Boston College up next for RedHawks

Miami advances to second straight Frozen Four with dramatic double OT win over Michigan.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:22 AM Tuesday, March 30, 2010

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Rico Blasi had to laugh when a reporter asked him if he knew much about Boston College.

“Oh, I’ve watched Boston College just a few times,” the Miami University hockey coach said early Monday morning, March 29, following the RedHawks’ 3-2 double-overtime victory over Michigan in the NCAA Midwest Regional final.

First of all, Blasi probably feels a pang whenever any Boston collegiate hockey team is mentioned.

It was Boston University that sent the RedHawks home in disbelief from last year’s NCAA Frozen Four after rallying from a two-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation to win the national championship game 4-3 in overtime.

But it was Boston College, the Eagles, Miami’s next opponent on April 8 in the Frozen Four in Detroit, who had knocked the RedHawks out of the tournament three times in the previous three years.

In 2006, Boston eliminated Miami 5-0 in the first round of the Northeast Regional. In 2007, it was 4-0 in the Northeast final. In 2008, it was 4-3 in overtime.

Boston College, ranked No. 2 or 3 in the nation depending on which poll you look at, is making its ninth Frozen Four appearance in the last 13 years. They won the national championship in 2001 and ’08.

The Eagles earned a Frozen Four berth earlier Sunday with a 9-7 win over Yale.

If Boston College’s victory was about offense, Miami’s was about defense.

Especially in the first overtime period, when Michigan out-shot Miami 20-6, when the RedHawk fans in Allen County War Memorial Coliseum died at least a dozen deaths. That’s about the number of times the puck seemed to hang in slow motion in front of the Miami net.

One time the puck actually did enter the net. The Wolverines were sure they had scored the game-winning goal.

But the officials waved it off, saying an official had blown his whistle for a penalty on a Miami player before the puck crossed the goal line. Then they reviewed the play. It stood.

“That’s a tough one to swallow,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “The puck’s in the crease and he blows the whistle. He was so intent on calling the penalty that he doesn’t see the puck was loose and we were about to put it into the net.”

“I was fortunate he blew the whistle fast,” Miami goaltender Connor Knapp said.

But the Wolverines had many other chances with the game tied at 2-2 and Knapp, the regional’s Most Outstanding Player, stopped them all.

“We knew he could go in there and do exactly what he did,” Blasi said. “We reminded him that Michigan shoots from everywhere and to be ready. He was great all night.”

“I’m sure (the RedHawks) had a dilemma on who to play,” Berenson said, referring to Miami’s two-goalie situation of Knapp and CCHA Player of the Year Cody Reichard. “But they decided on Knapp and he delivered.”

So did sophomore forward Alden Hirschfeld, who scored the game-winning goal (on Trent Vogelhuber’s assist) 1:54 into the second overtime.

“At that point in OT you’re running on adrenaline and you can tell that your guys are tired,” Hirschfeld said, “but you put it behind you and just go because you know at any second the game could be over.”

Now the RedHawks get a chance to savor their most dramatic victory of the season, perhaps their most dramatic victory ever.

After all, it had been just nine days earlier that Michigan overpowered Miami 5-2 to prevent the RedHawks from playing for their first-ever CCHA tournament title.

“We’ll get a couple days of rest and then start preparing for Boston College,” Blasi said.

The other Frozen Four participants are Wisconsin and RIT (Rochester Inbstitute of Technology), who will play in the first national semifinal game on April 8.

“I keep saying everything happens for a reason,” Blasi added. “Boston College ... Here we go.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

Next game

What: NCAA tournament, Frozen Four semifinal

Who: Miami (29-7-7) vs.  Boston College (27-10-3)

When: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 8

Where: Ford Field (36,000), Detroit

TV: ESPN2

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