Category Archives: Miami RedHawks

Poll Monday: Miami 15th in both national polls

Feb 20

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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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Weekend Wrap-up

Feb 7

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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.

Friday Night:  Highlights — Box Score

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.

Saturday Night: Highlights — Box Score

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.

From page HR-68 of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rulebook (emphasis added):

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:

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.

Posted in Connor Knapp, Miami RedHawks, Michigan Wolverines, Will Weber

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Weekend Preview: Northern Michigan

Jan 26

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After a nice HUGE weekend sweep of Western Michigan, where 3 RedHawks made the CCHA Player of the Week roll, Miami welcomes the Northern Michigan Wildcats to Oxford. The ‘Cats swept Miami on December 2-3, 2011 with a 2-1 victory on Friday night and a dominating 5-1 victory the following night.

The standings look a little different for this week’s matchup than they did just 1 week ago, but let’s take a look back where things stood on December 2. On that date, Northern Michigan stood 2-5-1 plus an additional 2 shootout wins. NMU was reeling, having come off of a pair of 4-1 losses at Ohio State, as well as a split at home against Michigan State. The Wildcats were getting pushed around, and Walt Kyle’s team was heading towards the bottom of the league.

Rico Blasi’s squad was also having an interesting go of it. After the 2-6 start of the season, Miami had turned things around, having won 2  games with a score of 2-1 in Alaska, then took 5 of 6 possible points against #4 Michigan, 4 of 6 against BGSU (both in Oxford), and then went to Denver to win the Denver Cup over Providence (6-2) and #9 Denver (4-2). The ‘Hawks had just finished November 6-0-2 and had swept the CCHA Monthly Awards for November.  The first weekend in December was certainly one to forget for the Miami faithful, and after the holiday break, Miami sat in NMU’s position – 9th in the CCHA.

Flash forward almost 2 months, and you have the #17 ranked RedHawks on a tear.  Miami comes off of a sweep of then #8 Western Michigan, a team previously on fire, and is 5-1 in 2012.  Miami sits in a tie for 2nd, just 2 points behind Ohio State in the ever-crowded CCHA standings.  #19 ranked Northern Michigan comes to Oxford stuttering, having gone 2-1-2-0 in the new year, with both ties being shootout losses. Having won last weekend at Michigan Tech in a non-conference matchup, the Wildcats have some catching up to do in the conference standings. Currently 9th, the Cats are sitting with 25 CCHA points, putting them just 6 points out of a tie for 5th and a first-round CCHA Playoff bye.  Having played 2 less games than many of the top teams will help the Cats gain ground, but they will be need to be willing to throw all 9 lives out on the ice this weekend to gain those precious CCHA points.

With 16 underclassmen on the roster, NMU’s season has been successful thus far. Senior Captain Tyler Gron leads the way as expected with 11 goals and 16 assists on the year. He is the reigning RBC Player of the Month for the CCHA. The ‘Cats only current draft pick is Senior Justin Florek (Boston).  He leads the team with 13 goals on the season and 21 points overall, and also has 8 career points in 11 games against Miami. Stopping this duo will certainly be a focus point for Rico’s boys this week in practice.

NMU Head Coach Walt Kyle is is 187-161-43 all time in his current post.  Kyle has been doing his best Rico Blasi impersonation this season, rotating games between Senior Reid Ellingson and Sophomore Jared Coreau in between the pipes.  Both have played 14 games, with Ellingson going 4-5-3 and Coreau sporting a 7-3-2 record.  If ever there was a goaltending conundrum, this would be the game.

You’ve seen our take on the Miami goaltending situation, and Walt Kyle has a similar difficult choice ahead of him this weekend.  Ellingson has started most Friday nights for Kyle, and Coreau most Saturday nights including last Saturday’s 5-2 non-conference victory at Michigan Tech.  Ellingson last played on January 13th against Michigan State, where he allowed 4 goals before being pulled in favor of Coreau under 8 minutes into the second period.  Don’t be surprised if Kyle goes with a hot hand in Jared Coreau, December’s Gongshow CCHA Goaltender of the Month, to try and take a few points out of Oxford.

Fearless Predictions:
Will Miami come off of the WMU weekend and slip up and lose focus with another big weekend ahead? Will Northern Michigan be able to show they belong in the CCHA playoffs discussion?
I don’t think so. I look for Connor Knapp to start both games again, and Miami has a weekend similar to the last time the Cats came to Oxford. Last year, Miami swept NMU back to Marquette by a combined 13-1 score.

Miami 4-1 and 5-1 and pulls to an even 12-12-2 against NMU all-time in Oxford.

Notes

– Here is Pete Conrad’s take on the weekend’s series at the Dayton Daily News

Posted in Connor Knapp, Miami RedHawks, Northern Michigan Wildcats, ONN, Reilly Smith

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Have you read the Saturday and Sunday #SixPack of tweets?

Jan 22

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While we still love traditions (see: lantern posted after every win, miamibeef04’s water towers before each game, etc), we love new things too. Have you seen the @redskinwarriors Saturday/Sunday #SixPack? We’ll try to bring you 6 tweets, every morning after a RedHawk game.  It’s better than the “morning after pill,” and it might even blow your mind every once in a while.

Here’s what you may have missed this weekend:

Saturday’s Tweets after Miami’s 3-1 win on Friday night:

 

We enjoyed saying “The Big Slubowski” last night. We hope everyone got home safely? Here’s the Saturday #SixPack #goredhawks #miamiu

  1. 3rd career hattrick for Reilly Smith and 2nd this yr. 17 Gs leads #CCHA. 3rd goal was 50th of his career. #theresahatontheice #ohthehumanity
  2. Knapp: 11Gms, 20GA, 1.94GAA .926sv%, 7-4-2 41% icetime
    Reichard: 16Gms, 39GA, 2.63GAA .897sv%, 6-6-2 59% icetime
    #beatingthedeadhorse (stats included Friday night’s game)
  3. #MiamiU Snaps WMU 7gm #CCHAunbeaten streak, 11-0-1 in last 12 in Ox 11-1-2 in overall @CoachBlasi 24-7-5 all-time vs WMU #cantstopwontstop
    3A. Third of the sixpack is a 40oz: 3A: 1st ever win for @CoachBlasi as #miamiu head coach came vs WMU on 10/9/99 in K’zoo. #insidethenumbers
  4. After 13-2-1 stretch w/ 56 goals, #3 @OhioState_MHKY has just 7G last 5 gms where they are 0-3-2 w/ 2 SO losses. #CCHA #bwahaha #freefalling
  5. The #s 3 thru 6 teams all lost. BC Minn OSU. Merrimack #6 in poll, t-14 in PWR. Remember what we think of the polls?redskinwarriors.com/2012/01/09/you…
  6. 3 More points tonight could put Miami in a tie for 2nd in the #CCHA. Currently: OSU: 34, WMU 33, ND/Miami 30 #donteventhinkaboutit #ccha

Sunday’s Tweets after Miami completed the sweep of then #8 Western Michigan on Saturday night:

It’s time for the Sunday #SixPack. A HUGE sweep on the weekend for the #RedHawks. #LoveandHonor #MiamiU #winning

  1. Enrico Blasi @CoachBlasi Is 2 CCHA wins away from 200. His current records: 276-179-48 Overall, 198-119-3 in #CCHA #MiamiU #cradleofcoaches
  2. Connor Knapp @knapper311 with his 2nd shutout of the year and 10th of his career. He also added an assist on the night. #unstoppableforce or #immovableobject ??
  3. Reilly Smith has 7 game-winning goals, which leads the nation. No other ‘Hawk has even 2 GWGs. He also sits at 99 career points. #MrClutch
  4. Mullin, Biggs: 1G each. Paulides, Murphy, Coleman, Czarnik: 1A each. A. Wideman only rookie dressed who did not tally a point. #fabfreshmen
  5. It won’t be long for Ohio State atop the #CCHA standings with this play. O-fer 2012 and 1-3-3 with 3 SOL’s & the only win @ Robert Morris since 12/30.
  6. Miami and BGSU (@ Alaska) are the only team to sweep the weekend. Standings: OSU 35, Miami/WMU 33, Mich 32, Ferris 31, ND/LSSU 30 #CCHA

We’re going to go find a #SixPack for ourselves and watch some football. As always, #LoveandHonor to #MiamiU #GoRedHawks

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RedHawks stop #8 Western Michigan

Jan 20

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Reilly Smith had all three RedHawks goals on the night, and the Miami defense stood tall in handing #8 Western Michigan it’s 8th loss of the season.  Senior goaltender Connor Knapp took the ice again after a much criticized benching against Lake Superior State last weekend.  Proving to be the wise choice tonight, Knapp stopped all but 1 of the 27 Bronco shots, bringing his personal unbeaten streak to 5 games.

With yet another stellar performance in net, you’d think Knapp would take home the Perani Cup #1 Star of the Game. However, that honor goes to Captain Reilly Smith. Starting the scoring before the first media timeout, Smith scored the opening goal from Freshmen Austin Czarnik and Jimmy Mullin.  Smith would go on to score the game winner in the second on a shorthanded chance, and a final goal in the third for his 3rd career hat trick.  Reilly has 17 goals on the season, along with 7 assists and leads the team with 24 total points. It isn’t the scoring outbreak that we saw in 2010-11 from Andy Miele, but he is on his well on his way to reaching his 28 goals from last season.

On the night, Czarnik had assists on all 3 goals, and Mullin had assists on the bookend goals. It was quite a night for the RedHawks top line who were a combined +8 on the night with all three goals and all 5 assists handed out. Reilly’s second period, shorthanded goal was also the game winner. That’s his 6th of the season, tying him for the national lead once again.

Outside of the top line, the defense also looked fantastic as the ‘Hawks returned to Oxford for the first time since December 10th. Chris Wideman was a stellar +2 on the night, and the rest of the defense will go down tonight as being the unsung heroes.  In the Miami zone, 19 Western Michigan shots were blocked, and there were countless hits from Miami defenders who were by far the more physical team behind the Miami net all night long.

The RedHawks faithful was treated to a fantastic showing on every inch of the ice, and were very vocal in cheering on the Red and White.  Smith’s third goal was some much needed insurance as well. Miami hadn’t played in Oxford since December 10th and hadn’t won in Oxford in over 2 months. The last Miami win in Oxford was a 4-0 win over BGSU on November 18th. In that span, they had lost an overtime heartbreaker to Ohio State 3-2, and lost in a shootout to BGSU after losing 4 one-goal leads on November 19th.

Be sure to watch the rematch tomorrow night as Miami takes on these same Western Michigan Broncos at. Tomorrow night’s game will be broadcast across the great state of Ohio on the Ohio News Network (ONN) and puck drop is set for 7:05 PM.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@RedskinWarriors) and take a look at our Saturday #SixPack in the morning for some eye-opening statistics from the Friday Night College Hockey landscape.

My 3 stars of the night… Hard to argue with the three official choices made by the Miami Athletic staff, but I’ll change it up a bit:

 Connor Knapp: 26 Saves, 1 Goal Allowed, 5th consecutive win

Junior forward Reilly Smith needs five points to become the 47th player in school history with 100 career points. Reilly Smith: 3 G, +3 Rating, 8 SOG

 Austin Czarnik: 3 Assists, +3 Rating, 2 SOG (he was too busy passing to the red hot Smith)

 

Notes

– Two of Western Michigans’ three leading scorers, Shane Berschbach and Dane Walters did not play. At one point, Berschbach was a Miami commit before his scholarship offer was revoked due to off-ice issues prior to enrolling at Miami. We understand Walters is injured but do not know why Berschbach did not suit up for the Broncos. Something to watch for in the series finale.

Posted in Andy Miele, CCHA, Connor Knapp, Miami RedHawks, ONN, Reilly Smith, Western Michigan

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Hawks take down BGSU 4-0

Nov 18

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The Alumni Weekend welcome wasn’t too kind for former Miamians and current BGSU head coach Chris Bergeron and assistant coach Barry Schutte.  Miami Freshman Blake Coleman scored twice, and Cody Reichard handily stopped everything thrown at him tonight in Oxford, as your Miami RedHawks put together a complete game in taking down the Bowling Green Falcons 4-0.  After a 5-game winless streak, the ‘Hawks are now streaking in the right direction, running it to a 5 game unbeaten streak.

Coleman started the scoring early, burying a pass from Trent Vogelhuber (who had 2 assists of his own on the night) at 15:26 of the first period. Blake seemed to have “the look” tonight, as he had several scoring chances throughout the game, and tallied a team-high 4 shots.  Blake looks to be jealous of his fellow freshmen forwards Tyler Biggs and Austin Czarnik – the last to CCHA Rookies of the week, and is taking care of business when he is on the ice.

Tonight’s game was a continuation of the Hawks weekend against Michigan last weekend. There was a plethora of blocked shots, great goaltending, and timely offense – 30 total shots and of course the 4 goals (all even strength), which tied a season high for this young Miami squad.  It seems the 3,700-mile trip to Alaska was more than just another away series for the Hawks. Since the trip, the team is playing more complete hockey, and the upperclassmen and underclassmen are really coming together as a team. It seems the trip was well worth it, if not only for the 6 points they took from the Nanooks.

In the second period, Garrett Kennedy showed that he was another of the RedHawks wanting to get in on the fun. Garrett was seen pinching down from the point several times, was taking excellent shots, and looks more and more like a top tier defenseman every time he’s on the ice.  Steven Spinell flipped a wrister into the crease area later in the second period, and it was deflected perfectly by Curtis McKenzie to put the Hawks up 3-0.  Coleman’s second on the night finished the scoring at 14:33 left in the game, as Trent Vogelhuber threw another in on net

There with Kennedy and Spinnell were the always staunch defensive pairings featuring Cameron Schilling, Will Weber and Chris Wideman, and Senior netminder Cody Reichard. Cody feasted on all 23 shots that the Falcons threw at him, rarely letting up a good scoring chance, and limiting any rushes BG had by swallowing up any rebounds he let loose.  Cody has regained the form we’ve come to expect over the last 3 years, and has been fantastic in net since Connor Knapp got sick during the Alaska trip.  This was the first shutout for Miami since Reichard blanked Michigan on February 5th, 2011 in Oxford, and leaves him 1 shutout away from the Miami career record of 12, held by David Burleigh.

Another CCHA win puts the ‘Hawks in a tie for 5th in the CCHA with a 4-4-1-1 record, and brings their record to .500 at 6-6-1 overall.  Catch the RedHawks in Ohio on the Ohio News Network (ONN) again on Saturday night as they take on the same Bowling Green State Falcons at 7:05 PM from Steve Cady Arena.

Some additional notes on the evening:

  • It will be interesting to watch how Blasi plays the rotation going forward with Reichard’s success, having now led Miami in net for each of the last 5 games.  Tomorrow presents another opportunity for Miami, and the young BGSU squad may be just the break that Reichard needs, and may also be just the right team to break in Knapps pads after his illness.
  • While the Hawks only took 4 penalties for 8 minutes, some inexperience still showed by the Freshmen. Biggs was caught in a scuffle with the Hawks up 3-0 in the third and ended up throwing one last punch to a Falcon’s face, immediately in front of Referee John Philo.  The 4 penalty kills stretch Miami’s streak of perfection to 26 penalty kills in a row.
  • Curtis McKenzie is bringing the pain.  Tonight reminded me of nights past when the likes of Kevin Roeder and big Joe Cooper roamed the new and old Goggin Ice Arenas.  Throw in his assist on Kennedy’s goal and then his own twine-tingler in the second period, and you begin to see the all around player that Coach Blasi intended on bringing to Oxford.  McKenzie now has 3 goals on the season
  • We’re probably going to need an explanation from radio announcer Greg Waddell after Coleman’s second goal. Waddell quipped “Fruity Pebbles for one and all!” just after Blake slammed it home.  Perhaps there’s an inside joke there that we aren’t privy to?
  • While Miami tallied 30 shots, they also had 23 shots blocked on the night. While this could be seen as a concerning stat, I see it as a promising one, as it means Miami is getting back to playing Rico Blasi, put-the-puck-on-the-net, down and dirty hockey.  Along with 53 shots on or around the net comes a few dirty goals, including Coleman’s second which was of that variety.
  • A note on the CCHA referees.  Perhaps I’m just taking a small sample size, but it seems to me that they are being more lenient than in years past? Perhaps they are just calling less penalties, or really need to improve their medial coverage on eye exams, but tonight’s game had only six penalties. In addition to the lack of arm-raising being done, it seems the leagues head pairing (Brian Aaron and Wilkins) has a thing for calling off big goals. In tonight’s matchup in South Bend, Boston College had a goal waved off with 2 seconds remaining in the second period.  This followed their weekend in Oxford, where the same pairing took 2 apparent goals away from Miami on Saturday night’s tie and shootout win for Miami.

Posted in CCHA, Miami RedHawks

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The Power Play: 2 (more) Minutes with Scott Hicks

Nov 10

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Welcome back to the Power Play, RedHawks fans.  We sat down with Scott Hicks a while back and we just had to give him a 4 minute major penalty so he could blab on and on and on  introduce us to the RedHawks Women’s Club Hockey Team.

The RedHawks had a rough weekend against Michigan State last week. Friday was quite the struggle, as MSU jumped to a 3-0 lead after just 7 minutes of play. The ‘Hawks were able to slow things down and bring it back to 4-4 halfway through the third, but ended up falling 6-4.  Saturday’s contest wasn’t as close, as the ladies were overpowered 4-1 by the defending National Champions.

This weekend provides a great opportunity to catch the Ladies in action as they take on Western Michigan at 9:30 on Friday night and 12:30 on Saturday. If you’re in Oxford for the men’s games, be sure to stick around on Friday night for the Women’s game and catch the second game before you leave for the weekend!

Here’s the second part of our interview with Coach Hicks. If you haven’t read the first half of the interview, click here.

Redskin Warriors (RW): Many of us missed your first couple of series in Oxford against Grand Valley State and Michigan State. What does the rest of the schedule hold? And what can we expect from the Lady RedHawks this season?

Scott Hicks (SH): The rest of the year posses a lot of challenges for our program. Mainly by joining the CCWHA we have increased our competition level. Every week will be a challenge but I see us moving forward and competing every week just like we had this past weekend. We have a few home series left including November 11-12th against Western Michigan and December 2-3 against Northern Michigan. Another highlight is a visit at the end of January from the University of Wisconsin.

I would expect to see exciting hockey from our program this year. We are young and as these freshmen and sophomores get more used to playing the college game they will get more comfortable and we will see increased production. With that, it will open up more chances for our two captains, Jess Wood and Channing Ahbe, who we count on tremendously. Our goals this year are to finish in the top half of the conference and give ourselves a chance to be in the national tournament hunt.

RW: How would you compare the team to the men’s product? Do you have to coach them differently?

SH: You do have to coach women a little differently than Men. Women are tougher than Men, and it poses a challenge at times. I can say I truly have enjoyed coaching women. The response and dedication they provide is more than I have seen from some men’s programs.

RW: The old website for the club team stated you practiced only once a week last year. In your second year, are you practicing more? Do you have more games on the schedule?

SH: Our website is in the process of being refined (many updates are complete – check it out here), but we have increased our ice time. It has more than tripled this year. We practice twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays for an 75 minutes.

In addition, last year we played a 7 game schedule and this year it will be close to a 24 game schedule. We are now members of the Central Collegiate Womens Hockey Association (CCWHA). This will carry a 14 game conference schedule with schools like Michigan, Ohio St., Michigan St., Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, Grand Valley St., and Robert Morris-Chicago. This conference just helps add prestige to our program as it has been the top women’s club conference in the country for some time.

I would also encourage your readers to check out our league website www.ccwha.net as well as www.achahockey.org. The ACHA is the governing body for club hockey and it is a great organization which has nearly 800 total teams that compete under their name at the Men’s and Women’s level. You can see more of our results, schedule, and stats under the Women’s Division I label on the website.

RW: What are the plans for the future of the program? Will we be cheering on a Division I Women’s Ice Hockey team in Oxford soon?

SH: Our plans for the future right now are to really continue our focus of building the foundation we set this year. We want to become a viable national championship contender. We do want to get our name out more, not only on campus but nationwide. We want to continue getting quality girls into our program and keep improving on a daily basis. As for a Varsity program at Miami, I think it would be fantastic. However there are logistical issues with that, first of all being money. But I am hoping that our continued success and growth of our program continues to catch the eye of the school’s administration. Miami is clearly a hockey school and the benefit of a varsity program would be great but I think we are several years off from even that conversation even happening.

Scott,
The Redskin Warriors thank you for your time. You may now leave the penalty box and resume your season. We wish you and your ladies the best of luck and Go RedHawks!!

Friends, Fans and students,
Don’t forget, 9:30 after the men play Michigan on Friday (YOU’LL BE IN THE SAME BUILDING!!!), and again at 12:30 on Saturday afternoon.

If you’re in the Columbus area, the Alumni Chapter will be attending the Miami at OSU game on November 20th in Columbus. Email douglas cut 1 at gmail dot com if you would like to go (no spaces in that email address

Go ‘Hawks!!!

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Welcome to The Power Play: 2 minutes with Women’s Club Coach Scott Hicks

Nov 3

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Welcome to the Power Play! Our first installment of our “interview-based” articles features Miami Women’s Club Hockey Head Coach Scott Hicks. The Lady RedHawks take on defending National Champion Michigan State this weekend at The Goggin, so we thought this would be a perfect time to introduce you to Coach Hicks and the Ladies’ Team!

I had asked Scott these questions on the eve of the team’s trip to Buffalo, NY for the Buffalo Blizzard Tournament. The RedHawks started out the tournament against Ohio State, falling 4-1 on October 21st. The next day, Miami took on host school Buffalo, as well as Colorado State, winning over Buffalo 3-1 and CSU 4-1 to take their spot in the Finals on Sunday. Having just lost to Ohio State, the RedHawks were very familiar with their opponent in the Championship game. The RedHawks came back strong and took home the trophy with a 3-1 victory. On a weekend where the RedHawks got their first ever win, they earn sweet, sweet redemption against Ohio State, and took a giant step forward as a program.

Here is the first part of our interview with Da Coach, and next week, we’ll have the second part. Thanks Coach, and Go RedHawks!!!

Redskin Warriors (RW): First of all, give us an update on how the team got started. Most casual fans didn’t even know that Miami even had a Women’s team. Where did you come from? Did the administration come to you to start a team? The other way around? Or did Miami students come to the table with the idea?

Scott Hicks (SH): Well, we got started sometime in 2009 by a trio of students: Natalie Dillion, Jess Wood, and Liz Wardlow. They were a little unorganized, but got a group of girls together. In the summer of 2010 Kevin Ackley and Dan Daikaiwa got involved and really helped them organize and get sanctioned with the university. They called me in August to gauge my interest in being involved and I came on board at that point. So it was a collaborative effort, but driven by the students more than anything, and I think all of us who came on board saw the value and need for a program like ours.

RW: Being a club hockey team, you probably don’t have a very large budget for recruiting. How do you recruit new players, and how are you growing the team?

SH: You’re right we don’t have a large recruiting budget, its virtually at a $0 balance. This is the biggest struggle we have, all recruiting is done on our own time and own dime. This season we were lucky, most of the girls we brought in contacted us with interest and we went from there. But moving forward we hope word of mouth gets out, as well as people close to the program and alumni passing along talented players. But we think our biggest recruiting tool will be our newly formed Women’s hockey camp. It was held for the first time ever this summer and we had 83 girls attend our camp which is part of the prestigious Miami Hockey Schools. (You can check out all info about the team by clicking here.)

We had such a huge interest in that camp that the director of the camp has decided to extend it to two weeks next year. So we are really going to count on this camp to bring girls onto campus and find talented players to come to Miami. We actually got our first commitment from someone who attended our camp over the summer so that is extremely encouraging for us.

RW: Tell us about the team. How many players do you have on the team? Where did the ladies come from? Be honest – were there any Synchronized Skating Team cast-offs?

SH: This year we have 16 girls on our roster. Our numbers aren’t where we would like them to be but we are a second year program and really trying to build from the ground up. It is taking time to get the girls we want here and that want to be here but I would expect our numbers to continue to grow over the next few years as we brought in 6 freshmen this coming year. Our girls actually come from all over the country. We only have 2 girls out of 16 from the state of Ohio. We brought in freshmen this year from Chicago, Phoenix and Connecticut, as well as the Cleveland area. All of these girls come from amateur hockey programs – we don’t have any figure skaters on our roster. Some come from prep school programs, public high school programs, as well as U-19 programs from across the country.

RW: What are the skill levels on the team? Have all of these women played competitive hockey? Are their skill levels similar, or is there a large spread from the top line on down?

SH: Skill level has increased tenfold from last year. We have girls who have D-I experience – having transferred in girls who played competitive Women’s hockey and some who played against boys growing up. Along with our skill level going up the gap from top to bottom has closed dramatically, which in turns makes us a much better program.

RW: We’ve seen a couple tweets from you and the team (@CoachMUwmhockey and @MiamiWHockey) about The Sisterhood. How is that catching on? Are the ladies embracing their version of The Brotherhood?

SH: All of the girls involved in our program are buying in and that is the biggest thing. I know we’re not necessarily trying to copy the men’s program but I for one respect coach Blasi and all he has done, and I think using a program like that as a template is a smart thing to do. Not only that, but it gives our girls an identity and something people can relate to. We really try to create a family atmosphere with our program and these girls have gotten really close in such a short period of time.

RW: Have you ever been kicked out of a game? Any YouTube videos of you bowing to the referees a la Rico Blasi that we need to search for?

SH: HAHA! To answer your question, no I have yet to be kicked out of a game. Although I am sure there are some officials in the area who would like to kick me out of a game, but I don’t have any YouTube moments as of yet.

Don’t forget, Coach Hicks has his shot at YouTube fame on Friday night as the RedHawks face off against defending national champions Michigan State at 9:15 PM and again Saturday at 12:15 PM. Both games will be played in Steve Cady Arena and admission is free. Go ‘Hawks!!!

To read the second part of our interview with Coach Hicks, please click here.

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2011-12 Season Preview: Miami RedHawks Forwards

Oct 5

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Over the next few days, we’ll preview the 2011-12 Miami RedHawks for you. We start with the Forwards today. Enjoy!

Returning stars (with Twitter handle, NHL Rights)

  • Reilly Smith (@muckbro18, DAL) led the team in goals last year with 28, to go along with 26 assists. If it weren’t for 2 super-seniors, this guy is your MVP of the 2010-11 RedHawks.  Reilly was a unanimous pick to the preseason First-Team All CCHA (9/27) after an outstanding sophomore campaign in which he led the CCHA in +/- rating at +27.  He finished the year with several honors including First team all-CCHA, CCHA all-Tournament Team, College Hockey News Second-Team All-America and INCH Third-Team All-America. We are all hoping that Reilly’s scoring wasn’t inflated by Andy Miele’s presence last year and that he will carry over last year’s success into this year.
  • Senior Co-Captain Alden Hirschfeld’s (@aldenhirschfeld, undrafted) 12 goals-14 assists — 26 total points line last year didn’t show much of the story. The kid scores big goals.  Alden scored the game-winning goal in double overtime against Michigan in the Midwest Regional Final in 2010, and 1 each in NCAA tournament games against Denver (round of 16) and Bemidji State (Frozen Four) in 2009. Point totals have been 6, 14 and 26 in his first three years in Oxford. He netted two goals in Miami’s exhibition win over Windsor on Sunday.
  • Trent Vogelhuber (@tvogelhuber, CBJ) and Curtis McKenzie (@muckbro16, DAL) will be counted on to mentor the 6 incoming Freshmen forwards.

2011-12 Rookies (Twitter handle, NHL Rights)
These guys are easily Miami’s best recruiting class ever. Scoring. Size. Speed. Scoring. Two-way ability. Toughness. Filthy hands. Did I mention scoring ability?

  • Tyler Biggs (@Tyler_Biggs, TOR) Listed at 6’3″, 210 pounds, Tyler should make a great replacement for Justin Vaive and provide a much higher scoring punch. In the words of our friend, Miami Women’s Club Hockey Head Coach Scott Hicks: “He’s not as big as weber. He just provides a completely different dynamic than vaive. He is more of a playmaker with a scoring touch than just a goal scorer.”  High praise for this youngster.
  • Cody Murphy (n/a, undrafted) – Played for the Tri-City Storm last year, where he served as assistant captain, and recorded 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists in 60 games.
  • Jimmy Mullin (n/a, TB) – registered 3 shots in the exhibition. In his one season in the USHL, Jimmy played for the Fargo Force, scoring 60 points on 23 goals and 37 assists in 52 games as he was named first team All-USHL.
  • Blake Coleman (@BColes25, NJD)- 13 shots on goal in the exhibition (6 in the first, 7 in the third). Blake will get on the scoring sheet, and should do so often.  Blake played 59 games for the Indiana Ice last season, and had an incredible 92 points on 34 goals and 58 assists in being named the USHL’s Player of the Year.
  • Austin Czarnik (n/a, undrafted) Considered a steal for the RedHawks, as he was originally committed to Michigan State, de-committed and came to Oxford. Let’s hope he stays a few years. His speed and determination will be gamechangers for Miami as we battle east coast squads and move into the NCHC over the coming years.
  • Alex Wideman (@awides10, undrafted) Under-sized, but according to some, has possibly the most upside of all the incoming forwards. His speed and savvy will be an asset as he could have the best overall career of any of this freshman class.
There are a lot of connections from these guys to active upperclassmen. Of course we know about Alex and Chris Wideman being brothers. But in addition, Alex, Blake Coleman, Max Cook and Bryon Paulazzo all played together at the same time for the Indiana Ice in 2009-10.

Key Losses

  • Pat Cannone. Third leading scorer at 14-23–37 in 2010-11, and someone who scored 30 or more points EACH of his 4 years in Oxford totaling 133 career points. Sure the next two guys are hard to swallow, but this one is equally as hard.
  • Some other guy named Carter Camper. 19-38–57 in 2010-11, 4o+ points per season (41, 42, 43, 57). Captain. ‘Nuff said.
  • Oh yeah… I think I forgot someone… Hobey Baker Award Winner Andy Miele… 24 Goals, 47 Assists. 71 total points last season and 170 career points as a ‘Hawk.  Gone.  Poof.

Total scoring lost: 5 seniors (Cannone, Camper, Miele, Justin Vaive 9-7–16, and defenseman Vincent LoVerde 2-7–9), 70-122–192. 48% of goals scored last year.  A total of 523 total points out of 4 guys over 4 seasons.  Makes you think back to the amazing times we’ve enjoyed in the Goggin since 2007.

Predictions
Well, let’s not get too excited, but I don’t think the RedHawks will lose much production on offense. These guys are more than capable of picking up the slack where the 4 departing seniors left things after last year.  The Media and Coaches seem to think the same, picking Miami #2 in the CCHA preseason polls and #1/2 in the National Polls, and you can’t do that unless you’re expected to reload.

The gun’s loaded and cocked. Let’s see how things shake down on Friday night!!! 3 days left until Regular Season HOCKEY!!!

Posted in Alden Hirschfeld, Alex Wideman, Andy Miele, Carter Camper, Cody Murphy, Curtis McKenzie, Jimmy Mullin, Justin Vaive, Miami RedHawks, New Faces, Pat Cannone, Reilly Smith, Roster, Trent Vogelhuber

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>Miami Dominates in the D

Mar 18

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>Detroit, Mich. – Well, my predictions were actually pretty good…for once.

CCHA Player of the Year Andy Miele had 2 goals and 2 assists and Hobey Baker finalist Carter Camper had 2 goals and 1 assist as the Miami RedHawks defeated Notre Dame 6-2.

If not for two fluke goals, Cody Reichard may have registered another shutout. As it was, Reichard was solid as Miami extended its unbeaten streak to a school best 12 games.

Both Camper and Miele were at their best as both scored highlight reel goals including one from Miele while he was prone on the ice after being crosschecked from behind.

The Crying Irish stuck to their routine of running Reichard as I counted at least four times the Miami netminder was knocked to the ice including once where his helmet was taken off his head. Unlike February’s 5-5 tie, however, Reichard would not be rattled and he maintained his stellar play of the past several weeks. On the other hand, Mike Johnson proved unworthy as Miami torched him for six goals before he was pulled midway through the third period.

Alden Hirschfeld and Bryon Paulazzo chipped in with goals and Reilly Smith added three assists to round out the bulk of the Miami scoring. It was the freshman Paulazzo’s second career goal.

The RedHawks await the winner of tonight’s WMU/Michigan game which starts at 8pm EST and can be seen on FS Detroit + in tomorrow’s championship game.

Notes

  • With another four point game, Andy Miele now has 23-46-69 on the year. Can you say Hobey Baker?
  • Carter Camper has a career best 19-36-54 good enough for third in the nation.
  • Alden Hirschfeld notched his career best 24th point of the year
  • With three assists, super sophomore Reilly Smith now has 26-25-51. Miami now has three players with more than 50 points on the season.

Posted in Alden Hirschfeld, Andy Miele, Carter Camper, CCHA, Cody Reichard, College Hockey - Analysis, Miami RedHawks, Notre Dame, Reilly Smith

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