Don’t say that Miami University’s hockey program is rebuilding.

The RedHawks have 13 new players this season, 11 of which are freshmen. But that recruiting class is one of the best in the nation, and the team’s goals remain as high as ever.

“This will be a philosophy of just trying to get better every day,” said MU coach Enrico Blasi, who begins his 14th season at the helm. “What you see today might not be what you see a week from now, or a month from now. We’ve got so many new faces. We’ve just got to re-establish who we are.

“I do like the energy, the enthusiasm, the work ethic. We have all the pieces that we need. We just have to put it all together.”

Miami went 24-15-2 last season and made its seventh straight NCAA appearance, losing to Massachusetts Lowell in the East Regional’s opening round.

Today, the eighth-ranked RedHawks will kick off the regular season when Colgate comes to Steve Cady Arena at 7:35 p.m. Their 32nd and final season of Central Collegiate Hockey Association play begins Oct. 26 at Michigan.

“Change is inevitable I guess for everybody, but we owe a lot to the CCHA for helping us grow into what you see today,” said Blasi, whose program will move to the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2013-14. “It’s something that you can’t forget. I don’t know that Miami would be where it’s at if the CCHA didn’t allow them to be part of the league.”

MU lost 10 seniors from last year’s squad, plus Reilly Smith and Tyler Biggs, who signed National Hockey League contracts. The RedHawks return 13 players in 2012-13, including 10 letterwinners.

Senior defenseman Steven Spinell is Miami’s captain.

“I think we’ve got a little bit of everything,” Blasi said. “We can skate with just about anybody. We’ve got some size. We’ve got some grit. We’ve got some skill. When you’re putting a team together, you try to get a balance of everything.

“Most of these guys have played in tough situations in the past, in juniors or world championships and stuff like that. So they know how to compete. It’s just a matter of getting everybody on the same page.”

Returning to head the offense are sophomore forwards Austin Czarnik, Jimmy Mullin and Blake Coleman. Czarnik was MU’s top assist man (with 27) last year while totaling 37 points. Mullin and Coleman combined for 23 goals and 49 points.

Czarnik, Mullin and Smith (30 goals, 18 assists) formed Miami’s top line last season.

“When you have a guy like Reilly Smith, you always look for him,” Blasi said. “Now that he’s gone, other guys will step up.”

There are plenty of other forwards in the mix. Sophomores Cody Murphy and Alex Wideman should be key figures, and there are returning veterans (seniors Curtis McKenzie and Steve Mason, juniors Bryon Paulazzo and Max Cook). McKenzie’s 56 career points rank first among active RedHawks.

Keep an eye on freshman forwards Riley Barber, Sean Kuraly, Kevin Morris, John Doherty and Alex Gacek. Newcomer Marc Hagel, a redshirt senior, graduated from Princeton University and was the Tigers’ captain last year.

“The one thing you can’t teach is experience, and that’s something we’re just going to have to go through,” Blasi said. “I think we’re going to be balanced on offense, probably more balanced than we’ve been in a while. This is not a top-heavy team by any means. I think we’ve got four lines that can score goals.”

Defensively, the senior trio of Spinell, Joe Hartman and Garrett Kennedy leads the returnees. Hartman’s 122 career games top the roster, and Spinell collected a goal, 11 assists and a team-best 70 blocked shots as a junior.

Adding to the defensive depth are sophomore Ben Paulides, who earned Miami’s Most Improved Player award last season, and freshmen Matthew Caito, Chris Joyaux, Michael Mooney and Taylor Richart.

“Steven and Joe are the two mainstays back there,” Blasi said. “I think their influence and experience will have to hopefully transcend to the other guys and help them along a little bit because there probably will be a rotation of sorts.”

The goaltending situation might turn out to be something Miami fans have seen before. Jay Williams and Ryan McKay are highly regarded freshmen battling for the top spot, and Blasi said a Friday/Saturday rotation is certainly not out of the question.

“I like what I see so far,” Blasi said. “Both of them have worked extremely hard. Jay’s more athletic, Ryan’s more systemically good. Ryan played three years of juniors, and Jay only played two. I think they’re going to battle each other for playing time. It’s no different than Cody (Reichard) and Connor (Knapp) when they first started.

“If we need to use both goaltenders, we’re fine with it. If we just need to go with one guy, we’ve done that too. Right now we’re just in a teaching mode and trying to get the guys some experience so they can show us what they have.”

One of the keys for Miami this season will be reducing penalties. The 2011-12 RedHawks killed 179 penalties in 210 opportunities, both of which led the NCAA.

Among the highlights on MU’s schedule is the Feb. 17 game against Notre Dame at Soldier Field in Chicago. It will be the first outdoor contest in school history.