Sophomore key cog in Miami hockey's stout defense

Weber says he has never been big on scoring goals, but loves stopping them.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 2:08 AM Friday, December 11, 2009

OXFORD — Miami University hockey sophomore Will Weber never was interested in scoring goals, regardless of whether he was skating with a stick or ranging on a soccer field.

Rather than basking in the spotlight, he wanted to serve and protect. His mission: to hold that last line of defense.

Nothing has changed for the native of Gaylord, Mich., a small town located just south of the upper peninsula.

“I’ve always had a desire to be the last man back,” Weber said following practice earlier this week as the RedHawks prepared for their two-game home-and-home series against Ohio State.

“It was the same thing when I played soccer,” he said. “I wasn’t too interested in offense. I just wanted to protect the goalie. That’s my instinct, to be back.”

That instinct has served Weber well, last season when he was one of four freshman defensemen who helped lead Miami to the Frozen Four, and again last weekend when the RedHawks’ defense had one of its finer hours as Miami completed a 1-0 and 4-0 sweep over Notre Dame.

It was the first time in school history Miami had recorded two shutouts in the same weekend and only the fourth time Miami had recorded back-to-back shutouts.

“The goalies have really stepped it up recently, and it’s not just the defense,” said Weber, whose teammate, sophomore goaltender Cody Richard, now leads the nation in goals-against average (1.46). “It’s the whole team.”

Weber said he was particularly pleased with Miami’s penalty kill against Notre Dame. The fighting Irish converted none of their 15 power plays into goals.

“It felt good to get that back,” Weber said. “That’s a big part of our game, and against North Dakota we gave up three power-play goals.”

Weber said he has felt “a big jump” in his game from his rookie season.

“Last year I had a lot of penalties,” he noted. “I’m still up there in penalties (his 12 penalty minutes rank third on the team), but I’ve tried to be smarter, to know when to be physical.”

Weber chose Miami over Michigan State and Cornell and said it was a tough decision that has paid off big.

“It was hard, turning down Michigan State, being from Michigan,” he said. “And Cornell, where my (late) dad and my uncle played. And my sister went to Cornell. That was tough to turn down, too.”

But Weber later found himself assisting one of the goals in Miami’s 4-1 victory over Bemidji State in the 2009 national semifinals and two days later coming within a hair of winning it all.

“It was surreal,” Weber said. “When I committed to Miami that was what I had in mind, to get a chance to play for a national championship.”

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