Next games
Who: No. 7/8 Miami RedHawks (11-6-3, 8-4-2-1 CCHA) at Ohio State Buckeyes (10-8-1, 5-6-1-1 )
When: 7:35 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, and 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus
Radio: WPFB-AM (910)
TV: CBS College Sports (Friday only)
OXFORD — No regrets.
That’s the mantra the Miami University hockey team will carry into the homestretch of the regular season in its quest for a second straight Central Collegiate Hockey Association title and sixth straight NCAA tournament berth.
The RedHawks (11-6-3 overall, 8-4-2-1 CCHA) are third in the conference standings — two points behind Notre Dame and one point behind Michigan — as they kick off a stretch of 14 CCHA games to end the season. Miami begins that slate Friday and Saturday with a pair of games at Ohio State (10-8-1, 5-6-1-1 CCHA).
“This is the time for us to pick it up and show some urgency,” Miami junior defenseman Chris Wideman said. “We talked about it (Monday) with the coaches. We don’t want to be at end of February looking back on these games saying we should’ve won this and we should’ve done this.”
Since their 5-1-2 start to the season, the RedHawks are 6-5-1 over their last 12 games.
Miami coach Rico Blasi said the RedHawks, who are ranked seventh nationally by USCHO.com and eighth nationally by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, need to start playing more consistently. If they do, Blasi said they can be one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
“We’ve played some good games but have not played good consistently,” he said. “We’ve been able to rise to the occasion when we need to, but I still think we need to get ourselves in a position where we can play for something. If we can do that, I like our chances against anybody in the country in a one-game shot. This team has the capability of beating anyone.”
Miami led the CCHA at this point last season and went 11-1-2 over its last 14 conference games to win the title by 20 points over runner-up Michigan State. A few weeks later, Miami was back in the Frozen Four for the second straight season.
“Obviously we did it last year so it’s possible,” said Schilling, who was named CCHA Defenseman of the Week earlier this week. “I feel good about where we are. We’d like to have a few more (weekend) sweeps, but we’re not in a bad position. I feel like we’re fine.”
Ohio State has its own CCHA honoree in junior forward Danny Dries, who was named the conference’s offensive player of the week. Dries totaled four points and was named MVP of the Catamount Cup, where the Buckeyes posted wins over Vermont and Army.
Dries is tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points with Sergio Somma and Peter Boyd. The Buckeyes are riding a four-game winning streak.
“They’re really good,” Blasi said. “They’ve got a lot of juniors and seniors on that team and it’s a rivalry game. So we’ve got to be ready to go.”
The two teams meet at 7:35 p.m. today and 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus.
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