2008 Woodie Awards
Miami set to battle Vermont in opener
National polls rank MU 4th as team prepares to play 1st weekend series
Trish Engelman
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Sports
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The RedHawks, who ended their season last year 24-14-4 overall and 16-8-4 in the CCHA, received 471 points to lock down the fourth spot behind University of North Dakota, Boston College and Michigan State University in the USCHO.com/CSTV national poll.
"We're excited to get the season going, and are looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead," said three-time CCHA Coach of the Year Enrico Blasi, who recently received a 10-year contract extension that will keep him in Oxford as head coach of the RedHawk squad through the 2016-17 season.
Looking within the CCHA, Miami was picked by the 12 coaches in the CCHA as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Members of the media picked Miami to finish second in the CCHA, behind defending national champion Michigan State.
As their quest for another CCHA championship begins, the RedHawks welcome back 20 players, including both starting goaltenders and all eight defenseman. The 'Hawks also returned Captain Ryan Jones and the leading-point scorer from last season, Nathan Davis. Davis last season was just one of nine players in the nation to reach the 50-point mark.
"Their leadership (Jones/Davis) is extremely important to the rest of the team," Blasi said. "They make sure our message is clear and consistent and this is only effective when you have captains like we do."
Jones and Davis will be responsible for leading the entire RedHawk team, especially the five new freshmen who joined the Red and White this season. The recruiting class has been ranked seventh in the nation, according to Inside College Hockey (INCH).
"(The first-years) work hard and seem to fit quite well with the culture Enrico Blasi has created around the rink," senior goaltender Charlie Effinger said. "I am expecting they will impact the rest of the team right from day one."
The men's college hockey Web site lists two members of the RedHawks' first-year class among its best individual players. Carter Camper is ranked by INCH as the nation's 12th-best freshman forward and Vincent LoVerde is listed as the 19th-best defenseman.
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