Feb. 10, 2010

Weekly Release for Bowling Green

THE WEEKEND
No. 1/1 Miami plays its last full road series of the 2009-10 season this weekend when it travels to Bowling Green to face the Falcons. The RedHawks have three of their final four games at home -- with only a day trip to Ohio State remaining away from Oxford. Friday's game at BGSU takes place at 7:05 p.m., while faceoff Saturday is at 5:05 p.m.

Miami extended its CCHA unbeaten streak to 20 games this past weekend with a sweep of Lake Superior State 2-0 and 10-4. After picking up a big win on Friday, the RedHawks rode a wave of emotion to the win on Saturday. Andy Meile tallied five points on three goals and two assists, while 16 players recorded at least one point.

Bowling Green faced a unique schedule of home-and-home games Thursday and Tuesday against Michigan. The Falcons dropped a 2-1 decision at home before falling 4-0 at Ann Arbor in the series finale.

THE COACHES
Enrico Blasi (Miami '94) is in his 11th season behind the RedHawk bench, holding a 230-155-39 career record. He is a three-time CCHA Coach of the Year selection and was named National Coach of the Year in 2005-06.

Dennis Williams (Bowling Green `87) took over the Falcon program on an interim basis in June after one season as an assistant. He returned to his alma mater after three seasons as head coach at Neumann College. Williams stands 39-51-12 overall and 4-19-4 at Bowling Green.

THE SERIES
Bowling Green leads the all-time series 58-36-7, including 34-10-5 at home, but Miami has won five straight games overall. The RedHawks' streak also extends to 12 of 13 and to a 16-3-2 mark over the last 21 matchups.

POLL NUMBERS
Miami retained its No. 1 ranking in both polls on Monday and has now held the top spot for 15 of the 17 weeks this season. The RedHawks dropped to No. 2 for two weeks in early January. Miami is also top team in the INCH Power Ratings this week.

• Miami is unbeaten in 20 straight CCHA games. Since losing 3-2 in overtime to Michigan State on Oct. 24, the RedHawks are 14-0-4 in league play.
• Cody Reichard set a new school record for shutouts in a season with a fifth on Friday night, passing David Burleigh (2002-03). The RedHawks have eight as a team, double the previous mark.
• The four seniors moved into second on the list of winningest classes in school history Saturday. They have combined for 100 wins in four years and need just seven more victories to take over the top spot.
• Miami leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 1.67 goals per game. In 22 league games, the RedHawks have surrendered only 27 goals.

SERIES BREAKDOWN
Bowling Green leads the all-time series 58-36-7, including 34-10-5 at home, but Miami has won five straight games overall. The RedHawks' streak also extends to 12 of 13 and to a 16-3-2 mark over the last 21 matchups.

The complete series history can be found on page 114 of the fan guide, but here are the last 10 meetings:

2-25-06	W, 5-4	H
10-27-06	W, 4-3	H
10-28-06	W, 3-0	H
12-29-06%	W, 3-2	N
1-4-08	L, 4-2	A
1-5-08	W, 5-2	A
3-13-08*	W, 4-1	H
3-14-08*	W, 4-2	H
1-30-09	W, 6-1	H
1-31-09	W, 3-1 	H
% denotes Ohio Hockey Classic
* CCHA Tournament Second Round

BLASI vs. THE FALCONS
Enrico Blasi holds an 20-8-2 career record against Bowling Green State, including 5-5-2 on the road. The RedHawks have won five straight regular-season games against the Falcons.

SHUTOUT STANDARDS
Miami registered its eighth shutout of the season on Friday against Lake Superior, doubling this previous school record of four in 2002-03).

Cody Reichard was in net for the 2-0 decision against the Lakers, setting a new school standard with his fifth of the year (seventh of his career). He passed David Burleigh, who had four during the 2002-03 campaign.

Connor Knapp has the other three shutouts this season.

TITLE RUN
Miami needs to gain just two points on Ferris State over the last six games to clinch its third CCHA regular-season championship. The result can be from a win or shootout win or a Bulldog loss or shootout loss among others.

The RedHawks previously won league championships in 1992-93 and 2004-05. Miami can finish no worse than the No. 2 seed behind Ferris State.

100-POINT CLUB
Miami has had two players cross the 100-point plateau this season as Jarod Palmer and Carter Camper have both reached the mark.

Palmer became the 43rd member of the elite club on Oct. 24 when he scored to tie the game against Michigan State.

Camper dished out three assists at Ohio State on Dec. 11 to put his name on the list as Member No. 44.

An abbreviated listing of the 100-point club (full list is on page 127 of the fan guide:

	Player	Games	Points 	Year
1.	Steve Morris	145	202	1979-83
2.	Rick Kuraly	145	179	1979-83
3.	Kevyn Adams	151	172	1992-96
4.	Bill Bok	136 	169	1978-82
5.	Vern Sketchley	131	158	1978-82
---------------------------------------------------------------------
16.	Ken House	151	124	1988-92
	Jason Deskins	147	124	1997-02
18.	Enrico Blasi	151	123	1990-94
	Bill Easdale	137	123	1982-86
	Greg Lukas	114	123	1980-84
	Jeff Sisto	144	123	1985-89
22.	Jarod Palmer	155	121	2006-
23.	Chris Bergeron	143	120	1989-93
	Derek Edwardson	135	120	2000-04
	Greg Hogeboom	156	120	2000-04
	Matt Christie	150	120	2003-07
27.	Tim Leahy	124	118	1994-98
28.	Bobby Marshall	155	115	1990-94
	Marty Guerin	156	115	2003-07
30.	Carter Camper	103	114	2007-
	Andy Cozzi	133	114	1981-85
	Andy Greene	159	114	2002-06

ANOTHER TWENTY
With Saturday night's 10-4 victory over Lake Superior State, Miami posted its fifth straight 20-win season. The RedHawks have now eclipsed the plateau 13 times in its 32-year history.

This is the eighth time in Enrico Blas's 11 seasons that his team has posted at least 20 wins.

CLOSE CALLS
Of Miami's 30 games this season, 19 have either ended in a tie or had a one-goal differential. Eight games have gone to overtime.

Miami stands 8-3-5 this year in games decided by a single goal or less, including 1-1-6 in overtime games. A year ago, the RedHawks were 0-2-5 in games that were tied after regulation and 6-7-0 in one-goal games.

SCORING BARRAGE
Miami's 10 goals were by far a season high as the previous best was six on two occasions. The RedHawks matched that less than four minutes into the second period.

The 10 goals were Miami's most since an 11-1 victory over Canisius Nov. 24, 2007 and most in league play since an 11-3 victory over Alaska on Oct. 24, 1997.

The six-goal victory tied for Miami's largest margin of victory this season, as the RedHawks also won 6-0 at Ohio State, Dec. 11.

GOAL SWAP
Miami has used its typical Friday-Saturday goal rotation -- starting Cody Reichard the first night and Connor Knapp the second -- in 12 of the 15 weekend series. Reichard started both games at Northern Michigan, at Michigan and at Ferris State.

Both players have been outstanding in net with Reichard leading the nation in goals-against average (1.39) and save percentage (.939). In conference play only, Knapp and Reichard are 1-2, respectively, in the league in GAA (1.13/1.15) and save percentage (.954/.950).

SHOOTING GALLERY
Lake Superior State outshot Miami in both contests last weekend, the first time the RedHawks have been on the short end in attempts in back-to-back outings. In fact, Miami has not held an advantage only five times all season.

The record when holding a shots edge is 17-4-4, leaving a 3-0-2 mark when opponents are equal or better.

The Lakers' 42 shots on Saturday were a season high by an opponent. Miami has reached 40 on five occasions, with a best of 48 vs. Western Michigan on Jan. 29.

The RedHawks registered at least 10 shots in four of the six periods vs. LSSU and have now done so in 55 of the 90 overall stanzas this year. The high is 23 in the second period of the Saturday game at Western Michigan.

FOUR SPOT
Miami registered four goals in both the first and second periods on Saturday. That marked the seventh and eighth times this year that the RedHawks have reached that total in a 20-minute span.

The second stanza is the most common occurrance for four goals, as it happened three other times.. Saturday's outburst marked the first time it has happened in the opening period, while the RedHawks have tallied four goals in third on four occasions.

POWER-PLAY UNIT
Miami's power-play unit has had a slow start to the 2010 portion of the schedule. The RedHawks started just four of 46, then matched the total on 12 attempts before going one-for-12 against Lake Superior State.

That now leaves Miami successful on nine of 70 (12.9 percent) attempts since a incredible run of seven goals on their last 14 tries before Christmas.

For the season, the RedHawks rank sixth in the CCHA at 18.3 percent (30 of 164).

PENALTY KILLERS
Miami allowed Lake State two power-play goals in six situations on Saturday after holding the Lakers scoreless in four tries on Friday.

Still, Miami has killed off 108 of their last 122 penalties and rank first in the CCHA with an 88.0 percent success rate (146 of 166).

Miami has had four lengthy penalty-kill streaks this season -- 19 (at the start of the year), 17, 21 and 24.

QUICK STARTS OF LATE
Over the last five games, Miami has scored multiple goals in the first period three times, including a season-high four vs. Lake Superior State on Saturday. In contrast, the Redhawks tallied just 12 goals in the 25 previous first periods this season.

Still, Miami has scored only 22 of its 98 goals (22.4 percent) in the opening period of play. The other 76 goals are split nearly even -- 40 in the second and 35 in the third (one in overtime).

IN THE CLUTCH
Tommy Wingels has been credited with five game-winning goals and is tied for first in the nation with 10 others.

Jarod Palmer and Andy Miele are just one shy of the team lead at four and are tied for 11th in the country.

EVEN-STEVEN
A tie in the Friday night game at Alaska was the sixth this season, equaling the school season record set in 1994-95. It also marked the eighth overtime game of the year, tying that standard (also 1991-92 and 2004-05).

The RedHawks are now 1-1-6 this season in games that went to overtime. The shootout win was Miami's second in four attempts this season and fourth all-time (4-4).

COMING BACK, I
Miami has fallen behind 1-0 in 15 of the 30 games this year, but that hasn't been a worry for the RedHawks. They have a 7-4-4 record in such contests.

During the 2008-09 campaign, the RedHawks were just 2-12-3 when the opponent scored first.

COMING BACK, II
Miami has faced a two-goal deficit six times this season, rallying to tie the game in five of those. The lone expection was a 3-1 loss at Robert Morris on Jan. 8.

The record in the five occurences is 1-2-2. Miami rallied for the win Dec. 12 vs. Ohio State and earned ties with New Hampshire and North Dakota. The two losses came against Michigan State (in overtime) and Bemidji State.

THE CAPTAIN
With eight goals in the last 12 games -- including four at Ohio State Dec. 11 -- junior Tommy Wingels has vaulted into the team scoring lead. He has a team-high 14 goals and 31 points, tied for the top spot. Wingels has recorded at least one point in 14 of the last 15 games, including seven straight at one point. He has also tallied points in 21 of the 30 outings this season.

CAMPER COMES ON
Junior Carter Camper had two goals and an assist over the weekend to move into a tie for first on the team with 31 points. He had 42 (20g-22a) as a sophomore. He now has at least one point in seven straight games and 11 of 13 (20 total). Camper also has a team-high 19 assists and 12 goals, which ranks tied for second.

MIE-LEADER
Junior Andy Miele stands tied for second on the team in goals and tied for third in assists. His 29 points (12g, 17a) are tied for third with Jarod Palmer. With a team-best five points on three goals and two assists over the weekend, Miele ended a drought of no points in three of his previous six games. Miele has matched his career high of two goals three times this season -- vs. Lake Superior State (Feb. 6), vs. Ohio State (Dec. 12) and at Western Michigan (Nov. 20). He has also tallied four game-winning goals.

CLASS OF 100
The 2009-10 senior class is one of the most successful in school history and still has several games left to play. The foursome of Jarod Palmer, Gary Steffes, Dane Hetland and Brandon Smith moved into second place on the all-time list with their 99th and 100th wins of their careers last weekend.

The top 10 senior classes in Miami history:

1.	2008-09	106
2.	2009-10	100
3.	1997-08	98
4.	2006-07	88
5.	2005-06	88
6.	1994-95	84
7.	1981-82	77
8.	2003-04	76
	1995-96	76
	1996-97	76
	2010-11 (next year's seniors)	76

GRAB THE BROOM
Lake Superior State became Miami's eighth victim of a Friday-Saturday sweep this past weekend. The RedHawks also won a pair of games against St. Cloud State, Northern Michigan, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ferris State and Western Michigan. Last year, Miami also seven teams during the regular season.

SHORTHANDED SUCCESS
Miami has registered four shorthanded goals this season, with Joe Hartman leading the way. The freshman from St. Cloud, Minn., is tied for sixth in the nation in the category and is the only freshman in the top 25.

Tommy Wingels and Andy Miele have the RedHawks' other two shorthanded goals, both coming Nov. 20 at Western Michigan. That marked the first time Miami had two shorties in a game since Dec. 15, 2007 at Rensselaer.

...AND FAILURE
Lake Superior State scored the third shorthanded goal of the season against Miami midway through the second period on Saturday.

Robert Morris (Jan. 8) and North Dakota (Nov. 28) have the other 4-on-5 goals this season.

CENTURY CLUB
Miami saw its fifth player join the century club in Alaska when junior Carter Camper made his 100th appearance as a RedHawk. He joined classmates Tommy Wingels, Pat Cannone, Vincent LoVerde and Justin Vaive as in the club's the newest entrants.

Seniors Jarod Palmer (155) and Gary Steffes (134) have also reached triple-digit appearances.

Andy Miele has played in 88 career games and could reach the mark during postseason play.

A LITTLE SPUNK
Miami accumulated a season-high 59 penalty minutes on Saturday, just five shy of the school single-game record. The total included 45 in the first period alone, almost matrching the previous season high for a game (47 on Dec. 4 vs. Notre Dame).

FIRST STRIKES
Sophomore defenseman Will Weber and junior defenseman Vincent LoVerde both registered their first goals of the season in the game, both coming in the second period. It was just the second goal of LoVerde's career, as he also scored last year. LoVerde also tallied an assist to tie his career high for points.

OPPONENT SWEEP
Robert Morris has posted the only sweep against the RedHawks this year, handing Miami its first back-to-back losses since the 2009 CCHA Tournament against Northern Michigan. They also mark the first time the RedHawks have been swept in a weekend series by a non-conference opponent since Oct. 29-30, 2004 at St. Lawrence. A year ago, only Michigan swept the RedHawks during the regular season.

FRESHMEN FEVER
Three of Miami's freshman class members have made a tremendous impact this season. Curtis McKenzie stands sixth on the team with 19 points (4g-15a), while Reilly Smith and Joe Hartman have 12 and 10 points, respectively. Hartman was part of the No. 1 defensive pairing earlier this year and also has a pair of shorthanded goals.

HOME, SWEET, HOME
Miami's travel schedule got a lot lighter when it returned from Alaska on Jan. 24.

Of the last 10 games on the regular-season schedule, seven are at home (three of six currently). The exceptions won't even take them out of state as Miami is slated to visit Bowling Green this weekend and Ohio State on Feb. 26.

CONFERENCE WINS
Miami stands 17-1-4 in league play this year, marking the eighth time in school history it has reached that win total. The RedHawks need just one more victory to rank among the top five.

A listing of the most CCHA wins in Miami school history:

1.	2007-08	23-6-1 (30 games)
2.	1992-93	22-3-5 (30 games)
3.	2005-06	20-6-2 (28 games)
4.	1996-97	19-7-1 (28 games)
5.	2009-10	17-1-4 (22 games)
	2001-02	17-10-1 (28 games)
	2003-04	17-8-3 (28 games)
	2008-09	17-7-4 (28 games)

PENALTY STOP
Sophomore Cody Reichard has stopped two penalty shots this season, first against Michigan State on Oct. 23 and then against Michigan on Nov. 6. Miami was also on the defensive end of two penalty shots last year with Connor Knapp making both stops.

ALL IN
A total of nine players on the Miami roster have appeared in all 30 games this season. The number includes freshman forwards Curtis McKenzie and Reilly Smith.

Cameron Schilling was the latest player to miss a game -- he was a healthy scratch for Saturday's contest with Western Michigan.

Reserve goaltender Ben Saksa and defenseman Garrett Kennedy are the only players on the active roster yet to see action for the RedHawks.

TOP TEAMS
Miami's ice hockey team has the best winning percentage among all 58 Division I teams since 2005-06. Over the last four-plus seasons, the RedHawks have compiled a record of 126-48-20 (.701), ahead of Michigan, which has a record of 126-60-11 (.668) during the same span.

QUICK STRIKES
Miami's two goals in the second St. Cloud State game came just 20 seconds apart at 5:22 and 5:42 of the third period. The school record for fastest pair of goals is 11 seconds.

Andy Miele's goal 2:02 into Saturday's contest was the second-fastest goal to start a game this season. Matt Tomassoni scored just 1
^p52 into the Miami's Oct. 17 game at New Hampshire.

EMPTY NETTER
Andy Miele recorded Miami's second empty-net goal of the season on Friday vs. Lake Superior State, making the score 2-0 with 0.2 seconds remaining.

Jarod Palmer tallied the first empty-netter Dec. 12 when he scored with 27 seconds remaining against Ohio State.

TWO OTs IN A ROW
Miami's back-to-back overtimes against Ferris State Nov. 13-14 were the first since the end of the 2007-08 season. The RedHawks defeated Air Force in the first round of the NCAA Regionals 3-2, before falling to Boston College 4-3 the next night.

CCHA AWARD WINNERS
Miami players have won three CCHA awards this season, including a pair on Nov. 9. Jarod Palmer and Cody Reichard were honored as Player of the Week and Goaltender of the Week, respectively, after the sweep at Michigan.

Sophomore Matt Tomassoni was the first RedHawk to gain a CCHA weekly award this year when he was named Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19.

AND A NATIONAL AWARD
Cody Reichard was named National Player of the Week by Inside College Hockey on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

He was the first RedHawk honored with a national award this season.

SHOOTOUT NUMBERS
Four of Miami's CCHA games this season have ended in a tie and gone to a shootout to determine who gets the third point in the conference standings.

Both games of the first Ferris State series, the Saturday night contest at Western Michigan and the Alaska opener were still deadlocked after overtime and went to the extra session.

Miami is 4-4 all-time in shootouts, including 2-2 this season.

200 AND COUNTING
Miami University is celebrating its Bicentennial this year as the school was founded in 1809. The year-long celebration started on charter day - Feb. 16, 2009 - but the 2009-10 hockey season will be featured.

During the Notre Dame weekend, approximately 45 former players returned to campus to celebrate the history of the hockey program.

To commemorate the bicentennial, the team wore a special fourth jersey for both nights. The jerseys were then auctioned off to fans on MURedHawks.com.

THIS AND THAT:
Miami improved to 17-0-0 when leading after two periods this season... The RedHawks are now 11-2-2 on Fridays, 9-1-4 on Saturdays and 14-0-3 when scoring first.