Coming Into His Own
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Nov. 12, 2001
After losing 91 points of offense with the graduation of four seniors, Miami's hockey team knew it had to replace some of its firepower. The replacement has come in the form of sophomore forward Greg Hogeboom and his 14 points through 10 games this season. To the Red and White faithful, Hogeboom may be a surprise, but head coach Enrico Blasi knew he had a scoring threat the minute Hogeboom set foot in Goggin Ice Arena.
"Here's a guy who scored 45-50 goals in juniors with the Wexford Raiders and eight goals as a freshman," says Blasi. "Last year he made the transition to college hockey, and now he has made that next step to being a strong hockey player."
Only 10 games into the 2001-02 campaign, Hogeboom has surpassed his total from last season with eight goals and six assists. He's been one of Miami's most consistent players on the ice, with four multiple-point games and two three-point games. Much of this is due to Hogeboom's commitment to Miami and his success as a hockey player.
"I had pretty high expectations coming into this year and knew that I could do better than I did last season," says Hogeboom. "I know what it takes to succeed in college hockey, and I prepared myself over the summer by getting in good shape, which has helped me on the ice this year."
As is true with any athlete, conditioning can make a huge difference when it comes to the competitive arena. Hogeboom's off-season workouts have made him a fixture on Miami's first and second forward lines, which receive the majority of ice time.
One night after a tough 5-0 setback at Clarkson, Hogeboom stirred the Miami offense to a 5-2 victory with his breakout performance. Hogeboom tallied two power-play goals during the second period at Clarkson to propel the RedHawks to a four-goal second period. Miami went on to win the game 5-2, and Hogeboom topped off the first multiple-goal game of his career with an assist in the third period.
Since defeating Clarkson 5-2 on Oct. 20, the RedHawks have played with great enthusiasm, compiling a 5-1-1 record and, more importantly, a 4-1-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Conference mark. In those seven games, Hogeboom has been an integral part of the offense, scoring six goals and handing out four assists.
Prior to being held pointless at Bowling Green on Nov. 9, Hogeboom had been in the midst of a five-game point-scoring streak. Leading the RedHawks with eight goals and three power-play goals, Hogeboom plans to ride the scoring wave for as long as possible, despite a one-point weekend against Bowling Green.
"I don't really know what the reason for the goals is-good luck maybe," says Hogeboom. "Confidence is one of the main things that a hockey player needs to score, and when the goals are going in, they just have a way continuing to go in."
Hogeboom isn't all offensive-minded, he has become one of Miami's better penalty killers. In fact, Hogeboom and the RedHawks' penalty killing unit has killed 38 of its last 42 penalties, a streak that spans over the last seven games.
At the beginning of the year Hogeboom was the right wing on a line with sophomore Mike Kompon and sophomore center Derek Edwardson. After some tinkering by Blasi, junior Chris Knupp has replaced Kompon and joined the two second-year players.
"Knupp, Eddy and I just started playing on the same line two weekends ago. Eddy is a natural complement to me because he is such a good playmaker," says Hogeboom. "Knupp is a hard-worker down low in the crease and has gotten me the puck a couple of times, and I've managed to put it in."
Edwardson is second on the team with seven assists, four of which are the result of Hogeboom goals. Knupp, Hogeboom's linemate on the opposite side of the ice, has two assists on Hogeboom strikes.
However, Hogeboom speaks just as proudly of his offensive accomplishments this season as he does about his team's defensive effort. The consummate defender, Hogeboom proved against Ferris State in a one-goal contest how much winning means to him and his teammates when he sacrificed his body and dove to knock the puck out of Miami's zone. Hogeboom's team play helped the Red and White clinch the victory and the weekend sweep.
"On the other end of the ice, (Knupp and Edwardson) play really well together defensively," says Hogeboom. "I have a lot of fun playing with the two of them, and that's half the battle."
Though Hogeboom's splendid play has not come as a surprise to the RedHawks coach, Blasi feels the sophomore forward has more to prove to the college hockey world. Hogeboom has become the complete package on both ends of the rink.
"I think his consistency, energy and passion have been one of the reasons for our team's recent success," says Blasi. "His goal-scoring has helped, but it is his defensive talent that has resulted in most of his goals. Greg is one of our best defensive forwards."
Hogeboom has four goals in conference contests, tied for the team lead with junior Danny Stewart, and is second on the team with seven points in CCHA action. After a tough weekend at Bowling Green, Hogeboom stands by his word that the RedHawks have the talent to be a power this season.
"The rest of the CCHA season should be a battle all the way down to the wire," says Hogeboom. "There really aren't any bad teams this year, and anything can happen night-to-night. We need to go into every weekend looking for wins, and I don't see any reason why we can't be the top team in this league."