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David vs. Goliath? Not exactly

Bemidji State’s program has 942 wins, more than 20 league crowns and 13 national titles.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 1:12 AM Wednesday, April 8, 2009

OXFORD — If the Miami University hockey players and coaches are excited about the prospect of the door to the NCAA Frozen Four championship game having swung wide open with the elimination of seven of the tournament’s top eight seeds, they aren’t showing it.

“We’re going to take it like any normal game,” freshman defenseman Cameron Schilling said of the RedHawks’ national semifinal game Thursday, April 9, against Bemidji State, the surprise team of the tournament.

“We’re preparing for Bemidji State just like we prepare for any other team,” agreed Miami senior forward Justin Mercier. “They’re outstanding. They’re in the Frozen Four for a reason.”

It seems to be business as usual for Miami. Head coach Enrico Blasi likes his players to maintain an even keel. And you’ll never hear a RedHawk utter anything but the utmost respect for Bemidji State, a little-known school from Bemidji, Minn., that has won 13 national hockey titles but none at the NCAA Division I level.

Blasi quickly and strongly disagreed during a media conference call when it was suggested Miami is the obvious favorite against the “underdog” Beavers.

“That’s your opinion,” Blasi said. “People need to give Bemidji State a lot of credit. Notre Dame was one of the stingiest defensive teams in the country and they absolutely dominated them (in the Midwest Regional), and Cornell probably is the second-stingiest team in the country and they dominated them.

“I’m not sure who the underdog is,” Blasi said. “I don’t think there is any underdog.”

Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore agreed his team should not be considered an underdog.

“You have to believe,” he said. “We believe in ourselves. Unless you’ve ever worn a Beavers jersey or been in the Beavers locker room, it’s hard to fathom. This program has won 942 games, close to 70 percent of our games. We’ve won 13 national championships. We’ve won over 20 conference championships.

“The media to a certain degree looks at this as David vs. Goliath, Cinderella, whatever you want to call it,” Serratore added. “This program has won so much, we expect to compete extremely hard. Was this (a spot in the Frozen Four) a surprise for us? No.”

But Bemidji State started the tournament unranked in either of the major national polls, and it wasn’t so long ago (Dec. 15, 2008) that Miami was ranked No. 2, although it’s difficult to overlook the fact that the Beavers handled Notre Dame and Cornell.

Despite the upsets, the team still looming over the field is Boston University, which faces America East conference rival Vermont in Thursday’s second semifinal.

The presence of the top-ranked Terriers in the Frozen Four surprises nobody.

BU is 19-1-3 in its last 23 games, has scored twice as many goals as its opponents this season (168 to 84), and is coached by a man, Jack Parker, who is making his 13th Frozen Four appearance. And the Terriers have senior defenseman Matt Gilroy, who came into the season as a two-time All-American and has been named College Hockey News national player of the year.

“We’ve got maybe the six best defensemen I’ve ever coached,” Parker said. “We’re led by two of the nation’s highest scorers (sophomores Colin Wilson, 52 points, and Nick Bonino, 47 points).”

But even Parker knows better than to take anything for granted.

“All of that adds up to a tremendous season, a lot of wins,” Parker said, “but it doesn’t add up to anything in this tournament.”

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

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