RedHawks try to position for NCAA tournament

Tommy Wingels says Fort Wayne, Ind., regional would be nice for No. 1 squad.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 2:03 AM Friday, February 19, 2010

OXFORD — With the regular season quickly winding down, Miami University’s hockey team has set a new goal for itself.

“We’re going to be motivated,” Miami junior forward and team captain Tommy Wingels said while preparing to play Nebraska-Omaha at home this weekend in a two-game series. “There is a lot at stake.”

It isn’t the Central Collegiate Hockey Association title. That’s already been settled by a landslide.

And it isn’t for pride, for individual honors or for national recognition.

It might not sound like the most exciting prize in the world, but what the top-ranked RedHawks really covet is a trip to the Hoosier State a little more than a month from now.

Miami has its sights set on the NCAA tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, which presumably would give the RedHawks an advantageous playing site in the regionals. Quick use of a calculator makes it obvious which of the four sites they would prefer.

Worchester, Mass., is 700 miles from Oxford. Please, not that trip again.
Albany, N.Y. That’s 600 miles one way. Just a hop, skip and a billion jumps.
St. Paul, Minn. The distance is 565 miles as the crow flies, 683 by car. Thanks, but no thanks.
Fort Wayne, Ind., clocks in at 120 miles. And we have a winner.

Miami fans wouldn’t even have to pack a toothbrush.

“It’s great to have home-ice advantage when NCAA time comes around,” Wingels noted. “Boston University had the home-ice advantage last year when they were the one seed, playing in front of their fans out there.”

Boston advanced to the Frozen Four after winning its two regional games in nearby Manchester, N.H.

“There are 16 teams that make the tournament, and they’re all going to be playing well at that point in the season,” Wingels said, “so wherever you are, you’re going to have a tough game.

“We’ve got to put ourselves in a good position where we can control where we’re going to play those games,” he said. “We feel it can be a home away from home.”

Wingels and senior teammate Jarod Palmer are tied for the team lead with 14 total goals and both have five game-winning goals, which puts them among the national leaders.

Both also are part of a four-way scramble at the top of Miami’s points list. Palmer and Andy Miele share the lead with 35 points, Wingels has 33 and Carter Camper has 32.

Not that anybody’s counting.

“Points don’t really matter, individually,” Wingels said. “It’s all about winning championships.”

Having four players who are likely to breeze past the 40-point mark does make Miami a tough team to defend against, though.

“Different guys are getting hot, which is good,” Wingels said. “It’s tough to match lines when two, three or four lines are rolling.”

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