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duhOSU Coach: “That darn travel!”
It is approximately 140 miles (that’s a two-hour drive, folks) between Crappy Furniture Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio and Progressive Field in Cleveland where duhOSU faced Michigan on Sunday. Yet, for Ohio State head coach, Mark Osiecki, it was much more than that. In fact it was so draining the Buckeyes required “time off for physical and mental reasons.” And, he has supplied us with another classic excuse after yet another duhOSU loss.
As you may recall, Osiecki said that classwork was the reason for the Buckeyes’ poor preparation leading to a loss to Miami back on December 9. Um, it’s college hockey, pal. Well now, he’s given us these reasons for last night’s 4-3 loss to Ferris State — in Columbus.
“We are just disappointed. We tried to be smart after last weekend with the travel and playing outdoors. We gave some time off for physical and mental reasons. We didn’t do a good enough job with the preparation.”
So, I guess the Buckeyes were simply unable to rebound from the “physical and mental stress” of a 280-mile roundtrip to Cleveland and still manage to play a home game the following weekend. If Osiecki is continually struggling with “preparation,” shouldn’t someone tell him college hockey games are played weekly and that you actually have quite a bit of time to prepare? In fact, Western Michigan head coach Andy Murray told USCHO beat writer Paula C. Weston just this week that he felt college teams are “well prepared.”
“You see how well prepared the teams are for each game because the coaches have a full week to prepare them,” said Murray. “The work of the coaches at this level is extraordinary.”
At some point you just have to stop making excuses — especially laughable ones. If Osiecki can’t get his team prepared, well, that speaks volumes about where that program is headed. The fact of the matter is that Ohio State is crashing back to the earth with a gigantic thud and all is becoming right in the world once more.
Only duhOSU folks.
Weekend Preview: Western Michigan at Miami
Miami returns home this weekend (finally!) coming off a run of ten games that saw the RedHawks play nine of those games on the road. Fortunately for Miami, they kept their heads above water and finished 6-4 over that stretch.
The first two-game home series since November 18-19 has the newly minted 20th ranked team in the nation facing former NHL head coach Andy Murray and the 8th ranked Western Michigan Broncos.
Much was made over the summer about former head coach Jeff Blashill’s decision to leave Kalamazoo after just one season, a season in which the Broncos went from last in the CCHA to an overtime exit in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the hands of Denver. Rightly, many WMU fans were concerned the resurrection of a dormant program would be short-lived with the loss of Blashill and that the impending demise of the CCHA might leave the Broncos holding the bag with the also-rans of what will be the new WCHA. Or, maybe they were left wondering if they could somehow find a home with either the newly formed NCHC, or perhaps, Hockey East alongside Notre Dame.
But, the hiring of a big time head coach in Murray and Notre Dame’s decision to join Hockey East opened the door for WMU to receive an invitation to join the NCHC and secure its hockey future. So, along with longtime MAC rival Miami, plus North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Colorado College and Denver, Western joined the new eight team conference that will begin play in 2013.
With the drama of the future of the program seemingly behind them, Western picked up right where they left off last year when they earned a fourth place regular season CCHA finish and a spot in the Mason Cup championship game. Of course, they dropped a 5-2 decision to Miami in that title game when the RedHawks claimed their first Mason Cup title by scoring three times in the third period to pull away.
Offensively, the Broncos are led by sophomores Chase Balisy (9-15-24) and Shane Berschbach (6-16-22) and junior Dane Walters (10-8-18) who is coming off an injury in Friday night’s victory over Notre Dame. Walters left Friday’s game with the injury, did not return and also missed Saturday’s series finale when the Broncos finished an impressive home-and-home sweep of the Irish. At this point, I’d assume Walters is a “gametime decision,” but I fully expect to see him in the starting lineup for WMU tonight.
Defensively, the Broncos are impressive. Led by sophomores Dennis Brown and Dan DeKeyser, junior Matt Tennyson and senior Derek Roehl, Western features one of the best bluelines in college hockey. They can defend, they have size and they all possess big shots. However, Miami should be able to exploit the Broncos with their speed as I have not been impressed with the foot speed of the Broncos. In their two games (both losses) against Minnesota-Duluth two weeks ago, it was blatantly apparent the Broncos could not skate with an elite group of forwards like both the Bulldogs and the RedHawks possess. If Miami can get their legs going, they should have a distinct advantage in that area.
Check out this sweet “double one-timer” executed perfectly by the Bronco blueliners in last weekend’s game at Lawson Ice Arena against Notre Dame. Some serious skill here.
In net, Western has featured both junior Nick Pisellini and freshman Frank Slubowski who it appears is taking over the reins as Andy Murray’s go-to guy. Slubowski has an impressive 1.98 goals against average and a more human .909 save percentage with two shutouts. If Slubowski does start tonight, it’s safe to say the Goggin crowd will do their best to introduce “The Big Slubowski” to the Balcony.
It will be interesting to see who Miami head coach Enrico Blasi starts in net tonight. Not to beat a dead horse, err Bronco, but will Rico follow his own advice and start the goaltender who had the best week of practice and will tonight’s outcome truly dictate what happens tomorrow night? Because he did not do that last weekend. What should be certain is the RedHawks will regain the services of freshman forward Tyler Biggs after he served a two-game suspension last weekend for an elbow to the head of Michigan State’s Matt Grassi a couple weeks ago. Biggs, should be able to provide the big body the RedHawks need to work their puck possession game against the stout defense of Western Michigan and add a much needed burst of energy in front of what should be a raucous student section in Oxford.
Fearless prediction:
The Broncos (12-7-5, 9-4-3-3 2nd CCHA) come in flying high off last weekend’s sweep of Notre Dame. Miami (12-10-2, 8-8-2-1 t5th CCHA) is 3-1 in their last four (they should be 4-0) and is beginning to find the back of the net with more regularity. Connor Knapp has played very well recently having won four straight starts and has allowed just two goals in his past three starts. I really like the way Miami matches up with what I feel is a bit of a plodding Western Michigan team. Our size, speed and goaltending should provide an advantage over a hard working, but not as talented Bronco squad. I really want to call a Miami sweep playing tonight in front of the home crowd for the first time since December 10, but I have to admit I have been surprised by the staying power of the Broncos. They have been impressive and a good showing this weekend might just make me a believer.
Split.
Notes
– Here’s the series preview at MURedHawks.com
– Pete Conrad’s take on red hot Jimmy Mullin
– Miami is 9-0-1 in the last 10 at home vs. WMU
Deep (Weekend) Thoughts…belatedly
This is more of a rant than a true weekend recap at this point, but I haven’t completely been able to put my shock into words at how the weekend series split against then #19 Lake Superior State went down.
Miami entered Saturday night’s game having won three straight including Friday’s 2-1 victory. They’d clawed their way into third place in the CCHA and into the Pairwise top 10. Connor Knapp had been in net for all three of those contests and (still) has won four straight starts. Knapp had been nearly flawless allowing just two goals in the three wins and lowered his goals against average to 2.04 and improved his save percentage to .922. Both of those numbers are in line with Knapp’s career averages at Miami and if the season ended today, his save percentage would set a career’s best mark (by .001).
But, as we know, head coach Enrico Blasi decided to sit Knapp and instead start senior Cody Reichard who hadn’t seen the ice since a 3-2 overtime loss to then #4 Ohio State on Saturday, December 10. By my fuzzy math, that’s a span of 35 days between starts.
Now, I understand the need to get Cody into a game, but it seems clear the winningest head coach in Miami hockey history did not heed his own preachings.
Prior to the series, Blasi went on record with the Dayton Daily News’ Pete Conrad and told the longtime Miami beat writer that practice would determine Friday’s starter and Friday’s game would determine Saturday’s starter.
Specifically, Blasi said, “We’ve told both goalies the week of practice will determine who plays Friday and Friday’s game will determine who plays Saturday, and it’ll be that way for the rest of the year.”
By that account, there is absolutely no reason I can think of (save an undisclosed suspension, violation of team rules or injury) why Knapp did not play Saturday night. Obviously, this is Coach Blasi’s team, not mine, but “getting Cody some ice time” when you have a goaltender so locked in right in the middle of a dogfight for CCHA points and national Pairwise rankings does not make sense.
The numbers and Coach Blasi’s own testimony speak to putting Connor Knapp in the net and riding him as far as he can go.
Consider that before Friday night’s game, Knapp’s goals against average was 2.35. Reichard’s was 2.52.
Before Friday’s game, Knapp’s save percentage was .917. Reichard’s was .900.
And, obviously by now, you know what happened.
Reichard started and was rocked for four goals on just 26 shots as Miami lost 4-3. This despite outshooting the Lakers 46-26 including an 18-2 margin in a dominant third period that saw Lake’s Kevin Kapalka do his best “Dominik Hasek in his prime” impression. Cody saw his goals against average balloon to 2.63 and his save percentage fall to .897 which as most know, are pedestrian numbers by today’s goaltending standards — and Reichard’s career numbers for that matter.
So, there wasn’t a huge statistical disparity but Knapp was hot. He obviously earned the right during practice to start Friday, so I just can’t understand how making 25 saves and surrendering one goal in Friday’s victory wasn’t enough to earn him the start on Saturday night?
And, trust me, this isn’t to say I don’t want to see Cody Reichard in Miami’s goal. Everyone knows he’s EARNED the right to playing time. I just question Coach Blasi’s thought process when he could not have laid out a clearer path just a few days prior.
Hopefully, both netminders get/stay hot for the remainder of the season, but Saturday night’s loss was costly as Miami fell from third to fifth in the CCHA and from 10th in the Pairwise to a tie for 15th, barely good enough to make the tournament if the season ended today.
Thankfully, there’s still plenty of hockey (12 meaningful games) to be played.
Miami wins third straight, trips up #19 Lake Superior 2-1
Senior co-captain Alden Hirschfeld scored his 7th goal of the season and junior forward Reilly Smith notched his team-leading 14th as Miami used another strong performance in net by senior Connor Knapp to defeat the Lake Superior State Lakers 2-1 in Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
The Lakers opened the scoring with an extra attacker powerplay goal late in the first period, but in a good sign, Miami was whistled for just four penalties as the penalty kill went 2-for-3 on the night. The goal was scored just after a delayed penalty was called against Miami and the Lakers converted with the extra skater as Miami could not gain control of the puck.
The RedHawks would tie the game at 1:13 of the second period as Hirschfeld found a loose puck and jammed it past Laker goaltender Kevin Kapalka and would take the lead a few minutes later when Reilly Smith scored on the powerplay at the 7:11 mark of the period.
Connor Knapp made 25 saves to collect his sixth win of the season and fourth consecutive. He has backstopped Miami’s past three games allowing just two goals and has made 79 saves (.975) lowering his goals against average to 2.04 and improving his save percentage to .922. Knapp is making a serious bid to take the reins and carry this team down the stretch.
Miami will go for their second consecutive weekend sweep tonight in the SOO. Faceoff is 7pm EST.
Notes:
– Miami outshot the Lakers 34-26 as the powerplay went 1-for-5 on the evening but could not convert on a 5-minute major when sophomore forward Bryon Paulazzo was checked hard into the boards by Andrew McParland, who was awarded a game misconduct for his efforts.
– It seems head coach Enrico Blasi still has not committed to Connor Knapp over Cody Reichard though Knapp has been superb since the break. From Dayton Daily News’ writer Pete Conrad’s column yesterday,
Coach Enrico Blasi has no intention of committing to either Knapp or Cody Reichard as his starting goalie in Miami’s next game, national award or no national award.
“We’ve told both goalies the week of practice will determine who plays Friday and Friday’s game will determine who plays Saturday,” Blasi said, “and it’ll be that way for the rest of the year.”
– The official Redskin Warriors “light the lantern” after wins is picking up steam.
– Chris Wideman, Curtis McKenzie, Blake Coleman and Jimmy Mullin had the assists on Miami’s goals.
– With the win, Miami has moved into a tie for third place with Notre Dame in the CCHA standings, is 10th in KRACH and tied for 10th in the Pairwise.
– Miami now has five 2-1 wins this year and improved to 7-4 in games decided by one goal this season.
– The RedHawks have 13 regular season games remaining with nine in Oxford. At 12-9-2, Miami has a realistic shot of getting to 20 wins again this year which would be impressive given a 2-6 start.
Lake Superior’s Andrew Perrault Suspended One Game
Well, new CCHA commissioner Fred Pletsch is certainly laying down the law.
A day after Miami freshman forward Tyler Biggs was suspended for two games for delivering an elbow to the head of Michigan State’s Matt Grassi, Lake Superior sophomore defenseman Andrew Perrault was suspended for one game (Friday’s series opener against the RedHawks) for “delivering an illegal hit to the head of a University of Michigan player.”
Now the fun starts.
So, Biggs gets two games for contact to the head, but Perrault gets just one? If the CCHA is going to be so vague, there has to be some mention of why. I’m not saying Fred Pletsch should go all Brendan Shanahan, but this is disconcerting.
Miami loses one of its most talented young players for two games for contact to the head but the Lake player gets just one?
Yet again, it is what it is I guess.
Biggs Suspended for Lake Superior Series
Today the CCHA announced that Miami freshman forward Tyler Biggs has been suspended for two games for “delivering an illegal hit directly to the head of a Michigan State player.”
Though Biggs was not penalized on the play, I can only infer from the league’s cryptic statement that it most likely was an elbow to the head of Michigan State junior defenseman Matt Grassi that knocked him out of most of the third period on Friday and all of Saturday night’s game. It’s strange, however, that very little was made of this in the postgame on Friday or the postmortem delivered by MSU head coach Tom Anastos after Saturday’s 4-0 Miami victory. From TheStateNews.com:
Grassi took an apparent elbow to the face in the third period of Friday’s game, leading to a concussion that required “8-10 stitches.” Anastos said Grassi demonstrated concussion-like symptoms and is out indefinitely until he is cleared to play.
However, Anastos was not prepared to dismiss injuries as the reason why his team struggled this weekend.
“We don’t want to have any excuses for any reason,” Anastos said. “We have to play the game. Every team has injuries. Certainly our team is not a team that’s loaded with depth, you know. But you have to play over that. Like I said before, you have injuries, and it creates opportunities for others.”
So, it is what it is, I guess, but two games feels a little harsh. It’s certainly too bad that Grassi is injured, but it’s also surprising that no penalty was called on the play.
Regardless, Biggs is out of the lineup for Miami’s big series against Lake Superior State in the SOO. Currently, Miami is just one point behind the Lakers in the CCHA standings and the RedHawks would like nothing more than to sweep them in their barn and turn the tables on the Laker sweep of the October series in Oxford. And, a Miami sweep would give them sole possession of fourth place and notch a couple more big Pairwise wins since the Lakers are currently tied for 16th in the all important rankings.
Biggs will be eligible to return to the lineup on January 20 when the RedHawks finally return home to face Western Michigan.
Schilling and Knapp Named CCHA Players of the Week
Cameron Schilling Connor Knapp
Senior defenseman Cameron Schilling and senior goaltender Connor Knapp were named the CCHA’s Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week, respectively for their efforts in helping Miami earn a road sweep at Michigan State.
Schilling notched two assists and four blocked shots on the weekend while Knapp stopped 53 of 54 shots including a whitewashing of the Spartans on Saturday night.
The two seniors are part of the most successful run in Miami hockey history having been part of two Frozen Four teams and a CCHA regular season and conference tournament champion.
Congratulations Cameron and Connor!
Miami finishes sweep of #15 Michigan State 4-0
Connor Knapp made 20 saves and Miami received goals from four different players as they completed the weekend sweep at #15 Michigan State winning 4-0 on Saturday night.
Junior forward Reilly Smith opened the scoring by tallying the eventual game-winning goal on a 5×3 powerplay midway through the second period and the RedHawks exploded for three goals to break open the game in the third as they peppered Spartan netminder Will Yanakeff with 44 shots.
Reilly Smith rings a shot off the post as Will Yanakeff attempts to make a save.
With the weekend sweep, Miami moved all the way to fifth place in the tightly packed CCHA standings, and if the season ended today, Miami would earn a first round bye in the CCHA tournament. Additionally Miami has moved solidly into NCAA tournament consideration as both their KRACH, and more importantly, Pairwise numbers are favorable. Miami is now ranked 10th in KRACH having faced the fourth most difficult schedule in the country and tied for 11th in the Pairwise meaning the RedHawks would be a #3 seed if the season ended today. But, it’s still early January.
One troubling note coming out of this game was that Miami found itself shorthanded eight times and took eleven penalties in the game. Hopefully, it was simply the presence of former CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos on the Spartan bench that led to many questionable calls against the RedHawks and not the start of another trend. It is true that Miami is a physically imposing, strong team and at times it does seem as though the RedHawks receive the short end of the stick for “being too strong.” 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.
So, 2012 has gotten off to a nice start for the RedHawks. But, with plenty of hockey to still be played, Miami has to string together the kind of second half that can propel them up the national rankings and into the CCHA, and hopefully, NCAA tournaments come March.
Miami is back in action next week as they travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. to take on Lake Superior. The Lakers swept Miami in Oxford on October 27-28 so the RedHawks will be looking for payback as well as yet another chance to face someone ahead of them in the CCHA and national standings.
Notes
– Miami’s 44 shots on goal was a season’s high mark and they dominated the Spartans with a 20-5 SOG advantage in the final period.
– Tyler Biggs, Alden Hirschfeld and Blake Coleman had Miami’s three goals in the third period.
– Miami’s last sweep over MSU also came on the road November 14-15, 2008.
– Connor Knapp earned both weekend wins allowing just one goal on 54 shots (.981). The shutout was the ninth of Knapp’s outstanding Miami career.
– Miami’s penalty kill was 13-for-13 on the weekend.
– It seems as if Miami has been on the road the entire season, as they have played just one home game since November 19. But, after next weekend’s series at Lake Superior, Miami plays nine of its remaining twelve games at Steve Cady Arena.
– Here’s Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos on the differences between his Spartans and Miami. Courtesy USCHO.com
Miami starts 2012 with 2-1 victory over Michigan State
Freshman Jimmy Mullin scored his fifth goal of the season just 1:24 into overtime and senior goaltender Connor Knapp made 33 saves as Miami started 2012 with a 2-1 victory over #15 Michigan State at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.
Miami sophomore forward Bryon Paulazzo opened the scoring late in the first period with his third goal of the year, but MSU’s Greg Wolfe notched the tying goal just twelve seconds later as good defense and great goaltending ruled the remainder of regulation.
Entering overtime, Miami was a paltry 0-3-2 in extra session games this year and had not won an overtime game since senior co-captain Alden Hirschfeld scored the game-winner in double OT against Michigan in the 2010 NCAA Regional Final in Fort Wayne, Ind. That game was played on March 28, 2010.
Not to be denied in their sixth OT opportunity, Miami dominated the extra period outshooting the Spartans 4-0. Fresh of the plane from Alberta, Canada, Team USA World Junior Championship hero Austin Czarnik found Mullin from behind the net, and as the MSU defense collapsed on Miami junior forward Reilly Smith, Mullin found himself with an opportunity and beat senior Spartan netminder Drew Palmisano high over his left shoulder.
“Czarnik made a nice play behind the net and I came around the right-hand side and everybody went to Reilly (Smith) so when they go to one person all you have to do is shoot and it went in,” Mullin said of the game-winner. “I was really excited about that.” (source: MURedHawks.com)
Notes
– It was Mullin’s first career game-winning goal.
– Miami is now 6-3 against Michigan State over the past three seasons.
– Smith was one of the best players on the ice and was denied on several grade A chances by Palmisano. He led all Miami skaters with six shots on goal.
– Freshman forward Cody Murphy played in his first game since injuring his leg in a game on October 8, 2011.
– By earning the OT victory on the ice, rather than in a skills competition, Miami earned all three CCHA league points and now sits in seventh place, but just two points out of fourth in the tightly contested conference race for home ice and a first round bye.
– Here’s USCHO’s CCHA beat writer Paula C. Weston’s take on the game and postgame video with head coach Enrico Blasi below.
Miami defeats Ohio State 5-3
I have to believe Peter Venkman was thinking of what would happen to the world should Ohio State ever put forth a competitive hockey club when he uttered the famous line, “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!”
Thankfully, all was right with the world, for at least one night, as the up-and-down Miami RedHawks (9-8-3, 5-6-2-1 CCHA) hit an “up” as they defeated Ohio State (12-4-1, 9-3-1-1 CCHA) 5-3 at Cheap Furniture Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Miami received goals from freshmen Jimmy Mullin, Blake Coleman and Austin Czarnik and sophomore Bryon Paulazzo and senior Matt Tomassoni (shorthanded) also lit the lamp for the RedHawks.
On the night, Miami outshot Ohio State 38-30 as senior netminder Connor Knapp won his third game of the season against four defeats.
We’ll have more on tonight’s game as well as Saturday’s series finale in Oxford later this weekend.
Notes
– Miami broke Ohio State’s nine game winning streak and eleven game unbeaten streak
– The victory was the 600th in school history and head coach Enrico Blasi’s first against OSU’s second-year coach, Mark Osiecki. Ohio State swept Miami last year in Columbus.
– Miami won for the first time in the last four games in Columbus (1-2-1)
– With the victory, Miami is currently 17th in the Pairwise and 15th in KRACH having played the 7th most difficult schedule in the country.
– Miami is now 3-0-1 vs. Top 10 opponents. The talent is there, now it’s time for consistency.
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