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RedHawks wary of Wolverines in CCHA semifinals

Miami defeated Michigan twice earlier in the season, but expects a tough battle.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 10:40 AM Friday, March 19, 2010

OXFORD — Right now, the past is looming large to Miami University’s hockey team.

As far as the RedHawks are concerned, the Michigan Wolverines they will face tonight, March 19, in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament semifinals are from a different universe than the Wolverines they dominated in two early-season games.

Those Wolverines went on to stagger into the tournament as the No. 7 seed.

Miami coach Enrico Blasi has no intention of being fooled by those imposters. He knows with an absolute certainty that the toothless Wolverines of last November have been replaced by the real thing.

“We probably have to do everything well,” Blasi said. “They’re a great team. They’re playing fantastic right now and have a lot of confidence.”

Michigan has won all four of its four CCHA playoff games this season, which gives the Wolverines 11 victories in their last 12 CCHA tournament games. Over the last 12 years they are 41-7 with six championships.

And by the way, they have made the NCAA tournament 19 straight years, a national record.

So you might forgive the RedHawks, ranked No. 2 in the nation, the CCHA’s No. 1 seed who beat the Wolverines earlier this season 3-1 and 5-1 in Ann Arbor, for not feeling too cocky right now.

“It was early,” Blasi said of those games on Nov. 6 and 7. “Both teams were still trying to figure out their way around the league. We’re not putting much stock in what we saw.”

And the CCHA playoffs have not been kind to Miami.

Even now, having won the regular-season crown by a whopping 20 points, it continues to be a struggle for the RedHawks. Miami had to claw its way past Ohio State just to make the semifinals.

No one should be surprised.

Last year the RedHawks were stunned in the second round by Northern Michigan. Two years ago they lost to Michigan 2-1 in the title game. Three years ago they were swept in the second round by Lake Superior State. Four years ago they lost to Michigan State 2-1 in the title game.

The RedHawks have played in this tournament 19 years and in terms of winning the postseason title, the Mason Cup, they are 0-for-19.

That’s why Miami, already a lock to make its sixth straight NCAA tournament, is taking this game, and this weekend, more than just a little seriously.

“Miami’s never won a Mason Cup. It’s something that’s very important to us,” Blasi said.

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

Today's game

Who: Miami RedHawks (26-6-7, 21-2-5-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) vs. Michigan Wolverines (23-17-1, 14-13-1-0 CCHA) in CCHA tournament semifinals
When: 8:05 p.m.
Where:Joe Louis Arena (20,066), Detroit
Saturday: Today’s winner plays at 7:35 p.m. in the championship game; the loser plays at 3:35 p.m. in the third-place game.
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WMOH-AM (1450),  WKVB-AM (1490)
Online: Get game updates on our blog at journal-news.com/miami or follow Pete Conrad on Twitter at twitter.com/peteconrad