Franklin graduation 2012
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Carroll graduation 2012
Hockey
Miami earns at-large berth in NCAA tournament
RedHawks will face New Hampshire, ranked third in the country.
Monday, March 19, 2007
OXFORD — The wait didn't seem to bother the members of Miami University's hockey team.
Gathered around a television in the Club Lounge at Goggin Ice Center on Sunday afternoon, the RedHawks watched the NCAA selection show to see if they would receive an at-large bid to this year's NCAA tournament.
Extras
It took nearly 20 minutes and two commercial breaks before the good news arrived. Miami (23-13-4) is the fourth seed in the Northeast Regional and will face top-seeded New Hampshire at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. No. 2 Boston College and No. 3 St. Lawrence are the other two teams in the regional.
"At this point, we feel very fortunate that our resume this season was good enough to get us a bid," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "We've been waiting all week, watching TV. Now it's time to get down to business."
The Wildcats (26-10-2) were the No. 3 ranked team in last week's USA Today/USA Hockey poll. They won the regular-season title in Hockey East and lost to Boston College on Saturday in the finals of the conference tournament.
"It's never easy when you have to go into someone's backyard and play," Miami junior defenseman Charley Fetzer said. "But if we play how we know we can, then we can do well."
The RedHawks, who were ranked 13th in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, have lost their last three games, including a two-game sweep against visiting Lake Superior State in the quarterfinals of the Central College Hockey Association tournament. Miami finished third in the CCHA regular-season standings.
Miami is led by junior forward Nathan Davis, who has a team-high 49 points on 20 goals and 29 assists. Davis is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which honors the top player in college hockey. Last week, he was named as the CCHA's top defensive forward.
"Any time you go against a great opponent, you look forward to it," Davis said. "It's going to be a fun experience."
This will be Miami's second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and its fifth overall. The RedHawks have yet to win a tournament game.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.
