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Off to the Joe!
Connor Knapp made 21 saves and Miami peppered Michigan State with 42 shots on goal as the RedHawks completed the weekend sweep with a 4-1 victory over the Spartans to earn the right to play in next weekend’s CCHA championship weekend at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
The RedHawks received goals from junior forward Reilly Smith, who also added two assists, and seniors Chris Wideman, Matt Tomassoni and Alden Hirschfeld as they left no doubt who was the better team this year as they won all four games against MSU by a combined score of 16-2.
Similar to last night, a big second period broke open a 1-1 tie as Miami netted seven goals in the second period over the weekend including three in tonight’s game. Senior defenseman Chris Wideman scored his third goal of the season, and second in two nights, as he notched the eventual game-winner at 9:49 of the second period. It was the first of three Miami goals in 3:22 to remove any chance Michigan State had of forcing a third and decisive game tomorrow night.
Senior Connor Knapp continued his stellar play, and along with Reilly Smith, has carried Miami down the stretch. Knapp has allowed just three goals in his last six games, all coming on the power play as he improved his overall record to 15-6 and lowered his goals against average to 1.43 while his save percentage sits at .943 for the year. Tonight, Knapp made 21 saves on 22 shots. The only goal he surrendered was on an MSU power play, which snapped a streak of 174 minutes of shutout hockey against the Spartans, dating back to Jan. 6, 2012 (Miami’s first game vs. MSU). Knapp has not allowed an even-strength goal since Feb. 4, 2012 against Michigan, a span of seven games. Over those seven games, he has allowed just four goals overall and three in his last six games.
The big senior from York, N.Y. has allowed one or fewer goals in 14 of his 22 games this season and 12 of his last 14. He has a 0.89 goals against average and .964 save percentage in his last 15 games (14 starts) since the start of 2012. Knapp leads the NCAA with a 1.43 GAA and is second in save percentage with .943, both of which would be Miami single-season records. He now has a career-high 15 wins on the year, which ties for ninth in a single season at Miami. (source: MURedHawks.com)
With the win, Miami heads back to Detroit for the CCHA semifinals on Friday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena. The defending Mason Cup champions’ opponent will be determined after the outcome of tomorrow’s series finale between #1 Ferris State and #8 Bowling Green. If Ferris State wins, Miami will face the top seeded Bulldogs in one semifinal. If the Falcons pull off the upset, Miami will face third seeded Western Michigan. Regardless, since Miami cannot face #2 Michigan in the semifinals, it’s a good bet the RedHawks will play the early game Friday so the league can place Michigan in the prime spot for both attendance at the Joe and for TV viewers across the nation. One would speculate that Miami’s game will start around 3pm EST on Friday.
Miami won its eighth-straight game, dating back to Feb. 10 vs. Alabama-Huntsville. It is the team’s longest winning streak since an eight-game win streak from Jan. 23-Feb. 19, 2010. During Miami’s win streak the RedHawks have outscored opponents, 32-5. (source: MURedHawks.com) The victory also moved Miami back into a tie for 5th in the PairWise rankings which largely determine the NCAA tournament field. With another good weekend in Detroit, Miami could come away with a #1 seed in the tournament, but their first order of business is reclaiming the Mason Cup for a second consecutive year.
Additional Coverage
Around the CCHA
Ferris State broke a 3-3 tie en route to a 7-4 victory over Bowling Green to force a decisive third game tomorrow night in Big Rapids, Mich.
Michigan completed the weekend sweep of Notre Dame by a score of 3-1, likely ending the Irish’s season. The Wolverines will face either Bowling Green or Western Michigan in one CCHA semifinal at the Joe.
Western Michigan completed the weekend sweep of Lake Superior defeating the Lakers 5-2. The Broncos will face either Michigan or Miami on Friday.
Saturday CCHA Playoff recap and #SixPack
What a night for College Hockey. It was like Christmas all over again and we haven’t even scratched the surface outside the CCHA!
Bowling Green takes 1-0 lead at Ferris State
Last night’s victory by BGSU marks the first time the last place CCHA team has won a game in the second round of the tournament. Last year, the Falcons also took down Northern Michigan in 3 games in round 1 (winning in 2OT in game 3), but they failed to take a win in round 2, going down 5-1 and 4-1 at Michigan. This year, things get VERY interesting as former Miami assistant Chris Bergeron has his Falcons playing inspired hockey. They’ve won 4 of their last 6, including once against Michigan, and now 3 in a row against NMU (2) and Ferris State.
Cam Wojtala had 2 goals in regulation, and freshman Ryan Carpenter scored the game winner in overtime. But perhaps the player of the game was Goalie Andrew Hammond, who stopped an incredible 54 shots on the night. Check out the complete BGSUFalcons.com recap including interviews after the game. Here’s the highlights as well!
For free streaming audio of the game tonight, here is the link for the BGSU Feed. Pregame coverage starts at 6:35 and puck drop for game 2 is set for 7:05pm.
Western Michigan beats Lake State 4-2
Ian Slater scored twice for Western Michigan, and Mike Leone scored the 2nd period game winner. Leone only has 8 goals for his in his 3 seasons, but 4 of those have come in the CCHA Playoffs. Frank Slubowski was only called on to make 20 saves on the night as the Broncos took a 1-0 series lead in come back fashion. After going down just 3:13 in to the game, the Broncos scored 3 times before Lake State would answer again in a relatively calm CCHA game that only had 3 power play opportunities.
You can catch the full recap from WMU.com here, and stay tuned to the CCHA Productions YouTube channel to catch the highlights later today.
Michigan survives in 2OT against Notre Dame
Michigan’s Chris Brown scored the game winner 3:11 into the second overtime period to give Michigan a 1-0 lead in their first round playoff series against Notre Dame. Shawn Hunwick stopped 37 saves, and Michigan is now just 1 win away from their 24th consecutive trip to Detroit for the CCHA Final Four tournament.
It’s no Jimmy Mullin, but Michigan scored just 1:08 into the game to take a 1-0 lead, and the game stayed that way until the 11:23 mark of the third when Notre Dame’s Anders Lee scored to tie it up. ND’s goalie Steven Summerhays stopped 40 shots on the night (14 in the first OT), many of them of highlight-reel worthy, but couldn’t stop the last one. Catch the full recap here, and then jump over to the highlights!
Tonight’s game 2 is set for a 7:35pm puck drop, and you can listen for free at the ND All-Access site by clicking here. You can also view the game on Comcast Sports on the teevee machines.
SixPack
Here is the Saturday SixPack of tweets. Be sure to follow us on twitter by hitting http://www.twitter.com/redskinwarriors or follow @redskinwarriors to make sure you don’t miss out on these juicy tidbits!
- Jimmy Mullin’s goal 12 seconds into the game is tied for the fastest goal in #MiamiU history, tying Tim Huettl, who scored 12 seconds into a game 1/3/1986 vs Mich-Dearborn.
- Jimmy Mullin had 2 G and 2 A for a career high 4 points and was a +3. Had 3 points against OSU 2/25. He’s proving he’s good at hockey too. 10 pts during 4gm pt streak. #stud
- Curtis McKenzie scores his first goal since December 10th. Reilly Smith now has 7-gm scoring streak. #MiamiU has scored first in 5 straight, 25 of 37 overall. #firingrange
- Connor Knapp is on fire. 5 shutouts in calendar 2012. 3 in last 5 gms. 13 for career is the new Miami record. #MiamiU’s CCHA-leading 7th shutout of season. #bulletproo
- When trailing after 40 minutes of regulation, Lake State is now 0-14-3. #WesternMichigan takes a 1-0 lead in their #CCHAPlayoffs series.
- Notre Dame is 16-3-0 when scoring three or more goals. Last night, they scored 1 and are now 1-14-1 when scoring less than three. #putthepuckinthegoal #CCHAPlayoffs
The highlights from last night’s game can be found on the CCHA Productions YouTube page, or by clicking here.
Puck Drop is set for 7:05 in Oxford. Don’t forget to tune in to the All-Access feed tonight, as the game will not be televised otherwise.
BEAT STATE!
Miami routs Michigan State 6-0
Connor Knapp made 27 saves and Jimmy Mullin notched four points as Miami defeated Michigan State 6-0 in the first game of their best-of-three series at Steve Cady Arena.
For Knapp, it was his fifth shutout of the season to set a new single-season career high, his second shutout of the Spartans this year and his 13th shutout overall which is a new Miami school record. Meanwhile, freshman forward Jimmy Mullin netted two goals and added two assists to set a career high in points in a single game. Mullin now has an impressive 25 points on the season (11-14-25) trailing only junior forward Reilly Smith (26-13-39) and freshman forward Austin Czarnik (9-22-31) for team leadership.
Mullin opened the scoring just :12 into the game as he banged home a loose puck behind MSU goaltender Will Yanakeff who allowed five goals on 26 shots including four in the second period when Miami broke the game open with two quick goals just :34 apart. Senior defenseman Chris Wideman joined the rush and scored just his second goal of the season and freshman forward Tyler Biggs netted his 9th on the year making the game 3-0 and enabling the RedHawks to relax and cruise to the 6-0 victory.
Miami entered tonight’s game 0-9 all-time against the Spartans in the CCHA playoffs but the two teams had never met in Oxford. Overall this season, Miami is 3-0 against MSU and has allowed just one goal against including Knapp’s two shutouts.
MSU head coach Tom Anastos had this to say after this evening’s game.
“This is a very good team, and I believe I said it earlier in the week – [Miami] is under-rated, offensively. Not that they scored six goals, but the really nice plays they made and the offensive pressure they are able to generate. I thought the first period was pretty good for us, but obviously the second period was a challenge. We just need to regroup and be ready to go on Saturday.” (source: MSUSpartans.com)
In addition to Mullin’s two tallies and Biggs’ and Wideman’s goals, Miami received offensive support from junior Curtis McKenzie (5th) and freshman Blake Coleman who scored his 12th on the season and has now scored a goal in three of his past four games. And, Miami has now won a season-high seven consecutive games and has vaulted up to a tie for fifth in the PairWise (as of 9:33pm MDT) as several games went Miami’s way in addition to the victory. For reference, they are also fourth in KRACH.
Game two is scheduled for 7:05pm EST at Steve Cady Arena and with the students still away on Spring Break, tickets should be available. If you can’t make the game, it will be available via Miami All-Access at MURedHawks.com with Greg Waddell and Drew Davis carrying the call.
Additional Coverage
Around the CCHA
Bowling Green defeated Ferris State 3-2 in overtime (BG leads series 1-0) – Huge win for the Falcons and head coach Chris Bergeron
Michigan defeated Notre Dame 2-1 in overtime (Michigan leads series 1-0) – Chris Brown notched the game-winner
Western Michigan defeated Lake Superior 4-2 (WMU leads series 1-0) – Broncos cruised to a victory behind freshman goaltender Frank Slubowski
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.
Tuesday’s Newsbrief
It’s going to be a long couple weeks waiting for Miami’s second round CCHA playoff series against the Michigan State Spartans. Here are a few links and tidbits to help you cope through the bye week.
Smith, Knapp, Mullin Named CCHA Players of the Week
For what seems like the 40th time this year, the Miami RedHawks had multiple members of the club named CCHA players of the week. And, for Reilly Smith and Connor Knapp, their names have been etched on the awards almost weekly during the second half of the season.
Smith had a weekend line of 3-3-6 including a four-point night on Saturday in Miami’s sweep of duhOSU in earning the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor. Smith now has 26 goals on the season which is best in the conference and second in the nation. He was +6 on the weekend and named the #1 star both nights. He has now won this award four times this season, most of any player.
Knapp stopped 50 of 51 shots on the weekend in notching both victories and landing the CCHA Goaltender of the Week award. He allowed just the one goal on the weekend, which was a 5×3 powerplay, and earned his fourth shutout of the season on Friday. The reigning INCH National Player of the Week is making a strong stretch run to be included in all major player of the year discussions. His 1.53 GAA is first in the country and his .939 save percentage is second while both lead the CCHA. (source: MURedHawks.com)
Jimmy Mullin earned the first weekly award of his career by being named the CCHA Rookie of the Week after a 1-4-5 line and +5 weekend. Mullin had two assists on Friday and followed that up with a 1-2-3 line on Saturday when he opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season.
For the season, he has nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points, which ties for third on the team and ranks fifth among freshmen in the CCHA. (source: MURedHawks.com)
As a team, the RedHawks have claimed 17 CCHA weekly awards, four more than any other team. In addition to Smith and Knapp’s four awards each, Miami has won six Rookie of the Week honors, as Mullin is the fourth different RedHawk to win the award, and three CCHA Gladiator Defenseman of the Week accolades. (source: MURedHawks.com)
Moving on Up
The weekend sweep has given Miami a six-game winning streak to close the season. The last loss for the RedHawks came on February 4 when Michigan finished a weekend sweep in Ann Arbor. Miami finds themselves tied for eighth in the most recent PairWise, sixth in KRACH (6th most difficult schedule), eighth in the INCH Power Rankings, 11th in the USCHO poll, and finally getting some respect from USA TODAY as they are eighth in the USA TODAY/USA Hockey poll.
The RedHawks earned a well-deserved first round bye and the right to host a second round series against former CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos’ Michigan State Spartans March 9-11 at Steve Cady Arena.
Anastos Bullish on Miami
Speaking of Tom Anastos…the MSU head coach and former CCHA commissioner made several flattering comments when asked about the RedHawks in his Monday press conference. Take a listen. He’s definitely turning on the coach-speak, but his praise for Miami is well earned. He makes some interesting points about the size differential between the two squads. And, as you recall, he was most concerned about Miami’s physicality the last time the two teams met, a Miami sweep in East Lansing on January 6-7. Here’s what we had to say after that series the opened the RedHawks’ second half surge.
To his credit, Anastos said of the Friday game, “I thought that we got what we expected – a tough, physical game from an opponent that has some pretty good size across the board. They made things tough for us, but we generated some shots and did a good job getting in front of the net.” (source: Lansing State Journal) So, at least the Spartan head man acknowledged the size and strength of the RedHawks and certainly did not go on the record complaining about calls because he got plenty of them Saturday night. On the results of the weekend, Anastos said, “When someone comes into your rink and beats you in every phase of the game, that’s unacceptable.” (source:Lansing State Journal) It’s always great hearing an opposing coach talk about how his team was dominated — especially in their barn.
Friday Highlights vs. duhOSU
In case you missed the game, here are the highlights from Friday’s 3-0 victory over duhOSU.
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