Hockey Hosts No. 4/5 Michigan in Weekend Series
11/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Nov. 9, 2011
THE GAME
Coming off its first sweep of the season, Miami (4-6-0, 2-4-0-0 CCHA) returns home to host No. 4/5 Michigan in a CCHA series Friday and Saturday at Steve Cady Arena. Puck drop Friday is at 7:35 p.m. while Saturday's game starts at 7:05 p.m. The RedHawks are looking to improve upon their 1-3 record at home this year after getting swept by No. 18 Lake Superior State when Miami was last in Oxford.
The 'Hawks swept Alaska in Fairbanks last weekend with a pair of 2-1 wins, earning their first league wins of the year while snapping a five-game losing streak. The one goal allowed in each game was a season low. On Friday, junior Reilly Smith scored the game-winner midway through the second period to break a 1-1 tie, which was his team-best fifth goal of the year. Saturday, sophomore Max Cook notched his first-career game-winning goal midway through the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock. Senior goalie Cody Reichard earned the win both nights, stopping a combined 53 of 55 shots faced while dropping his GAA in league play to 1.99 and Miami's team defense to 2.67 goals per game in CCHA action. Senior Alden Hirschfeld continues to lead the team with seven points.
No. 4/5 Michigan (7-2-1, 3-2-1-1 CCHA) comes to Oxford after splitting its series with then-No. 6 Western Michigan. The Broncos snapped the Wolverines' 20-game home win streak Friday with a 3-2 win but UM rebounded for a 5-2 victory Saturday. Michigan will be on the road for just the second time this year after going 0-1-1 at Northern Michigan to open CCHA play. The Wolverines rank third nationally averaging 4.60 goals per game and are first in league play with 3.67 goals per game. Junior Lindsay Sparks leads UM with 13 points, with his eight in CCHA games tying for first. Three other Wolverines have 10 points on the year. Senior goalie Shawn Hunwick's 1.62 GAA ranks fifth nationally.
THE COACHES
Enrico Blasi (Miami '94) is in his 13th season behind the RedHawk bench. He is a four-time CCHA Coach of the Year and was named National Coach of the Year in 2005-06. He stands 266-175-46 in 13 seasons at his alma mater, where he has led Miami to seven NCAA Tournaments, including two Frozen Four berths, a National Championship game appearance, a pair of CCHA regular-season titles and the school's first ever Mason Cup last year. Blasi is the the winningest coach in school history.
Red Berenson (Michigan '62) is in his 28th season at Michigan, where he has compiled a record of 735-342-74, and is the sixth-winningest coach in NCAA hockey history. He was named National Coach of the Year in 2008 while also garnering CCHA Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career (1994). Berenson has guided his alma mater to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 21 seasons, including 11 trips to the Frozen Four. He also led UM to national titles in 1996 and 1998 and the national championship game last year. Michigan has a total of 20 CCHA titles under Berenson.
THE SERIES
Miami trails in the all-time series with Michigan, 69-25-3, including 22-19-2 in Oxford. Recently, however, the RedHawks have had the upper hand, winning five of the last six meetings, including three straight, and are 7-3 vs. Michigan since the 2008-09 season. The last four regular-season series' between the teams have ended in sweeps (three for Miami, one for Michigan), including Miami's sweep of UM in Oxford last year. Head coach Enrico Blasi is 11-21-1 against Michigan at the helm of Miami.
QUICK HITS
- Freshman forward Tyler Biggs dished out a pair of assists at Alaska with one in each game, earning him CCHA Rookie of the Week. In doing so, he extended his point streak to a career-long four games. The four-game point streak matches the longest by any RedHawk this year.
- The RedHawks were a perfect 12-for-12 on the penalty kill last weekend at Alaska, including tying a season high with seven kills Friday. The 'Hawks have now killed 16 straight penalties dating back to Oct. 28 (Miami's last three games), after allowing at least one power play goal in each of the six games prior and two in each of the previous five contests.
- Miami was outshot in both games at Alaska and have now been outshot five times in 2011 but are 3-2 in those contests compared to 1-4 when Miami outshoots its opponent.
- Junior forward Curtis McKenzie scored a power play goal for Miami in the second period last Saturday, which was Miami's first man-advantage goal in its last 27 opportunities and was the RedHawks first power play goal in CCHA play. Miami's last power play goal prior to Saturday came Oct. 14 at Colgate in the second period, a drought of 21 periods and seven games.
- A win Friday would give Miami its first four-game win streak versus Michigan in school history.
UP NEXT
Miami continues its four-game home stand when it welcomes Bowling Green Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19 on Miami Hockey's Alumni Weekend. Puck drop is 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Both games this weekend will be televised on the Ohio News Network (ONN) with Dave Allen handling play-by-play and Neil Sika providing color commentary. Both contests will also be broadcast on radio on WKBV-AM 1490 (Richmond, Ind.) with Greg Waddell calling the action. As always, live streaming and audio of the games are available on MURedHawks.com through the All-Access subscription package.
BIGGS COMING UP BIG: After a slow start to the year, freshman forward Tyler Biggs has turned it on lately, as he is riding a career-long four-game point streak, which ties senior Alden Hirschfeld for the longest by a RedHawk this year. Biggs dished out two assists at Alaska (11/4-5) with one in each game, earning him CCHA Rookie of the Week honors, his first such award. His four points in CCHA play tie for first among rookie scoring. Biggs ranks second on the team with four assists and tied for third with five points, which is tops among freshmen with Austin Czarnik.
QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY: Last weekend at Alaska, Miami was outshot in both games, including 30-14 on Nov. 4, a 2-1 RedHawk win. The 14 shots on goal were Miami's fewest since puting 13 on net Nov. 6, 2009 at Michigan (also a Miami win). The RedHawks have been outshot five times in 2011 but are 3-2 in those contests compared to 1-4 when Miami outshoots its opponent. The 'Hawks have fired less than 20 shots twice this year, but won both games with the other coming Oct. 14 at Colgate when Miami had 15 shots on goal, which was a 4-3 win. The 'Hawks also lost in overtime at Colgate Oct. 15 when Miami was outshot 40-22 with the 18-shot margin the widest difference this year.
CLOSE CONTESTS: All 10 of Miami's games this year have been decided by two goals or less. The RedHawks are 4-2 in one-goal games in 2011-12 but are 0-4 in two-goal games, two of which include an empty-net goal late. A key to the one-goal wins has been scoring first, something the 'Hawks have done seven times this year, including all four wins. Miami won both games at Alaska (Nov. 4-5) by scoring just two goals, something it hasn't done since March 27, 2010, a 2-1 win over Alabama-Huntsville in the NCAA Tournament, as the 'Hawks were 0-5-4 when scoring two goals or less last year.
SHORT-HANDY: Not only has Miami been playing strong defense on the penalty kill lately, the RedHawks have been able to generate offense while a man down, as well. Miami has three short-handed goals on the year, which ties for third in the country, trailing only Boston University and Providence, who have four each. Senior Matt Tomassoni scored the game-winning goal Oct. 8 vs. Bemidji State short-handed in the third period. Then on Oct. 28 against Lake Superior, Miami scored two shorties in the second period as senior Alden Hirschfeld and freshman Tyler Biggs each found the net a man short, with Biggs' the first goal of his career. It marked the first time the 'Hawks scored two short-handed goals in the same game since Jan. 14, 2011 against Bowling Green when Hirschfeld and junior Reilly Smith each scored a man down.
HIRSCHFELD'S HELPERS: Senior forward and co-captain Alden Hirschfeld tallied an assist in each of Miami's first four games this year. He also added an assist Oct. 27 against Lake Superior and scored a goal in his next two games. He has a point in seven of 10 games this year with his five assists and seven points leading the team. By being held pointless Oct. 21 at Ferris State, his career-long seven-game point streak dating back to last season was snapped but he has points streaks of four games and three games this season.
FIRST TIME FOR FRESHMEN: In Miami's game against Lake Superior Oct. 28, two RedHawks scored their first career goal as Tyler Biggs (short-handed) and Blake Coleman (unassisted) each found the net for the first time. At Colgate Oct. 14, Biggs tallied his first career point on an assist in the first period. In that same game, freshman forward Austin Czarnik registered his first collegiate goal and added an assist for a career-high two points. Four RedHawks tallied their first career point Oct. 7-8 against Bemidji State. Freshmen forwards Jimmy Mullin and Alex Wideman each tallied their first career goal in Friday's season-opening game, with Wideman's coming on the power play. The next night, Czarnik and Coleman each tallied their first career assist while Wideman also recorded his first assist as a RedHawk on the same play as Coleman, which was scored by Wideman's brother, senior defenseman Chris Wideman. Mullin tallied his first career assist Nov. 5 on the game-winning goal at Alaska.
TRICKY REILLY: Junior forward Reilly Smith tallied his second career hat trick Oct. 14 at Colgate in his first game of the season to lead Miami to the win. His other hat trick came on Oct. 23, 2010 against Northern Michigan. He also had an assist Oct. 14 against the Raiders, giving him a career-best four points, and added a goal the next night earning him CCHA Offensive Player of the Week -- the third such honor of his career. He now has 10 multi-goal games for his career, which leads active RedHawks. Smith is the leading returning goal-scorer in the nation entering 2011-12 after leading Miami with 28 goals as a sophomore, which tied for fourth nationally. Smith is also second among returning point-scorers after totaling 54 points a year ago, as only Minnesota Duluth's Jack Connolly (59 points in 2010-11), had more points than Smith among returning players. Smith tied for seventh in the country last year in points en route to earning First-Team All-CCHA and All-America honors from College Hockey News (Second Team) and Inside College Hockey (Third Team).
STRONG SCHEDULE: Miami faces a tough schedule in 2011-12, including eight teams currently ranked in the USCHO.com Poll. The RedHawks already split with Colgate, now No. 18, Oct. 14-15 and fell to then-No. 14 Ferris State (now No. 8) Oct. 21-22 and to then-No. 18 Lake Superior (now No. 11) Oct. 27-28 and still plays at No. 12 Denver Nov. 26. A total of six CCHA teams are ranked, as the 'Hawks play No. 4 Michigan and No. 14 Northern Michigan four times each, including the Wolverines this weekend, and No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 5 Western Michigan twice each while also playing at LSSU later this year. The RedHawks' opponents have a combined record of 70-55-16 (.553), including 27-18-3 (.594) among teams Miami has already played.
DYNAMIC DUO: Senior goalies Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard are two of the top goalies in Miami history, despite splitting time in net during their careers. Reichard's 47 career wins rank third, as he needs eight more to tie for second in Miami history and 14 victories to become Miami's all-time winningest goalie, surpassing David Burleigh (60). With a win Oct. 8, Knapp moved into a tie for seventh in Miami history with Alain Chevrier, Brandon Crawford-West and Charlie Effinger. Reichard also has 10 career shutouts, needing two more to tie Burleigh for Miami's career whitewashes record, and sits 10th on Miami's career saves list with 1,627. Reichard and Knapp currently rank second and fourth, respectively, in career save percentage (.915, .910) and second and third in career GAA (2.04, 2.10).
CONSISTENTLY AT THE TOP: Miami finished 2010-11 CCHA regular-season play with a 16-7-5-2 record, earning them third place in the standings. Miami has finished in the top three in the CCHA standings each of the last six years, something no other team in the league has done. During that stretch, the 'Hawks have won the regular-season title twice, finished runner-up once and have three third-place finishes. That trend is expected to continue in 2011-12 as Miami was picked to finish second in the CCHA in both preseason polls (coaches and media) this year while Notre Dame was picked first in each preseason poll. The complete preseason polls are on page 5.
BROTHERLY LOVE: The RedHawks have a pair of brothers on their team for the first time since 2005-06, as freshman forward Alex Wideman joins his brother, Chris Wideman, a senior defenseman, on the Miami roster in 2011-12. The last pair of brothers to play at Miami together was Matt and Nathan Davis when Matt was a senior and Nathan was a sophomore. In Miami's exhibition win over Windsor Oct. 2, the duo each had an assist on Miami's third goal while on Oct. 8 vs. Bemidji State, Alex had an assist on Chris' game-tying power play goal.
CODY'S ALL CLASS: Senior goalie Cody Reichard was named one of 20 candidates for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for ice hockey. The 10 finalists will be announced mid-season with the winner being declared on April 6 at the Frozen Four. To be considered for the prestigious award, a senior student-athlete must exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
INTERMISSION ENTERTAINMENT
Friday, the Miami University Varsity Collegiate Synchronized Skating Team will be performing its 2012 competitive free skate to music by Beyoncé. They are the 2011 reigning National Champions in the Collegiate Division for the seventh consecutive year and now hold the record for the most consecutive National Championships won in any division. Saturday, the Miami University Varsity Senior Synchronized Skating Team will be exhibiting its 2012 competitive short program, "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley arranged by Cirque Du Soleil. They are the reigning 2011 National Silver medalists and are ranked 10th in the World! Both teams will be making their competitive debut at the Dr. Richard Porter Synchronized Classic in Ann Arbor, Michigan Dec. 3-4, 2011.
The complete release is available here.
--MURedHawks.com--
