No. 7 RedHawks Clash with No. 2 UND
11/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Follow: @MiamiOH_Hockey | @MiamiRedHawks
Games 11 and 12
Friday, Nov. 14 • 8:37 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15 • 8:07 p.m.
Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,640) • Grand Forks, N.D.
No. 7/7 Miami RedHawks (7-3-0, 3-1-0 NCHC) at No. 2/2 North Dakota (7-1-1, 2-0-0 NCHC)
Television: NCHC.tv
Radio: 1450 WMOH/1490 WKBV/MURedHawks.com
THE GAME
Fresh of its first NCHC series sweep since joining the league, the No. 7 Miami RedHawks travel to Grand Forks, North Dakota for a road series against second-ranked North Dakota.
THE SERIES: Miami is 2-5-1 all-time against North Dakota, but picked up both of its victories by going 2-3 against UND last season. The RedHawks are 0-2-1 in Grand Forks, but did win their last meeting 3-0 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals in Minneapolis.
WAYS TO LISTEN/WATCH
Miami hockey can be heard live all weekend at MURedHawks.com and Friday’s contest will be picked up over the airwaves by WMOH (1450 AM) and WKBV (1490 AM) with WKBV also picking up Saturday’s contest. An All-Access broadcast will also be available for both contests, which will also have a live video stream on NCHC.tv. Greg Waddell will be on the radio call.
LAST WEEKEND
Miami posted its first NCHC series sweep since the league formed before the 2013-14 season by toppling Colorado College by scores of 3-0 and 5-1 at Steve ‘Coach’ Cady Arena last weekend. Alex Wideman scored twice in a 3:16 span midway through the third period while Jay Williams stopped all 21 shots he faced for his third-career shutout in Friday’s 3-0 victory over the Tigers. The RedHawks were sharp from the opening drop of the puck on Saturday, getting first-period goals from Scott Dornbrock and Sean Kuraly to open up a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Riley Barber caught fire in the second, scoring two goals and adding an assist during the middle frame to help deliver the Red and White a 5-1 win. Barber’s three points led the way with Kuraly (1 goal, 1 assist) and Austin Czarnik (2 assists) contributing two points apiece. Williams stopped 15 of 16 shots in goal to improve to 7-1 this season.
COACH BLASI
Enrico Blasi (Miami ’94) is in his 16th season behind the RedHawk bench. He is a five-time CCHA Coach of the Year and was named National Coach of the Year in 2005-06. He stands 333-219-56 at his alma mater, where he has led Miami to nine NCAA Tournaments, including two Frozen Four berths, a National Championship game appearance, a trio of CCHA regular-season titles and the school’s first ever Mason Cup in 2011. Blasi is the the winningest coach in school history.
Opening Faceoff
• Dating back to last season, Blake Coleman has 27 points (18 goals, 9 assists) in his last 21 games, including at least one point in seven of the eight games he’s played this season.
• Miami has outshot its opponent in eight of its last nine games and leads the nation with a +15.2 average shot differential.
• Miami defensemen have combined to tally 19 points (7g, 12a) in the first 10 games after notching just 45 points (9g, 36a) all last season.
• Austin Czarnik (134 career points) is three points away from tying Jarod Palmer for 14th on the school’s all-time list. He is also four points behind Mike Kompon (13th).
• Jay Williams has posted a .900 save percentage or higher in seven of his eight appearances (all wins).
• Sean Kuraly has netted the game-winning goal in five of Miami’s seven wins.
• After going 4-10 (including an 0-7 start) in one-goal games last year, the RedHawks have won four of their last six one-goal decisions and are 4-3 in those instances this season.
• Miami has allowed two goals or less in seven of its last nine games.
• The RedHawks have allowed at least one power play goal in eight of their 10 games this season.
ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA: Since opening the year with a 5-1 home loss to Bemidji State, North Dakota is an unbeaten 7-0-1 in its past eight games entering this weekend’s series. UND is outscoring opponents 32-13 in that stretch. Drake Caggiula and Michael Parks pace a balanced North Dakota offense with 11 points apiece as two of eight UND skaters with at least five points this season. Zane McIntyre has started all nine games in goal and has a 1.94 goals against average coupled with a .927 save percentage.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE: At 7-3 and sitting on a No. 7 national ranking, Miami is in roughly the same spot as it was this time a year ago, when it was 7-3-1 and ranked eighth in the country. The RedHawks hope to make a better push from here than their 2013-14 squad did.
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SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS SHOTS!: Since being outshot 38-24 at Bowling Green on opening night, Miami has posted a positive shot differential in eight of its last nine games. Through 10 contests, MU is second nationally with 39.6 shots per game while its +15.2 shot margin per game is the best in the country, numbers that improve to 41.3 shots per game and a +18.4 shot margin per game in the last nine contests.
BACK TO DEFENSE: A large culprit in Miami’s drop off last season was falling from No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (1.74 goals/game) in 2012-13 to No. 41 (3.03) last year. That rank has been an exceedingly rare occurrence in recent years. MU’s worst showing defensively the six seasons prior was eighth during the 2008-09 season. So far this year, the Red and White have improved that mark after allowing 20 tallies in their first 10 games (2.00 per game).
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CONTRIBUTING IN OTHER WAYS: While senior captain Austin Czarnik has yet to score a goal in the season’s first 10 games, he is finding other ways to contribute thus far. Czarnik has a team-high 10 assists, which leads the NCHC, and is tied for the national lead. He also has a team-best three multi-point games.
BEAT THE REST: Miami’s fate in the NCHC this year could well boil down to its consistency against the league as a whole. Including the NCHC Tournament, the RedHawks posted an 8-8 record against the league’s three NCAA Tournament qualifying teams (St. Cloud State, North Dakota and Denver) last year. The trouble came against the rest of the league as MU was just 1-10-1-1 against Colorado College (1-1), Minnesota Duluth (0-2), Omaha (0-3-1-1) and Western Michigan (0-4) a year ago. While it is too early to tell how the league will shake out, Miami posted a road split against Minnesota Duluth and swept Colorado College so far this year.
COLEMAN’S GOALMAN: Blake Coleman has become a go-to scoring threat for the Red and White. His 12 points (9g, 3a) in the final 10 games of last season pushed Miami to the NCHC Finals, but his production extends beyond that. With 11 points (6g, 5a) this season, Coleman has 27 points (18g, 9a) over his last 21 games dating back to last year.
PUCK STOPPING WAYS: The RedHawks have gotten far better play between the pipes out of juniors Jay Williams and Ryan McKay in the early going. After combining for a 2.99 goals against average and .899 save percentage last year, the duo has a collective 1.99 GAA and .918 save% through 10 games. Miami goaltenders have posted a .900 save percentage or better in nine of 10 games so far. Williams has already surpassed his win total last year as he sits 7-1 with a 1.64 GAA and .921 save%. While McKay’s got a much higher GAA, he has faced over 30 shots in both of the starts that he played the entire game and has a team-best .913 save%.
NOT HOW YOU START: While the Red and White would like to start their games a bit stronger, you can’t argue with their finishing kicks. Miami has been outscored 9-6 and outshot 106-102 in the first period, but a new team seems to come out after intermission. Including overtime, the RedHawks have outscored their opponents 26-11 while outshooting them 294-138 from the second period on.
CLIMBING THE RANKS: Austin Czarnik continues his ascent on Miami’s all-time scoring list. The senior captain sits 15th in school history with 134 career points. He is in range of making some serious moves up the RedHawks’ career scoring list.
Miami Career Points List
1. Steve Morris (79-83), 202 points
2. Carter Camper (07-11), 183
…
13. Mike Kompon (00-04), 138
14. Jarod Palmer (06-10), 137
15. Austin Czarnik (11-present), 134
