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#7 Miami at #2 North Dakota
After a week off due to #lifeandstuff, we’re back with a preview of this weekend’s huge NCHC series against North Dakota in Grand Forks.
In what is shaping up as one of the biggest series of the season thus far, #7 Miami (7-3, 3-1 NCHC) visits second ranked North Dakota (7-1-1 , 2-0 NCHC) hoping to avenge last season’s dismal sweep at the hands of Gang Green. As you may recall, that series in February featured a 9-2 UND romp a night after Miami dropped a close 3-2 decision at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Series
Miami trails the all-time series against North Dakota by a 2-5-1 margin and has never won at “the Ralph.” However, Miami did pick up the program’s first two wins over UND by beating them once in Oxford and also in Minneapolis in the league tournament semifinal 3-0 last season going 2-3 against the green and white.
The Coach
In his 11th season behind the bench of his alma mater, UND head coach Dave Hakstol (260-133-40) has compiled
UND head coach Dave Hakstol has taken his program to six Frozen Four’s in his ten seasons at the helm of the 7-time national champions. (photo: UND Sports)
a resume that almost anyone would dream of. Hakstol has led UND to six Frozen Fours, has captured four WCHA Final Five playoff titles, two WCHA regular season championships and has taken UND to the NCAA tournament in each of his 10 previous seasons as head coach.
But…
When you’re the head coach of the 7-time national champions with the largest and most vocal fan base in the nation, and that program hasn’t won a national title since 2000, the natives can be a little harsh on you. Hakstol has endured cat calls demanding his firing in seemingly every season that I can remember simply because he hasn’t won the big one…yet. As a Miami fan, I think we can all relate having been so close to a national title in 2009 and then returning to the Frozen Four a year later only to experience even more disappointment. As successful as Enrico Blasi has been at Miami, he like Hakstol, has yet been unable to get his program over the hump. With that sort of success, however, I think Hak deserves a break even if he can be one of the most childish fellas you’ll see behind the bench of a collegiate sports program.
Interestingly, Blasi will be speaking alongside Hakstol at UND’s Fan Luncheon tomorrow at noon CST. I’ve always sensed good competitive tidings between the two men and I think anything each can do to further the growth of college hockey and the NCHC can only be a good thing. Plus, they’re two Canadian boys so there’s that.
The Team
After dropping its first game of the season at home to Bemidji State, North Dakota has run off an eight game unbeaten streak including a sweep of Wisconsin (0-6) last weekend in Madison. In addition to the Badgers, who are awful (as is the Big 6), UND has beaten the likes of Bemidji State, Air Force (who just lost to UAH) and Colorado College (twice – sweeping them just like Miami did last weekend). The only quality win UND has to date is a 6-1 thrashing of Providence in Grand Forks. Interestingly, the Friars came back the next night to tie UND so their schedule has been light at best so far in the season.
And for Miami, if there ever was a weekend to face UND, it might be this one as the injury bug has really struck Gang Green.
Already without standout sophomore blueliner Paul LaDue (3-5-8) who injured a leg last Friday and did not suit up for Saturday’s game against Wisconsin, UND will also be without the services of uber freshman Nick Schmaltz (1-7-8) who was named the NCHC rookie of the month for October.
UND will be without the services of highly touted freshman forward Nick Schmaltz indefinitely. (photo: UND Sports)
Adding to UND’s injury woes, Miami killer senior Mark MacMillan has been out of the lineup for the past four games but yesterday, UND beat reporter Brad Schlossman hinted that maybe MacMillian (5-2-7, 5 games) might be ready for Friday night’s game — and just in time if you’re a UND fan.
Aside from MacMillan and Schmaltz who were off to great starts, UND is led by elusive forwards, junior Drake Caggiula and senior Michael Parks, both 3-8-11 in 9 games. Gone are both Rocco Grimaldi and captain Dillon Simpson from last year’s Frozen Four squad while junior Jordan Schmaltz (1-4-5) leads the blueline taking over a leadership role for the green and white.
Overall, it’s a very deep and talented roster that Dave Hakstol has assembled. A glance at the roster shows this is not an overly big UND lineup, but most of the skaters hover around 6′ tall which will still be challenging for some of Miami’s smaller forwards like Anthony Louis, Alex Wideman and Cody Murphy. But, I think Miami matches up much better than last year with the additions of Andrew Schmit, Conor Lemirande and Scott Dornbrock. With those three plus Kevin Morris patrolling the ice, Miami should not go into the Ralph feeling intimidated one bit.
In net, UND returns junior Zane McIntyre (formerly Zane Gothberg) who has started right where he left off last year sporting a sterling 7-1-1 record with 1.94 GAA and .927 save percentage. But, Miami has gotten to McIntyre beating him in Oxford and also at the Frozen Faceoff in Minneapolis. In fact, McIntyre’s GAA against the RedHawks is around 3.33 and he was rocked by the RedHawks early last year and again in the NCHC semifinals in March. That said, McIntyre is an outstanding goaltender and to beat him, Miami will have to continue to generate shots and quality chances from throughout the lineup as they have versus nearly every opponent so far this season.
The Prediction
These are two good teams. With UND’s injury situation, it’s hard to see them sweeping Miami, but if any team can dig deep and get it done on home ice, it would be the green and white. On the other hand, because of the injuries I really want to pick a Miami sweep. All that said, I’ll take a split with Miami picking up another NCHC road win.
Both games can be seen on NCHC.tv and Saturday’s game will be carried nationally on Fox College Sports. Greg Waddell will have the Miami audio call at Miami All-Access and he can also be heard via the Tune-in app on your smartphone. Twitter, smartphones and the interwebs have been godsends to college hockey.
Butthurt in Duluth
Miami’s Riley Barber (11) and Louie Belpedio (58) push for a RedHawk goal during last night’s 3-2 victory over UMD. (photo: UMD Athletics)
By the sound of things emanating from Duluth’s Amsoil Arena last night, the officiating was the only difference in Miami’s 3-2 victory over UMD.
Never mind the 38-28 shots advantage for the RedHawks. Disregard that power plays were relatively even – 8 chances for Miami, 6 for UMD. Forget the ridiculously lucky no-look, behind-the-back glove save on a sure goal from Miami’s relentless Cody Murphy. Deny the 5 of 6 penalty kills from the RedHawks defense. And, surely wipe Jay Williams’ 12 saves on 13 first period shots from your memory when Miami was struggling to find their legs.
Yeah, it was all officiating.
But, if you read the comments from the Bulldogs in this poorly written Duluth News Tribune article, well, that’s the only reason Miami was lucky enough to win.
Not a great showing from the home team, its empty rink, its television team
Apparently, the Bobcats of Ohio University were UMD’s opponent in front of dozens of fans last night at Amsoil Arena.
and its beat reporter. But, that’s what Saturday’s are for and Duluth is 3-0 on Saturday nights this year. Of course, Miami is too, but that’s beside the point.
UMD will have an opportunity to show that it was all officiating. Miami will have a chance to a get a NCHC road series sweep. I don’t think I have to tell you that they didn’t do that all of last season.
The puck drops at Amsoil Arena at 8:07 PM EST.
Pass the popcorn. Enjoy the butthurt!
#10 Miami at #19 Minnesota-Duluth
#10 Miami takes on #19 UMD in a weekend NCHC conference series in Duluth.
Coming off last weekend’s disappointing home split with unranked St. Lawrence, Miami heads to Duluth, Minn. to face NCHC opponent, Minnesota-Duluth in a two-game conference series. Despite outshooting the Saints 95-27 on the weekend, they dropped Friday’s contest 5-4 and had to go overtime to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory on Saturday night to salvage the split.
For Miami (4-2, 0-0 NCHC), the series constitutes their first foray into 2014-2015 league play and they will certainly be looking to better last season’s dismal 6-17-1-1 league record. Additionally, Miami will be eager to avenge last season’s 0-2 record against UMD who swept the RedHawks in two one-goal games in Oxford 5-4 and 1-0. Those two losses were indicative of Miami’s year as they went just 4-10 in one goal games. Just a little improvement in those games and last season might have looked quite different for the Red and White.
The Bulldogs (3-3, 1-1 NCHC) split their opening conference series of the season last weekend (by 1-3 and 6-1 scores) at home handing previously unbeaten Denver its first loss of the year on Saturday night.
The Series
Tonight will be just the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools with UMD holding a 2-1 edge in the tightly contested series – each of the previous three games has been decided by one goal. Of course, Miami has earned the biggest victory to date in 2009’s NCAA West Regional Final in Minneapolis, Minn. Miami fans remember that one fondly as the RedHawks punched their first-ever ticket to the Frozen Four.
The Coach
UMD headman Scott Sandelin is in his 15th season behind the Bulldogs bench. During that time, he has compiled an unremarkable 250-248-67 record, but has the one-thing Miami fans covet most, a national title. Since 2008, Sandelin’s Bulldogs have gone 128-88-30 winning the 2011 national title over Michigan in a memorable overtime affair. I have always thought of Sandelin as a tough-nosed coach who I wouldn’t mind leading my team should the need arise.
The Team
It’s no secret the Bulldogs are led by their stellar class of sophomores led by forwards Dominic Toninato (6-2-8) and Alex Iafallo (1-6-7) and 6’4” defenseman Carson Soucy (2-3-5). Along with Soucy, the Bulldogs run out 6’6” Brendan Kotyk (0-1-1) and 6’2” Andy Welinski (1-2-3) to form a large presence on the blueline. Last season, Miami struggled against the bigger teams of the NCHC. Given the Bulldogs size throughout the lineup, it’s likely the Crash Cousins — Conor Lemirande (6’6”) and Andrew Schmit (6’5”) along with center Kevin Morris (6’4”) — could be reunited on Miami’s fourth line to counterpunch.
The Bulldogs size up front will take a bit of a hit as they will be without senior captain Adam Krause (6’3”). While not much of a scoring threat, his leadership will be missed as he is expected to miss the next month with a broken wrist. Krause had just 20 points in parts of three seasons coming into this year but was off to a decent 1-2-3 start in the Bulldogs first six games. Again, given the Bulldogs size, it would not surprise me to see some combination of Colin Sullivan and Taylor Richart in the Miami lineup along with Trevor Hamilton and Ben Paulides this weekend in Duluth.
In net, the Bulldogs are led by freshman Kasimir Kaskisuo of Finland and junior Matt McNeely. Kaskisuo has played in four of UMD’s first six games and has compiled stellar 2.53/.911 numbers while McNeely has registered a 2.45/.896 line, respectively. Both goaltenders are big and athletic and will present a significant challenge to Miami this weekend.
The Prediction
Overall, I’m not yet loving what I’m seeing out of the RedHawks. They are working to find consistency in their own zone and are still turning the puck over with regularity. And, while they are second in the nation in shots on goal (40.5/game), those shots aren’t finding the back of the net with enough regularity. Miami is tied for 23rd in the country in scoring averaging an even 3 goals per game. Conversely, UMD leads the NCHC and is 8th in the nation in scoring averaging 3.83 goals per match.
However, UMD has been awful at home compiling just a 6-12-3 home record since the start of last season and is a pedestrian 34-29-7 all-time at Amsoil Arena.
If the Bulldogs weren’t so bad at home, I’d pick a UMD sweep. Considering that, I’ll opt for a weekend split.
#10 Miami vs. St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence freshman netminder Kyle Hayton is coming off a weekend that saw him stop 76 of 79 shots. (photo: Tara Freeman)
Fresh off last weekend’s sweep of then #17 Ohio State, Miami (3-1) returns to action this evening in the first of a weekend non-conference series with the Saints of St. Lawrence University.
The Saints (2-2) hail from the state of New York along with other members of the ECAC including RPI, whom Miami will face in January, and Cornell whom Miami could face in the Florida College Hockey Classic at the end of December. So, this is the first of a possible five games against ECAC competition that should help Miami prepare for a return to the NCAA tournament at the completion of the regular season.
The Series
All-time, Miami has faced St. Lawrence just 12 times and holds a slim 6-5-1 advantage in the series. However, the last meeting came in November of 2006 so really the all-time series numbers mean next to nothing except to note that Miami head coach Enrico Blasi has had success behind the bench piloting the RedHawks to a 4-3 road victory eight years ago.
The Coach
St. Lawrence head man Greg Carvel is an upstate New York native and played four seasons for the Saints in the early ‘90s. Carvel is in his third season behind the bench and has seen his share of tough times since replacing long time St. Lawrence coach, Joe Marsh, in the spring of 2012. The Saints finished a disappointing 8th in the competitive ECAC despite featuring a high-scoring offense led by “Hobey Baker Hat Tricker” Greg Carey who led the Saints with 18-39-57. Overall, Carvel is 35-37-8 at his alma mater and is desperately trying to jumpstart a program that has fallen behind the likes of Union, Colgate, Cornell and Quinnipiac as the lions of the ECAC.
The Team
The Saints enter the 2014-15 season with nine freshmen, including goaltender Kyle Hayton who recorded his first collegiate shutout last weekend as St. Lawrence split a series with then #4 Ferris State in Canton, N.Y. Hayton sports an impressive 2.49 GAA and .925 save percentage playing in the first four games for the Saints authoring two consecutive series splits.
Miami head coach Enrico Blasi says the Saints are an aggressive speedy team with a mobile defense corps that likes to apply constant pressure. He made a point in this week’s press conference to stress that Miami must have their heads right and be ready to compete in all three zones avoiding turnovers that could lead to transition chances for St. Lawrence.
Up front, the Saints lost four of their top five scorers including brothers Greg and Matt Carey (18-19-37) who tied atop the goal scoring list for St. Lawrence. In fact, the top returning scorer is sophomore defenseman Gavin Bayreuther (9-27-36) who has started fast leading the team in shots on goal (14) and already having contributed 2-2-4 in the first four matches of the year. Currently, sophomore forward Drew Smolcynski leads the Saints with 1-7-8 and another defenseman, Ben Masella is tied for second on the team in scoring having exactly matched Bayreuther’s.
Though the Saints are currently averaging four goals per game, they really are struggling to score because 10 of the season’s 16 goals came in a blowout win over lowly Niagara two weeks ago. In the three other games this year, the Saints are averaging just two goals per game potting only four in last weekend’s home split with Ferris State. Conversely, the Saints are allowing 3.3 goals per game and lost three starters along the blueline from last year’s squad that was one of the worst defensive clubs in the ECAC.
Newcomers to watch include Minnesota transfer Christian Horn who played in the USHL last season after seeing no game action with the Gophers in the 2012-13 season. Also keep an eye on Ryan Lough, who head coach Greg Carvel calls a “quick two-way player.”
The Saints were predicted to finish 11th in the 12 team ECAC.
The Prediction
If the Miami team that played last weekend shows up again, I think it will be a very good weekend for the RedHawks. I just don’t see St. Lawrence being able to score enough to keep up with Miami, and defensively, I expect the Saints to struggle against Miami’s size, tenacity and speed. I’ll pick a Miami sweep.
Both games will be streamed live on NCHC.tv and you can also catch Greg Waddell’s call at Miami All-Access. Tonight’s game gets underway at 7:35 PM and Saturday’s series finale will get things started at 8:05 PM.
#11 Miami at/vs #17 Ohio State
This weekend, Miami faces duhOSU in another in-state rivalry renewed.
Yep, it’s red and gray time as Miami faces yet another in-state and former conference rival, Ohio State.
The Series
Miami has dominated the Buckeyes over the past several years owning an 8-2-1 record against them in the previous 11 contests. Overall, Miami leads the all-time series with the “little hockey sisters of the poor” from Cowtown by a 71-61-13 margin, but it obviously has always been relatively close as both programs were down for many years. It’s a great rivalry and is good for both programs for different reasons. I’m glad the two schools plan to continue playing each other on an annual basis.
The Coach
duhOSU head coach Steve Rohlik is in his second year behind the bench after the shocking dismissal of Mark Osiecki. I still contend that was a mistake, but Rohlik has provided a steadying hand as he attempts to solidify OSU as a perennial Big Six power along with Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. With the two losses to Miami last season, Rohlik is still looking for his first win against the RedHawks.
The Team
Last weekend, the Buckeyes split two overtime games at Cheap Furniture Arena against then #3 Providence winning Friday by a surprising 5-4 score and dropping the series finale by a more expected final score of 2-1. I say the Friday score was surprising because I thought it would take at least three games for duhOSU to score five goals, especially against a top five team like Providence.
But since last weekend, the Friars faced the U.S. U-18 squad in an exhibition tying the youngsters 3-3. So, two things there…first, that’s a pretty darn good U.S. U-18 team this year and maybe the Friars aren’t quite as good (right now) as anticipated. The Friars highly touted goaltender, Jon Gillies, currently sports a 2.89 GAA and .895 save percentage, which is hardly “Mike Richter Award Watch List” worthy. But, it’s early.
duhOSU returns several familiar names to Miami fans including seniors Tanner Fritz and Nick Oddo. Seriously, these guys have to be on the 8-year program. Of course we’re talking about duhOSU so that shouldn’t surprise.
Fritz led Ohio State with 11-26-37 in his sophomore season but trailed off a bit to 8-24-32 last year. Still, Fritz is a solid, if unspectacular, player for the Buckeyes and is off to a 2-2-4 start in their first two games.
Oddo had a bit of a breakout year last year with 9-21-30 after posting just 17 total points in his first two seasons with the red and gray.
duhOSU did lose two big offensive contributors in Ryan Dzingel (22-24-46) and Max McCormick (11-24-35) who both left Cowtown with college eligibility remaining to sign pro deals. Dzingel may have more upside, but I have to question the advice these two received. Neither really strike me as immediate impact kind of NHL prospect meaning you’re way better off getting a degree and moving on a year later.
Returning in net for duhOSU is Christian Frey (9-4-3, 2.27 GAA, .929 save percentage), who joined the Buckeyes in an emergency at mid-season after all hell broke loose in the crease. Ohio State burned through several goaltenders losing some to departure and others to injury. Paula Weston has a bit on this here. However, Frey solidified the Buckeyes problems in net and it was after his arrival that the team played a bit better. Actually, if not for a 3rd period collapse against Wisconsin in the inaugural Big Six Championship Game, they would have made the NCAA tournament. Instead, OSU surrendered the final three goals in a 5-4 OT loss to the Badgers. But before that loss, Ohio State defeated Michigan State and Minnesota at the Xcel Center so they did show some promise in that late season tournament run.
But, that was last year.
Overall, Ohio State finished the 2013-14 season 18-14-5, good enough for fourth in the Big Six. The Buckeyes had the 14th ranked offense in the nation averaging 3.19 goals per game, but were tied for 28th nationally in defense, giving up an average of 2.70 per contest.
Defensively, the Buckeyes are a veteran group likely to pose a significant challenge for Miami’s corps of talented forwards. But again, they’re filled with solid, but unspectacular, contributors throughout their lineup. Miami is more talented, but that doesn’t always mean wins as we learned weekly a year ago.
The Prediction
Last year, Miami swept OSU in impressive fashion winning by 6-2 and 6-3 scores as they opened the season strong. However, this looks like another split weekend with each team winning on it’s home ice, but you never know. Cheap Furniture Arena should be filled with Miami fans tonight, but I’ll still say split until I have a better read on whether or not Miami can fix the continued defensive issues that are plaguing the team.
Both games face-off at 7:05 PM with tonight’s game at Cheap Furniture Arena in Columbus and tomorrow’s at the beautiful hockey-only facility known better as Steve Cady Arena at the Goggin Ice Center.
Catch all the action at MURedHawks.com. An All-Access broadcast will also be available for both contests. Saturday’s matchup will also be streamed on NCHC.tv.
Quick thoughts on last night’s season opener
Ok, so it wasn’t a great opener for #10/#11 Miami as they dropped a non-conference game at unranked Bowling Green. Here are a few thoughts on the game. I didn’t have the opportunity to watch the game, but I was able to listen to most of the BG radio call.
1. The lineup – We knew the defense corps would look drastically different, but I did not expect to see regulars Matt Caito (upper body injury) and Matt Joyaux on the bench. That said, we talked about the depth on the blue line this year. They’re not all going to be able to play each night. I don’t know the severity of Caito’s injury, but hopefully he’ll be back in there on Sunday. From what I heard, it sounded like Miami got some physical play out of freshman Scott Dornbrock. Other than that, and the Paulides goal, there wasn’t much said about the Miami D except their continued struggles with the puck in front of their own net.
Up front, Blasi went with the jumbo 4th line last night and not surprisingly, BG head coach Chris Bergeron matched him with his first line including Adam Berkle and Dan DeSalvo. Not sure that’s what we want to see. Unless those guys can skate with first-liners, putting them out there on the road is going to almost always draw the other team’s first line. Blasi will be better suited getting those guys on the ice at home when he has the last change.
2. BG seemed to dictate play – The Falcons seemed hungrier and outworked the RedHawks, something that head coach Enrico Blasi said could happen earlier in the week. But, I think the coach has to be concerned that the overall compete level was not where he wanted it.
3. Ryan McKay was solid – Two power play goals against and a broken play goal that he could do little to stop. Other than that, McKay was really solid last night making 35 saves. It’s a great sign that he’s dialed in early and as Miami improves around him, we could be in for good things from the junior looking to revert to his form from his freshman year.
Enrico Blasi’s Postgame Comments
Here are Miami head coach Enrico Blasi’s short postgame comments in what can only be described as the BG dungeon of a “press room” following last night’s 3-2 loss in the season opener to the Falcons.
2014-15 Preview: The new guys
Yesterday, we provided our review of the returning letterwinners from last year’s Miami club that finished dead last in the inaugural NCHC regular season but just a goal away from a Frozen Faceoff championship. Now, let’s take a look at the new guys who will be called upon to do two specific things.
- Shore up the defensive corps that were so poor a year ago. Remember, despite having the top two scorers in the league
A goal, a helmet-less Ryan McKay and no defenseman in sight. (photo: Bradley K. Olson)
(senior captain Austin Czarnik and junior Riley Barber), Miami won just six league games and continually hung junior goaltenders Ryan McKay and Jay Williams out to dry.
- Add “Miami size” back into the lineup.
Defense
To address the defense, welcome 7th round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens and Boston College transfer, junior Colin Sullivan and highly regarded 3rd round pick of the Minnesota Wild, freshman Louie Belpedio.
Boston College transfer, Colin Sullivan, should contribute immediately on Miami’s blue line. (photo: Getty Images)
Colin Sullivan’s journey to Oxford is an interesting one. As you may know, Miami is the third collegiate program to which Sullivan has committed since his initial declaration to play at Yale beginning in the fall of 2013. However, the New Haven Register has reported that Sullivan agreed to play a season of junior hockey before enrolling at Yale and that Sullivan decided against it wanting to play college hockey immediately at the beginning of the 2012 season. With Yale’s incoming class having been filled, Sullivan re-opened his recruitment landing at Boston College. After scoring just one point in 32 games as a freshman with the Eagles in 2012-13, Sullivan who according to the Register had fallen out of BC’s top six, left the school just before the season started in October 2013 and played for Green Bay of the USHL last season. There, Sullivan had two goals and six assists in 41 games for the Gamblers. Sullivan brings size (6’1″ 205) and an impressive resume of prep hockey starring in the northeast. Here’s hoping Colin can recapture his game and elevate Miami’s top six back to where we are accustomed to seeing them.
Louie Belpedio (5’10” 193) is a “can’t miss” college prospect who last season led all USNTDP defensemen with five goals and was the second-leading scorer from the blue line with 15 points playing in all 26 games for the red, white and blue. Belpedio,
Freshman Louie Belpedio is a highly regarded defenseman from Illinois. (photo: Tom Sorensen)
who is just the latest highly regarded Chicago-area prospect to commit to Miami, captained Team USA to a gold medal in the Under-18 World Junior Championship in Finland in April notching two assists and a +3 rating in seven games. We expect big things from Belpedio over the course of his Miami career.
Size
Cue the music!
The 2013-14 season might best be remembered by the phrase, “they’re small, but Rico is trying to match up better against Hockey East schools.”
Well, if that was indeed true, it backfired big time.
The smallish RedHawks were routinely pushed around by the bigger squads of the NCHC, and even when matching against smaller, faster teams, deficiencies in physicality were apparent. Yet, there’s no question the current roster is probably the fastest group Miami has ever put on the ice, but with the addition of 6’5″ Nebraska-Omaha transfer, junior forward Andrew
At 6’6″, freshman forward Conor Lemirande is the tallest RedHawk since Justin Vaive.
Schmit and his “crash cousin” (I’m trademarking that one right now), 6’6″ freshman forward Conor Lemirande and the addition of 6’3″ freshman defenseman Scott Dornbrock, Miami returns to the days of Will Weber, Justin Vaive and Joe Hartman. I’m sure you’ll remember that size has always been a Miami hallmark throughout head coach Enrico Blasi’s tenure.
And, while I’m suggesting this new size means more physical play, I’m not going to negate the impact these three will make in other ways though Schmit has just one collegiate goal and 30 penalty minutes in 38 career games (but another 19 goals and 188 PIM in 105 games in the USHL) and Lemirande had 7 goals and a whopping 139 penalty minutes in 58 games for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL last season. As for Dornbrock, he had a more “typical” line with the NAHL’s Minot Minotaurs notching 7-17-24 and 41 PIM in 59 games from the blue line.
With Miami’s depth, it will be interesting to see if these three are in the lineup on a nightly basis. Of the three, I think Schmit will see the most ice time given his familiarity with the program as he was in the press box with the team all of last year sitting out following his transfer. I think Schmit will add size, toughness and leadership to a club that last year at times seemed to lack all three. Because, if it means anything based on our Twitter (@schmittythedog) interactions with him, he seems like a quality guy
Something’s fishy here.
that we’re rooting for. We also believe he secretly loves “The Bachelor,” or perhaps something even better, but that has not been confirmed. We expect full disclosure soon.
Projected Lineup
Having not seen the team practice this season, and having not even played an exhibition yet, here’s our guess at how Miami will lineup when the puck drops for real on October 10 at Bowling Green.
Offense
Coleman – Czarnik – Murphy
Louis – Kuraly – Barber
Wideman – Morris – Doherty
Schmit/Mooney – Greenberg – Gacek
Other forward possibilities: Devin Loe, Lemirande – Actually, when you look at the roster like this, Jimmy Mullin’s injury really hurts the depth at forward. While I do not think we’ll be seeing Conor Lemirande on opening night, it’s completely reasonable to expect to see him soon, especially if there is any other injury concern. With the depth at defense, and the lack of it at forward, Michael Mooney’s move to forward makes even more sense now.
Defense
C. Joyaux – Caito
M. Joyaux – Sullivan
Belpedio – Hamilton
Other defense possibilities: Taylor Richart, Dornbrock, Ben Paulides – Rico will have his work cut out getting ice time for everyone but the depth here is dramatically better than last year when you figured his best play was to shift Matt Caito for 60 minutes and and take his chances.
So, there you are. The new guys. Welcome all to The Brotherhood and best of luck this year!
What do you think the opening night lineup will look like?
Miami falls to DU in NCHC Championship 4-3
In what can only be described as a season to forget, Miami’s run to the inaugural NCHC title game will at least provide a silver lining to an otherwise dismal year. In the end, Miami tried valiantly to salvage the season over the past two weekends, but ultimately it was Miami’s lack of consistency, tight defense and, at times, leadership that was its undoing.
Never was Miami’s inconsistency more apparent than tonight, which was a reminder of how the team played for much of the year. The squad seemed disinterested and was certainly not the team we saw a night before against North Dakota. As a result, the Pioneers seized upon Miami’s uncertainty and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after the first period.
In his postgame press conference, Miami head coach Enrico Blasi addressed Miami’s lack of energy at the start of the game.
“We had no energy. Our guys came out flat. I guess that’s my fault. I’ll take full blame for that. That was unacceptable in the championship game so that’s on me.”
As Miami began to find their legs, they erased the two goal deficit by netting two of their own in the second but Miami would fall victim to its own inconsistency as mistakes they avoided last night crept back into their game.
“I thought at 2-2 we were going to get some momentum then they come out in the 3rd period, we make a couple mistakes, they score a couple of goals. Really just indicative of our year, said Blasi. Every time we made a mistake it cost us. But, our guys battled hard. Whatever we had in the tank, that’s what we did.”
So, it goes that Miami made things interesting late as Anthony Louis (who made the all-Tournament team) scored his second goal of the night with just 90 ticks left and Miami even had a couple good chances to tie the game 6-on-5. Louis will be a big part of the program moving forward and his surge down the stretch makes you feel good about the offense even if Riley Barber or others leave early.
“He’s (Louis) one of those guys that we’re going to make sure he’s at a high level next year. He’s got to play consistent. He’s an 18 year old young kid that’s going be better. He’s going to be one of our go-to guys and we’ll get him ready to go.”
Blasi was asked about his goaltender, Ryan McKay, who while allowing a soft goal, probably played well enough to win.
“Ryan (McKay) and Jay (Williams) need to be better. They had a great freshman campaign but as sophomores they let off the gas a little bit and we’ve got to regain that. I think there’s a lot to work with in our locker room. I don’t think there’s any panic in the locker room, but we’ve got to get to work.”
So, as this year concludes, we’re left to wonder about next year much earlier than we’re used to in these parts. The NCAA tournament will start next week without Miami for the first time since the ’04-’05 season.
Thinking ahead, Blasi concluded, “I think we have something to work with. We got a lot of work to do in certain areas and we’re going to address those things. Actually we’ve already addressed some of those issues. We’ve got some youth that needs to learn how to work, how to compete at a high level and that’s on us as a coaching staff and we’ll begin the teaching here in a week. I saw some things I think our team is capable of doing. Obviously we’re capable of playing with anybody. Anybody in this league is. This is a tough league. You have to come every night. You have to play every night. We’ve got a lot of work to do, there’s no question about it. You can’t finish last in the league and try to make a run at the the end. I thought our guys did as good a job as they could. We needed that kind of consistency in January and February and we didn’t have it.”
“I take full blame for the entire year, actually, and we’ll get better. I can guarantee that.”
2-2 after 2…
Well, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good and in the 2nd period, Miami got two HUGE breaks that led directly to two goals. So, it all comes down to this. Whomever digs deepest and wins the third period will claim the hardware and the ticket to the dance next weekend.
Some second period observations and stats:
– Cody Murphy has been all over the place. He has easily been Miami’s hardest working skater. He leads Miami in SOG with 3.
– Ryan McKay seemed to regain his composure and is playing the puck much more effectively.
– Sean Kuraly’s goal was of the “seeing eye” variety and perhaps surprised Brittain. The goaltenders are now even in allowing bad ones.
– Miami really shut down Denver in the 2nd and kept them to the outside.
– Anthony Louis now has a goal in his last three games and 11 on the year.
– Denver was really clutching and grabbing, and getting away with it. Miami was having difficulty entering the zone, but with the two markers, sometimes it’s good to be lucky.
Third period hockey for all the marbles. Let’s do this, boys!
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