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MIAMI HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
RedHawks are finding comfort zone at right time
Friday, March 23, 2007
OXFORD — The NCAA men's hockey tournament could be coming along at the right time for the Miami RedHawks.
For the second straight year, Miami has a ticket to hockey's big dance when it takes on top-seeded New Hampshire University Saturday in the opening round of the Northeast Regional.
Extras
It will be the first time since Miami's game at Alaska-Fairbanks Feb. 2 that the RedHawks will be at full strength. Sophomore forward Brian Kaufman left that game with a broken jaw, forcing coach Enrico Blasi to juggle the RedHawks' top scoring line.
Blasi moved Marty Guerin up from the second line to take Kaufman's place on the top line with junior Nathan Davis and captain Ryan Jones. Jones, Davis and Guerin have accounted for 60 of the RedHawks 133 goals this season (45.1 percent).
But the same chemistry wasn't there during the last 10 games of the season. The RedHawks finished 5-4-1, including consecutive 2-1 losses to Lake Superior State in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals.
Now that Kaufman has been deemed fit enough to return to the ice, Guerin is back on the second line with fellow senior Matt Christie and freshman Jarod Palmer.
"Me and Christie have played together as freshmen, sophomores and again last season," Guerin said. "We know what the other guy is doing before anyone else knows it. It's like finding your favorite pair of old shoes and putting them on again. It's been great."
Blasi said he's noticed a change in Guerin since making the change.
"I can see what Marty's relating to," he said. "This has probably been his best week of practice for us.
"In that sense, I guess it is like an old shoe. You always go back to what works."
Loose shoelace
While the old shoe may be back on the proverbial RedHawks foot, one key player has been missing. Nathan Davis, the team's leading scorer and a candidate for college hockey's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — The Hobey Baker Award — missed practice Monday and Tuesday with what coach Blasi called "a touch of the flu."
"We probably could've brought him back to practice on Tuesday, but we decided to keep him out another day," Blasi said. "He'll be ready to go this weekend."
N.H. homecoming
Guerin was born in Manchester, N.H., site of Saturday's NCAA tournament game with the host Wildcats. He and his family moved to East Lansing, Mich. when he was 7 years old, but Guerin still has friends who live there.
"I think they're all NHU fans, though," he said with a mock frown. "I'm still trying to get some of them to root for Miami this weekend, but I haven't had too much luck yet. We'll keep trying."
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
