Preseason Poll Update

Aug 27

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Miami is getting plenty of respect in preseason balloting

Despite losing a senior class that went to two Frozen Fours, won a CCHA regular season title, a Mason Cup tournament championship and a included last year’s Hobey Baker Award winner who led the nation in scoring, two preseason polls are out and the expectations for the 2011-12 Miami RedHawks are as high as ever.

For starters, in INCH’s initial poll that was released on July 26, Miami opened at number one. Of course that poll assumed former USNTDP hero and Miami commit He Who Must Not Be Named Connor Murphy would honor his word and play college hockey for the RedHawks. But Murphy, and his family including former NHL’er Gord Murphy, reneged on a letter of intent and signed a pro contract with the Phoenix Coyotes signaling a preference to instead play for the Sarnia Sting of the OHL.

Of course, karma can be cruel.

Murphy would injure his knee just a week after signing his deal at the 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. and is expected to be out until at least December. Sometimes a college degree is a handy thing to have.

But, back to the polls.

In naming Miami its preseason number one, INCH lauded the RedHawks for what they have returning as well its stable of highly regarded newcomers.

“Miami welcomes back an elite goal scorer in Smith, an underrated defensive corps, and two veteran goaltenders in Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard. Add in the nation’s best recruiting class, and you’ve got the recipe for a preseason No. 1.”

Today, The College Hockey Blog, unveiled the number three team in its preseason countdown of the top 16, the Miami RedHawks.

Similar to INCH, the Blog noted Miami’s returning strength and its elite recruiting class that has helped push expectations so high. However, TCHB was smart to note the incoming class should have another first round draft pick in it without specifically mentioning Murphy by name.

“Last year Miami featured the Hobey Baker winner and one of the best offenses in all of college hockey. They finished 3rd in the CCHA and were a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Though they were upset by UNH in the first round, they took another step towards establishing themselves as one of the best programs in the country. A solid group back, plus some very good recruits (though, not as many as there should be) make Miami a title threat once again.”

Over the coming weeks, we’ll post our preseason picks, polls and teams and players to watch as the season nears inception.

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Biggs, Smith Top NHL Prospect List

Aug 27

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NHL Scouting has released its list of top collegiate prospects for the 2011-12 season and two RedHawks rank among the top 13 in the nation. Freshman Tyler Biggs (Loveland, Ohio) and junior Reilly Smith (Mimico, Ont.) were ranked the 5th and 10th best collegiate prospects, respectively, in the nation.

Biggs, the son of longtime Cincinnati Cyclone great Don Biggs, will be joining the RedHawks for his first season of play after being selected in the first round of June’s NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Smith, who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2009 Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, is Miami’s leading returning goal scorer after notching 28 in a breakout sophomore season helping Miami claim it’s first ever Mason Cup as CCHA tournament champions and a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Here’s a link to the story at Bleacher Report.

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More on WCHA/CCHA Merger

Aug 26

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Matt Wellens of the Mining Journal in Marquette, Mich. had a few more tidbits on the invite from the WCHA to the remaining five CCHA schools. Neither Western Michigan nor Bowling Green have accepted the invitation yet and both Lake Superior and Ferris State were, unsurprisingly, asked to update their aging hockey facilities. However, both Alaska-Fairbanks and Lake Superior accepted the WCHA’s invitiation yesterday to join the league starting with the 2013-14 season.

If the NCHC were to add Bowling Green, as much as I think it would be good for Miami, and for the league to have a doormat, it would be quite ironic that these teams would break from their current conference affiliations, finish the work the Big 10 started by destroying the CCHA and add a program like Bowling Green which seems it should be a program these “like-minded” schools wanted to distance themselves from.

If Notre Dame goes independent or to Hockey East I could still support the addition of Western Michigan, but I’m just not certain about Bowling Green. Right now, I don’t see the benefit for the NCHC to do so, and frankly, it seems a bit hypocritical if they were to add the Falcons.

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The day the CCHA died

The CCHA was laid to rest today

Though the Big 10 officially announced its intention to start a hockey conference on March 21, 2011, today was the day the patient called the CCHA finally succumbed to its mortal wounds.

The news came earlier this afternoon the CCHA’s left-behinds Bowling Green, Alaska-Fairbanks, Lake Superior, Ferris State and Western Michigan were extended an invitation to join the WCHA beginning with the 2013-14 season. That means, the 40 year old league will in all likelihood conclude play with one final Mason Cup Tournament championship in March 2013.

It appears the only things left in the air are whether Bowling Green and Western Michigan actually accept the WCHA’s invitation. While Western is more likely than Bowling Green to receive an invitation to the newly formed NCHC, neither or both could be invited pending “The Decision” from Notre Dame on where their hockey future lies — with the NCHC, Hockey East or as an independent.

College Hockey News has the latest.

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The Brotherhood Video: 2011-2012

Aug 25

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The start of the 2011-12 season is still a little over a month away, but if this video doesn’t get the blood flowing and tell the world that Miami hockey is special, well, nothing will.

Check it out.

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Did something happen over the summer?

Aug 25

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Sadly, the gang here at RedskinWarriors has been too busy pulling jury duty on the Casey Anthony case and avoiding earthquakes to regularly update the blog. But, we heard there was a bit of news over the summer. Something about a new hockey conference and maybe something about a first round draft pick that reneged on his commitment to play for some Canadian junior team.

Well, we promise to figure all this out and over the coming days and weeks we’ll get you caught up as the start of the 2011-12 season nears.

For now, we’re just glad we could do our civic duty and look forward to visually inspecting all Washington D.C. area monuments for earthquake damage.

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2011-2012 Roster Released

Jun 25

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On the weekend of the NHL Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Miami Athletic Department has released the 2011-2012 roster. Here’s a quick look at the newest RedHawks and the jersey number they’ll be wearing. Stay tuned for an NHL Draft recap as well!

Austin Czarnik- 7

Alex Wideman- 10

Cody Murphy- 14

Jimmy Mullin- 20

Tyler Biggs- 22

Blake Coleman- 25

Ben Paulides- 28

Connor Murphy- 55 Um, yeah…

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Kaufman to Serve As Volunteer Assistant

May 16

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Yep- the Brian Kaufman, the same one who captained the ‘Hawks to the Frozen Four two years ago. It was announced on Monday that Kaufy will be joining the Miami coaching staff this season as a volunteer assistant, after a disappointing stint (mainly due to injury) in professional hockey. Here’s Rico on what he believes Kaufman will bring to the table:

“Brian was a big part of our program as a player and we’re excited to have him as one of the staff members. I think he’ll bring a lot to the table. He’s well-respected and understands the game and the leadership aspect. All of those qualities that he possesses will help our program continue to evolve into a consistent program where we’re playing at a high level.” (MURedHawks.com)

Gotta agree with that. Those who knew Brian know of the great hockey mind he possesses, after all he was a high school quarterback in Minnesota before attending Miami. I personally feel that Brian will make a great coach because of this and that the Miami hockey program will only benefit from his presence. It’s always nice when former players return and make the program all that much better and Kaufman is most certainly on the right path to following the footsteps of some Miami alums who have made their way behind the bench.

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The Schedule Is Out!

May 13

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On Friday afternoon, the Miami Athletic Department released the 2011-2012 hockey schedule, which can be seen by clicking the “Schedule” tab at the top of this page. The CCHA opponents are, of course standard…directional Michigan schools, Buckeyes, and Polar Bears. But what about the other odds & ends? Here is my breakdown of the upcoming slate of games:

– I like that the schedule once again features the two “home and home” weekends with Ohio State. If you’ll recall, last season the Buckeyes didn’t make the trip to Oxford…the teams only met twice with both games being played at Value City Arena. I think this (Ohio State series) is a great thing for Miami Hockey. Based on the name recognition alone, I feel this is a better opportunity to draw more casual fans to Cady Arena. OSU travels well and the competition is always high stakes.

– Some may complain that the non-conference schedule isn’t strong enough (as I myself have been known to do), but I really like the fact that Bemidji is coming to Oxford this season. I think it’s a great test for the RedHawks in their building, just as St. Cloud and UNH have been in the past few seasons. Remember, the Beavers are a part of the WCHA now and play teams like Denver, North Dakota, and UMD every weekend. This isn’t the College Hockey America version of Bemidji, keep in mind. Last season they finished 15-18-5 and were a part of the “Final Five” tournament. Again, they aren’t North Dakota, but still good competition, in my opinion.

– Miami closes the season with 9 of the final 16 games on home ice. For a program that has been known to “Swoon” after the holiday break, this could be a good chance to atone those losses (if it happens, that is) and pick up some momentum heading into the post-season.

– Speaking of the holidays, the RedHawks will head West for the Denver Cup during Thanksgiving weekend. The ‘Hawks will take on Denver on the second day and either Princeton or Providence on Friday night. The University says that they’re not sure if they’ll play Princeton or Providence, but reliable sources close to the DU program have said that Miami will take on Providence in the first game. Stay tuned…

– The Brotherhood will have both a road and home series this season with Lake Superior State, Michigan, Northern Michigan, and of course, the split home and home weekends with Ohio State. Not a bad cluster group, if I say so myself.

– Since the team has to make the 3,721 mile trek to Fairbanks this season, the two extra home games appear to be with the homeless (read confrenceless) Alabama-Huntsville Chargersm set to take place in February. I like the non-conference opponent late in the season, as opposed to strictly CCHA games during the second half. The last time the two school’s met, the RedHawks beat UAH in the 2009-2010 NCAA Tournament.

Do you have any thoughts on the newly released schedule? If so, leave them in the comments section of this post!

Go RedHawks!

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Update On Jones Contract Situation

May 3

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The following is from a great piece over on the Chatham-Kent Sports Network about former RedHawk Ryan Jones and his current status in the NHL. As of July 1, 2011 the ex-Miami captain will become an Unrestricted Free Agent-free to sign with any team that bids for his services and there is said to be no guarantee that the third year pro (I know, third year…really?) will return to the Edmonton Oilers.

Here’s Jonesy on where he and the Oil stand:

“We are still in talks right now,” said Jones. ”We aren’t in a huge rush right now as both my agent and the Oilers management have lots of stuff on their plates right now.  The things I am taking into consideration right now would be my fit in the organization and the fact that both my wife and I enjoy being in Edmonton and playing there.  That being said like any player I want some stability so that is where we are at right now.” (CKSN)

The problem with Jones is that many in the NHL feel he is a “3rd line plus” player- a guy that provides energy, competes every shift and chips in a few goals if he gets some bounces. While those of us who followed his college career need no introduction to his goal scoring ability, guys that carry a “bottom six” reputation as Jones does aren’t usually in high demand on the free agent market. Many teams, however, believe they can fill these role player spots with players from within the organization (i.e. the minors). The best case scenario is that the Oilers (and teams wishing to sign him) will view his career-high 18 goals (tied for tops on the Oilers) as yet untapped potential and utilize his skill-set on the second or third line, not on a checking line as most of his career has been spent.

By the way, Jones was also honored as Edmonton’s representative for the NHL’s Bill Masterton trophy, an annual award given to the player on each team that is said to most exhibit a dedication to hockey.

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