Feb. 24, 2010

Weekly Release for the Ohio State Series

THE WEEKEND
No. 2/2 Miami wraps up the 2009-10 regular season this weekend with a home-and-home series against its biggest rival, Ohio State. The RedHawks swept the December meetings with the Buckeyes, winning 6-0 in Columbus and 4-2 in Oxford. Friday's game at Steve Cady Arena begins at 8:05 p.m. for a CBS College Sports national broadcast, while Saturday's contest at Value City Arena will also start at 8:05 p.m.

Miami is coming off a series split with Nebraska-Omaha, winning 6-2 on Friday, but losing 4-2 on Saturday. The latter result ended a school-record 11-game unbeaten streak that included eight straight wins. Jarod Palmer had a goal and two assists in the victory, while eight different players registered goals during the series.

Ohio State earned a win and a tie at Western Michigan this weekend, taking a 3-1 decision Friday before a 3-3 draw then next night. The Buckeyes are just 1-2-4 in their last seven games.

THE COACHES
Enrico Blasi (Miami '94) is in his 11th season behind the RedHawk bench, holding a 233-156-39 career record. He is a three-time CCHA Coach of the Year selection and was named National Coach of the Year in 2005-06.

John Markell (Bowling Green `79) stands 277-264-55 in 15 seasons overall and at Ohio State. He has led the Buckeyes to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Frozen Four berth in 1997-98.

THE SERIES
Miami swept the two December meetings with Ohio State to increase its series advantage to 60-56-11. At home, the RedHawks are 37-21-4 overall, while the Buckeyes lead 31-20-6 in Columbus. Miami stands 10-1-1 against OSU in the last 12 games.

POLL NUMBERS
Miami dropped to No. 2 in both polls this week, as Denver leapfrogged the RedHawks after a sweep of Michigan Tech. This marks just the third time in the last 18 weeks that Miami has not been ranked No. 1.

QUICK HITS

• Miami saw several lengthy success streaks come to an end on Saturday. The RedHawks were unbeaten in a school-record 11 straight games, including eight straight wins, and has not lost a CCHA game since Oct. 24 (3-2 in overtime to Michigan State), a span of 23 in a row.
• Friday's win was the 20th in CCHA action this year, equaling Miami's best-ever for a 28-game schedule. Two other teams have had more wins -- 2007-08 (23-6-1) and 1992-93 (22-3-5) -- but those came with 30 games on the docket.
• When Miami fell behind 1-0 Saturday, it marked the first time the RedHawks trailed in a game since Jan. 21 at Alaska. UNO's two early goals on Friday, ended a streak where Miami had outscored its opponents 14-0 during the opening 20.

SERIES BREAKDOWN
Miami swept the two December meetings with Ohio State, increasing its series advantage to 60-56-11. The results improved the RedHawks' mark against the Buckeyes to 10-1-1 over the last 12 games.

At home, Miami stands 37-21-4 overall, while OSU holds a 31-20-6 record in the capital city.

Here is a breakdown of the series over the last three years (11 meetings). A full series history can be found on page 118 of the Miami Fan Guide:

11/19/07	W, 5-1	A
11/20/07	W, 5-1	H
12/30/07	W, 4-2	N1
2/26/08	W, 2-1	A
2/27/08	W, 4-3	H
10/10/08	T, 3-3 (SOL)	A
10/11/08	W, 7-3	H
2/27/09	L, 6-2	H
2/28/09	W, 7-5	A
12/11/09	W, 6-0	A
12/12/09	W, 4-2	H
N1 - Ohio Hockey Classic (Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio)

BLASI vs. THE BUCKEYES
Head Coach Enrico Blasi stands 24-18-5 against Ohio State is his 11 seasons on the Miami bench. In Oxford, Blasi's record is 12-7-1, while he is 10-8-3 in Columbus. The other six games -- in which he is 2-3-1 -- have taken place at neutral sites.

TITLE RUN
Miami officially clinched its third CCHA title in school history on February 12 with Ferris State's loss to Lake Superior State. The result came just minutes before the RedHawks posted a 3-2 victory over BG.
The clinching came two days earlier than the last time Miami won the title, 2005-06. The RedHawks' first championship came during the 1992-93 season.

A NEW RECORD
While Miami had its unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday, it wasn't until the RedHawks had set a new school record. Friday's 5-2 win was the 11th result in a row without a loss, topping the 2003-04 team that posted 10 straight wins between losses (Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, 2004).

Miami's 11-game unbeaten streak is the longest in the nation this year.

100-POINT CLUB
Miami has had two players cross the 100-point threshold 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
--------------------------------------------------------------------
11.	Mike Kompon	153	138	2000-04
12.	Nathan Davis	138	132	2004-08
13.	Boyd Sutton	146	130	1985-89
14.	Dave Wheeldon	126	128	1980-84
15.	Jarod Palmer	157	130	2006-
16.	John Ciotti	105	126	1982-85
	Dave McClintock	138	126	1978-83
18.	Ken House	151	124	1988-92
	Jason Deskins	147	124	1997-02
20.	Enrico Blasi	151	123	1990-94
	Bill Easdale	137	123	1982-86
	Greg Lukas	114	123	1980-84
	Jeff Sisto	144	123	1985-89
24.	Chris Bergeron	143	120	1989-93
	Derek Edwardson	135	120	2000-04
	Greg Hogeboom	156	120	2000-04
	Matt Christie	150	120	2003-07
28.	Tim Leahy	124	118	1994-98
29.	Carter Camper	105	116	2007-
30	Bobby Marshall	155	115	1990-94
	Marty Guerin	156	115	2003-07
--------------------------------------------------------------------
	Tommy Wingels	116	90	2007-
	Pat Cannone	116	88	2007-

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Miami has reached double figures in goals twice this season, defeating Lake Superior State 10-4 on Feb. 6 and Bowling Green 10-2 seven days later.

Before the game with the Lakers, the last time the RedHawks tallied 10 goals was back on Nov. 24, 2007 (11-1 win over Canisius). The outputs equal the most in league play since an 11-3 victory over Alaska on Oct. 24, 1997.

This year marks the first time since the 1985-86 season that Miami has scored at least 10 goals in more than one game.

ANOTHER TWENTY
With the 10-4 victory over Lake Superior State on Feb. 6, Miami posted its fifth straight 20-win season. The RedHawks have now eclipsed the plateau 13 times in their 32-year history.

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

CONFERENCE WINS
Miami stands 20-2-4 in league play this year, marking the fourth time in school history it has reached that win total. While the RedHawks cannot equal the school record this year, they do need just one more victory to register the highest total for a 28-game season.

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.	2009-10	20-2-4 (26 games)
	2005-06	20-6-2 (28 games)
5.	1996-97	19-7-1 (28 games)
6.	2001-02	17-10-1 (28 games)
	2003-04	17-8-3 (28 games)
	2008-09	17-7-4 (28 games)

QUICK STARTS OF LATE
Miami has scored multiple goals in the first period five times in the last nine games, including a season-high four vs. Lake Superior State on Feb. 6. In contrast, the Redhawks tallied just 12 goals in the 25 previous first periods this season.

Still, Miami has scored only 28 of its 119 goals (23.5 percent) in the opening period of play. The other 91 goals are split nearly even -- 48 in the second and 42 in the third (one in overtime).

Miami has outscored its last nine opponents 16-3 during the first period.

SHUTOUT STANDARDS
Miami registered its eighth shutout of the season on Feb. 5 against Lake Superior, doubling the 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 in 2002-03.

Connor Knapp has the other three shutouts this season.

GOAL SWAP
Miami has used its typical Friday-Saturday goal rotation -- starting Cody Reichard the first night and Connor Knapp the second -- in 14 of the 17 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 (1.45) and winning percentage (.833/16-2-3). In conference play only, Reichard and Knapp are 1-2, respectively, in the league in GAA (1.17/1.77) and save percentage (.950/.931).

CLOSE CALLS
Of Miami's 34 games this season, 20 have either ended in a tie or had a one-goal differential. Eight games have gone to overtime.

Miami stands 9-3-5 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.

FOUR SPOT
The recent scoring explosion has extended to single periods as well. Miami registered four goals twice against both Lake Superior State and Bowling Green. The four-goal efforts in the second and third periods on Feb. 13 marked the 10th and 11th times that has happened this year.

The second stanza has seen the most occurences of four goals, as it has happened five other times. The RedHawks have also tallied four goals in the third on four occasions.

POWER-PLAY UNIT
Miami's power-play unit has had a slow start to the 2010 portion of the schedule, converting just one of 11 against Nebraska-Omaha.

Still, the RedHawks are just 14 of 94 (14.9 percent) since a incredible run of seven goals on their last 14 tries before Christmas.

For the season, the RedHawks rank ffith in the CCHA at 18.7 percent (35 of 187).

PENALTY KILLERS
Miami held Nebraska-Omaha to just two power-play goals on 10 attempts over the weekend.

The RedHawks have killed off 127 of their last 144 penalties and rank first in the CCHA with an 87.3 percent success rate (165 of 189).

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

IN THE CLUTCH
Tommy Wingels and Jarod Palmer have each recorded a team-high five game-winning goals, tied for third in the country. They are two behind the national leader.

Andy Miele is just one shy of the team lead at four and is tied for 15th in the country.

SHOOTING GALLERY
After holding a commanding 45-21 advantage in shots on Friday, Miami was on the short side of attempts vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday. The Mavericks held a slight 31-28 edge in the category.

Miami has now held an edge in shots in 28 of the 34 contests, with one other being even. The record for those games is 20-4-4, leaving a 3-1-2 mark when opponents are equal or better.

The RedHawks registered at least 10 shots in four of the six periods vs. UNO and have now done so in 63 of the 102 overall stanzas this year. The high is 23 in the second period of the Saturday game at Western Michigan.

CCHA AWARD WINNERS
A pair of RedHawks won CCHA weekly awards following the weekend series at Bowling Green. Senior Jarod Palmer and sophomore Chris Wideman were named Player of the Week and Defenseman of the Week, respectively.

To date, a total of five Miami players have been honored, 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.

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).

PALMER PUCKS
Senior Jarod Palmer leads Miami in points with 38 after a string of four straight games with three points each. His scoreless night on Saturday vs. UNO was just his second in 12 games.

Palmer is tied for the team lead in goals with 15, while standing second in assists with 23. This season, he has five game-winning goals and is a two-time recipient of CCHA Player of the Week honors. He has also moved into the top 15 on Miami career scoring chart.

MIE-LEADER
With five assists in the last three games, junior Andy Miele has regained the team lead in that statistical category. He has 24 to go along with 12 goals, ranking second on the team with 36 points.

Miele has now registered 12 points (3g, 9a) over the last six games. He is tied for fourth in the CCHA scoring race with 30 points in conference play.

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.

THE CAPTAIN
Team captain Tommy Wingels shares the team lead with 15 goals this season, while also ranking third in overall scoring (35 points).

Wingels has recorded at least one point in 16 of the last 19 games, including seven straight at one point. He has also tallied points in 23 of the 33 outings this season.

In December, Wingels tallied a career-high four goals in the game at Ohio State.

CAMPER COMES ON
Junior Carter Camper added a goal and an assist to his scoring total vs. Nebraska-Omaha and now has 34 (13g, 21a) for the season. He tallied 42 points on 20 goals and 22 assists as a sophomore.

Camper had a seven-game streak snapped at Bowling Green, but has still tallied at least one in 14 of the last 16 games (23 total).

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 has 103 wins over the last four years, good for second place.

The top 10 senior classes in Miami history:

1.	2008-09	106
2.	2009-10	103
3.	1997-08	98
4.	2006-07	88
5.	2005-06	88
6.	1994-95	84
7.	2010-11 (next year's seniors)	79
8.	1981-82	77
9.	2003-04	76
	1995-96	76
	1996-97	76

GRAB THE BROOM
Bowling Green became Miami's ninth victim of a Friday-Saturday sweep this earlier this month. The RedHawks also won a pair of games against St. Cloud State, Northern Michigan, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ferris State, Western Michigan and Lake Superior State.

Last year, Miami won Friday and Saturday games against seven teams.

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.

SHORTHANDED SUCCESS
Miami picked up its fifth shorthanded goal of the season Saturday when Chris Wideman found the net four-on-five.

Another defenseman, Joe Hartman, leads the team -- and is tied for sixth in the nation -- with a pair.

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 Feb. 6.

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 (159) and Gary Steffes (134) have also reached triple-digit appearances.

Andy Miele has played in 92 career games and could reach the mark during postseason play.

COMING BACK, I
Miami has fallen behind 1-0 in 16 of the 34 games this year, but that hasn't been a worry for the RedHawks. They have a 7-5-4 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 seven times this season, rallying to tie the game in five of those. Losses to Nebraska-Omaha (4-2 on Feb. 21) and Robert Morris (3-1 on Jan. 8) are the exceptions.

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.

FRESHMEN FEVER
Three of Miami's freshman class members have made a tremendous impact this season. Curtis McKenzie stands sixth on the team with 23 points (5g-18a), while Reilly Smith and Joe Hartman have 16 and 13 points, respectively. Hartman was part of the No. 1 defensive pairing earlier this year and also has a pair of shorthanded goals.

ALL IN
A total of eight players on the Miami roster have appeared in all 34 games this season. The number includes freshman forwards Curtis McKenzie and Reilly Smith.

Alden Hirschfeld was the latest player to miss a game -- he was suspended last Friday after receiving a game disqualification on Feb. 13.

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 129-49-20 (.702), ahead of Michigan, which has a record of 127-63-11 (.659) 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.

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.

EMPTY NETTER
Andy Miele recorded Miami's second empty-net goal of the season on Feb. 6 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.

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.

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 stands to 19-0-0 when leading after two periods this season. The RedHawks are now 13-2-2 on Fridays, 10-2-4 on Saturdays and 17-0-3 when scoring first.

MIAMI FANS, stop by the BLC booth on the East Concourse for your chance to win a game worn Miami Hockey Jersey. The auction concludes at the end of the 2nd intermission.