Oct. 21, 2008
OXFORD, Ohio - Miami finishes its early season road trip this weekend as they head to Notre Dame, Ind., to take on the Fighting Irish, Friday, Oct. 24, at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7:05 p.m. Both games will be played on the NHL sized ice (200 x 85) inside the Joyce Center.
“CHECKING” NOTRE DAME
Miami holds the all-time lead in the series between the two schools with a record of 30-15-8 and Notre Dame is one of only two schools in the CCHA that the RedHawks have a winning record against on the road. The Red and White lead the all-time series at UND with a record of 12-8-6. Notre Dame opened the season with a loss to then-No.6 Denver in Denver, Col., and since that 5-2 loss at the hands of the Pioneers, the Fighting Irish have not surrendered a goal. In the second weekend of the season, Notre Dame blanked Sacred Heart 3-0, Friday, Oct. 17, and 7-0, Saturday, Oct. 18 both games were at Notre Dame.
The last time the RedHawks and the Fighting Irish played each other the game was a thriller as Miami won 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals of the 2008 CCHA Tournament. Ryan Jones tied the game with four-seconds remaining and the RedHawks won in overtime on a goal by Alec Martinez.
FEELING AT HOME IN BURLINGTON
Tommy Wingels scored his first goals of the season on the road trip to Burlington, Vt. Wingels posted two goals, one in each game. Wingels scored his first when he intercepted a neutral ice pass and beat the goalie right side for the RedHawks first shorthanded goal since Justin Mercier netted a goal on the penalty kill Jan. 26, 2008 in Alaska against the Nanooks.
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THIS IS GETTING OFFENSIVE
Miami has been an offensive power house through the first four-games of the season and it is not just one player it is a team effort as 13 different players have at least one-point and nine different players have goals on the young season. The team is led in goals by Carter Camper and Gary Steffes, who both have three. Camper has been a one man wrecking crew on the power play as all of his seven-points this season have come on the power-play. Camper is also tied for the top spot in the nation in power-play goals as the sophomore from Rocky River, Ohio already has three goals on the power play.
Three members of the RedHawks are also in the Top 20 nationally in points per-game. Camper, Pat Canonne and Captain Brian Kaufman are all averaging 1.75 points per-game and the three members of the Red and White each have seven-points on the campaign.
FIRST TIMERS
Three RedHawks have registered their first career points in the first two weekends of the season. Chris Wideman racked up four points in back-to-back games against Ohio State and earned CCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his performance. Will Weber got on the score sheet in Vermont as he picked up the first assist on the goal by Pat Cannone in the third period of the Oct. 17 game against the Catamounts. Neither Wideman nor Weber had to wait as long as Brandon Smith did for this first career point. Smith was credited with the second assist on Alexandre Lacombe’s goal in the Oct. 18 game against Vermont. Smith was in only his fourth career game for the RedHawks but the Pepper Pike, Ohio native is now in his third season in Oxford.
THEY JUST KEEP ON WINNING
Over the past three seasons no hockey program has won more hockey games than the Miami RedHawks, who have 84 wins since 2005-06. In this time period, the RedHawks have won 71.1-percent of their games, which is also an NCAA best. During the same stretch, no other school in the NCAA has over a 70-percent winning percentage.
CLOSING IN ON 200 WINS
With a 33-win season in 2007-08, head coach Enrico Blasi has drawn closer to the 200-win mark. Blasi has 188 wins in his nine seasons at Miami, including one regular-season CCHA title. Blasi has the most wins by a head coach in school history as well as the highest winning percentage.
STILL GROWING AT 30
Miami ice hockey is 30-years old and the program continues to grow and might just be reaching its prime. The RedHawks have moved into a new building (Steve Cady Arena in the Goggin Ice Center). They are coming off a 33-win season, in which they spent 10 weeks ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team. Also, over the past three seasons, no team in NCAA Division I hockey has won more games, or has a higher winning percentage.
HOME AGAIN IN THE CCHA
Former Western Michigan captain Brent Brekke, who was the CCHA’s Best Defensive Defenseman in 1993-94, joins the RedHawk coaching staff after spending nine seasons with Cornell of the ECAC. Miami’s other assistant coach, ninth-year assistant coach Chris Bergerson, was tabbed the league’s Best Defensive Forward in 1992-93 as a member of the Miami program.
GONE CAMPING
Carter Camper extended his point streak to ten games against Vermont but had it snapped in the final game in Burlington as the Catamounts kept the sophomore from Rocky River, Ohio off the score sheet. Camper has registered a point in 20 of his last 22 games. The RedHawks have a Camper-related streak going, as the team is 10-1-1 when Camper has a multi-point game. Camper has a chance to become one of the fastest RedHawks to reach 50 points as he has 48 points in 37 career games.
LAST TIMEOUT - AT VERMONT, OCT. 18
For the second night in a row Miami and Vermont battled in a back and fourth game that ended in a tie 3-3 in Burlington, Vt.
The first period was a battle with lots of pushing and shoving in front of each net. After a penalty was given to Will Weber for holding it looked like Vermont might strike first. Tommy Wingels had other ideas as he intercepted a neutral ice pass and scored the first RedHawk shorthanded goal of the season to give the Red and White a 1-0 lead.
The RedHawks lead grew in the second, when Alexandre Lacombe found the net on assists from Bill Loupee and Brandon Smith. The point for Smith was the first of his career.
Vermont would battle back as Corey Carlson found the net at 15:58 of second. Peter Lenes found Carlson in the slot and he slipped it by Connor Knapp to make it a one score game. Fifty-five seconds later, Kevan Miller evened the score at two as he slammed home a shot from the blue line with assists from Dean Strong and Wahsontiio Stacey.
In the third period Miami took the lead with 1:35 into the period when Brian Kaufman picked off a pass from in neutral ice and netted his first goal of the season. Peter Lenes tied the game at 5:25 of the third off assists from Dean Strong and Kyle Medvec.
FOLLOW THE HAWKS
The RedHawks will have 21 games on television this season, including their entire home schedule, 14 games are on the Ohio News Network (ONN), four games are on CBS College Sports, two games are on Comcast and one game is one is on the Fox Sports Network (FSN). Radio coverage at all of the RedHawks games will be broadcast on the Miami ISP Sports Network and will be called by Greg Waddell.
IN THE RANKINGS
Miami started the season ranked at No. 8 for the second time in three years. Miami, now ranked No. 10, opened the 06-07 season ranked eighth and the 07-08 season ranked No. 4. Miami now has been ranked among the Top-8 in the country for 27-consecutive weeks, including No. 1 for 10 of those weeks. Miami comes off a record-breaking season in which it set a school high-water mark for wins with 33. Over the past three seasons, Miami has posted more wins and a better winning percentage than any other team in the country. Miami is not the only CCHA team among the Top 10 with Michigan coming in at No. 5 and 2008 NCAA runner-up Notre Dame coming in at No. 8
LET’S SHOOT IT OUT
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced this offseason that an NHL style three-player shootout will be used in the 2008-09 season to determine a winner for all of the 168 regular-season conference games that are tied after 60 minutes of regulation play and five minutes of overtime.
The CCHA has also approved the following point system for regular-season play; Two (2) points for a win in regulation or overtime, one (1) point for each school if the game is tied at the conclusion of the five-minute overtime period and one (1) point is awarded to the team who wins the shootout.
A total of 90 regular-season games have wound up tied over the past three CCHA seasons; 31 in 2007-08, 26 in 2006-07 and 33 in 2005-06. Another 29 games have been decided in overtime during the same time frame; 12 last season, 10 in 2006-07 and seven in 2005-06.
Shootout Rules
1. It is recommended that the ice surface be dry scraped in the middle of the ice through both creases.
2. At the end of the five-minute overtime period, the head official will instruct the timekeeper to put two minutes on the clock and immediately start the clock.
3. The other two officials will request a list of three shooters from each coach.
4. The head official will meet at center ice with the captains to explain the protocol during the two-minute period.
5. The goalkeepers remain in the same ends as the overtime period.
6. The home team has the option of shooting first or defending first. If Team A’s first two players score, while none of Team B’s players score, the shootout is over and Team A wins the shootout.
7. If the shootout remains tied at the end of three rounds, each coach will select a different shooter, this time in a sudden death situation. The first three shooters are ineligible until all other bench players have attempted a shot, if necessary. Each team has an equal number of chances to shoot before a winner is declared.
Notes
• Players serving penalty time shall not be eligible for the shootout.
• If a shooter is injured in the shootout, the player may be replaced in subsequent rounds by a player off the bench.
• If a goalkeeper is injured in the shootout, the goalkeeper may be immediately replaced by a goalkeeper off the bench. The injured goalkeeper may not re-enter the shootout.
• All players not actively participating in the shootout must remain on their bench. • Goalkeepers may be substituted, but no warm-up time will be allowed.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Many RedHawks made their debut in the Red and White in week one against Ohio State. Both freshmen goalies, Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp, saw action for the first time. Reichard posted 26 saves against Ohio State on opening night and Knapp made 20 stops during the home opener. Chris Wideman passed out four assists in his first two games with Miami. Cameron Schilling and Will Weber also saw their first action as freshmen. Brandon Smith made his debut on the ice for the RedHawks in his first two games at Miami since arriving in Oxford in 2006. Matt Tomassoni made his first appearance in the Red and White on the road as he played in both game in Burlington, Vt.
HATS OFF
Gary Steffes posted his first career hat trick Oct. 11 against Ohio State. Steffes scored twice in the second period and once more in the third. Coming into the game the Grand Blanc, Mich., native only had 11 career goals. It was a career high for Steffes in points in a game and goals in a game.
GOOD “VAIVE”BRATIONS
Justin Vaive entered the first week of the season with only three career goals but he seems to have found his stroke as he scored twice in two games against the Buckeyes. Vaive tied the game at two in Columbus Oct. 10 with his first goal, and scored on the power play the next night in Oxford.
JACKETS IN OXFORD
Freshmen Trent Vogelhuber and Will Weber are both draft choices of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Weber was chosen in the second-round of the 2007 NHL draft by the Jacket. Vogelhuber, a native of Dublin, Ohio, was taken in the same draft, in the seventh-round and called being drafted by his favorite team “a dream come true.” Weber and Vogelhuber join three other RedHawks, who have been picked in the NHL draft. Justin Mercier was picked by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005. Justin Vaive was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and just this past offseason Tommy Wingels was picked by the San Jose Sharks.
ROAD WARRIORS
The RedHawks opened their home schedule Oct. 11 against Ohio State with a 7-3 win, but Miami will not be back to the friendly confines of Steve Cady Arena until the end of the month. After its home opener, Miami first headed to Burlington Vt., went 0-1-1 against the Catamounts and now head to Notre Dame, Ind., to face the 2007-08 National Runners-up, No. 8 Notre Dame. Miami returns to Oxford just in time for Halloween, Oct. 31, when the RedHawks welcome the Nanooks from Alaska.
CAPTAIN KAUFMAN
Brian Kaufman will captain the RedHawks during the 2008-09 campaign and will be assisted by Kevin Roeder. It is the first time the RedHawks will have just one captain and one assistant since 2004-05, when Andy Greene wore the ‘C’ and Chris Busby the ‘A’.
Kaufman played in all 42 games a year ago for the RedHawks, posting 12 goals and 25 assists. For his career, Kaufman has 20 goals and 42 assists in only 84 games. The 6-4 forward will lead the Red and White, which is coming off their best season in school history recording 33 wins, an NCAA regional semifinal appearance and number one ranking for 10 weeks. Following the 2006-07 season, Kaufman was named the Steve Cady Most Improved Player. Kaufman will also be the leader of a young team in 2008-09 with 14 underclassmen including eight freshmen.
“We feel very good to have Brian Kaufman as our captain,” Miami Hockey head coach Enrio Blasi said. “He has been an assistant for us in the past and has learned from some great captains like Andy Greene and Ryan Jones.”
Roeder will be entering his third season as an assistant to the captain. Roeder is one of the most experienced RedHawks having played in 113 games in his career, recording three goals and 27 assists. The 5-9 defensemen also boasted a +27 ranking in 2007-08 and a +25 ranking in conference play. Both were top marks among non-goalies on the RedHawks.
WIDEMAN NAMED CCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK, OCT. 13
After posting four assists in his first weekend in the Red and White, freshman defensemen Chris Wideman was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week.
Wideman, a native of St. Louis, Mo., dished out two assists in his first career game. The first came on the RedHawks’ first goal of the season when Carter Camper scored on a power-play chance off assists from Jarod Palmer and Wideman. The second came on Palmer’s game-tying goal with 5:39 remaining in the third period. The next night, Wideman assisted on the first goal of the night, a power-play score by Pat Cannone. Wideman also dished out an assist to Gary Steffes on the final Miami goal in the second period.
After the first weekend of play, Wideman is tied with teammate Jarod Palmer in overall power play-points in the CCHA. Wideman also leads all conference defenseman in scoring and all league rookies in scoring. The honor is the second-consecutive CCHA Rookie Award for Miami as Andy Miele won the final honor of the 2007-08 season after posting one goal and three assist against Ohio State.
NEXT UP
Miami returns to Steve Cady Arena inside the Goggin Ice Center to take on the Alaska Nanooks Friday Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 both games start at 7:05 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Ohio News Network (ONN).
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