DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — The holiday break is over for Miami University's hockey team.

The top-ranked RedHawks return from a 13-day layoff Saturday against No. 16 St. Cloud State in the first round of the Ohio Hockey Classic at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Coming off a two-game sweep over RPI on Dec. 15-16 that vaulted them back to the No. 1 spot in the United States College Hockey Online.com/CSTV poll, the RedHawks returned to practice Wednesday night, and put in a pair of practice sessions on Thursday.

"It's good," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said of the time away from the rink. "We play such a long season. We want to give our guys a chance to refresh themselves, not only mentally, but physically. The fact that everyone does it puts everyone in the same boat."

The RedHawks (16-2-0) and Huskies (8-8-2) face off at 6:05 p.m. Saturday in the first game of the fourth annual event. Host Ohio State (5-13-2) meets No. 15 Harvard (6-4-2) at 9:05 p.m. Regardless of the outcome of the first-round games, the Buckeyes will play in the late game (8:05 p.m.) on Sunday. The other contest is slated for 5:05 p.m.

Miami, which won the event in 2005, has faced OSU in the championship game the past two seasons. The Buckeyes have been finalists all three years.

"The last few years the competition has been very good, but this year is probably the best field we've had," Blasi said. "They're all very good teams — teams that can win the tournament."

The RedHawks' matchup against the Huskies features four of the top seven scorers in the nation. St. Cloud's Ryan Lasch is tied for second with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists). The Huskies Garrett Roe and RedHawks' Ryan Jones rank fourth nationally with 25 points, while Miami's Brian Kaufman is seventh with 23.

"They've got a lot of speed and very good forwards," Blasi said. " ... It's going to be a big challenge. Usually these games after break are sloppy early on. Hopefully we'll get in the groove in a hurry."

Blasi said the RedHawks will be without senior assistant captain Nate Davis this weekend. Davis, a Hobey Baker Award finalist last season, is nursing a back injury, and has played in only eight games this season. Davis finished ninth in the nation last season in scoring with 50 points.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2506 or jboyle@coxohio.com.