Miami Student

Issue date: 3/31/09 Section: Front Page

Miami's hockey team celebrates Saturday evening in Minneapolis after defeating the University of Minnesota Duluth. The RedHawks will move on to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.

The Miami University men's ice hockey team got a second chance at postseason success after a premature departure from the CCHA tournament - the brotherhood's dream of advancing among the nation's elite came true Sunday when it made school history by earning its first-ever trip to the NCAA Frozen Four.

"(For) everyone in that locker room, (including) our coaching staff, it was a second opportunity for us to get into the tournament," senior Justin Mercier said. "We had to play our best. We took advantage of the situation, and we didn't take it for granted."

With such a young lineup this year, head coach Enrico Blasi's message from day one has been that the team is working to "get better everyday." If qualifying for a shot at the national title is Blasi's idea of "rebuilding," fans should be anxious to see what's in store for the Red and White down the road.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, gave us a chance to even be close to being in the national tournament with four freshman defensemen and two freshman goalies," Blasi said.

The team's underdog label and seemingly inconsequential presence in the West Regional was made glaringly apparent from the time Miami arrived in Minneapolis, as not a single reporter attended the team's press conference Thursday evening. That state of affairs starkly differed from Friday evening's post-victory packed house.

Addressing the crowded room, Blasi said, "We were a fourth seed going in. I'm not sure we talked about being an underdog, but our guys could feel we were not the favorite. We had a press conference yesterday with no reporters, so it doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Regardless, the RedHawks defied critics and instilled love and honor in the hearts of fans this past weekend, winning two straight on the national stage to punch their ticket to the fabled Frozen Four. Goal contributions from four separate lines Friday propelled the No. 4 Red and White to a decisive 4-2 victory against No. 1 Denver. It was a pair of tallies by Mercier coupled with airtight special teams that lifted the 'Hawks over No. 2 Minnesota Duluth the following night.

"The entire team played with emotion and passion," Blasi said. "I'm really proud of our guys for that."

The victories have been a long time coming from a program that has been slowly but steadily building its repertoire under Blasi's guidance.

Friday night's contest was not only one of No. 4 vs. No. 1 seed-it also centered around a certain "hockey family." Blasi's much touted professional relationship with his mentor, Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, took some of the focus away from what factors would divide the two teams-making one better suited to win-and put some of that spotlight on what factors made the teams similar and bonded them together.

"I think we coach very similarly in style," Blasi said. "(Gwozdecky) has his own style as far as motivating, but the systems are the same. When you practice that all week and all year you get used to it, so our guys were ready."

The close bond between the one-time player and his one-time coach also spurred an emotional post-game press conference.

"It's a little bit like coaching against your son," Gwozdecky said. "Obviously when your season ends you're disappointed, but I couldn't be more proud of Enrico Blasi and his team, the son of a gun."

Blasi's boys certainly earned their victory over Denver that night. The Red and White played with passion and did a superior job clogging up neutral zones, possessing the puck and anticipating the Pioneers' every move. Ten different RedHawks registered points on the evening, showcasing Miami's awesome depth.

"They had us very well scouted," Gwozdecky said. "This is not the time of year to make excuses about injuries. They just did a much better job of limiting our scoring chances and took advantage of a lot of the mistakes we made. They were the better team."

Mercier put the brotherhood on the board at 7:28 with a mid-ice dish in the middle of a line change. Freshman Alden Hirschfeld made it 2-0 before the first buzzer sounded with helpers from senior Kevin Roeder and sophomore Tommy Wingels.

Senior Bill Loupee clinched the game-winner when he swatted in a rebound from sophomore Carter Camper at 5:36 in the second stanza. The Pioneers earned their first tally of the contest late in the frame with a power play goal from freshman Joe Colborne after Wingels was sent to the sin bin for hooking. Miami answered back less than two minutes later, squashing the rally effort.

In what was arguably the most sensational goal of the evening, only sophomore Andy Miele seemed to be fully aware of what was going on. Sophomore Marc Cheverie saved Miele's initial attempt, but then a funny thing happened with the puck. Rather than being sent wide or scooped up in the fray, the puck went straight up in the air, bounced off a dead spot on the boards, and landed right back in front of the Denver net. Almost every player seemed to momentarily lose track of the puck, but Miele seized the opportunity as soon as it hit the ice and put the biscuit in the basket, beating Cheverie with a back-handed shot.

"Just when we're thinking, hey, we still have time here, they get that three-goal differential back," Gwozdecky said. "I think it had a big psychological effect, not only for us but for our opposition."

Gwozdecky pulled Cheverie with 14:52 remaining in the final period, and the Pioneers managed to slip one more past freshman net minder Cody Reichard on a two-man advantage following a Miami penalty but it wasn't enough to bring Denver back to life and scoring closed at 4-2.

This never-say-die attitude may have rattled the RedHawks in their battle against the Bulldogs the following night, but the brotherhood remained cool and focused in the regional final game, even after being held to just one shot-on-goal in the scoreless first frame and after having to kill off a seemingly absurd number of penalties in the second.

The Red and White faced some criticism toward the end of the regular season for consistently outshooting its opponents 3:1 and still failing to produce wins, but Saturday's game saw no trace of that former Achilles heel. The brotherhood managed to post 19 quality shots-on-goal and put two past junior Alex Stalock, while UMD only made good on one of 26 shots. This marks just the second time out of 10 games this season that the RedHawks have triumphed after being outshot.

Reichard stonewalled the Bulldogs in the first frame and persevered through a rough man-down spell midway through the period to keep the game scoreless.

Mercier then broke away from UMD's talented power play unit at 8:42 in the second to put Miami on the board with an unassisted shorthanded goal. The brotherhood is now 20-1-2 when lighting the lamp first.

The senior from Erie, Pa., wasn't done yet though, and Mercier posted a power play tally off a dish from freshman Chris Wideman with four minutes left in the stanza to give the RedHawks insurance.

Senior MacGregor Sharp capitalized on a man-advantage for the Bulldogs with just 2:05 left in regulation, but Miami's defense overpowered UMD for the remainder of the period to prevent a repeat of the previous night's last-minute rally effort and best the Bulldog's 2-1 for a bid to the Frozen Four.

"I'm a little bit lost for words right now," Blasi said. "It was a great game, a great effort and a great crowd. I think the fans were entertained with a pretty good hockey game tonight, and we're pretty excited about going to the Frozen Four."

Mercier was recognized for his contributions when he was named Most Valuable Player after the game. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team along with Reichard and freshman Cameron Schilling.

"(Mercier and I) had a talk early in the week and said that nobody remembers the regular season at this point," Blasi said. "Boy, did he ever come to play this weekend."

Miami will face Bemidji State in the national semifinal game at either 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. April 9 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Boston University and Vermont round out the bracket.

"All of our guys, all the way down to our sophomores, we all have NCAA tournament experience, and we can taste it out there," Mercier said. "It fuels us."

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