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Weekend Preview: #4 Miami at #19 Ferris State
Miami travels to Big Rapids to battle the Bulldogs
Another week, another road test against a ranked opponent.
It doesn’t get any easier for the youthful Miami RedHawks (4-1-1, 1-1 CCHA) this weekend as they travel to Big Rapids, Mich. to take on the national runners-up from a season ago, the #19 Ferris State Bulldogs (2-2-2, 1-1 CCHA).
Last weekend, the Bulldogs split a home series with Alaska winning 6-3 on Friday, but dropped Saturday’s finale 3-2. Sophomore goaltender C.J. Motte stopped 76 shots on the weekend, the most for a Ferris goaltender in a two game weekend set since 1992. The shots on goal is significant because Ferris is notorious for clogging the neutral zone and passing lanes. Historically, the Bulldogs have simply collapsed down low to protect their goal – a tactic that has frustrated even the best Miami squads. In doing so, Miami has struggled against FSU despite holding a slim 44-42-16 advantage all-time against the Bulldogs. In fact, dating back to the 2007-08 season, Miami is just 3-6-4 against Ferris including one win at Joe Louis Arena in the CCHA consolation game at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season. Under head coach Enrico Blasi, Miami is 16-11-6 against the Bulldogs but was swept last year in Big Rapids and are winless in four straight at FSU, last winning January 16, 2010 (source: MURedHawks.com).
Offensively, the Bulldogs saw a large chunk of scoring leave campus with the loss of Jordie Johnston and his 20 goals to graduation. Looking to pick up the scoring slack, FSU is led by senior captain Kyle Bonis (4-3-7) who netted 19 goals last year, super pest and senior Travis Ouelette (1-3-4) and junior center Cory Kane (2-4-6). Bonis, who has seen his share of battles in this rivalry, netted two goals in Friday’s 6-3 win over Alaska and has generally performed well against the RedHawks throughout his stellar career in Big Rapids.
The Bulldogs blueline also lost quite a bit from last year’s Frozen Four squad. Gone are last year’s team captain, Chad Billins, Brett Wysopal and Aaron Schmit who accounted for 53 points between them. And, Billins was an instrumental cog in front of departed senior goaltender Taylor Nelson as they led Ferris to the national title game a year ago. Accordingly, the Bulldogs are breaking in or expanding the role of three young defensemen, Simon Denis, Jason Binkley and Travis White. Denis has provided an immediate spark as he has already surpassed last year’s goal total (1 in 30 GP) with two goals in his first six games this year.
In net, you can feel pretty good about seeing sophomore C.J. Motte both nights. Last year, Motte was one of the best freshmen goaltenders in America posting a 5-5-2 record with 1.98 GAA and .925 save percentage backing up senior Taylor Nelson. Motte, who was highly regarding entering college, has started this year strong. His numbers show a 2-2-2 record, 2.57 GAA and .908 save percentage. He will provide a stiff challenge for Miami, but at least initially, it appears the Bulldog defense is still adjusting to new names in new places meaning the RedHawks should be able to get plenty of rubber on the St. Clair, Mich. native.
For Miami, the RedHawks enter the weekend with a 4-1-1 record after splitting a pair at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Offensively, the squad continues to be led by super sophomore Austin Czarnik (3-5-8), who was named the CCHA’s Player of the Month for October and freshman linemate Riley Barber (4-4-8), who was the recipient of the CCHA’s Rookie of the Month award for October. Sophomores Blake Coleman (4 goals) and Cody Murhpy (1-3-4) have also contributed as Miami appears deep and talented, but young, in the early stages of the season.
Senior captain Steven Spinell has done a tremendous job leading the very young Miami blueline and I have been particularly impressed with the play of freshmen defenders Chris Joyaux and Matthew Caito. Both have jumped in and provided shutdown minutes immediately. If Miami verbal commit Matt Joyaux is supposed to be the “better” of the two brothers, the blueline is set for the next few years with the USNDTP’s Trevor Hamilton also scheduled to come to campus soon.
The unsung hero thus far in the season has been freshman goaltender Jay Williams who was called upon on short notice last week with the injury to fellow freshman Ryan McKay who started Friday’s game, but left after just 4:59 making one stop on one shot against. Williams stopped 30 shots while allowing four goals on Friday night as he kept his team in the game. And, on Saturday, he stopped 37 of 40 Wolverine shots earning his first collegiate road victory as the RedHawks won 4-3. It will be interesting to see if McKay plays this weekend or if the coaching staff will be cautious with him so early in the season. Williams has been very good so far registering a 3-1 record with a 2.77 GAA and .909 save percentage. If McKay can’t go, Miami should be in good hands with Williams on both nights.
Like last week, these will be Miami’s final games with Ferris at Ewigleben Ice Arena as conference mates as the CCHA completes its final season of existence. Next year, Ferris State will join the WCHA along with four other CCHA schools while Miami moves to the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:05pm EST and can be heard (hopefully) on 1490-AM and Miami All-Access via MURedHawks.com.
Final thoughts
To win this weekend, Miami will have to use their speed to counter Ferris’ trapping system. Dumping the puck at the blueline and making it do the work will be key to beating the Bulldogs defense. Miami should have a speed advantage, but mustn’t stay so true to its puck possession game to allow FSU to overwhelm the puck carrier resulting in neutral zone turnovers and odd-man rushes the other way. And, making Motte move around with crisp passes while causing havoc in front of him will enable Miami to get good looks at the sophomore.
This Miami team seems oblivious to some of the falls of prior teams. Some of that comes with youth, but the RedHawks speed and overall offensive talent, including the ability to roll three truly offensive lines, gives them an edge. Still, Ferris has been very good at home and Ewigleben has been a very difficult place for Miami to play. I would be happy with a weekend split.
Barber, Czarnik earn Player of the Month Honors
It is becoming “old hat” to see RedHawks taking player of the week or month honors (think Reilly Smith – 3 POTM awards in 2011-12, Andy Miele twice and Carter Camper once in 2010-11, Czarnik as rookie of the month last season, and Cody Reichard AND Connor Knapp were each Goalie of the month winners last year). This afternoon, we continue that trend as the CCHA has announced that 2 young RedHawks have earned awards in October.
Riley Barber, sporting a 5 game point streak with 4 goals and 4 assists earned the Gongshow Rookie of the Month award. Barber is tied for the league lead in scoring through 3 weekends, and has been the leader of the RedHawks 11 freshman – 10 of which have seen ice time already in this young season. Seeing as though this is his first month in the CCHA, it’s also his first monthly CCHA honor – not a bad start for the youngster. Barber was also named CCHA Rookie of the week for the week of October 22nd.
In addition to Barber’s honor, Austin Czarnik earned the CCHA Player of the Month award for his outstanding play in October. “Z” has also tallied 8 points on the season, with 3 goals to go along with his league leading 5 assists. His three goals are of three different varieties, having scored one even strength goal, a power play goal and a short-handed goal thus far. The Sophomore didn’t earn any player of the week honors for the month, but was clearly the RedHawks leader on the ice, looking very Andy Miele-like all month.
Our Congrats go out to Riley and Austin!
Miami to host 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional in Cincinnati
It has been a relatively big day for the RedHawks on the eve of their away series at Ferris State. First, the big news: Cincinnati has been selected to be home to the Midwest Regional of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and your Miami RedHawks will be the hosts. In addition to this spectacular news, two RedHawks were named as players of the month for October by the CCHA.
Miami will be the host of 3 games in the NCAA tournament in 2014 – the last time since 1996 that the Cincinnati Gardens have hosted a portion of the NCAA Hockey Tournament. According to MURedHawks.com, the arena “has also seen multiple NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament regionals and the 1997 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four take place under its roof.” Miami will, however, have to overcome the perception of what many believe was the worst Frozen Four ever to be held.
Some may recall that the 1996 Frozen Four that Miami hosted and eventually saw Michigan carry away the National Championship trophy. An average of over 11,000 fans attend the three games. Over that weekend, the arena crew may have lost a few employees as well – when putting in the goals after a break in the action (in the first of 3 games), a cooling line was hit and the ice was not staying frozen for the remainder of the games. The second semifinal was delayed a couple hours and the teams played in what could have been described as a swamp.
At the time, the Riverfront Coliseum as it was called, was not a hockey facility. Only occasionally did they host hockey games in the 15,300 seat arena. Nowadays, the arena is the home of the Cincinnati Cyclones (current team of 2009 Miami graduate Kevin Roeder), and has hosted the ECHL Playoff Championship known as the Kelley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2010.
The other host cities are as follows:
- West: St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center (host of the 2011 Frozen Four)
- East: Bridgeport, CT – Webster Bank Arena
- Northeast: Worcester, MA – DCU Center
- The 2014 Frozen Four is going to be held at the Wells Fargo Center – home of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
As far as Miami is concerned, this is a big GIGANTIC win for a team that has accumulated too many frequent flyer miles in recent years. After trips to places like Bridgeport (lost to UMass-Lowell in 2012), Manchester, NH (loss to UNH as the #4 overall seed in 2011) and St. Paul (wins against Denver and Minnesota-Duluth in 2009), Miami will certainly enjoy the short trek to Cincinnati if they were to make the tournament. The shortest of the ‘Hawks 4 most recent NCAA tournament trips was to Ft. Wayne, IN, where Notre Dame hosted, and Miami earned it’s second ever and second consecutive trip to the Frozen Four which was held in Detroit. Miami currently has the 3rd longest streak in terms of NCAA Tournaments made at 7 (Michigan: 22, North Dakota: 10), and will be guaranteed a spot in the Cincinnati Regional if they were to make the 2014 tournament.
We will of course look forward to the 2013-14 season and tournament, but there’s a lot of work to do in 2012-13 first. We’ll preview this weekend’s big series at Ferris State in the coming hours.
Tuesday Newsbrief…and Such…
No recap this weekend? No problem!
With the seemingly endless stream of awful coming from new Miami All-Access partner NeuLion, and the lack of a video stream of last weekend’s games, the point of doing a recap of each game was moot. None of the Warriors really got a chance to even listen to Miami’s radio voice, Greg Waddell, call the games because the damn feed was in and out of service every few minutes. And, for much of the time, it was out for several minutes at a time.
That said, you may have heard that then #3 Miami split its two-game set at then #6 Michigan losing 4-2 Friday and winning 4-3 Saturday.
Miami freshman netminder Jay Williams was the hero of the weekend as he stopped 30 shots in a losing effort Friday after coming in cold off the bench as starter Ryan McKay was forced to leave the game early after apparently injuring his leg or groin muscle. And, on Saturday, Williams’ 37 save effort propelled Miami to a 4-3 victory as the RedHawks scored three times in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit.
Both games were played at breakneck speed with Miami and Michigan registering in excess of 65 shots on goal each night and were tightly contested.
On Friday, the teams were tied 2-2 after two periods as the Wolverines capitalized on two quick goals in the third to register the 4-2 victory. And, on Saturday, Michigan led 2-1 after two, but saw the RedHawks score three goals in just 2:41 as they held on to earn the split, 4-3.
Offensively, Miami was led by the tandem of Austin Czarnik and Riley Barber as they combined for six points on the weekend while Williams ran his collegiate record to 3-1.
Following their stellar effort, Miami finds themselves ranked fourth in the nation in both major polls and in a six-way tie for third place in the CCHA, just a point back of second place duhOSU and three points behind Notre Dame.
This week, Miami is on the road again at national runners-up and #19th ranked Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich.
Last weekend, the Bulldogs split a home series with Alaska winning 6-3 on Friday before dropping the Saturday finale 3-2. Sophomore goaltender C.J. Motte was in net for both games making 76 saves on the weekend, the most for a Bulldog goaltender in a two-game weekend set since 1992. If that means anything, it could indicate the Bulldogs defense-first, trapping system isn’t properly functioning yet with the defensive departures of team captain Chad Billins, Brett Wysopal and Aaron Schmit. The Bulldogs are breaking in three freshmen defensemen, Simon Denis, Jason Binkley and Travis White, and you’d like to think the RedHawks can take advantage of their youth as teams have tried to do to Miami over the season’s first month.
We’ll have a full preview later this week, but the teams square off at 7:05pm both night. Hopefully, Miami All-Access and Greg Waddell have the call if NeuLion can get its act together.
RedHawks start 4-game roadtrip at Michigan
The RedHawks open the final season of CCHA play this weekend
with a 2-game set at Michigan.
Miami will open CCHA play this weekend, and it marks the last time we’ll be able to say those words. We start our “celebration of the legacy” by travelling to Ann Arbor to face Red Berenson and his band of misfits the Michigan Wolverines. (Oops… I did it again.)
Head coach Rico Blasi has had recent success against Michigan, but is still just 12-23-2 in his 14 years in Oxford. Overall, Michigan leads the series 71-26-4, but Miami is making a smidge of progress, as they are 8-5-1 since 2008-09. With a renovated Yost Ice Arena welcoming in their first CCHA opponent, expect the Michigan students to be in full voice this weekend. And let me tell you…it’s not a fun place to be an opposing team.
On the ice, the Wolverines have a similar goalie situation as Miami does, and have yet to finalize who will be their number one guy, if anyone. It may be becoming apparent on who that might be however, as Red Berenson will start Freshman Steve Racine in net on Friday night. Racine is 2-0-0 on the season and has allowed 5 goals in those two games. Another freshman, Jared Rutledge has also seen time in net, but allowed 5 goals in just one game against RIT in Michigan’s 5-4 OT loss to open the season – and he hasn’t been on the ice since. Michigan held a 4-1 advantage in that game, so nothing is outside the realm of possibility this weekend if the Michigan netminders cannot hold their own against Miami’s high-flying attack.
However, in order to get even one tie or win, Miami will get out to a fast start, and they have to be staunch in net and on defense. Michigan has played 4 games so far this season: an exhibition against Windsor, 2 against RIT and one against Bentley last weekend. It’s safe to say they haven’t seen the likes of Miami’s speed and skill and will need to step it up a notch or three to take the series. On the other hand, Michigan has done what they needed to against these teams, and have not scored less than 4 goals in any of the games, including the 4 goals in the OT loss to RIT.
As expected, Senior Captain A.J. Treais leads Michigan on the young season, with 3 goals and 2 assists. Highly touted freshman Jacob Trouba has also started the season strong with 2 goals and 2 assists thus far. The Wolverines’ best defenseman, Jon Merrill has been injured to start the season and likely won’t play. Another D-man Kevin Clare sustained an injury in the win over RIT in the second game of the season, and could return to action this weekend. Both blue-liners are Juniors and are sorely needed for this Michigan team to succeed this season.
On the Miami side of things, Riley Barber (4G-1A—5 Total Points) comes in with a 3 game goal scoring streak, and looks to continue his hot start after earning CCHA Rookie of the week last weekend against Providence. Barber, Blake Coleman (3-2—5) and Austin Czarnik (2-3—5) lead the offensive attack for The Brotherhood. Keep an eye on surprising freshman Taylor Richart on the blue line. Richart has blocked 18 shots in 4 games this season.
Expect Blasi to rotate goalies again this weekend, and I’d expect to see McKay first and Williams second again. So far, the rotation has been magical for Blasi…wait… can we say “so far” any more? For the last 6-8 years, the rotation has worked magically for Blasi. McKay is the big presence we thought he would be in net, and despite only being on the ice for half of Miami’s game time this season, Jay Williams is the firecracker on the bench. The guy never sits still and is quite a presence for the Hawks.
Michigan has 7 freshmen on the squad at the moment, compared to Miami’s 11, and they will look to push the pace as Red Berenson’s teams always do. Miami will need to keep its composure and due to Michigan’s inexperience could skate away with up a bucket of points this weekend. I’ll take Miami 4-2 tonight and Michigan 4-1 on Saturday.
Go RedHawks!!!
Week 2 Recap
Riley Barber in action against Colgate. The freshman led the way
this weekend against Providence. (source: MuRedHawks.com)
This weekend’s matchup with Providence brought us some fantastic hockey, as the then fourth-ranked RedHawks improved to 3-0-1 on the young season.
I’ll happily take some of the credit for this one: Riley Barber is this week’s CCHA Gongshow Rookie of the Week. Barber was on fire this weekend, and we love how this freshman has jumped right into the mix for the RedHawks. Despite missing his shootout attempt on Friday night (he beat Gillies but rang it off the post), Barber still was the Hawks biggest contributor over the weekend with a goal Friday and a goal and 2 assists in Saturday’s win. He also had 7 shots on the weekend, was a +3 and blocked 2 Providence shots.
In the polls, Miami jumps up a spot to #3 in each of the weekly rankings. It’s still the time of year where those who win, climb, and those who lose fall, but I don’t think that many people would have thought we’d be the third ranked team in the country after 2 weeks.
In the USCHO poll, Miami earned 4 first place votes – one of 8 teams to earn the top billing on someone’s ballot. Miami was one of just 3 to receive first place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Both polls had Boston College receiving the vast majority of the first place votes and in the top slot, with Minnesota second. Both were in Tampa last year for the Frozen Four, and BC beat Minnesota en route to the NCAA Championship.
If you didn’t catch them, here are Austin Czarnik and Cody Murphy’s shootout winning goals from Friday night. We like seeing them over and over again, even if the RedHawks didn’t get more than a tie and a moral victory on the evening.
Sorry for the shakiness on this one. It’s not the ABSOLUTELY FILTHY move that we saw from Austin Czarnik, but this one-move-magic from Cody Murphy was good enough for the game winner. Way to pick your spot, fella.
And finally, here is your Sunday SixPack of tweets. Be sure to follow @redskinwarriors to complete your Miami Hockey experience!
- Coleman’s stats through 1 period last night: 1 shot, 1 goal, 1 penalty, 6 for 6 on faceoffs. #insidethenumbers Miele + Jones = Coleman?
- Taylor Richart: Shot Blocker Extraordinaire. 9 blocks against Colgate and 9 more against Providence. He’s nothing short of a #brickwall.
- Miami is now 19 for 20 (95%) on the Penalty Kill, 3 for 17 (17.6%) on the Power Play and have allowed just 5 goals in 4 games. #DEFENSE
- First line (Paulazzo/Czarnik/Barber) had 3G, 5A last night and went +6. 7G, 7A and +12 on the season. #unstoppableforce
- Jay Williams and Ryan McKay are undefeated through 4 games. Combined .954 Sv%. Are you ready to see your records fall @knapper311 ?? #reloaded
- Every team in the #CCHA has a victory. Only Miami is left without a loss. Miami is 5-45-1 at Michigan all time, 0-2 in AA last yr #RoadTrip
Miami takes its first road trip of the season this week to Ann Arbor, MI to take on the 6th-ranked Wolverines. Friday’s game will be on Comcast Sports Net in Michigan. We’ll let you know if we find any local TV or internet feed for the games. As always, Miami All-Access will have Greg Waddell with the audio-only call for both games.
Great series ends with Miami OT Victory
Miami takes a 4-3 overtime victory behind 3 points each from Czarnik and Barber.
Entering the night, Miami was already the only unbeaten CCHA team, as all 10 others have at least one loss. After the night’s play was over, the Providence Friars proved they are going to be a team to watch in Hockey East, but Miami came out with a hard-fought 4-3 overtime victory and remain the CCHA’s only unbeaten team.
Freshman Riley Barber had a goal and 2 assists and Austin Czarnik did him one better with 2 goals and an assist, including the game winner, to lead the RedHawks. Czarnik had 5 shots and was a +2 on the night. Throw in 4 blocked shots and he earned the #1 star of the night, without question.
Barber has now scored goals in 3 straight games, not to mention 3 assists in the exhibition against Western Ontario. He had one assist on Austin Czarnik’s 2nd period goal – Czarnik’s first of the year – as well as another helper on the overtime winner. He is very quickly becoming a formidable scoring touch on the top line and will be certain to get more and more looks all season. We’ll be looking for Barber in a certain CCHA weekly release around Monday morning.
The Friars proved to the Hockey East front runners that they are not to be taken lightly with a shootout loss and overtime loss in hostile Coach Cady Arena. They went down 1-0 after Barber’s goal in the first, and were also down 2-1 and 3-2 in the game. It has to be tough to think you came back 3 times in the game, held a lead on Friday night, and didn’t leave Oxford with even a split, rather just a loss and a tie. Providence Head Coach Nate Leaman agreed: “What hurt us was a slow start,” said Leaman. “We played from behind all night. I’m proud of the guys coming back in the third period to tie the game, but it’s tough to play on the road from behind.” (source: USCHO) Miami now holds a 4-3-1 lead in the all-time series against Providence after this weekend’s highly entertaining series.
Providence didn’t have a shot on goal until 12:08 in the first, and they made it count. John Gilmore put the first PC shot in the back of the net on a 3 on 2 rush in the first period, and had 3 shots and 2 blocks on the night. Frehman Jon Gillies looked good in net again tonight, blocking 26 of 30 shots, and was again bailed out by his teammates as he was last night. The Friars recorded 13 blocked shots on the night and many of his saves were of the routine variety.
Heading down the closing stretch of the game, Miami looked like they were playing in their shell and doing a great job of applying a little pressure at the right times to try and get an insurance goal. Until, that is, Blake Coleman was called for a 5 minute major penalty. Coleman was called for charging with just 5:52 left in regulation – a call that just about everyone in the building thought was a very clean, shoulder to chest check. It must be his size advantage that the hit was considered dangerous, and Coleman may have left his feet for maximum effect. In any event, the Hawks killed the 5 minutes, but only 4 seconds after the penalty expired, Noel Acciari scored his first collegiate goal for Providence and the game was tied once again. The goal – of the 6 on 5 variety – would send the game to overtime where Miami would tally the game winner on Gillies.
On the other end of the ice all night was Miami’s Jay Williams. The firecracker looked good all night and probably could have stopped 2 of the 3 goals if it weren’t for well-timed screens. From my point of view on my computer, he had a great game and looked stellar in recording his second win in as many games.
Defenseman Matthew Caito gets on the score sheet for his first point as a RedHawk. Caito made a LASER of a pass about 100 feet up the ice to a streaking Blake Coleman for a goal at 18:59 of the first. Caito is proving to be a more than worthy pair for Captain Steven Spinell, and has been showing some great vision on the blue line.
In addition to Barber and Caito’s strong play, another freshman Michael Mooney appeared in his first NCAA game tonight. He was paired with yet another freshman Chris Joyaux on the blue line. Joyaux and Mooney were the third defensive pairing on the night, but each played solid minutes and should grow into a solid pairing, if they continue to play together for up to 4 years. Mooney took Ben Paulides spot on the ice tonight. We’ll look for some information on Ben, but after taking 2 penalties last night, we wonder how that played into tonight’s benching.
In this weekend’s matchup, the “Hawks certainly got more than they bargained for, and it turned into a good test as they head to Michigan next weekend. We’ll certainly have more on next week’s matchup later in the week, and keep an eye out for the Sunday #SixPack on our twitter page.
Thanks for reading, RedHawks fans, and BEAT MICHIGAN.
Freshmen help #4 Miami salvage 1-1 draw with Providence
Photo: Ryan McKay courtesy MURedHawks.com
Freshman netminder Ryan McKay made 37 saves and classmate Riley Barber scored his second goal of the season as Miami fought to a 1-1 draw with visiting Providence on Friday night.
As freshman goaltender Jay Williams has put it, “Miami is goaltending nation.” Or, something like that.
In a highly competitive, somewhat chippy and certainly entertaining college hockey game last night, Miami’s other touted freshman goaltender, Ryan McKay, again put his substantial talents on display as he made a career-best 37 saves helping the RedHawks salvage a 1-1 tie against Providence of Hockey East. McKay, who has now allowed just one goal in his first 125 minutes of collegiate play, made several outstanding saves and was beaten just once on a 5×3 Providence powerplay as Miami has now successfully killed 15 of the first 16 opponents powerplay opportunities in 2012.
This game, that more appeared more like a conference tilt but featured just 8 powerplay situations and 10 man advantages overall, was closely fought and the competitive nature of the game made it feel more like a mid-season clash rather than the third game of the season for both squads. Second-year coach Nate Leaman’s Friars carried the play through the opening period and at one point led the shots on goal category 14-3. However, Miami began to tilt the ice back in the RedHawks favor in the second and seemed to carry most of the play during the third. Seeing Providence and Miami play in last season’s Denver Cup, I thought Providence would be better than a 6-2 drubbing, and they showed last night they belong on the ice with the nation’s fourth ranked team.
After allowing the first goal of the game for the second time already this year, Miami found itself down 1-0 after the first period. The RedHawks were outplayed and outshot 15-7 as the Friars came out hot early on the road in Oxford. Sophomore forward Ross Mauermann netted what would be the Friars only goal on the evening as he converted a rebound on the powerplay to give Providence the early lead.
Miami would rally in the second period with the help of 10 more saves from McKay and a goal from classmate Riley Barber, his second of the season, off a feed from sophomore Austin Czarnik. Senior Curtis McKenzie, seeing his first action of the new year, added the secondary assist. It was certainly good to see #16 back out on the ice as this team can surely use his experience and grit, particularly as Providence tried to get physical with several smaller Miami forwards during the night. As Miami got back into the game, they also tightened up on the defensive end but saw Providence freshman Jon Gillies (perhaps the nation’s top goaltending recruit – he’s 6’5″ and just 18 years of age) make six saves on just seven RedHawk shots to keep the Friars even.
In third and into overtime, both teams had outstanding chances but McKay and Gillies were flawless. McKay did get some help on a tremendous stop by Curtis McKenzie as he flung himself in front of a wrap around attempt late in the third that should have given the Friars the lead while McKay was out of position.
Overall, this was a highly entertaining game with lots of end to end action. It will be interesting to see how Miami adjusts to the Providence pressure and what they do to get the big Friar goaltender moving side to side. Look for the RedHawks to let the puck do more of the work and I’d suspect a slower tempo tonight from Miami as I’d think they’d try to slow Providence in the neutral zone and make it more difficult for them to move the puck into the RedHawk end.
Tonight’s series finale is at 7:05pm. Expect to see Jay Williams in net tonight for Miami.
#4 RedHawks set to host Providence College
The RedHawks entertain another school with a sweet logo
this weekend, as Providence comes to Oxford.
FINALLY! Again!
The RedHawks are back in action tonight and tomorrow, as the Providence Friars come into Coach Cady Arena. After several months off that we thought we couldn’t endure, we finally have hockey back. I don’t know about y’all, but to me it seemed like it was another couple of months since Miami’s sweep of undermanned Colgate just last weekend. Or maybe it’s just that I haven’t been inside The Goggin since the end of last season, but it feels like FOREVER since I’ve made the trek from Columbus to Oxford to see the RedHawks in action.
This week, the Friars come in after a split last weekend against two very different foes. In their season opener at home, Mark Jankowski and sophomore Stefan Demopoulos each scored two goals to lead this young squad to an 8-2 victory over Sacred Heart. Saturday, however, was a very different story, and Boston University took the Friars behind their barn and came out with a 4-2 whipping. Ross Mauermann is Providence’s leading returning point scorer (10G, 15A as a freshman last season), and the RedHawks will also be shadowing Junior Derek Army and Senior Captain Tim Schaller this weekend, as both were among the Friars top 5 scorers last season.
The Friars will be led by the freshman Jankowski, who was chosen by Calgary with the 21st pick in the NHL draft last April. Jon Gilles was picked 75th in the same draft, and will be in net for at least one of the 2 games this weekend. Last week, he was named Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week after posting a .936 save percentage while he stopped 14 shots against Sacred Heart (in 2 periods) and 30 of 34 shots against BU. Several RedHawks will be seeing Gilles again, as they were teammates with the Indiana Ice over the last few years. John Doherty, Max Cook and Blake Coleman were all teammates of Gilles.
On the RedHawks side of things, Alex Wideman will not be appearing this weekend due to illness. As we reported on our twitter feed, Alex has been battling mono and will be out at least a couple weeks. Other than that, the RedHawks remain healthy.
And Young.
Don’t forget that 11 of the 26 RedHawks are Freshmen, and 3rd string goalie Anthony Jacaruso is also a rookie, although he has sophomore eligibility. Not to worry, however. 12 of the 21 points scored last weekend were from the super sophomore class (including 4 points from Blake Coleman), and 4 of the 13 total new faces appeared on the score sheet including Senior transfer Marc Hagel. Only 2 freshmen didn’t see action last weekend, and with Wideman out, we could see John Doherty see his first action this weekend. With all of the goal scoring leaving Oxford last season, Coach Blasi will need players like Coleman, Austin Czarnik and Jimmy Mullin to continue their progress and provide a much needed scoring touch. Save for maybe Bryon Paulazzo, the 8 upper classmen on the roster aren’t exactly known for their scoring touch, and Blasi will need more production from the new kids on the block.
In net, expect to see the “new” rotation of Ryan McKay (1-0-0, 1 shutout, 24 saves) and Jay Williams (1-0-0, .952 save percentage, 1.00 GAA) split the weekend once again until a clear front-runner emerges, if ever. Both goalies looked more than capable in last weekend’s sweep, and it will certainly be a fun few years in Oxford if they continue to play like they did last night. McKay recorded his first career shutout in his first start in Oxford, and also earned Miami’s first ever season-opening shutout as well. Right from the start, these two have put Connor Knapp, Cody Reichard and David Burleigh on notice that their old records are already in jeopardy with these 2 highly touted recruits tending the twine.
This week will pale in comparison to what we can expect next weekend, as Miami travels to #5 Michigan to take on Red Berenson’s hacks crew of misfits Wolverines. Miami must continue its strong special teams play – 13 for 13 on the penalty kill is 2nd in the nation, and 3 for 10 on the power play is also a very strong start. They must still apply pressure on a physical Providence team and this weekend will be a success. Look for 2 tough grind-it-out type of victories: I’m predicting a solid “Paula Weston” finish for the weekend: 3-1 and 3-1 Miami.
Friday’s contest is a white out. For those of you joining me in Oxford, be sure to wear white to the game. Go RedHawks!
AD Search Committee selected
The Miami Athletic Department has selected 17 individuals to find a new Athletic Director, the University announced today. You can click here to read the full release.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we see with this committee as it relates to the RedHawks Ice Hockey Program:
- First of all, Enrico Blasi is a member of the search committee. Phew. Doesn’t look like he’ll be pulling a Jerry York and taking on the AD role as well as the head coaching position. Not that we thought he would, but this will ensure he’s involved with the decision, and we will likely get someone that is, at least partly, committed to the hockey program.
- Excluded from the committee is Steve Cady. Currently, Coach Cady is labeled as Senior Associate Athletic Director, which in our books, means he was the Number 2 guy behind Bates. I’m reading through the lines here, but this likely means Coach Cady has applied for the position and/or is a (leading?) candidate.
- Also excluded from the committee is Head Football Coach Don Treadwell and Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Cooper. I wouldn’t go as far as saying this will be a bad thing for these 2 sports when it comes to the new AD, but it is interesting that neither of them are on the committee. With these as the 2 main revenue sports at Miami, a renewed focus on them will be sorely needed to bring the programs back to the top of the MAC, and back into the NCAA spotlight. Senior Defensive Lineman Austin Brown is a studen-athlete representative of the football program, as is Rick Amos, a football Alumnus from the class of 1987. Senior Defensive Lineman and Captain Austin Brown is one of 2 student-athlete representatives on the committee, as is Rick Amos, a class of 1987 Football Alumnus.
- Frankly, I’m shocked we don’t see Head Women’s Basketball Coach Maria Fantanarosa on the committee. Maria has been in Oxford as the head coach of the Lady RedHawks since the 1998-99 season (starting her 15th season), and graduated from Miami with a degree in speech communication in 1990. She has been a RedHawk for life and it surprises me that she is not a part of this group appointed by University President David Hodge.
We’ll see what the committee comes up with in the coming weeks and months as the RedHawks hockey program roars into their CCHA schedule.
Is it Friday yet?
The Blog of Brotherhood - RedHawks Hockey 
