CCHA FINAL FOUR
Today: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, 1:05 p.m.; Miami vs. Michigan, 4:35 p.m., 1450, 1490
Sunday: Championship, 2:05 p.m. (there is no third-place game this year)
Miami University’s hockey team has the second-ranked defense in the country and figures to need it Saturday
The RedHawks will face streaking Michigan in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association semifinals at 4:35 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena, and the Wolverines have scored 34 goals while going 7-0-1 over their last eight games.
“They’ve always scored a lot of goals,” MU coach Enrico Blasi said. “They shoot from everywhere. Their defensemen jump in the rush. You have to play a 60-minute game against them. Simple as that.”
Michigan (17-18-3), which needs a tournament championship to advance to its 23rd straight NCAA tourney, is powered by seven players with at least 20 points. Sophomore forward Alex Guptill (33) is the leader of a group that includes freshman defenseman Jacob Trouba (27).
Defensively, the Wolverines have been a bit suspect. Freshman Steve Racine is the No. 1 goaltender, and he’s got an .895 save percentage and is giving up 2.66 goals per game.
“I think the team is behind that,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said of Racine’s improved play down the stretch. “I think the team is playing hard, more desperate and better defensively, so it gives your goalie a better chance to be a factor.”
The Wolverines have battled through a host of injuries this year, including a cracked vertebrae that sidelined junior defenseman Jon Merrill for the first half of the season.
Michigan hosted the RedHawks for a weekend series in October. They split.
Berenson, in his 29th season at the UM helm, called Miami “a scary team. They don’t give up much and they don’t need much and they’ve got a lot offensive firepower. They’ve been the team to beat all year in this conference.”
MU (24-10-5) has two scorers approaching 40 points, freshman Riley Barber (15 goals, 23 assists) and sophomore Austin Czarnik (14 goals, 22 assists). The RedHawks are allowing 1.62 goals per game.
Miami’s roster has 18 players who are either freshmen or sophomores, including goalies Ryan McKay and Jay Williams. Blasi declined to name today’s starting goalie, though McKay played all three games last weekend against Michigan State.
The RedHawks coach isn’t expecting to see stage fright from his younger players at the Joe.
“It’s the same team that won the regular season, right?” Blasi said. “We’re just going to go out and play the same way we’ve played all year. We’ll play hard. We’ll play with a purpose. We’ve played in hostile environments. This isn’t going to be anything new.”
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