RedHawk still stirring it up

Sophomore forward Alden Hirschfeld has a knack for causing chaos on ice for Miami’s foes.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:00 AM Wednesday, March 17, 2010

OXFORD — There is a good reason Alden Hirschfeld dishes out punishment on the ice like a football player.

His father, Glen, was an All-Mid-American Conference tight end at Miami University in 1985.

“I always tried to play physical,” the younger Hirschfeld said. “I wasn’t always as big as I am now, but my dad would get on me to finish every check. He was a big guy who told me to throw my weight around as best as I could.”

Now the Miami sophomore forward has more weight to throw around, at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds, but it was the finesse part of his game that played a monumental role in getting the second-ranked RedHawks into the semifinals of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament.

Hirschfeld scored a goal in each of Miami’s victories over Ohio State in last weekend’s CCHA second round, including the third-period goal which turned out to be the game-winner in the decisive Game 3.

Miami’s 2-1 series victory over the Buckeyes propels the top-seeded RedHawks into the semifinals against the seventh-seeded Michigan Wolverines on Friday, March 19, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Still, it won’t be Hirschfeld’s ability to score goals that will concern his upcoming opponents — he has six this season — as much as his ability to cause chaos out there, as one of his teammates has said.

“I feel like I’m high on energy, a high-intensity, physical player,” he said. “I go after loose pucks, trying to cause turnovers on the ice. I try to be a solid two-way player who takes pride in the D-zone.

“Last year one of the guys on the team called me a pinball,” he remembered, “said I was everywhere, trying to stir things up.”

Hirschfeld said he enjoys his rough-and-ready role with the RedHawks.

“I do like being the physical player and causing struggles for the other team’s defense,” said Hirschfeld, who plays on the same line as Tommy Wingels and Carter Camper, one of the most powerful lines in college hockey with 95 points among the three players.

“I let the skill guys do their job and I’ll do my job and everything equals out,” he said.

Hirschfeld’s ability to “stir things up” started a long time ago, after he started playing hockey at age 3.

“Whenever hockey was on TV, when my parents would be flipping through the channels, I would start screaming until they changed it back to the hockey,” he said.

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