>Seven. The USCHO/CBS College Sports Division I Poll has our Miami icers ranked seventh in the nation…up one spot despite a Friday night tie with unranked Ohio State. Here are the rankings, in their entirety:

1. Boston College (45)
2. Michigan (2)
3. Colorado College (3)
4. Denver
5. Boston University
6. New Hampshire
7. Miami
8. Notre Dame
9. Minnesota
10. Princeton
11. Michigan State
12. St. Cloud State
13. North Dakota
14. Clarkson
15. Minnesota State
16. Cornell
17. Vermont
18. Harvard
19. Northern Michigan
20. Wisconsin

Five CCHA teams ranked in the top 20 this week. Other notes of interest…North Dakota falls from number five to number thirteen this week. Notre Dame drops from fourth to eighth, Boston U jumps from number nine to number five, and the RedHawks opponent this weekend, Vermont, moves up three spots to number seventeen.

>Just a few notes here before I head off to bed:

– What a game…four power play goals. I thought our execution on the powerplay was UNREAL. We made great tape to tape passes…kept the puck in the OSU zone and took good shots. I noticed that we were able to get our sticks on a lot of rebounds on shots taken from the point. If our PP and offense can play like this every game…look out.

– Speaking of the powerplay, how about Chris Wideman? He has impressed me so much during this early season. His quarterbacking of the powerplay is excellent. He makes good reads…can find open shooters…etc. I absolutely love him being paired with Kevin Roeder on the regular defensive lines…

– Can’t go without mentioning Pat Cannone…one goal and FIVE assists on Saturday night. Unbelievable. Justin Vaive also had a goal, AND…Gary Steffes chipped in with a hat trick! It’s great to see, at least so far, that we have scoring depth, in addition to Mercier, Palmer, Camper, etc.

– No one has won a job yet, but Connor Knapp didn’t hurt his chances tonight. What a solid player. Although two of OSU’s three goals probably should have been denied, he made some wonderful saves, all in all. He is very good with the glove. I’d love to see more out of him.

– I’m going to bed happy tonight. If there is one team I hate not beating, it’s Ohio State. As you can tell…Miami played smart hockey tonight. Nice to see Cady Arena PACKED too! We have a tough week ahead as the RedHawks travel to Burlington for a weekend series against U of Vermont next weekend. Let’s keep up the good work!

>Well sports fans, we knew we’d be in for a bumpy ride the first few weeks…months, maybe of this 2008-2009 season, and tonight, was bumpy. BUT…no cause for concern just yet…it’s only game one.

After falling down 0-2 at the end of the first period, the RedHawks were off to a slow start, but gained more momentum as the night went on. In a very exciting hockey game…Miami simply kept fighting.

“It was a really good hockey game,” said Miami head-man Enrico Blasi. “Ohio State has much better speed up front and (Joseph) Palmer played great tonight. I think we got better as the game went on and were fortunate to get that five-on-three and a goal out of it. All night the five-on-five hockey game was exciting.”

Miami would tie the game in the second and then again in the third, forcing a 5 minute overtime period. Neither team could bury the puck post-regulation, so the stalemate continued and the CCHA would see it’s first ever shootout take place from Value City Arena…a shootout the Buckeyes won 3-1.

“It doesn’t feel like a loss because we got a point,” Blasi said. “We just need to keep getting contribution from our older guys while the younger guys get more experience.”

Happy about his team’s win, OSU Head Coach John Markell certainly didn’t expect to see a shootout so soon.

“The shootout was exciting for the fans. I didn’t expect it this early in the season. The win in the shootout was important for us because last year we lost to them in a shootout situation. I was excited for the young guys to get some payback.”

OSU received solid play from junior goaltender Joseph Palmer all evening…and after the game he offered his take on the post-OT action…as well as his thoughts on beating Miami.

“It is a great way to start off the season, said Palmer. “You’re nervous about how the shootout is going to affect you during the season and fortunately for us we got the win tonight.” It (the win) feels good. Miami is always going to play hard no matter when or where. Games against Miami are always fun.”

Not a bad showing from the RedHawks for game one, but certainly not their best. Nine penalties on the night…three alone on Andy Miele. Need to stay out of the box fellas. Could have been worse though, I suppose. Ohio State was tagged for twelve calls. Game two of the match-up tomorrow night in Oxford. The game will be broadcast on ONN…faceoff, set for 7:05pm.

Breaking it Down:

Miami Goals:
– Carter Camper (Jarod Palmer, Chris Wideman)

– Justin Vaive (Brian Kaufman, Alex Lacombe)

– Jarod Palmer (Chris Wideman, Carter Camper)

Between the Pipes:
Cody Reichard
26 Saves, 3 Goals Against

(Quotes courtesy of OhioStateBuckeyes.com)

Enrico Blasi Post-Game Audio

>Word is beginning to spread that the game time for Miami/RPI on 12/14/2008 has been changed to accommodate the game’s broadcast on ESPNU. It will now begin at 4:05pm.

Once again, the Miami/RPI game scheduled for December 14 will now begin one hour earlier, at 4:05pm.

>It’s the official start to the 2008-2009 campaign this Friday night as our RedHawks will make the trek up I-71 into Ohio’s capitol to take on an Ohio State team that is looking to make some much needed adjustments after a dismal performance last season. Like Miami, OSU opened with an exhibition win over the York on Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink, defeating the Lions 9-3 and outscoring them 6-1 in the second period.

While Miami won’t have to contend with the dilapidated former home of the OSU men’s hockey program this Friday night in Columbus, they will have to keep a watchful eye on highly-touted freshman Zac Dalpe. If you don’t know the story of Dalpe, allow me to bring you up to speed.

Dalpe was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (# 45 overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Some “prognosticators” have contested that Dalpe could have gone in the late first round, as the skill set and true hockey ability are visibly apparent in the Paris, Ontario native. As his stock began to rise, some began to waiver on whether or not he would honor his commitment to coach John Markell and the Buckeyes due to the fact that Peter Karmanos Jr. (the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes) also owns the Plymouth Whalers, the OHL team that retained Dalpe’s rights. If he would have gone the OHL route, he would most assuredly be playing professional hockey sooner, rather than later, but he chose to make good on his word and attend Ohio State.

While Dalpe will be one focus of the RedHawks defense other Buckeye forwards to monitor are senior co-captain Zach Pelletier, who missed last season with an injury, and sophomore Kyle Reed. Pelletier notched a hat trick in Saturday’s exhibition win and Reed added a goal. Coach Markell says that, having Pelletier back, is a great thing.

“I’m glad to have him back this year. He had a decimating injury last year and he chose to come back (for a fifth year) even though he didn’t have to because he already has his degree. He is a captain and he leads by example.”

Understandably, Pelletier was, himself, excited to be back on the ice.

“It was awesome. It’s almost the best feeling in the world. I’ve just been itching to go out there and play hockey.”

Faceoff in Columbus is at 7:05pm on Friday night and 7:05 Saturday night in Oxford. Saturday night’s game will be televised live on ONN.

(Player quotes provided by The Ohio State University Athletic Department)

FROM THE GAME NOTES…

“CHECKING” THE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes are a young team packed with talent as they feature 22 underclassmen (13 sophomores and nine freshmen). Zach Pelletier is the captain of this youthful Scarlet and Gary squad after sitting out last season with injury. The co-captain is Peter Boyd, Ohio State’s top-returning scorer. Boyd is also a clutch player as he finished with four game-winning goals a season ago and five game-winning points. Miami has won six-consecutive games against Ohio State and has not lost to the Buckeyes since Dec. 30, 2006. The RedHawks have only lost once in the last 11 meetings between the two schools. During this run, Miami has taken the all-time lead in the series for the first time and now leads 56-55-10. In the 2007-08 season, Miami outscored Ohio State 20-8 in games between the conference foes.

SENIORS LOOKING TO STAY PERFECT
The RedHawk senior class of Brian Kaufman, Bill Loupee, Kevin Roeder, Michael Findorff, Alexandre Lacombe,Justin Mercier and Ray Eichenlaub has never lost a home game to Ohio State. The senior class also holds an overall record of 10-2-3 against the Buckeyes.

BUCKEYE BUSTERS
In 10 career games against the Scarlet and Gray, Jarod Palmer has scored five goals and passed out three assists. Carter Camper has four assists in three career games against Ohio State. In only two career games against the Buckeyes, Andy Miele has one goal and three assists.

RECAPPING THE EXHIBITION
The roar in Steve Cady Arena as Alexandre Lacombe scored the game-winning goal against Ryerson made the game feel almost like regular season. Miami defeated Ryerson on Oct. 4, 4-3, in a thrilling back-and-forth game that ended with a goal by Lacombe with five seconds remaining on the clock. “We had some guys who made plays, some guys who played hard and some guys who just aren’t in sync yet,” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. “We have a lot of work to do and now we know what we need to do. Come Monday, we will get it started.”

>USCHO has released it’s first Division 1 poll of the season. USA Today had our RedHawks ranked 8th in their preseason poll. Did USCHO follow suit and rank the Red & White 8th as well?

Click here to find out.

(Okay, that wasn’t much of a teaser, but it sounded good in my head.)

>My Thoughts:
http://www.youtube.com/get_player

– Personally, I thought our defense, in the first two periods was…well, not the best. To me, Michael Findorff showed tonight, why he hasn’t played many games throughout his Miami career; same goes for Brandon Smith. Kevin Roeder is as solid of a stay at home defenseman as you’ll find.

– Turnovers and penalties…far too many of both.

– Thought Reichard was solid…thought Knapp was sensational; Conner made some great saves, 2 of which were sure fire Ram goals.

– Ryerson played extremely tough tonight. Too close for an exhibition.

– Will Weber…love his size and blueline presence. However, I wasn’t impressed with his play tonight…does have a good shot though.

– Alex Lacombe is sporting the Ryan Jones look…his hair is getting long…and while we’re on the Jonesy topic…things felt a bit weird at the rink without him tonight. Zatkoff too. Maybe it’s just me…

– Jarod Palmer continues to impress me. As do his line mates Justin Mercier and Carter Camper. Mercier is full go all the time…love the passion.

– PLEASE! No more “Scott-Shriver-less” hockey games. I know he was doing football tonight, but the PA announcing just isn’t the same.

>Ryerson University Rams
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Enrollment: 25,000
Conference: Ontario Athletic Conference
2007-2008 Record: 9-16-0-3

From the Official Game Notes:

THEY JUST KEEP ON WINNING

Over the past three seasons no hockey program has won more hockey games than the Miami RedHawks, who have 83 wins since 2005-06. In this time period, the RedHawks have won 71.1-percent of their games, which is also an NCAA best. During the same stretch, no other school in the NCAA has over a 68-percent winning percentage.

STILL GROWING AT 30

Miami ice hockey is 30-years old and the program continues to grow and might just be reaching its prime. The RedHawks have moved into a new building (Steve Cady Arena in the Goggin Ice Center). They are coming off a 33-win season, in which they spent 10 weeks ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team. Also, over the past three seasons, no team in NCAA Division I hockey has won more games, or has a higher winning percentage.

HOME AGAIN IN THE CCHA

Former Western Michigan captain Brent Brekke, who was the CCHA’s Best Defensive Defenseman in 1993-94, joins the RedHawk coaching staff after spending nine seasons with Cornell of the ECAC. Miami’s other assistant coach, ninth-year assistant coach Chris Bergeron, was tabbed the league’s Best Defensive Forward in 1992-93 as a member of the Miami program.

IN THE RANKINGS

Miami starts the season ranked at No. 8 for the second time in three years. Miami opened the 06-07 season ranked eighth and the 07-08 season ranked No. 4. Miami now has been ranked among the Top-8 in the country for 25-consecutive weeks, including No. 1 for 10 of those weeks. Miami comes off a record-breaking season in which it set a school high-water mark for wins with 33. Over the past three seasons, Miami has posted more wins and a better winning percentage than any other team in the country.

This game against Ryerson is a good chance to see where our RedHawks stand heading into the official beginning of the 2008-2009 season next weekend. Some storylines to follow:

1. Goaltending. How will the tandem of Knapp and Reichard adapt to the college game? Will one of these two show better than the other and “grab” the number one spot?

2. Defense. We lost a lot on the blueline. Our young freshman must step up. We have good size on the back end, but like goaltending, there is a lot of inexperience.

3. Offense. Will Seniors Brian Kaufman and Justin Mercier have another strong showing this season to replace the offense lost by graduation?

Obviously, Miami is the heavy favorite here, but more important than the final score in an exhibition game is to see how this young group gels together as today is the first “official day” of practice. Personally, I’m ECSTATIC that the season begins tonight and I’m sure many others are as well.

>Insidecollegehockey.com has released it’s CCHA preview for the upcoming season. As usual, the Wolverines, Spartans, and Fighting Irish get a lot of praise from the INCH staffers, but our beloved RedHawks are profiled under the “Primed for a Fall” category. You can check it out by by clicking here.

BTW, INCH predicts a 5th place finish for us this season.

>Just a quick summary here, as I’m heading out the door.

– Justin Mercier was named to the preseason all-conference first team

– Carter Camper was named to the second team

– Miami was ranked third in the coaches poll and fourth in the media poll.

You can view the rest of the polls and all conference teams here.

Some quotes now, from Rico:

“We feel real good about our team We have a lot of seniors with a lot of experience. We feel good that the culture is very stable and our guys understand how to prepare and play and what the process is throughout the entire season and what it takes to really compete at a high level. Every team here prepares well and understands so I think our guys really get that.

“As far as our freshmen goaltenders are concerned they are young but we feel that they can play for us. But it will remain to be seen who will emerge as number one but to start off I think both are going to play.

“As far as Justin Mercier is concerned, obviously the coaches felt very strongly about picking him on the All-Conference Preseason Team. He is one of the guys who is capable of putting up some big numbers and hopefully he continues what he started a year ago.”