Ice Hockey Opens 2005-06 Campaign at Lefty McFadden Invitational
10/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Oct. 5, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
AND WE'RE OFF: The 2005-06 season is about to be underway, as the RedHawks travel to Dayton, Ohio, for the Lefty McFadden Invitational at the E.J. Nutter Center on Oct. 8-9. Miami battles the North Dakota Fighting Sioux on Saturday at 7:35 p.m., before taking on Wayne State on Sunday at 5:35 p.m.
IN THE PRESEASON POLLS: The Central Collegiate Hockey Association released its annual preseason polls at Media Day on Sept. 27 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich. In the Coaches Poll, Miami was slated to finish sixth, while the Media Poll put the RedHawks in seventh. Senior defenseman Andy Greene (Trenton, Mich.) was named to the league's preseason all-league first team after earning the league's Best Offensive Defenseman award last year.
In addition, Miami received 37 points in the USCHO.com Top 20 preseason poll. Miami was just three slots away from cracking the top 20.
EXHIBITION ACTION: In preparation for its regular-season opener versus North Dakota, Miami welcomed the University of Windsor to Goggin Ice Arena on Sunday, Oct. 2. The RedHawks outshot the Lancers, 56-14, en route to a 4-1 win. Junior Marty Guerin (Lansing, Mich.), senior Andy Greene (Trenton, Mich.), junior Geoff Smith (Toronto, Ontario) and junior Matt Christie (Ajax, Ontario) lit the lamp for Miami. The goals by Greene and Christie came on the power play. Freshman Jeff Zatkoff (Chesterfield, Mich.) made 13 saves in his first outing in goal for Miami.
CHASING HISTORY: Miami head coach Enrico Blasi became just the second coach in Miami hockey history to reach the 100-win plateau last season when the RedHawks downed Ferris State, 5-3, on Jan. 29. He finished the season with 104 victories and needs just 18 more to become the all-time winningest coach in the history of the program. Steve Cady, who guided the RedHawks for seven seasons, heads the list with 121 victories.
A NEW HOME: The 2005-06 season marks the final season for Goggin Ice Arena, the only home Miami hockey has ever known. "The Goggin" as it is affectionately known in college hockey circles, will be replaced at the end of the season by the state-of-the-art Goggin Ice Center, currently under construction across campus.
RETURNING FIREPOWER: Miami returns 17 players and 16 letterwinners from last year's squad, and those 17 players accounted for 84 percent of the team's points last season. The RedHawks had 11 players reach double figures in scoring last season, and only Todd Grant (15-18-33), who tallied a team-leading nine power-play goals in 2004-05 is not returning.
THE WIZARD OF GWOZ: Former RedHawk skipper George Gwozdecky coached Denver to back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2004 and 2005. Gwozdecky spent five years in Oxford from 1989-94. The RedHawks won the CCHA regular-season title in 1992-93 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA: The Fighting Sioux were just one win away from winning the program's eighth national championship in 2004-05 as they were toppled by Denver in the NCAA championship game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. UND returns 13 letterwinners to a roster that includes 13 newcomers and includes sophomore Travis Zajac, the team's leading returning scorer. Zajac scored 20 goals and added 19 assists a year ago. Junior Jordan Parise returns in goal for the Fighting Sioux after posting a 17-7-3 record last season with a 2.13 goals-against average.
NORTH DAKOTA'S BENCH BOSS: Dave Hakstol is in his second season behind the bench at North Dakota after serving as an assistant at UND from 2000-2004. Last season, he guided the Fighting Sioux to a 25-15-5 record that included a 4-1 mark in the WCHA playoffs and a 3-1 record in the NCAA Tournament. Hakstol, a three-year letterwinner and two-time team captain at UND, is just the fifth former Fighting Sioux hockey player to serve as the team's head coach.
SERIES HISTORY: Miami and North Dakota have met just once prior to this season's meeting, with the Fighting Sioux skating to a 5-2 victory during the 1999-2000 season.
SCOUTING WAYNE STATE: Wayne State posted a 14-17-4 record a year ago and finished fourth in College Hockey America. The Warriors return 21 letterwinners from last season, including leading scorer Stavros Paskaris (12-21-33) and starting goaltender Matt Kelly (10-10-1, .922, 2.54). Wayne State, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2003, won back-to-back-to-back CHA Tournaments from 2000 to 2003.
WAYNE STATE'S BENCH BOSS: Bill Wilkinson is in his seventh season at Wayne State and has amassed a record of 95-99-18 during his time in Detroit. Prior to arriving at Wayne State, Wilkinson had head coaching stints at Western Michigan and St. Lawrence, and has tallied 408 wins during his career.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first meeting between Miami and Wayne State but Bill Wilkinson is no stranger to the Red and White. During his time with Western Michigan, the Broncos and RedHawks met 65 times, with Wilkinson's teams owning a 33-27-5 advantage.
