Miami University added hockey to the roster of varsity sports in 1978, with the leadership of the program's first coach, Steve Cady, playing at the Goggin Ice Arena. Miami played as an independent Division I team for the first two seasons, collecting an overall record of 45–27–3.[3] The team joined the CCHA for the 1980–81 season.[3] The first Miamian to play in the National Hockey League was goaltender Alain Chevrier, who played for Miami from 1980 to 1984, making his NHL debut with the New Jersey Devils in 1985, and left-wing Craig Fisher coming next in 1990 with the Philadelphia Flyers, having turned pro after two seasons in Oxford.[4][5][6] Fisher was the first Miamian to be honored as first-team All-CCHA for his 1989-90 campaign.[4]
Miami hockey reached another milestone in the 1994-95 season when goaltender Chuck Thuss became the first first-team All American.[9] Thuss took an unusual path to the honor having been a back-up goaltender for 3 seasons, not playing a single minute for the Red and White until his outstanding senior season in which he posted 16 wins and a 2.87 GAA in 1983 minutes.[10] Thuss was also honored by the CCHA in 1995 with the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award for demonstrating "perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversity".[11]
Mark Mazzoleni left Miami to coach Harvard after the 1998-99 season. The RedHawks turned to former Miami player Enrico Blasi, who was working as an assistant coach at Denver under former Miami coach George Gwozdecky. Blasi, at the time, became the youngest head coach in Division I college hockey at 27 years old.[14][15]
Miami began a streak of 8-straight NCAA tournament appearances when the 2005-06 team finished 26-9-4 (.718) behind first-team All-American Andy Greene and the stellar goaltending duo of Jeff Zatkoff (2.02 GAA) and Charlie Effinger (1.83 GAA). Miami lost to Boston College 5-0 in front of a partisan crowd in the regional semi-finals at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.[17]
The RedHawks reached another level in 2006-07 with a 24-14-4 (.619) record, playing in the new Goggin Ice Center, advancing again to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and winning their first NCAA tournament game, 2–1 over the top-seeded New Hampshire in the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Miami then lost to Boston College 4-0 in the regional final. The 2006-07 team was led by 2nd-Team All-American Nathan Davis (21 goals, 50 points).
Goggin Ice Center, 2021
Miami followed up with a stellar campaign in 2007-08, 33-8-1 (.798), advancing to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, defeating Air Force, 3–2 in overtime, but then losing to eventual champions Boston College for the third year straight, 4–3 in overtime in the regional final. The team was paced by first-team All American Ryan Jones (31 goals, 49 points) and defenseman Alec Martinez (2nd-Team All-American).[13][18]
Back-to-Back Frozen Fours
in In 2009, the Red and White made their first appearance in the Frozen Four. The team finished the regular season with a 23-13-5 (.622) record, entering the post-season as a 4-seed in the 4-team regional in Minneapolis. Miami beat top-seed Denver 4-2 in the opening round and then Minnesota-Duluth 2-1 to advance to the Frozen Four at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The RedHawks beat Bemidji State 4-1 in the national semifinal game, advancing to the championship game against Boston University. Trailing 3-1 with just 3:23 to go in the third period, Boston University pulled their goaltender and forced overtime with a goal by Terrier Zach Cohen with just 17 seconds remaining. BU then scored 11:47 into overtime with a goal by Colby Cohen to secure the national title.[19] The 2009 team was led by 2nd-Team All-American Carter Camper (42 points) and the goaltending of Connor Knapp (2.09 GAA) and Cody Reichard (2.11 ERA).[20]
Tragedy struck the program and school on Friday February 5, 2010, when Miami student hockey manager, Brendan Burke, the son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke,[21] and a friend/passenger died in a traffic accident on icy winter roads in South-Central Indiana.[22] Burke had become an advocate for LGBT awareness with the support of Coach Blasi and the Miami team. The Burke family formed the You Can Play campaign, dedicated to the eradication of homophobia, in sports, to carry on the work of Brendan. The team remained strong in the wake of the accident, using the tragedy as inspiration on the ice. The team scored 10 goals the following night against Lake Superior State University.[23] And on February 12, 2010, after a victory over Bowling Green State University, the RedHawks claimed their third CCHA regular-season title in program history.[24]
On February 5, 2011, the one-year anniversary of Burke's death, Brian Burke and his family are presented with special hockey sweaters in commemoration of Brendan Burke, which the RedHawks wore during their game that evening.
The 2009-10 Miami squad would again advance to the Frozen Four, defeating Alabama-Huntsville 2-1 in the opening round of the Midwest Regional at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and then beating Michigan 3–2 in double-overtime, when Alden Hirschfeld scored 1:54 into the second extra period.[25] Miami then lost to post-season nemesis Boston College 7-1 in the Frozen Four semi-finals at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The team was led by goaltender Cody Reichard (2nd-Team All-American (1.87 GAA), right-wing Jarod Palmer (45 points), and center Tommy Wingels (42 points).[26]
Reilly Smith, RedHawks, 2011
Final CCHA Seasons
The RedHawks finished the 2010–11 regular season ranked third in the CCHA, 23-10-6 (.667), giving the team a first round bye in the 2011 CCHA Tournament. The RedHawks faced Alaska in the second round and swept Alaska by a combined score of 8–2.[27] The RedHawks then beat Notre Dame 6–2 in semifinal round and dismantled the Western Michigan Broncos 5-2 in the championship to give the university its first Mason Cup.[28] After the strong finish in the regular season the team was ranked as a #1 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.[29] The RedHawks were placed into the Northeast Regional at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. In the opening round of the tournament the team faced the 4th-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats and lost 3–1 in front of a pro-New Hampshire crowd.[30]
Miami senior forward Andy Miele (first-team All-American) was named as the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner, becoming the university's first Hobey Baker winner.[31] Miele lead the nation in scoring with 71 points (24 goals and 47 assists).[31] It was the most in Division I since the 2002–03 season and 11 more than the second highest scorer in the 2010–11 season.[31] In addition, he had at least one point in 33 games and multiple points in 22 and tied a school record with a 17-game points streak from January 8, 2011, to March 19, 2011.[31]
The 2011–12 season marked another return to the CCHA Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena and seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.[3] The RedHawks finished the season with a record of 24–15–2 (.610). Despite a slow start to the season that included a five-game winless streak through October,[34] they finished the regular season with a six-game win streak and, despite a loss in the CCHA semifinals, the RedHawks received an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, seeded second in the East Regional at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Miami played the third-seeded UMass Lowell in the opening round in the tournament. The RedHawks rallied in the third period to overcome a three-goal deficit and tie the game to force overtime. The RedHawks season was ended just over two minutes into overtime when UMass Lowell forward Riley Wetmore capitalized on a rebound to give UMass Lowell a 4–3 win.[35] Miami was led on the season by Reilly Smith (first-team All-American, 30 goals, 48 points).
Miami would play one last season in the old CCHA in 2012-13, 25-12-5 (.655), winning the regular season title and advancing yet again to the NCAA Tournament, placed in the Midwest Regional at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. Miami dominated Minnesota State 4-0 in the first round, but lost the regional final to St. Cloud State 4-1. Austin Czarnik (14 goals), Blake Coleman (19 points) and the goaltending duo of Ryan McKay and Jay Williams led a balanced RedHawks squad.
Blake Coleman, Miami, 2013
Moving to the NCHC
Miami moved to the newly formed NCHC in 2013 and returned to their winning ways in the second NCHC season, finishing the season 25–14–1 (.638) and taking the NCHC post-season tournament title. The Red and White entered the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as a top-seed but drew the unfavorable position of playing a host team, Providence, on their home ice at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, dropping the opener 7–5 to the Friars, who would make an improbable run to the national title. Miami pulled their goalie for much of the third period after trailing 6–2, but a furious third period rally came up short.[36] Austin Czarnik (2nd-Team All-American, 36 assists, 45 points), Riley Barber (20 goals, 40 points), and Blake Coleman (37 points) led the Red and White.[37][4]
The Brotherhood began to fracture in the depth of the new conference, and Enrico Blasi was dismissed by his alma mater at the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, their 4th losing season in a row.[38][39] Miami then tapped former RedHawk Chris Bergeron, who played with Blasi and then served as his assistant coach before becoming the head coach at Bowling Green in 2010. Bergeron helped to restore that program, which was on the verge of being shut down, taking the Falcons to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in his final season at BG. Bergeron has had a rough go of it at Miami with a 28-90-13 record and a 17-71-9 conference record.[40][41] Blasi was hired in 2021 as the coach of the St. Thomas Tommies, their first NCAA Division I coach as they move up from Division III. St. Thomas plays in a newly re-formed CCHA conference.[42]
On March 19, 2024, reports came out that head coach Chris Bergeron would be relieved of his duties. The RedHawks failed to win more than eight games in any of the five seasons while he was at the helm, and they ended the 2023-2024 campaign on a 16-game winless streak, their second-longest drought in team history. His .257 winning percentage (35-116-16) is the worst among any Miami hockey coach, and his teams were 0-7 in the NCHC Tournament.[43]
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
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