Author Archives: redhawk95
Camper nets first career NHL goal
It wasn’t a pretty wrister that we saw time after time at Miami, but rather, former RedHawk captain Carter Camper went to the hard area of the ice and capitalized on a rebound while fighting off an Ottawa defenseman to net his first career goal in just his second NHL game, a 5-3 Boston winner. Camper was the Bruins’ best faceoff man in his first outing, a 4-2 win over the Blues, and got his first goal in last night’s win over the Senators despite going 0-for-4 on draws.
Congratulations, Carter!
Friday Highlights vs. duhOSU
In case you missed the game, here are the highlights from Friday’s 3-0 victory over duhOSU.
Miami finishes sweep of Ohio State 5-1
Connor Knapp made 22 saves and Austin Czarnik recorded the first two-goal game of his career as Miami completed the weekend sweep of duhOSU winning 5-1.
Jimmy Mullin (9th goal), Blake Coleman (11th) and, who else, Reilly Smith (26th) also notched goals for Miami who outshot the Buckeyes 33-23 on the night.
It was yet another stellar defensive performance by Miami, and by all accounts, similar to last weekend against Notre Dame when at no point did you really think duhOSU could challenge Miami. In fact, the RedHawks probably allowed no more than 5-8 minutes of offensive zone time against during the final two periods of play. I’ll be curious to hear the duhOSU head coach’s excuses after this weekend that saw Miami outscore the Buckeyes 8-1.
duhOSU did their best to maintain the chippy play they started on Friday in Oxford, and Miami definitely took the bait ending up down two men twice during the game. And, the Buckeyes capitalized on their early 5×3 chance when someone named Al McLean scored in the first period to knot the game at one after Jimmy Mullin opened the scoring just 43 seconds into the game.
Miami’s top line of freshmen Austin Czarnik and Mullin plus junior Reilly Smith was far too much for duhOSU.
After freshman Blake Coleman broke a 1-1 tie with his 11th goal of the season, Smith would add a third first period goal at 16:09, roughly 30 seconds after Coleman’s eventual game-winner on the powerplay.
And, in the second period, it was all Miami as Austin Czarnik (2-1-3) tallied twice, assisted both times by Smith who had a line of 1-3-4 on the evening while Mullin went 1-2-3 as the top line was a combined 4-6-10 on the night.
For senior netminder Connor Knapp, it was business as usual.
Knapp stopped 22 of 23 duhOSU shots, the only goal coming on a 5×3 powerplay as he is now 13-6 on the season with a 1.53 goals against average with .939 save percentage. Knapp and Reilly Smith (26-12-38) have each played themselves into CCHA player of the year contention, and perhaps, into the Hobey Baker discussion as Smith is now second nationally in goals and Knapp is in the top 5 in almost every major goaltending category, except maybe victories.
With the weekend sweep and Michigan State’s split with Notre Dame, Miami will finish in fourth place in the CCHA and host the Spartans in Oxford for the second round of the CCHA playoffs which will be a best-of-three series. The winner will advance to the CCHA semifinals in Detroit with an opportunity to play for the Mason Cup. The Michigan State series will be March 9-11 at Steve Cady Arena. Miami swept the Spartans in East Lansing January 6-7 so this should be an outstanding series to watch.
Currently, Miami is tied for 8th in the PairWise rankings. We’ll see if that changes as other games go final.
duhOSU coach Mark Osiecki continued his pattern of whining after losses with yet another classic.
“In the second period we had a puck hit the post and it bounced out. It could’ve been a 3-2 game but we haven’t been able to get those bounces to go our way all season when they matter.”
Sure, Mark. Those bounces were probably all you needed against a superior opponent.
Check back tomorrow for the Redskin Warrior #SixPack as we breakdown the key facts and figures for the RedHawks.
Ryan Siroky a RedHawk
According to his personal Twitter account (@rsiroky24), ’95 birthday and California native, Ryan Siroky (5’11”, 180), has verbally committed to play his college hockey at Miami. Siroky spent 2010-11 with the LA Junior Kings (LA Selects) where he posted 14-20-34 in 35 games and part of last year with the NTDP. Siroky has spent this year with the LA Selects Midget AAA 16U team and played three games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL as they drafted him over the summer. Presumably, he’ll move up to the Gamblers next year as a “full fledged” 17-year old.
In August, Siroky led all U.S. Junior Select players at the 2011 U-17 Five Nations Tournament in Ann Arbor with three goals three assists as the Americans swept their four games to win the tournament going away.
Since he just turned 17 in February, Miami fans shouldn’t expect to see him on campus until at least the 2013-14 season and perhaps even the following year depending on his development and Miami’s needs.
Congratulations, Ryan! And, welcome to The Brotherhood!
Here’s a rundown on Ryan and the rest of the U-17 team from the United States of Hockey.
Siroky got better in every single game he played and ended up tying Oglevie for the team lead with six points (3-3). He plays hard every shift and had good finish when he was near the net. He was blocking shots, playing physical and never missing a beat offensively. He became more and more of a factor in each game. He’s a fun player to watch. Draft eligible in 2013
Wingels drops gloves for 1st time in NHL
Former Miami captain Tommy Wingels dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL career tonight and came away with the decision in the Sharks’ bad 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. What was extra satisfying about the fight is that he decisioned former Ohio State hack Buckeye, R.J. Umberger.
Miami > duhOSU. Always.
Knapp Named INCH National Player of the Week
For the second time in two months, Miami senior goaltender Connor Knapp was named the Inside College Hockey National Player of the Week.
At this rate, Knapp is stocking up on more hardware than most Home Depot stores begging the questions — will Knapp enter the CCHA Player/Goaltender of the Year discussions, and possibly, merit Hobey Baker consideration?
One thing is certain, with the way he is currently playing, Miami would do well to ride the big man as far as he can carry them.
Congratulations, again, Connor!
Bruins go Camping
Former Miami captain, Carter Camper, was recalled by Boston. He will join the Bruins in time for Wednesday’s game at St. Louis and should skate during today’s practice. Camper, who notched 183 points in 156 games for the RedHawks, will have a real chance to get into the lineup as the defending Stanley Cup champions are struggling to score goals and are just 3-6 in their last nine games having been shutout four times during that stretch.
Congratulations Carter and good luck!
Jay Williams bites off more than he can chew
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.
Knapp Nabs Goaltender of the Week Honors
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).
Congratulations Connor!
Poll Monday: Miami 15th in both national polls
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.
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