Category Archives: Uncategorized
>Knapp, Wideman to Attend USA Junior Camp
>Connor Knapp and Chris Wideman have a chance to showcase Miami University on a global stage, while representing their country at the same time. The two RedHawk sophomores have been invited to attend the United States National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY in August.
>RedHawks Atop "10 for ’10"
>From INCH:
1. Miami RedHawks
Assuming they can put behind them the visage of the final minute of last month’s NCAA title game, the RedHawks should enter the 2009-10 season as a prohibitive favorite to return to the Frozen Four. Of the nine players who scored 20 or more points for Miami last season, seven return, led by the prolific Camper. The RedHawks also bring back five of their six defensemen as well as goaltenders Reichard and Knapp, who split time last season before Reichard seized the starting gig for the NCAA Tournament.
To see the other projected top 10 teams for next season, click here.
>Reminder: Awards Banquet this Saturday
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Just a friendly reminder that the hockey awards banquet will be held this Saturday at 6 p.m. Sponsored annually by the Blue Line Club, the banquet features a dinner, awards presentation, silent auction, and speeches by the RedHawk seniors.
Voice of the RedHawks “Diamond” Dave Allen will be the entertainment for the evening, serving as the Master of Ceremonies. Also in attendance will be Miami Athletic Director Brad Bates and Oxford mayor Prue Dana.
The event will emanate from the Shiver Center on the Miami University campus. For more information, visit MURedHawks.com, or the Miami Blue Line Club, at miamiblc.org.
If anyone would like to provide a recap or photos for the blog, please let me know! I’m unable to attend, much to my dismay.
>The (RedHawk) Has Landed
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They have arrived. After a morning skate in Oxford, the RedHawks have arrived in Washington, D.C. in anticipation of the Frozen Four activities, scheduled to begin tomorrow. As the home team in Thursday’s early semi-final, Miami will take the Verizon Center ice tomorrow afternoon from 12:15-1:15pm for a practice session. Should the RedHawks advance to the National Championship game, they’ll have a morning skate on Friday at 11:15am.
To view a video recap of the ‘Hawks trip to The District, click this link. Props to Steve Baker and Miami All-Access for putting these features together.
Another piece of interest here, is from the RedHawks morning skate today. A mic’d up Coach Blasi gets his team in gear, for the final practice at Cady Arena this season. Check that one out, here.
– USCHO has a nice preview of the Miami/Bemidji matchup. Click the preview to read the entire story.
– CHN has published their semi-final notebook. Decent read, good coverage on all four teams.
– Another great article from CHN, about Miami’s mainly young defensive skaters. To read the article, click here.
>Destination: D.C.- Only Two Days Away
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With the team’s departure for D.C. scheduled for sometime later today, there is some more Frozen Four News to pass along. Both Hockey’s Future and INCH have released their previews for the semi-final matchups. Here now, a Miami preview of both:
Miami’s greatest challenges may lie in not only trying to slow down (and wear down) the confident Beavers, but also to get pucks by sophomore Matt Dalton. Dalton allowed just two goals in the Midwest Regional and stopped a combined 59 of 61 shots he faced.
This team’s strength is its balance. That depth makes it difficult for opposing coaches to match lines, and it’s tough to wear them down. Also, Miami is traditionally one of the best penalty-killing teams in the country – the RedHawks enter the Frozen Four ranked second nationally in that category. If your opponent is deeper than you five on five and wins 90 percent of its penalty kills, you’re in for a long night.
Also…there will be PLENTY of viewing parties nationwide, for those unable to make the trip to our Nation’s Capital. To see the official list (everywhere from San Fransisco to Atlanta) click here.
Finally…a pointless reminder. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 5pm on Thurdsay and it’s being brought to you with an All-Star lineup. Gary Thorne and Barry Melrose, along with Clay Matvik will have the call on “The Deuce.” It will also be broadcast locally, on 1450 WMOH-AM, with yet another All-Star lineup. Greg Waddell will handle the play-by-play duties and as an added bonus, “Diamond” Dave Allen will accompany Waddell, providing color commentary. It’s an All-Star lineup for an “all-star” kinda’ weekend.
I will be in Washington, so I’m not sure what coverage on the blog will be like at this point. I’ll also be updating on twitter.com/muhockeyblog and additionally, for WLWT.com in some capacity. More on that as the logistics are worked out.
>Sunday Update
>A collection of Miami-related Frozen Four articles and updates from the past week make for a quick Sunday update:
– Dayton Daily News coverage of the RedHawks.
– New York Daily News article on Miami’s “debt” to Devils’ defenseman Andy Greene.
– Former Mahoning Valley Phantom Alden Hirschfeld is ready for the Frozen Four.
– Dayton Daily News on Cody Reichard’s long journey to Miami.
Video:
– Miami All-Access with Chris Wideman and Kevin Roeder can be found here.
– Miami All-Access with Enrico Blasi at this link.
– Finally, there will be a viewing party for Miami alumni at the Voice of America Learning Center on Thursday afternoon at 4:30pm for the Miami/Bemidji game. Admission for guests age 21 and older is $10. More information can be found by clicking here.
>This & That
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Beautiful day in Oxford today. I made it over to Cady to watch practice. The guys were very loose and having a good time with each other. Coaches Bryan Vines and Brent Brekke spent the first forty minutes working with all three goaltenders; 2 on 1 situations, rebound control, things like that. There was even a Bill Davidge sighting! Davidge, doing his best impression of Johnny Cash today, was accompanied by a cameraman. Possibly shooting a Miami feature for Blue Jackets Live?
– Miami alum and current San Jose Shark Dan Boyle has launched his official web site. Here is a link to the page.
SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: The Kappa Kappa Psi fraternity is selling “Love & Honor” shirts, with all proceeds going toward the Miami Hockey Band. Clicking here will link you to the page to see the shirt design and find out how to purchase yours. It’s definitely something different. I’ll be picking one up myself.
>RedHawks to Play Bemidji State & More
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Let the scouting begin. With a 4-1 win over Cornell on Sunday night, Bemidji State has moved on to the Frozen Four and will meet Miami for the right to face either Boston University or Vermont in the national championship game. You’ll recall that the Beavers knocked off No. 1 seed Notre Dame on Saturday night, 5-1. As both Miami and Bemidji are number four seeds, this will be the first time in the current format of the tournament (adapted in 2003) that there will be a 4 vs. 4 match up in the national semi-final game. No word yet if which team will be the “home” team and wear white jerseys.
– Bemidji finished the regular season with a record of 18-15-1 and advanced to the NCAA tournament by winning the CHA tournament. Their last NCAA appearance was in 2006, as a No. 4 seed, losing to Wisconsin in the first round.
– The Beavers are currently on a 5-game win streak. Senior Tyler Scofield led the team in the regular season, with 22 goals, tied for 9th best in the nation. Matt Dalton is Bemidji’s No. 1 goaltender. In 30 games, Dalton had a 19-10-1 record and a 2.17 GAA. The BSU power play was 6th best in the nation and the penalty kill was 19th.
– The RedHawks are 2-0 all-time against Bemidji State. The last meeting between the two schools was in November of 2000. The RedHawks swept the weekend series in Bemidji, MN, winning both games 4-2.
– This isn’t the first time the RedHawks have played spoiler and knocked off a No. 1 seed to advance. Miami defeated No. 1 New Hampshire in 2007; the same year that Michigan State- a three seed, won the national title.
Other Notes:
– For those wondering, Rico stated in his post game presser, that Ryan Jones made good on his promise of being the first alum to call when the team reached the Frozen Four. He said that Jonesy called several times before he was able to pick up. “I finally picked up and he’s yelling on the other line,” Blasi said.
– Miami will play the early game on 4/9, at 5:00 pm.
– Here and here are some photo galleries from the RedHawks 2-1 over Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday night.
– For those that were unable to attend the team’s welcome home rally (me), here is a nice video recap of the arrival, with a police escort, might I add.
– Here is a round up of some of the nationally published articles about the RedHawks weekend:
>A Few Notes…
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Just some odds and ends here on the eve of the Miami/Denver first round matchup:
– Miami All-Access chronicles the RedHawks’ Selection Show viewing party from last Sunday. You can check that out by clicking here.
– If you’re in the Oxford/Butler county area, Buffalo Wild Wings in Oxford will be the official host of the Miami athletics Viewing Party for tomorrow night’s game. Fans wearing Miami gear will receive 10% off of their food order.
Here is the address of the restaurant, if anyone needs it:
Buffalo Wild Wings
OXFORD (#3129)
10 East Walnut Street
Oxford, OH 45056
Phone: 513-524-2999
– In addition to offering Gametracker services for the contest, MURedHawks.com will host a live blog where fans can submit questions and comments to the Miami hockey staff.
– USCHO has published their version of the 2009 West Regional preview. Here are a few excerpts:
Before that hypothetical rematch can happen, though, the other two teams in the regional will have something to say. Denver takes on Miami in the opening game at Mariucci Arena, setting up the sort of teacher-versus-student matchup that practically writes stories by itself.
“In my mind, in the regional there are four very good teams,” said Denver Coach George Gwozdecky. “Any one of the four could come out of that region as the champion, so we know we’ve got our work cut out for us against Miami, that’s for sure.”
“We’ve done this before, so really nothing new,” says RedHawk head man Enrico Blasi. “Last time we played them in the NCAAs, they won the national championsip, so maybe it will be our turn.”
And just to confirm…
The Game: (4) Miami vs. (1) Denver
Time: 5:30pm ET
TV: ESPN2 (HD)
Radio: MURedHawks.com and WPFB 910 AM
Unfortunately, I’ll be working during the game, so I won’t be online with anything until late Friday night. Here’s hoping to a RedHawks win!
>Denver Update: Pioneers Now In Minneapolis
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Mike Chambers, of The Denver Post has been keeping tabs on the hometown Pioneers this week in practice and checks in with some updates on George Gwozdecky’s squad. Here they be…
– University of Denver captain J.P. Testwuide missed practice again Tuesday and could be a spectator Friday when the Pioneers open the NCAA Tournament against Miami (Ohio) at the West Regional in Minneapolis. Testwuide, a rugged senior defenseman who leads the team with a plus-17 rating, will nevertheless make the trip in the Pioneers’ 23-player traveling party.
– Junior center Tyler Ruegsegger surprisingly participated in some practice drills Tuesday, donning full equipment and an orange “no crush” sweater. Ruegsegger’s season was deemed over when he partially tore a ligament in his right knee on March 13 against Alaska-Anchorage. Ruegsegger is doubtful, at best, for Friday, but the Lakewood native said he will pay his own way to Minneapolis if he’s not included in the team’s travel party. “I’m definitely making the trip. I couldn’t miss this,” he said.
– Bozak ready. DU standout center Tyler Bozak, who had a team-leading 21 points before he suffered a knee injury in the 18th game of the season, is practicing on a line with the team’s top two scorers, Anthony Maiani and Rhett Rakhshani. Bozak will return from a 21-game absence Friday.
(Here is a feature on what Bozak’s return to Denver lineup brings to the team. A 23 year old sophomore, Bozak is considering a plethora of NHL teams in competition for his potential services next season. These games could be his last in maroon and gold.)
“It doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat,” Rakhshani said. “The intensity of a game is a little different, but I would imagine he’ll step right in from where he left off, with the athlete he is and the skill set he has.”
Footnotes:
– DU (23-11-5) is 8-1 in its past nine NCAA Tournament games. . . . Miami is 2-4-1 in its past seven games. The RedHawks (20-12-5), who began the season 12-3-3, were idle last weekend after being eliminated from the CCHA playoffs by Northern Michigan in a three-game series.
– Chambers also has a short piece about former Pioneer captain and current Miami Volunteer Assistant Coach Bryan Vines. Check it out at this link.
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