No. 8 Miami Battles Ferris State in Oxford
11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Nov. 4, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Timeout with Brandon Smith
OXFORD, Ohio - The RedHawks close out their first home stand of season this weekend as they take on Ferris State Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday Nov.8. Both games will start at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised on the Ohio News Network.
FOLLOW THE 'HAWKS
The RedHawks will be televised at home this weekend on the Ohio News Network but Friday's game will also be broadcasted on the NHL Network as well. It is the first game of a six game deal the CCHA has with the NHL Network to broadcasted on the "game of the week package." Radio coverage of both games can be found on MURedHawks.com on the All-Access page and the Saturday's match-up will also be broadcasted on WMHO -AM 1450. All of the radio action will be called by Greg Wadell.
 Chris Wideman  | |
"CHECKING" FERRIS STATE
Miami leads the all-time series 41-38-12 against Ferris State including a 21-19-4 record in Oxford. Last season, it was the Bulldogs that swept the Red and White in Big Rapids, Mich., (6-5 on Feb. 15; 3-1 on Feb. 16) which likely kept Miami from the CCHA regular season title. Over the last 10 match-ups between the two schools, Miami holds a record of 6-3-1. Miami has never lost to Ferris State in Steve Cady Arena and has not lost to the Bulldogs in Oxford since Dec. 11, 2004.
TURNING 70
Jarod Palmer reached the 70-point plateau Nov. 1 against Alaska as he picked up the first assist on Carter Camper's shorthanded goal in the third period. Palmer had the puck tipped to him by Kevin Roeder and Palmer found Camper with a cross ice pass. Brian Kaufman also picked up point number 70 for his career Nov. 1 against Alaska. The senior captain was credited with the second assist on the first goal of the game by Camper. Matt Tomassoni fired a shot from the blue line off a pass from Kaufman and the shot was saved by Alaska goalie Chad Johnson but Camper was there to slam home the rebound. Miami now has three active players with 70 or more career points (Kaufman, Palmer, and Justin Mercier, 79).
DYNAMIC DUOS
Forwards
Carter Camper and Pat Cannone are currently tied for the team lead in points with 12. Camper has been hot on the power play as he has a national best 10 points, with the man advantage. Camper (3-7-10) also leads the conference in overall power-play points and he and Cannone (2-4-6) are the only players in the CCHA with more than five points on the power play. With his assist on Oct. 31, Camper became the fourth-fastest RedHawk to 50 points in the CCHA era. Cannone currently leads the team in points in conference with 11 and has recorded nine of those points in Miami's three home games.
 Connor Knapp | |
Goalies
Connor Knapp earned his first career shutout as he blanked Alaska 5-0 on Nov. 1. Knapp is part of a dual threat for Miami in the net with fellow freshmen Cody Reichard. Together the two have helped Miami to a 2.08 goals against average and a 1.64 goals against average in conference play. Knapp is undefeated and untied in conference play with a 3-0-0 mark. Reichard holds a record of 1-1-1 in CCHA play with 77 saves against conference foes. Knapp has also made two saves this season on penalty shots.
MELIE ON A MELEE
Andy Miele got off to a slow start in the 2008-09 campaign but has come on strong in the last two series'. Over his last four games Miele has scored two goals, dished out three assists and earned the CCHA offensive play of the week honor on Oct. 27. He racked up three points against then-No.7 Notre Dame in the Joyce Center (Oct. 24-25) as the RedHawks swept the Fighting Irish. Miele earned his first goal of the season against Alaska as he found the net at 12:20 of the first period on Nov. 1. Miele would strike again in the third period giving him two goals on the night, tying his career high for goals in a game.
WELCOME ABOARD
Trent Vogelhuber made his first career appearance for the Red and White as he was in the starting line-up for the RedHawks on Nov. 1 against Alaska. Vogelhuber was a seventh-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007.
 Vincent LoVerde | |
POWER OUTAGE
Since allowing a 5-on-4 goal on its first penalty kill attempt of the season Miami has not allowed another single man-advantage goal on the campaign. Miami has also killed off 36 consecutive power plays including going 10-for-10 against Alaska on Nov. 1. Miami currently leads the CCHA on the penalty kill as it has stopped opponents on 96 percent (52-54) of their power-play chances. This gives Miami the third-best penalty-kill unit in the nation.
THIS IS GETTING OFFENSIVE
Miami has been one of the top teams in the CCHA in offense in 2008-09. Miami has been led by Pat Cannone and Carter Camper, who both have 12 points on the season. Seventeen different RedHawks have recorded a point on the season and 10 different members of the Red and White have a goal this season. Of the 10 players with a goal only one, Brian Kaufman, has one the remaining nine all have at least two on the campaign. Gary Steffes has been the biggest offensive surprise as he posted 11 goals in his first two seasons with the RedHawks and has five in the first eight games of his junior year. Camper has been on a tear on the power play as he leads the nation in power-play points with 10 and has 11 points on special team (one shorthanded goal).
LAST TIME OUT - VS. ALASKA, NOV. 1
Andy Miele and Carter Camper each scored twice and Connor Knapp recorded his first collegiate shutout as the RedHawks downed the Nanooks, 5-0.
Before the game, the RedHawks ran a lap around the concourse level of Steve Cady Arena and fans in line gave Red and White skaters a standing ovation. Things would not change much once the game was underway.
Camper recorded his first even-strength point when he slammed home a Matt Tomassoni rebound to make it 1-0. Brian Kaufman picked up his seventh dish of the season as he was credited with the second assist. Pat Cannone continued his hot start to the season as he scored a power-play goal at 7:36 of the first period. Camper and Chris Wideman picked up the assists. Miele kept the crowd on its feet as he found the net for the first time this season at 12:20 of the first frame, the result of sharp passing by Cannone and Gary Steffes. It was Steffes' first assist of the year. Miami continued to control special teams as it went 1-of-2 on the power play and 2-of-2 on the penalty kill in the first period.
The second period was a battle for the RedHawks as they had to kill off five Nanook power plays while never gaining a man advantage themselves. Knapp made his second penalty shot save of the season with 1:38 left in the second as he stopped Ryan Hohl .
The third period looked like it might be a repeat of the second. The RedHawks were on the penalty kill when Camper scored Miami's second shorthanded goal of the season. Kevin Roeder tipped the puck up ice to Jarod Palmer, who in turn hit Camper with a cross ice pass to give Miami a 4-0 lead. Miele would pick up his second goal of the night off a Vincent LoVerde rebound at 7:04 of the third. Cannone would get credit for the second assist. Knapp stifled the Nanooks to close out the game as he made a combined 20 saves in the final two periods.
Game Notes
Before the game Miami honored the parents and family members of the RedHawk hockey team.
Trent Vogelhuber made his first career appearance as a starter for the Red and White.
Connor Knapp's shutout is the first of his career and it is the first shutout for Miami since Cody Reichard blanked Notre Dame eight days ago (2-0).
Jarod Palmer picked up the 70th point of his career (23-47-70) when he assisted the third-period goal by Carter Camper.
Andy Miele and Camper tied personal single-game highs for goals with two.
Knapp remains undefeated with the win 3-0-1.
BIG ONE-TWO
Coming into the 2008-09 season, Gary Steffes had scored 11 goals in his Miami career, five as a freshman and six more during his sophomore campaign. After eight games this season, Steffes already has five goals and is tied for the lead in CCHA conference goal scoring.
 Brandon Smith | |
FIRST TIMERS
Three RedHawks registered their first career points in the first two weekends of the season. Chris Wideman racked up four points in back-to-back games against Ohio State and earned CCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his performance. Will Weber got on the score sheet in Vermont as he picked up the first assist on the goal by Pat Cannone in the third period of the Oct. 17 game against the Catamounts. Neither Wideman nor Weber had to wait as long as Brandon Smith did for this first career point. Smith was credited with the second assist on Alexandre Lacombe's goal in the Oct. 18 game against Vermont. Smith was in only his fourth career game for the RedHawks but the Pepper Pike, Ohio native is now in his third season in Oxford.
THEY JUST KEEP ON WINNING
Over the past three seasons no hockey program has won more hockey games than the Miami RedHawks, who have 87 wins since 2005-06. In this time period, the RedHawks have won 71.3-percent of their games, which is also an NCAA best. During the same stretch, no other school in the NCAA has over a 70-percent winning percentage.
CLOSING IN ON 200 WINS
With four wins already in 2008-09, head coach Enrico Blasi has drawn closer to the 200-win mark. Blasi has 191 wins in his nine seasons at Miami, including one regular-season CCHA title. Blasi has the most wins by a head coach in school history as well as the highest winning percentage.
STILL GROWING AT 30
Miami ice hockey is 30-years old and the program continues to grow and might just be reaching its prime. The RedHawks have moved into a new building (Steve Cady Arena in the Goggin Ice Center). They are coming off a 33-win season, in which they spent 10 weeks ranked as the nation's No. 1 team. Also, over the past three seasons, no team in NCAA Division I hockey has won more games, or has a higher winning percentage.
HOME AGAIN IN THE CCHA
Former Western Michigan captain Brent Brekke, who was the CCHA's Best Defensive Defenseman in 1993-94, joined the RedHawk coaching staff after spending nine seasons with Cornell of the ECAC. Miami's other assistant coach, ninth-year assistant coach Chris Bergerson, was tabbed the league's Best Defensive Forward in 1992-93 as a member of the Miami program.
IN THE RANKINGS
Miami is currently ranked eighth in the latest USCHO/CBS College Sports poll. The RedHawks fell one spot after they split last weekend's series against Alaska. The Red and White started the season ranked eighth and have moved as high as seven. Miami is not the only CCHA team among the Top 15 with Michigan coming in at No. 7, Michigan State at No. 11 and 2008 NCAA runner-up Notre Dame coming in at No. 12.
LET'S SHOOT IT OUT
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced this offseason that an NHL style three-player shootout will be used in the 2008-09 season to determine a winner for all of the 168 regular-season conference games that are tied after 60 minutes of regulation play and five minutes of overtime.
The CCHA has also approved the following point system for regular-season play; Two (2) points for a win in regulation or overtime, one (1) point for each school if the game is tied at the conclusion of the five-minute overtime period and one (1) point is awarded to the team who wins the shootout.
A total of 90 regular-season games have wound up tied over the past three CCHA seasons; 31 in 2007-08, 26 in 2006-07 and 33 in 2005-06. Another 29 games have been decided in overtime during the same time frame; 12 last season, 10 in 2006-07 and seven in 2005-06.
Shootout Rules
1. It is recommended that the ice surface be dry scraped in the middle of the ice through both creases.
2. At the end of the five-minute overtime period, the head official will instruct the timekeeper to put two minutes on the clock and immediately start the clock.
3. The other two officials will request a list of three shooters from each coach.
4. The head official will meet at center ice with the captains to explain the protocol during the two-minute period.
5. The goalkeepers remain in the same ends as the overtime period.
6. The home team has the option of shooting first or defending first. If Team A's first two players score, while none of Team B's players score, the shootout is over and Team A wins the shootout.
7. If the shootout remains tied at the end of three rounds, each coach will select a different shooter, this time in a sudden death situation. The first three shooters are ineligible until all other bench players have attempted a shot, if necessary. Each team has an equal number of chances to shoot before a winner is declared.
Notes
- Players serving penalty time shall not be eligible for the shootout.
- If a shooter is injured in the shootout, the player may be replaced in subsequent rounds by a player off the bench.
- If a goalkeeper is injured in the shootout, the goalkeeper may be immediately replaced by a goalkeeper off the bench. The injured goalkeeper may not re-enter the shootout.
- All players not actively participating in the shootout must remain on their bench. - Goalkeepers may be substituted, but no warm-up time will be allowed.
 Will Weber | |
JACKETS IN OXFORD
Freshmen Trent Vogelhuber and Will Weber are both draft choices of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Weber was chosen in the second-round of the 2007 NHL draft by the Jacket. Vogelhuber, a native of Dublin, Ohio, was taken in the same draft, in the seventh-round and called being drafted by his favorite team "a dream come true." Weber and Vogelhuber join three other RedHawks, who have been picked in the NHL draft. Justin Mercier was picked by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005. Justin Vaive was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and just this past offseason Tommy Wingels was picked by the San Jose Sharks.
FEELING AT HOME IN BURLINGTON
Tommy Wingels scored his first goals of the season on the road trip to Burlington, Vt. Wingels posted two goals, one in each game. Wingels scored his first when he intercepted a neutral ice pass and beat the goalie right side for the RedHawks' first shorthanded goal since Justin Mercier netted a goal on the penalty kill Jan. 26, 2008, in Alaska against the Nanooks.
NEXT UP
Miami hits the road to take on Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich, Nov. 14-15. Saturday's game will be broadcast on Comcast and the NHL Network (Live in Canada, tape delayed in the USA) on Saturday. Friday's game starts at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday's game begins at 8:05 p.m.
