No. 7/7 Miami Opens NCAA Tournament Play Friday
3/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
March 21, 2012
Game Notes vs. UMass Lowell (NCAA East Regional) 
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THE GAME
Making its seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the third-longest active streak in the country, No. 7/7 and second-seeded Miami opens play in the East Regional against No. 13/13 and third-seeded UMass Lowell Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The RedHawks are 7-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won at least a first round game four of the last five years but have never faced the River Hawks in postseason action. Miami is 0-1 all-time as a No. 2 seed (2006) and is playing in the East Regional for the first time in 10 trips to the tournament. No. 3/3 and top-seeded Union College faces No. 15/15 and fourth-seeded Michigan State in Friday's first semifinal at 3 p.m. The winners face off in the regional final Saturday at 6:30 p.m. All games will be televised on ESPNU.
Miami (24-14-2), which finished fourth in the CCHA, has won nine of its last 10 games and is coming off a third-place finish in the CCHA Tournament. The RedHawks saw their season-long eight-game win streak snapped with a 6-2 loss to eventual champion Western Michigan in Friday's semifinal, but rebounded with a 4-1 win over Bowling Green in the consolation game Saturday. During Miami's winning streak, it outscored foes a combined 32-5 and has not allowed more than a goal in any of the nine wins since Feb. 10. Junior forward and Hobey Baker finalist Reilly Smith was named to the CCHA All-Tournament Team after potting three goals and dishing out two assists in the two games. He is second nationally with 30 goals this year and leads Miami with 48 points. Freshman forward Austin Czarnik had four assists in the two games as he has a team-best 27 assists and is second with 36 points. Senior goalie Connor Knapp leads the country with his 1.59 GAA while his .937 save percentage is second.
UMass Lowell (23-12-1) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. The River Hawks tied for second in Hockey East but lost its best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series to Providence March 8-11, falling in the decisive game three, 1-0. Since the start of February, UMass Lowell is 7-5-1. Freshman Scott Wilson and junior Riley Wetmore lead the River Hawks with 37 points each while Wetmore has a team-best 25 assists. Sophomore Derek Arnold has a team-high 17 goals while Wilson is second with 16 tallies. Sophomore goalie Doug Carr has played 31 games and has a 2.08 GAA.
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 286-183-48 in 13 seasons at his alma mater, where he has led Miami to eight 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.
Norm Bazin (UMass Lowell '94) is in his first season at the helm of UMass Lowell, compiling a 23-12-1 record, which is an 18-win improvement from last year's team, as the River Hawks tied for second in Hockey East and earned their first NCAA berth since 1996. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Bazin was the head coach at Division III Hamilton College for three years, earning NESCAC Coach of the Year twice. He was an assistant at Colorado College from 2000-08 and at UMass Lowell from 1996-2000.
THE SERIES
Miami has faced UMass Lowell just once in school history, tying the River Hawks, 4-4, on Oct. 17, 2003 on neutral ice in Alaska. The two sides have never met in the postseason, however Miami is 1-6 in the NCAA Tournament against Hockey East teams with the lone win being Miami's first ever NCAA Tournament win back in 2007 over New Hampshire. Head coach Enrico Blasi is 7-7 in the NCAA Tournament.
QUICK HITS
- Miami is making its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 10th in program history but first trip to the East Regional. The seven straight berths is the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Michigan's 22 straight appearances and North Dakota's 10 straight. - Miami is 7-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having won at least its first round game four of the last five years with all seven wins coming in the last five years. The RedHawks earned a No. 2 seed for the second time, also earning a No. 2 seed in the 2006 tournament when Miami lost to third-seeded Boston College. The RedHawks have earned three No. 1 seeds since 2006, however.
- Junior forward Reilly Smith was named to the CCHA All-Tournament Team for the second straight year, as he totaled three goals and handed out two assists for five points last weekend. He finished with 10 points (4g, 6a) in four CCHA Tournament games, recording multiple points in each game. He is now riding a career-long 10-game point streak and has multiple points in six straight games, tying a career long multi-point streak. In his last six games, Smith has 16 points.
- Junior forward Reilly Smith has a career-high 30 goals on the season, which ranks second nationally. With the 30 goals, Smith is just the second Miami player to top the 30-goal plateau since the 1992-93 season. The 30 goals rank Smith seventh in Miami single-season history while his 66 career goals tie him for ninth in school history with Brian Savage (1990-93).
- Freshman forward Austin Czarnik tallied three assists in Miami's win over Bowling Green last Saturday, extending his point streak to a career-long six games. He has 11 points in that span.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Both the regional semifinal against UMass Lowell and the regional final, should Miami advance, will be televised live on ESPNU and streamed online at ESPN3.com. John Buccigross will handle play-by-play duties while Barry Melrose will provide analysis. The games will also be on radio on WMOH-AM 1450 and WKBV-AM 1490. The audio will also be streamed live on MURedHawks.com for free through Miami All-Access as the "Voice of Miami Hockey" Greg Waddell will have the call.
TOURNEY TIDBITS: Miami is making its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 10th in program history after earning a No. 2 seed in the 2012 East Regional, its first time playing in the East Regional. The seven straight berths is the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Michigan's 22 straight appearances and North Dakota's 10 straight. The RedHawks earned an at-large bid to the tournament, its ninth at-large bid. Miami is 7-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having won at least its first round game four of the last five years with all seven wins coming in the last five years. The RedHawks earned a No. 2 seed for the second time in school history, also earning a No. 2 seed in the 2006 tournament when Miami lost to third-seeded Boston College. The RedHawks have earned three No. 1 seeds since 2006, however. Miami has never faced UMass Lowell in the NCAA Tournament, however Miami is 1-6 in the postseason against Hockey East teams all-time with the lone win being Miami's first ever NCAA Tournament win back in 2007 over New Hampshire. The `Hawks opened the 2011 tournament with a Hockey East foe as well, falling to New Hampshire in the first round. Head coach Enrico Blasi is 7-7 in charge of Miami in the NCAA Tournament while he played on the first Miami team to ever make the NCAA Tournament in 1993.
REILLY BAKER: Junior forward Reilly Smith was named one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Hobey Baker Award on March 15. He is one of three CCHA players up for the award and becomes the11th RedHawk to be tabbed a finalist. Miami has now had a Hobey Baker finalist each of the last three years (four players) and seven of the last nine seasons going back to 2003-04. Senior goalie Cody Reichard was a finalist as a sophomore and Miami had two finalists in the same year for the first time last year in Carter Camper and Andy Miele. Miele went on to become the first RedHawk to ever win the Hobey Baker Award. Smith is second nationally with 30 goals and ranks ninth nationally with 48 points. The Hobey Hat Track is announced March 29 while the winner is revealed April 6.
REPEAT OFFENDER: For the second straight year, junior forward Reilly Smith was named to the CCHA All-Tournament Team after scoring three goals and adding two assists in the CCHA Championship March 16-17 in Detroit. He is the first RedHawk to land on the team twice since Ryan Jones in 2006 and 2008 and just the third to ever do it (Andy Greene in 2004 and 2006). He finished with 10 points (4g, 6a) in four CCHA Tournament games, recording multiple points in each game. He is now riding a career-long 10-game point streak and has multiple points in six straight games, tying a career long multi-point streak from the same time last year (Feb. 25-March 19, 2011). In his last six games, Smith has 16 points. In addition to being named to the All-Tournament Team, Smith was tabbed First-Team All-CCHA for the second straight year. He was a unanimous First-Team All-CCHA selection in 2012, one of just two players to be unanimous with Michigan State defenseman Torey Krug. Smith becomes the first RedHawk to earn the award back-to-back since defenseman Andy Greene ('06) was a first-team honoree three straight years from 2004-06. Smith is also just the fourth RedHawk to be named First-Team All-CCHA twice, joining Dan Boyle ('98) and Carter Camper ('11). The RedHawks have now had at least one player chosen First-Team All-CCHA each of the last five years and one player named All-CCHA 10 straight seasons.
ALL-CCHA, ALL THE TIME: Junior forward Reilly Smith was a unanimous First-Team All-CCHA selection after leading the CCHA in goals for the second straight year with 18 in league play (five more than anyone else) while his 30 goals total rank second nationally. He was a four-time CCHA Offensive Player of the Week (more than anyone else) and two-time CCHA Player of the Month (November and January). Senior goalie Connor Knapp earned Honorable Mention while posting a league-best 1.41 GAA in conference play. He also became the fourth RedHawk to win the CCHA's Best Goaltender Award. Freshman forward Austin Czarnik landed on the CCHA All-Rookie team, the first 'Hawk to do that since current junior defenseman Joe Hartman in 2009-10, after tying for second among CCHA freshmen with 20 points in league play. Fellow forward Jimmy Mullin was Honorable Mention All-Rookie Team with 18 points in CCHA play.
WHITEWASHES AND CLEAN SHEETS: Miami has pitched seven shutouts this year, which is the most by any team in the CCHA. Behind strong goaltending and tough defense, the RedHawks are second in the country allowing just 2.05 goals per game and finished first in league play, surrendering just 1.96 goals per game. Senior goalie Connor Knapp has a career-high five of the whitewashes, which ties for fourth nationally, while classmate Cody Reichard has two on the year. Knapp broke the school record for career shutouts with his 13th March 9 vs. Michigan State, making 27 saves. He passed Reichard and David Burleigh ('03), who each have 12. With a 16-save shutout Jan. 28 against Northern Michigan, Reichard tied the then Miami school record of 12 while Knapp tied the record Feb. 24 with 28 saves against Ohio State. Knapp's 13 career clean sheets tie for second in CCHA history with Michigan's Josh Blackburn (1998-2002). Michigan State's Ryan Miller (1999-2002) holds the record with 21 career shutouts.
CONSISTENTLY AT THE TOP: Miami finished 2011-12 CCHA regular-season play with a 15-11-2-1 record, earning them fourth place in the standings. Miami has finished in the top four in the CCHA standings each of the last seven years now, 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 in addition to this year's fourth-place finish.
KNAPP TIME: Senior goalie Connor Knapp, who won CCHA Best Goaltender Award at the CCHA Awards March 15, has had a stellar second half of the season, which culminated in him winning CCHA Gongshow Goaltender of the Month for February. Since 2012 started, Knapp has played in 16 games, making 15 starts, and has a 1.12 GAA, a .955 save percentage and five shutouts while going 12-3-0. He also broke the school's career shutouts record with his 13th March 9 vs. Michigan State. In February, he went 5-1-0 with a 1.05 GAA and .958 save percentage with two clean sheets. Knapp isn't the first RedHawk to win CCHA Goalie of the Month this year however, as classmate Cody Reichard was CCHA Goaltender of the Month for November. For the second time this year, Knapp was named National Player of the Week by Inside College Hockey (INCH) after allowing one goal on 60 shots in a sweep of Notre Dame Feb. 17-18, with the lone goal coming on a 5-on-3 power play goal. He also earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the third time for his efforts and has won it a fourth time since, capturing it for the second straight week after allowing only a 5-on-3 power play goal while stopping 50 of 51 shots in a sweep of Ohio State Feb. 24-25. Knapp has given up a goal or less in 14 of his 23 games this year, including 13 of his last 16. In seven starts from Feb. 10 to March 10, he allowed just four goals (all on the power play). In six starts in January, Knapp posted a 0.83 GAA while allowing just five goals and pitching his first two shutouts this year (Jan. 7 at Michigan State and Jan. 21 vs. Western Michigan). Knapp's GAA has dropped to 1.59, which leads the NCAA, while his .937 save percentage is second in the country and both would be Miami single-season records. In CCHA play only, he finished first with a 1.41 GAA, which is fifth in league single-season history, and a .945 save percentage. Knapp ranks fourth in Miami history with 46 career wins, while his 1.91 career GAA is currently a Miami record. His 15 wins this year are a career high and tie for ninth in Miami single-season history. Knapp won his first INCH National Player of the Week award after helping Miami sweep then-No. 15 Michigan State on the road Jan. 6-7. Starting both games on the same weekend for the first time since his freshman year, he made 33 saves on 34 shots in an overtime win Jan. 6 before stopping all 20 shots that came his way Jan. 7. He also won CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the first time in his career and won it again just two weeks later after giving up just one goal in a sweep of then-No. 8 Western Michigan Jan. 20-21.
SMITH IS MR. CLUTCH: Junior forward Reilly Smith has a career-best eight game-winning goals this year, which leads the NCAA. It also ties the Miami single-season record held by Tim Leahy, who set the mark in 1996-97. Smith also ties for second in career game-winners at Miami with 12, equaling Andy Miele ('11). Ryan Jones '08) holds the record of 21 career GWGs. Smith scored four goals, including his second hat trick this year and third career, in a sweep of then-No. 8 Western Michigan Jan. 20-21. He scored both game-winners as well, part of a stretch of four straight game-winners from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21, and earned INCH National Player of the Week Jan. 24 for his efforts, the second RedHawk to win it in three weeks (Connor Knapp), while also claiming CCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this year. He was CCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this year and sixth time in his career after a three-goal, three-assist weekend against Ohio State Feb. 24-25. He ranks second nationally this year with a career-high 30 goals, as he was 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. His 30 goals rank seventh in a single season at Miami while his 66 career goals tie for ninth in school history. Smith was also second among returning point-scorers after totaling 54 points a year ago, which tied for seventh in the country en route to earning All-America honors from College Hockey News (Second Team) and Inside College Hockey (Third Team). This year, Smith has won CCHA Player of the Month for both November and January, and earned CCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this year Nov. 28 after scoring three goals and earning MVP at the Denver Cup Classic. He tallied his first hat trick this year Oct. 14 at Colgate in his first game of the season to lead Miami to the win, which earned him his first CCHA Player of the Week honor Oct. 17. 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, which he then matched Feb. 25 at Ohio State with a goal and three helpers. He also scored two goals Nov. 12 vs. Michigan, Nov. 26 at Denver, Feb. 24 vs. Ohio State and March 16 vs. Western Michigan, giving him 15 multi-goal games for his career, which is more than all other active RedHawks combined.
FANTASTIC FROSH: Miami's freshman forwards have been contributing greatly on offense this year, as Tyler Biggs, Blake Coleman, Austin Czarnik, Jimmy Mullin, Cody Murphy and Alex Wideman have combined for 48 of Miami's 119 goals on the year, which is 40.3 percent of Miami's scoring, while all seven freshmen combined have 121 points out of 318, which is 38.1 percent of Miami's points. Three different freshmen have scored in a game three times this year (Dec. 9 vs. OSU, Feb. 25 at OSU and Mar. 9 vs. MSU) while at least one has scored a goal in 26 of 40 games. In addition to Czarnik being named to the All-Rookie Team and Mullin earning Honorable Mention, Miami newcomers collected six CCHA Rookie of the Week awards (the most of any team), the most recent of which went to Mullin after a one-goal, four-assist weekend in a sweep of OSU Feb. 24-25. Coleman earned his award after a one-goal, two-assist weekend vs. Northern Michigan Jan. 27-28. Czarnik won it three times, earning his third CCHA Rookie of the Week award for his four-assist weekend vs. WMU Jan. 20-21. Czarnik was also named CCHA Rookie of the Week twice in November becoming the first CCHA freshman to win it three this year, while also claiming CCHA Rookie of the Month for November. He first won it Nov. 14 after notching a career-high three points Nov. 12 in a 3-3 tie with No. 4/5 Michigan and again Nov. 28 after a four-point weekend at the Denver Cup Classic. He was the second straight RedHawk to win the award after Biggs was CCHA Rookie of the Week Nov. 7, dishing out two assists at Alaska Nov. 4-5. Czarnik is second on the team with 36 points and leads the team with 27 assists, which ranks second in the CCHA. The 36 points lead all CCHA freshmen and tie for fifth among all CCHA players. Coleman is second on the team with 12 goals while Mullin is third with 11. Mullin ranks fourth in the league among freshmen with 26 points while Coleman is eighth with 23 points and Biggs is tied for 13th with 17 points.
WIDE WORLD OF WIDEMAN: Senior defenseman Chris Wideman has played in 162 career games, missing just two his whole career (both as a freshman), which is the most games played on the team. He is one of just three RedHawks to play all 40 games this season. He ranks third in school history in career games played behind only Pat Cannone ('11) with 166 games and Jarod Palmer ('10) with 169 games. Wideman could tie for second if Miami made it all the way to the national championship.
SUPER SENIORS: Miami's senior class has compiled 99 wins, which ranks fourth in program history, while helping Miami earn its first two trips to the Frozen Four, a national championship game appearance and winning its first ever Mason Cup (CCHA Tournament title). The class also won a CCHA regular-season title as sophomores. The senior class consists of goalies Connor Knapp, Cody Reichard and Ben Saksa, defensemen Cameron Schilling, Will Weber and Chris Wideman and forwards Alden Hirschfeld, Patrick Tiesling, Matt Tomassoni and Trent Vogelhuber.
Winningest Classes in Program History
1. 2009-10, 109
2. 2010-11, 108
3. 2008-09, 106
4. 2011-12, 99
SCORING EARLY AND OFTEN: Miami has scored first in 27 of its 40 games this year, including seven of its last eight games, going 21-5-1 in those contests. Miami's only three wins when it didn't score first were Nov. 26 at Denver, when the 'Hawks still tied the game within the first five minutes, Jan. 13 at Lake Superior, when Miami tied it less than four minutes later, and Feb. 11 vs. Alabama-Huntsville as the 'Hawks pulled even in the same period they fell behind. Miami has scored within the first 10 minutes of the game 19 times this year and nine times within the first five minutes. Freshman forward Jimmy Mullin scored just 12 seconds into Miami's win March 9 vs. Michigan State, tying the school record for fastest goal to start a game. He matched Tim Huettl's goal vs. Michigan-Dearborn on Jan. 3, 1986, which was also scored 12 seconds into the game. Miami's fastest goal of the year prior to that was also scored by Mullin just 43 seconds into the game at Ohio State Feb. 25.
CODY'S ALL CLASS: Senior goalie Cody Reichard won the CCHA's Ilitch Humanitarian Award March 15 and was named one of just five finalists in the entire NCAA for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup March 13. He is also one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, given to college hockey's finest citizen regardless of gender or division, which was announced on Feb. 2. He is one of just two finalists from Division I men's ice hockey. One day earlier he was named one of 10 finalists for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for ice hockey. The winner of the Wooden Cup is announced April 25 while the other two awards will be announced on April 6 at the Frozen Four. To be considered for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS award, a senior student-athlete must exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. To learn more about Cody's Foundation, Swoop's Stoop, click here.
SMITH JOINS THE CENTURY CLUB: With an assist Jan. 28 against Northern Michigan, junior forward Reilly Smith became the 47th player in Miami history to tally 100 career points. He added a goal later in the game and now sits at 122 points, which ranks 27th all-time at Miami. He hit the century mark in just 108 career games. He was then named RBC Finanacial Group CCHA Player of the Month for January, his second time winning the award in three months, also winning it for November. He potted seven goals and totaled 10 points in eight games in January while posting a +5 rating. He also recorded his third career hat trick during the month and scored four game-winning goals.
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. Knapp holds the Miami record of 13 career shutouts while Reichard is second with 12. Reichard's 53 career wins rank third, as he needs two more to tie for second, while Knapp ranks fourth in Miami history with 46 wins. Reichard sits ninth on Miami's career saves list with 1,894 while Knapp is 10th with 1,715. Knapp and Reichard currently rank second and third, respectively, in career save percentage (.919, .912) behind Jeff Zatkoff at .927, while they are first and third, respectively, in career GAA (1.91, 2.10) with Zatkoff in between with a 1.96 GAA.
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. Both Widemans scored a goal in Miami's win over Bowling Green March 17, marking the first time they each scored a goal in the same game. On Oct. 8 vs. Bemidji State, Alex had an assist on Chris' game-tying power play goal while on Jan. 28 vs. Northern Michigan, Chris assisted on a goal by Alex in the third period.
STRONG SCHEDULE: Miami faced a tough schedule in 2011-12, including seven teams currently ranked in the USCHO.com Poll. The RedHawks are 15-10-1 vs. ranked teams (at the time they played) this year, including five victories over top-10 teams and five sweeps (No. 15 Michigan State twice, No. 8 Western Michigan, No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 17 Ohio State). Miami has also beaten No. 4/5 Michigan, No. 9/10 Denver and No. 4/4 Ohio State for its other top-10 wins. According to the computers, Miami has played the sixth-toughest schedule in the country, helped by the fact that seven CCHA teams are ranked.
GOING POLLING: Miami fell out of both national polls Oct. 31 for the first time since Oct. 17, 2005, a span of 145 polls, but is back in the USCHO.com Poll for the 10th straight week, coming in at No. 7, and also is in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll for the fifth straight week, also at seven. For the second time in three years, Miami started the season ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, marking the 21st time in the last 72 polls that the 'Hawks have held the top spot, doing so 18 times in 2009-10 and twice last year. Miami was also selected No. 1 in the College Hockey News Preseason Top 10 and the Preseason INCH Power Rankings.
CLOSE CONTESTS: Of Miami's 40 games this year, 23 have been decided by two goals or less, including each of the first 12 as Miami has never opened a season with 12 straight games decided by such a small margin. However, each of Miami's last nine games were all decided by three goals or more with eight being RedHawk wins. Of the 17 games decided by more than two goals, 13 were Miami wins, including seven shutouts, while two of the four losses came in three-goal losses at Michigan Feb. 3-4. The RedHawks are 7-6 in one-goal games in 2011-12 after going 1-5 last year, and are 4-4 in two-goal games, two losses of which include an empty-net goal late, while Miami also has two ties. Miami has five wins in 15 games this year when scoring two goals or less (all 2-1 wins), something it hadn't done since March 27, 2010, a 2-1 win over Alabama-Huntsville in the NCAA Tournament, as the 'Hawks were 0-6-4 when scoring two goals or less last year.
SHORT-HANDY: Miami has eight short-handed goals on the year, which ranks fifth in the country. Senior Matt Tomassoni has two of Miami's shorties despite scoring just six goals all year, as does freshman forward Austin Czarnik and junior forward Reilly Smith, all of whom tie for 13th nationally. Smith is the latest 'Hawk to score short-handed, doing so March 16 against Western Michigan in the CCHA semifinals. Czarnik scored his second short-handed goal Feb. 25 at Ohio State while Tomassoni's latest came Dec. 9 in a win at Ohio State. He also scored the game-winning goal Oct. 8 vs. Bemidji State short-handed in the third period. 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 Smith each scored a man down. Czarnik scored his first shorty Dec. 3 at Northern Michigan as he and Tomassoni gave Miami short-handed goals in back-to-back games. Smith then scored his first short-handed goal Jan. 20 vs. Western Michigan, which was the game-winner.
--MURedHawks.com--
