Blog Archives
Miami rolls Space Bears 5-2
Light the lantern!
Behind three points from sophomore forward Austin Czarnik and two goals from sophomore forward Cody Murphy, the #4 Miami RedHawks defeated the Alaska Nanooks 5-2 in a CCHA conference match in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Miami’s first line of Czarnik (7-10-17), freshman Riley Barber (6-11-17) and senior Curtis McKenzie (4-4-8) once again led the way for the RedHawks as the trio combined for three goals and seven points on the evening. Meanwhile, Murphy (4-5-9) was busy notching his first multiple goal game of the season and the second of his career as he dominated special teams by scoring Miami’s lone powerplay goal and netted his second of the night during a Miami penalty kill as he now has four goals on the season. The RedHawks were just 1-of-7 with the man advantage but killed all eight Nanook powerplays.
Freshman goaltender Jay Williams was once again in the Miami net as he stopped 31 of 33 Nanook shots to improve his record to 7-2-2. Williams has now started each of Miami’s last eight games going 5-1-2 in those contests helping the RedHawks maintain a slim hold on first place in the CCHA. The RedHawks (8-2-3, 5-2-2-0 CCHA) lead second place Notre Dame (10-4, 6-1 CCHA) by one point in the league standings though the Irish have played two fewer league contests than Miami. Ferris State and Ohio State are each one point behind Miami each having played the same number of league games as the RedHawks.
Miami goes for six league points and the weekend sweep tonight as they take on the Nanooks at 11:05pm EST from the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. Greg Waddell has the call on Miami All-Access and on 1450 and 1490-AM around the Miami listening area.
Notes
- Miami senior captain Steven Spinell and junior forward Bryon Paulazzo were scratched from last night’s lineup. No immediate word on injuries.
- Relegated to the fourth line, sophomore forward Jimmy Mullin has just one goal and four points on the year after notching 11-15-26 in 37 games last year.
- After a 3-1-4 opening weekend, sophomore forward Blake Coleman has just one goal and one assist in Miami’s last 11 games.
- Miami will need scoring from Mullin and Coleman to help take the pressure off the first line as the season progresses and Miami begins playing more formidable competition with the personnel that’s able to slow the first line.
Week 2 Recap
Riley Barber in action against Colgate. The freshman led the way
this weekend against Providence. (source: MuRedHawks.com)
This weekend’s matchup with Providence brought us some fantastic hockey, as the then fourth-ranked RedHawks improved to 3-0-1 on the young season.
I’ll happily take some of the credit for this one: Riley Barber is this week’s CCHA Gongshow Rookie of the Week. Barber was on fire this weekend, and we love how this freshman has jumped right into the mix for the RedHawks. Despite missing his shootout attempt on Friday night (he beat Gillies but rang it off the post), Barber still was the Hawks biggest contributor over the weekend with a goal Friday and a goal and 2 assists in Saturday’s win. He also had 7 shots on the weekend, was a +3 and blocked 2 Providence shots.
In the polls, Miami jumps up a spot to #3 in each of the weekly rankings. It’s still the time of year where those who win, climb, and those who lose fall, but I don’t think that many people would have thought we’d be the third ranked team in the country after 2 weeks.
In the USCHO poll, Miami earned 4 first place votes – one of 8 teams to earn the top billing on someone’s ballot. Miami was one of just 3 to receive first place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Both polls had Boston College receiving the vast majority of the first place votes and in the top slot, with Minnesota second. Both were in Tampa last year for the Frozen Four, and BC beat Minnesota en route to the NCAA Championship.
If you didn’t catch them, here are Austin Czarnik and Cody Murphy’s shootout winning goals from Friday night. We like seeing them over and over again, even if the RedHawks didn’t get more than a tie and a moral victory on the evening.
Sorry for the shakiness on this one. It’s not the ABSOLUTELY FILTHY move that we saw from Austin Czarnik, but this one-move-magic from Cody Murphy was good enough for the game winner. Way to pick your spot, fella.
And finally, here is your Sunday SixPack of tweets. Be sure to follow @redskinwarriors to complete your Miami Hockey experience!
- Coleman’s stats through 1 period last night: 1 shot, 1 goal, 1 penalty, 6 for 6 on faceoffs. #insidethenumbers Miele + Jones = Coleman?
- Taylor Richart: Shot Blocker Extraordinaire. 9 blocks against Colgate and 9 more against Providence. He’s nothing short of a #brickwall.
- Miami is now 19 for 20 (95%) on the Penalty Kill, 3 for 17 (17.6%) on the Power Play and have allowed just 5 goals in 4 games. #DEFENSE
- First line (Paulazzo/Czarnik/Barber) had 3G, 5A last night and went +6. 7G, 7A and +12 on the season. #unstoppableforce
- Jay Williams and Ryan McKay are undefeated through 4 games. Combined .954 Sv%. Are you ready to see your records fall @knapper311 ?? #reloaded
- Every team in the #CCHA has a victory. Only Miami is left without a loss. Miami is 5-45-1 at Michigan all time, 0-2 in AA last yr #RoadTrip
Miami takes its first road trip of the season this week to Ann Arbor, MI to take on the 6th-ranked Wolverines. Friday’s game will be on Comcast Sports Net in Michigan. We’ll let you know if we find any local TV or internet feed for the games. As always, Miami All-Access will have Greg Waddell with the audio-only call for both games.
2011-2012 Roster Released
On the weekend of the NHL Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Miami Athletic Department has released the 2011-2012 roster. Here’s a quick look at the newest RedHawks and the jersey number they’ll be wearing. Stay tuned for an NHL Draft recap as well!
Austin Czarnik- 7
Alex Wideman- 10
Cody Murphy- 14
Jimmy Mullin- 20
Tyler Biggs- 22
Blake Coleman- 25
Ben Paulides- 28
Connor Murphy- 55 Um, yeah…
