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Friday, March 25, 2011
The NCAA Blog: Day 2 in New Hampshire
Midnight — Shutting things down for the night with a big day of hockey coming Saturday. You can read plenty of preview material on the Miami-UNH game on this site or in print. Miami may already have some good karma in its quest for its first national championship … Boston College is gone. Yes, the RedHawks’ longtime postseason nemesis got knocked off tonight by Colorado College 8-4. Michigan, Minnesota Duluth and Yale were today’s other winners. The Yale-Duluth winner will play the Northeast Regional champion in the national semifinals on Thursday, April 7, in St. Paul, Minn.
Check back in well before Saturday’s 4 p.m. Miami-UNH puck drop. I’ll post a bunch of statistics and notes before the game gets under way. RC
3:50 p.m. — OK, I’m going to take a break from blogging for a while and start working on some stories for Saturday’s paper. Things are going pretty smoothly here. I give the tournament personnel an “A” for effort so far. Haven’t run into an unfriendly person yet. The only bummer so far is that the NCAA won’t provide a spread of food for the media until tomorrow. I’ll try to make it through the day … and then be first in line tomorrow.
3:45 p.m. — The Miami press conference included coach Enrico Blasi and three players, Andy Miele, Carter Camper and Pat Cannone. The RedHawks have to deal with the media on a couple fronts on practice day, including some mugshot posings for ESPN. Blasi looked comfortable and relaxed as he fielded a number of questions from a roomful of media. He rarely seems to enjoy such things, but he was quite engaging today.
The games will be televised on ESPNU. I found Steve Baker doing some computer work in the lobby of the hotel before practice, and he asked that I publicize the fact that the action will not only be on ESPNU and WMOH-AM (1450), it will also be on Channel 30 on Miami’s campus network. So there’s a little pub.
A few Blasi comments from the Miami presser …
On Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State leaving the CCHA to join the new Big Ten hockey league, starting with the 2013-14 season: “It’s definitely going to change the landscape of college hockey. There was a time when the Michigans and Michigan States of the world played in the (Western Collegiate Hockey Association). They left the WCHA, and everybody said the WCHA would never last. Well, 20 years later, the WCHA’s in pretty good shape. Hopefully the people that are making decisions at a higher level will think about college hockey as a whole and do the right thing.”
On New Hampshire coach Dick Umile, who praised Blasi earlier today: “First of all, I need to thank him for that because he’s one of the guys that I’ve looked up to. We’ve tried to basically use his program as a guide to how to run a program. He’s first class, always has his teams playing well, recruits great kids … that’s what we’ve tried to do at Miami. He’s one of the coaches, and there’s a few of them out there, he’s not afraid to share his story and how he does things. That goes a long way.”
Miami’s Carter Camper on what to expect from New Hampshire: “They’re an extremely talented team. They’ve got a great group of forwards, and their defensemen love to jump in the play. So we remember that and we have lots of video of them.”
Playing on UNH’s home turf won’t be easy. The Wildcats are a veteran, skilled team. But this is worth noting: Miami is 10-0-3 in its last 13 games and hasn’t lost since Jan. 21. New Hampshire is 4-5-2 over its last 11 games.
1:55 p.m. — Here’s a couple quotes from New Hampshire coach Dick Umile at the UNH press conference. Miami’s will be starting in a few minutes:
On playing Miami again (they split Oct. 8-9 in Oxford) in the NCAA tournament: “The funny thing is we end up seeing most of the teams. But at this point in the season, it’s all about your team and how well you’re going to play. They’re a real veteran team, a very skilled team.”
On Miami coach Enrico Blasi: “I’d like to play for the guy. I know I’m older than him, but I’d love to play for him. I think he’s terrific. They keep saying he’s one of the young talents, but he’s been around a long time. He’s accomplished a lot at a very early age. I like the way he treats his players. I think he’s a terrific coach. I know him to be a wonderful person. I admire everything he does. The fact that he’s Italian helps a lot too.”
12:40 p.m. — Greetings from Manchester, N.H., where things are getting started in earnest for the NCAA Northeast Regional. It’s practice day here at Verizon Wireless Arena in downtown Manchester, and Miami University is set to take the ice for an hour at 12:45. The RedHawks’ semifinal opponent, New Hampshire, is practicing right now. I’ll be heading off to the UNH press conference soon, Miami’s presser will be at 2 p.m.
A couple things for now, and I’ll be back a bit later with more …
The city of Manchester is a pretty nice place. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it’s got a population of more than 100,000. Bigger than I expected (OK, maybe I had a vision of a little burg in the middle of nowhere before I got here). It’s the largest city in New Hampshire.
Verizon Wireless Arena reminds me a bit of the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., where Miami has played a couple times before. Maybe a little nicer than DCU. The Manchester Monarchs hockey team, an AHL squad, plays here. The Manchester Wolves Arena football team used to play here.
Right down the street is the baseball home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a double-A Eastern League team. The stadium is right on the river. Think of a smaller version of Huntington Park in Columbus. Looks like a sweet place.
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TweetA few thoughts from the RedHawks
A few comments from the Miami RedHawks before they left Oxford for their trip to the NCAA Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., where they will face New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon in the first semifinal:
Head coach Enrico Blasi, on Miami making its sixth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and how it helps to have been there, done that: “There is so much that goes on at the national tournament. Distractions. Press conferences. ESPN wants a piece of you.”
Blasi, on the fact that Miami was tied for 19th in the PairWise Rankings earlier this season: “On Jan. 20 when we were at Michigan State, we were on the outside looking in at the national tournament.”
Junior goaltender Cody Reichard, same topic: “I’m definitely excited and happy. In January and February people were saying we weren’t even going to get into the tournament, so it’s a big accomplishment.”
Hobey Baker award finalist Andy Miele, on playing in his fourth NCAA: “I never get tired of it. The NCAA Tournament is the best time of the year. Teams are playing their best hockey and they’re playing for the national championship.”
Miele, on the prospect of many, many New Hampshire fans being on hand Saturday to root against the RedHawks: “It’s tournament time. (Opposing) fans, in our game, won’t play that big of a role.”
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