2008 Woodie Awards
MU gears up for big postseason
Trish Engelman
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Sports
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The RedHawks, who closed their regular season on a four game winning streak with series sweeps over Western Michigan University and the Ohio State University, have come a long way since the start of their season. They earned 28 victories, surpassing the 1992-93 and 1996-97 Miami teams for most regular season wins in school history.
Head coach Enrico Blasi said he believes it is the team's great chemistry that has allowed it to soar to such great heights.
"It's the commitment to the team and the trust the players have in one another," Blasi said. "Our leadership has done a great job in holding each other accountable. It's the basis of our program and what we call 'the brotherhood.'"
Indeed the brotherhood has been unbreakable for Miami, helping the team occupy the No. 1 spot in the nation for a total of eight weeks this season. However, the road to success has been anything but easy, as the RedHawks have seen their fair share of adversity throughout the year. Before getting started on their current four game tear, the 'Hawks went through a four game winless streak that included losses to the University of Michigan and Ferris State University.
"It has been such a long season, but we were able to bring our best the majority of the nights," said junior goaltender Jeff Zatkoff. "The older guys on the team have done a great job stepping up and leading by example. Everyone has been on board since the beginning of the year."
The Red and White earned the No. 2 seed in the CCHA playoffs behind the Michigan Wolverines. They are currently ranked fourth in the nation with the University of North Dakota, Michigan and the University of New Hampshire rounding out the top three.
The top four seeds in the CCHA conference (Michigan, Miami, Michigan State and the University of Notre Dame) will receive a bye in the first round of the CCHA tournament and will be the host sites of the second round; seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in a best-of-three first-round format March 7-9.
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