Miami’s hockey team has hung its skates on its defense all season. The RedHawks’ No. 2-ranked defense will be put to the test in Saturday’s NCAA Midwest regional semifinal against Minnesota State.
While Miami has allowed just 1.73 goals per game and has killed off 163 power play chances, more than any other team in the nation, Minnesota State’s offense is 10th in the nation in scoring at 3.17 goals per contest, including a NCAA-leading 44 power play goals.
“I think it means we need to stay out of the box,” said Miami senior forward Curtis McKenzie. “If we do give them power plays then our penalty kill has to be lights out.”
Face-off between the second-seeded RedHawks (24-11-5) and third-seeded Mavericks (24-13-3) is 5 p.m. at Toledo’s Huntington Center. The winner advances to Sunday’s regional final against top-seeded Notre Dame or No. 4 St. Cloud State. Miami is 1-0-1 against Minnesota State all-time, with the last meeting coming in the 2004-05 season when Minnesota State won in an overtime shootout.
This is the eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament for Miami, the second longest streak in the nation behind only North Dakota’s 11 straight appearances. Michigan’s streak of 22 consecutive tournaments came to an end this year.
The RedHawks went to consecutive Frozen Fours in 2009 and 2010 but have lost in the first round of the tournament each of the last two seasons, including a 4-3 defeat in overtime last year against UMass-Lowell after rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the third period. Ranked No. 5 in the final national polls, Miami surprised some people by winning the regular season Central Collegiate Hockey Association title despite a roster that included 11 freshmen but being back in the NCAA tournament has been no fluke.
“The guys have from day one bought into the culture and what we expect of them,” said coach Enrico Blasi. “Our guys have been good. The energy has been good, the leaders have done a nice job of bringing them along and when you have some youth and some
energy you have some excitement. The combination of experience and excitement isn’t bad.”
Senior defenseman and captain Steven Spinell has blocked 66 shots this season after getting his body in front of 70 shots last year and his plus-14 ratio is second on the team only to sophomore forward Austin Czarnik’s plus-19. Czarnik was named CCHA Player of the Year last week and is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.
Minnesota State is ranked No. 11 in this week’s USCHO national poll. The Mavericks have set a school record for wins as a Division I program and have three players with at least 35 points this season in sophomore forward Matt Leitner (47), senior forward Eriah Hayes (36) and sophomore forward Jean-Paul Lafontaine (35). Leitner was Spinell’s roommate for a year in junior hockey when the two played for Fargo in the USHL.
“I’ll talk to him after the game,” said Spinell.
Hayes is second in the nation with 13 power play goals. At 6-feet-4, 210 pounds, he is tough to move out from in front of the net.
Freshmen goaltenders Ryan McKay and Jay Williams have split time for Miami this season, with McKay getting all four starts in the CCHA tournament. That includes the 6-2 loss against Michigan in last weekend’s semifinals. McKay leads nation with a 1.37 goals against average and his .948 save percentage is second in the NCAA. He has three shutouts. Williams is No. 11 with a 1.94 GAA and has a save percentage of .924 and two shutouts.
Blasi said he’ll make the decision and tell his goalies who starts against the Mavericks on Friday night.
The RedHawks are 3-3 in their last six games. They lost the opener against Ohio State (3-0) in the regular season final series before bouncing back for a 4-2 win to clinch the CCHA title. They lost the opener of their second-round CCHA tournament series against Michigan State (3-0) before advancing to the semifinals with wins in Games 2-3. Michigan scored four goals in the second period, including three in a stretch of two minutes, 11 seconds, en route to the win in the CCHA semifinals.
In this single-elimination format, Miami can't afford to have another slow start.
“You can’t worry about that. You have to move forward and give it our best this weekend,” said Czarnik. “It’s about us, not the other team. If we do everything we need to do then we should have a good chance to win.”
Czarnik’s 38 points this season (14 goals, 24 assists) tie him with freshman line-mate Riley Barber (15 goals, 23 assists) for the team lead. Barber was named the CCHA’s Rookie of the Year. Czarnik has scored four short-handed goals this season, the most in the nation.
He is Miami’s 12th Hobey Baker finalist and this is the fourth year in a row the RedHawks have had a finalist, including winner Andy Miele in 2011. Reilly Smith was a finalist last year.
“I tried to step up this year big time because Reilly Smith left and I think I’ve done a good job with that but at the end of the day it’s about the team and that’s what I’m focused on first and foremost,” said Czarnik. “I feel like I have to be the best player on the ice every shift. I’ve got to be consistent out there and lead by example. I have to win all of my battles, compete at the highest level that I can. From there, hopefully the guys will see that and feed off of it.”
