Freshman hockey players starting off strong

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Updated 8:04 AM Wednesday, October 14, 2009

It didn’t take long for the freshman class of Miami University’s hockey team to start contributing in a big way.

The RedHawks’ first-year players produced three points on a pair of goals and an assist in the season-opening sweep over St. Cloud State.

“Obviously we’re pleased they’re contributing,” said Miami coach Enrico Blasi, whose RedHawks won last weekend 3-2 in overtime and 2-0 at Steve Cady Arena and now are the nation’s top-ranked team in both the USCHO and USA Today polls.

“We brought them here for a reason, and I thought they did a nice job,” he said.

Freshman forward Curtis McKenzie, of Golden, British Columbia, scored Miami’s first goal of the season on Friday, Oct. 9.

In Miami’s second contest the following night freshman forward Reilly Smith, of Mimico, Ontario, assisted on the goal by Jarod Palmer which gave the RedHawks a 1-0 lead and less than a minute later freshman forward Devin Mantha, of Ann Arbor, Mich., scored the RedHawks’ second goal of the evening.

Two other freshmen, defensemen Joe Hartman, of St. Cloud, Minn., and Steven Spinell, of Vernon Hills, Ill., also saw playing time last weekend.

Blasi used alternating goalkeepers last week, going with sophomore Cody Reichard on Friday and sophomore Connor Knapp on Saturday.

The Miami coach said he would continue that system in “nonconference for sure and then we’ll go from there.”

The RedHawks return to the ice Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17, at New Hampshire.

The Wildcats, who had been ranked 16th in the USCHO preseason poll, fell out of the top 20 after opening last week with a 3-1 loss at Rensselaer.

Nevertheless, Blasi said, this will be a tough series for the RedHawks.

“They’re similar to what you saw with St. Cloud, very skilled,” he said. “This is a good hockey team, a top-15 team when all is said and done. It will be a good test for us.”

More wins already

The women’s soccer team notched its eighth win of the year, surpassing its total from the 2007 and ’08 seasons, with a 1-0 victory at Eastern Michigan on Friday. It gave Miami its first three-game winning streak since 2005.

Senior Jodi Zwingelberg scored the only goal, and senior Krista Pace tied a season high with nine saves for her 12th career shutout.

The RedHawks (9-9, 4-2 MAC) lost two days later 1-0 at Central Michigan. They will conclude their string of four road contests on Friday at Akron and Sunday at Ohio.

Volleyball  squad splits

The RedHawks won 3-1 at Kent State on Friday but then dropped a crucial match at Ohio 3-0 the next day.

Ohio leads the MAC East Division with a 6-0 record. Miami is 4-2 (9-9 overall).

The RedHawks play at home twice this weekend, facing Central Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. and Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 5.

Field hockey slips

It was a tough weekend for the RedHawks (8-7, 5-2 MAC), whose regular-season title hopes took a major hit with a pair of losses at home to Kent State, 5-2, and Ohio, 1-0.

Kent State is in the driver’s seat for the MAC regular-season title with a 5-0 record.

The RedHawks will try to rebound at their Alumni/Bicentennial Weekend when they play at home against California at 2 p.m. Friday and Michigan at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Miami still received 11 points (tied for 29th) in the most recent national poll.

Coming up

Cross country: Miami’s men’s and women’s teams, who did not run last week, will compete Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind., in the Pre-NCAA Invitational.

Men’s golf: The RedHawks return to action Oct. 19-20 at the Georgetown Intercollegiate in Beallsville, Md.

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