Spring Break
First-place RedHawks to face off against Spartans
Erika Hadley
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Sports
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The RedHawks, now 4-3-3 on the season and 4-2-2-1 in conference play, will take to the road November 14-15 to spar with the Spartans, who are 4-2-2 overall and 2-2-2-2 in the CCHA.
Facing off against MSU may be something akin to looking in a mirror for the young Miami squad, as both teams possess similarly youthful line-ups.
"We're probably pretty similar in the fact that we have some key players that are in a key situation very young," Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. "Theirs happens to be more on the defense and a couple of forwards, but I think it's just one of those things where you have to be ready to play your best, no matter who you're playing."
The Green and White lost eight talented players to graduation and the professionals at the conclusion of 2007-08 and has worked to incorporate 11 freshmen into the line-up this season. Comparably, the 'Hawks lost nine of their own at the end of last year and have since welcomed eight newcomers into 'the brotherhood.' Inconsistencies in both teams' records for 2008-09 evidence the fact that these adjustments are a process and won't happen overnight.
"We're a work in progress," Blasi said. "We're just trying to find our game right now, and sometimes we look real good and sometimes we don't look as good. It's just a matter of getting better and making sure that we are a little bit more consistent in our play and our effort."
One major point that the Red and White have struggled with over the last couple of weekends has been keeping up the intensity necessary to pull off a sweep of their opponents rather than settling for a split. Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Miami fell 2-1 to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in game 1 before finding a fire that would rally them to a 5-0 shutout the following night. Last weekend saw the same situation in reverse as the 'Hawks pulled out a 3-2 shootout victory Friday night, only to skate flatly to a 2-1 loss in the series clincher.
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