Miami Hockey Hosts Ohio State in Valentine's Day Clash
2/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Feb. 13, 2006
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The No. 2-ranked Miami RedHawks put their league-best 17-4-2 record on the line on Tuesday as they host the Ohio State Buckeyes at 7:35 p.m. at Goggin Ice Arena. A victory would give Miami its first Central Collegiate Hockey Association title since the 1992-93 season. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and all fans are encouraged to arrive early.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: Miami plays its penultimate home game of the regular season, meeting Ohio State for the fifth time this year. In 14 home contests, the RedHawks are 10-2-2 at Goggin Ice Arena this season and are outscoring their opponents, 47-25, in those games. The seating capacity of Goggin Ice Arena is 2,200, but the RedHawks have drawn an average of 2,598 fans per contest, including nine crowds of 2,850, the standing-room-only capacity for the building.
HOVERING AT THE TOP: Miami has spent 11 consecutive weeks ranked in the top five, including the program's first-ever trip to No. 1 two weeks ago, and has never been ranked lower than fourth during that time. The RedHawks cracked the top 10 on Nov. 21 and jumped to No. 2 on Dec. 5 after sweeping then-No. 3 Michigan. Miami was unranked to start the season but entered the polls on Oct. 24 and has been ranked ever since.
LAST TIME ON THE ICE: Prior to a bye-weekend last week, Miami hosted Alaska Fairbanks and split a two-game series with the Nanooks. On the strength of a three-goal first period, UAF took Friday night's contest, 4-3, before Miami rebounded with a 2-1 win on Saturday. Friday's win for UAF marked the third time this season that they knocked off the nation's top-ranked squad. They previously defeated Minnesota (Oct. 14) and Michigan (Oct. 28).
BOUNCING BACK: Miami is the only team in the CCHA and one of just four teams nationally to have not lost back-to-back games this season. The RedHawks are 3-0-2 following a loss and have not gone more than two games without a win all season. The other teams in the NCAA without consecutive losses are Holy Cross, Harvard and Boston College.
STILL NO. 1: The RedHawks lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 1.76 goals-per game, ahead of Vermont at 1.79. At 20-5-4, Miami is one of only three schools in the nation with 20 or more victories and has the best winning percentage (.759) in the country.
THE MAGIC NUMBER: Prior to a 4-3 loss to Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 3, Miami had not allowed more than three goals in a game this season and was the only team in the nation able to make that claim. The number "3" still seems to be the key for the RedHawks this season. When scoring three or more goals, Miami 18-1-0, accounting for all but two of its wins this season.
LOOKING AHEAD: With this season's new playoff format in the CCHA, the top four teams during the regular season receive a first-round bye and home-ice advantage in the second round. With five league contests remaining, Miami leads the league by seven points and only the University of Michigan has a chance to snatch the league crown from Miami. Miami's magic number - the combination of points Miami earns and points the other team fails to earn that eliminate that team from contention - over Michigan is two. The RedHawks have already clinched a first-round bye and home-ice advantage in the second round of the CCHA playoffs.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: Miami head coach Enrico Blasi became Miami's all-time winningest hockey coach with a 3-1 win over Ferris State on Jan. 27, surpassing Steve Cady who won 121 games in seven seasons behind the Miami bench. Blasi's career record stands at 123-111-23. Last season, he became just the second coach in Miami hockey history to reach the 100-win plateau when the RedHawks downed Ferris State, 5-3, on Jan. 29.
RACKING THEM UP: With 20 wins already this season, head coach Enrico Blasi has reached or surpassed the 20-win mark in four of his seven seasons behind the Miami bench, giving him the most 20-win seasons of any Miami hockey coach. Blasi's highest win total, 23, came during the 2003-04 season when the Red and White finished second in the CCHA and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Of Miami's 20 wins, 17 have come in league play.
BE A PART OF THE HISTORY: To commemorate the final season of Goggin Ice Arena, the RedHawks will be auctioning off game-worn jerseys from the 2005-06 season at each home game. This weekend, the No. 20 and 27 jerseys will be auctioned at Goggin Ice Arena. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to bid on replica jerseys from the 1978 season that will be adorned with the name of one of seven legends of Miami hockey. One jersey will be auctioned each week Miami has a home game, beginning with the Michigan series (Dec. 2-3). This week's legend jersey is that of Bryan Savage, who skates for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. The auction takes place online through Ebay.
SAYING GOODBYE: At the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, Miami hockey will say goodbye to the only home it has ever known and move into the new, state-of-the-art Goggin Ice Center, currently under construction on the other side of campus. Including this weekend's series, the RedHawks have just two regular-season games remaining inside the friendly confines of Goggin Ice Arena, and when the regular season ends, Goggin Ice Arena will have played host to exactly 500 varsity hockey games.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes enter the weekend having lost three in a row, including a 4-2 contest to Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Feb. 11. Ohio State has five games remaining, all of which are conference tilts. The Buckeyes are led in scoring by sohpomore Tom Fritsche, the younger brother of Dan Fritsche of the National Hockey League's Colulmbus Blue Jackets. The younger Fritsche has 26 points on 10 goals and 16 assists, all of which lead the team, and he is the only Buckeye to reach double figures in goal scoring this year. Senior Dave Caruso has been solid in goal for OSU, despite his 12-13-4 overall record. He boasts a 1.91 goals-against average, which ranks third in the CCHA behind Miami's Charlie Effinger and Jeff Zatkoff. In the last meeting between Miami and Ohio State, Caruso turned away 24 shots in a 3-0 win.
SERIES HISTORY: The RedHawks and Buckeyes have met four times already this season, with Miami owning a 2-1-1 edge in the series. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 54-48-8, including a 3-0 win in the last meeting on Jan. 10 at Value City Arena in Columbus. The RedHawks swept a home-and-home series from the Buckeyes early in the season, before skating to a 1-1 tie in the title game of the Ohio Hockey Classic on Dec. 30.
