a road series at Lake Superior State and a home series against Ohio State before the CCHA tournament commences for the final time.
- Overall, Miami’s schedule includes just 4 teams who made the tournament last year (Ferris State, Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan) and will play 2 games against each of these teams.
Preseason Polls:
- Preseason voting has taken place, and Miami is 4th in the CCHA Coaches’ Poll and 5th in the CCHA Media Poll swapping places with Ferris State in the two. You can get the scoop on the full CCHA polls here.
- Michigan took the top spot in the Media poll (must be a bunch of Michigan homers in this voting group), and Notre Dame took the top spot in the Coaches’ Poll (blinded by the golden dome, perhaps?).
- In this week’s Coaches Conference Call, Head Coach Rico Blasi had this to say:
We are excited to start the season and our expectations are no different any other year. We expect to improve every day and make sure that we’re playing our best hockey at the right time. But more importantly, more so than any other year, we have 12 new faces on our team and so our philosophy of just trying to be the best that we can be each and every day is really important going into the year.
We’ve got a really good senior captain in defenseman Steven Spinell that will lead the way, not only on the ice but off the ice as well. I think our schedule is one that is extremely challenging not only in our league from weekend to weekend but non-conference and obviously we’ve got a big game in February at Soldier Field with our league rival, Notre Dame. With so many alums in the Chicago area, both hockey alums and Miami alums, it will be a special event for our university and everybody associated with it.
- The full audio of Coach Blasi’s 8.5 minutes on the call can be heard here. Coach Blasi certainly has a lot to say about the leadership capabilities of Captain Steven Spinell, and I for one am looking forward to seeing him lead the way for the RedHawks this year.
- As you may have heard, the 2012 preseason polls are out, and Miami is ranked 9thin each of the official polls. Miami is not listed in the Inside College Hockey “10 for 13” which ranks their top 10 teams for the upcoming season. The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and USCHO.com Poll are linked here.
- Austin Czarnik was named to the preseason All-CCHA 2nd team: . USCHO also thinks highly of “Z” and has him in their 10 forwards to watch for 2012-13.
- Full All-CCHA Team selections can be found here, with Notre Dame’s TJ Tynan leading the way as the favorite for CCHA Player of the Year. Western Michigan and Michigan lead the way with 3 players each spread among the top 2 teams.
We’ll have more for you across this weekend and into next week with team previews as well as a comprehensive preview of the entire Miami squad before next weekend’s season-opening series against Colgate.
Only 3 days until the puck drops, and we can’t wait to cover it all for you! Go ‘Hawks!
TV Schedule Posted
The Great State of Ohio lost it’s private news channel over the summer, as the Ohio News Network (ONN) was forced to close its doors due to lack of funding. Unfortunately, that means a lot less Miami RedHawks hockey on the teevee as well.
Yesterday, Miami released its 2012-13 TV Schedule. While the Hawks will be televised at least 10 times this season, it’s nowhere near the number of games normally shown by ONN and the national networks.
Here’s a breakdown of games that will be televised:
- 10/26/12 – at Michigan – Comcast TV (Comcast subscribers in Michigan only)
- 12/14/12 – at Ohio State – Big Ten Network
- 1/25/13 – vs BGSU – Sports Time Ohio (STO) & Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (TWCSC – Time Warner customers in Ohio only)
- 1/26/13 – vs BGSU – TWCSC
- 2/1/13 – vs Alaska – STO & TWCSC
- 2/2/13 – vs Alaska – TWCSC
- 2/15/13 – vs Notre Dame – CBS Sports Network
- 2/17/13 – vs Notre Dame – Hockey City Classic, Chicago, IL – FOX Sports Detroit
- 3/1/13 – vs Ohio State – STO & TWCSC
- 3/2/13 – vs Ohio State – TWCSC
Games may be added down the road depending on other networks. For example, NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) has not announced a full slate of games, and with the NHL lockout, could pick up a game or two across the country. Of course all home games will be streamed live on http://www.muredhawks.com through Miami All Access.
We miss you and your awful white balance and fuzzy picture, ONN. Please come back?
2011-2012: The Season In Review
The last 12 months in the Miami Hockey universe have been quite a tumultuous time. Let’s take a look back as we prepare for the 2012-13 season.
Offseason 2011:
- On July 9th, news broke of a new College Hockey structure including the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Brad Bates, along with the other 6 initial institutions, “[were pleased] to announce that six top NCAA Division I ice hockey programs will become founding members of a newly formed hockey conference, which will begin competition for the 2013-14 season. The six institutions are Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota.” (source: MURedHawks.com)
- July 13th rolled around, and these 6 fine programs made it official and in September added St. Cloud State and Western Michigan to fill out it’s roster. 2012-13 will mark the final season for the CCHA as we look forward to the upcoming launch of the NCHC for the 2013-14 season.
- Alden Hirschfeld and Will Weber were named the Captains for the season. Reilly Smith would later be added as a Captain after his stellar first half.
- Miami was ranked as the #1 team in the INCH Power Rankings and the College Hockey News Preseason Rankings. In the official rankings, Miami took the top spot for the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll. The ‘Hawks were ranked a close #2 in the USCHO.com Poll and were also voted #2 in both the CCHA Coaches and CCHA Media voting.
October 2011:
- Miami opened the season with a win over exhibition opponent Windsor, and then split the regular season opening series with a loss and then a win over Bemidji State.
- The following weekend, Miami split at Colgate, with Reilly Smith establishing himself as a Hobey Baker candidate very early on in the season. Smith took home the first CCHA Offensive Player of the week award with 4 goals and an assist on the weekend trip, including a hattrick in the Friday night game, a 4-3 Miami victory.
- Miami then travelled to Big Rapids and were swept by Ferris State, and swept again at home by Lake Superior State, running the losing streak to 5 consecutive games, which had us all drinking the drain-o by the end of October.
- On a brighter note, Andy Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award Winner, was called up to the Phoenix Coyotes during the month. He didn’t make too much of an impact, however, and was brought back down to the AHL shortly thereafter.
November 2011:
- November had a chance to make things even more miserable in Oxford, as Miami started the month with the long trek to Alaska, and then hosted #4/5 Michigan in Oxford. However, a big sweep in Alaska seemed to right the ship for the ‘Hawks, and they went on to take a Friday night victory over Michigan as well.
- You may remember the shootout from Saturday night against Michigan, but if you didn’t remember Bryon Paulazzo’s highlight reel goal, you can re-live the shootout-winning spin-o-rama here. I love seeing the baby goalie cry.
- After the big series against Michigan, Miami continued their unbeaten streak with a win and tie (SOL) against BGSU, and won their first ever Denver Cup by beating Providence and Denver over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
- The RedHawks swept the November CCHA Player of the Month awards, as Austin Czarnik emerged as Miami’s next big star. He won the Gongshow Rookie of the Month Award, while Cody Reichard took home the Gongshow Goaltender of the Month and Reilly Smith was named RBC Player of the Month.
December 2011:
- After a stretch where Miami went 7-0-1 and streaked to the top of the CCHA Standings, December was quite a let down for the Hawks. Miami was swept by Northern Michigan in Marquette and managed a split against
the suckeyesOhio State to close out 2012. - Jarod Palmer made his first appearance in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, and made quite an impression with the injury-riddled club. Look for Jarod to play a lot more in upcoming years (when the NHL isn’t locked out). He recorded 1 assist in 6 games for the Wild in his December call-up.
- Austin Czarnik also made a big splash in December, as he was named to the US Junior National team and played at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Edmonton and Calgary for Team USA.
January 2012:
- Miami opened up the new year with a complete performance and sweep in East Lansing against Michigan State, injecting hope into the team that started the season as the #1 ranked team in many polls. Miami then travelled to Lake Superior State and earned a road split.
- Upon returning home, Miami swept Western Michigan – a team that was ranked #8 in the country at the time.
- Reilly Smith Earned the CCHA Player of the Month for the second time on the year.
February 2012:
- After a split at home vs Northern Michigan to close out January, Miami travelled to Ann Arbor and got trampled by the Wolverines. It was an ugly weekend for the RedHawks, going down 4-1 and 3-0. But it was just the wake up call they needed. To be a better team, they were going to have to focus and regroup for a stretch run.
- And regroup they did. Miami rolled off 8 straight victories to earn the 4 seed and a first round bye in the CCHA tournament. Over the last 3 weeks of February, they steamrolled Alabama-Huntsville, Notre Dame and Ohio State by a combined score 22-4.
- Connor Knapp earned the CCHA Goaltender of the Month award for February, going 5-1-0 in the month, blocking 161 of 168 shots. He allowed just 7 goals and had 2 shutouts. In his last 5 games – all wins – Knapper did not give up an even strength goal, allowed just 3 goals total and tied the Miami record for shutouts at 12 (a record which he did break the very next series in March).
March 2012 and Post season:
- After finishing the regular season with a flurry, Miami got a bye in the first round of the CCHA Tournament, and was slated to face Michigan State in the second round in Oxford. Miami continued its hot streak and swept the Spartans out of the CCHA tournament.
- At the CCHA tournament at The Joe in Detroit, Western Michigan came ready for business, and took down the RedHawks in the Semifinal 6-2. Miami beat the last place BGSU Falcons in the 3rd place game and headed into the NCAA tournament with high hopes.
- Before the NCAA tournament brackets were announced, Reilly Smith had landed one of the 10 Hobey Baker Finalist spots, and Miami’s dynamic duo in net earned CCHA year-end awards. Cody Reichard won the Ilitch Humanitarian Award for his work on Swoop’s Stoop in the Butler County area. Connor Knapp took home the CCHA’s Goaltender of the Year award for his stellar on-ice play (an award Reichard won in 2010). In addition to his Hobey Baker Finalist nomination, Reilly Smith also won the CCHA’s Perani Cup by collecting the most “Perani Cup Three Stars” points.
- Rounding out the year-end awards, Smith earned First-Team All-CCHA honors, Austin Czarnik was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, and senior captain Alden Hirschfeld was acknowledged for being Miami’s CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee.
- After a few weeks time, Reilly Smith was also named to the First team All-America squad. Reilly led the way all season with 30 goals, 18 assists for a total of 48 points.
- Miami earned a #2 seed in the Bridgeport, CT regional, and would face off against the UMass Lowell River Hawks, who was making their first ever NCAA tournament appearance. For all of the talk of unfavorable NCAA draws in recent years, Miami finally had their dream bracket, and it appeared as though a walk to the Frozen 4 for the 3rd time would be in store. However, in the words of Coach Lee Corso, “not so fast, my friend.”
- The RedHawks were down 3-0 to the River Hawks entering the third period, and things were looking very bleak. In the first 10 minutes of the third period, Miami scored three times and evened the score, stealing all the momentum from UMass Lowell. Hope was restored, and fans even started to look forward to another favorable matchup (on paper, anyway) against Union, who had avanced earlier in the day. However, that momentum swing was neutralized by UM-L and the Hawks couldn’t get the game winner. UM-L won in overtime 4-3, and the RedHawks season was cut short.
Offseason 2012:
- Former RedHawk Alec Martinez got the better of another Miami star Andy Greene in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, as Martinez and the LA Kings hoisted the Cup.
- Professional signings:
- In a move RedHawks fans saw from the get go of the 2011-12 season, Reilly Smith signed with the club that drafted him shortly after the season was over. Dallas scooped up Smith and put him to work immediately on just 5 days after Miami had been bounced from the NCAA tournament. Smith was the 4th RedHawk to make his NHL debut on the season (Miele, Palmer and Carter Camper – Boston Bruins). Reilly forgoes his senior year of eligibility with this signing.
- Cameron Schilling was plucked for professional duty after the season as well, signing an entry level contract with the Washington Capitals and their AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears.
- Chris Wideman signed a 2-year entry-level deal with the Ottawa Senators as well, and joined the Binghampton Senators to finish out their season
- Patrick Tiesling and Matt Tomassoni each signed pro contracts with the ECHLs Chicago Express.
- Alden Hirschfeld signed an amateur try out deal with the Portland Pirates of the AHL, reuniting with Andy Miele and the Coyotes.
- Trent Vogelhuber also signed an ATO with the Springfield Falcons – AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Cody Reichard signed with the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, an affiliate of the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers.
- Connor Knapp signed a deal with the Buffalo Sabres which will start in 2012-13 if the NHL ends its lockout.
- Will Weber signed on with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- With these 9 Senior signings, only graduating senior Ben Saksa was left without a pro contract. Ben was able to see game action against Alabama-Huntsville as he played the last 3:27 on that Saturday night. He recorded his first and only career save in the game on a two-on-one break. We salute Ben for his hard work for 4 years in Oxford!
- Early Departures:
- In addition to losing one of the largest and most prolific classes in Miami’s history, Freshman Tyler Biggs departed for the pro ranks as well, as he had floundered a bit in Oxford in his short time with the ‘Hawks. This was both surprising and shocking at the same time, and we recapped the Biggs departure back in August.
- Recruits Ryan Hartman and Pat Sieloff announced that they would be bypassing any NCAA eligibility by signing pro deals with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Both signings were expected to appear in Oxford this season, so Coach Blasi was forced to make some late recruiting efforts.
There you have it…the 2011-2012 season in 2000 words or less. We’ve endured conference realignment, a 5 game losing streak, an 8 game winning streak, a 3-goal defecit and furious comeback in the NCAA tournament, only to be heartbroken again, and we’re all itching for more.
We start the new season in just 6 more days, RedHawks fans! Stay tuned for more this week, including previews of the 2012-13 season!
Go ‘Hawks!
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