Over the course of the past five seasons, the Miami University men’s ice hockey team has compiled the best winning record of any team in the country.

During that time span, the RedHawks have won two CCHA regular season titles, played in two conference finals in Detroit, qualified for the NCAA tournament every year and come within inches and seconds of clinching the national championship. Despite all of this success, however, the Brotherhood has never triumphed in the CCHA post-season tournament.

In 2005-06, after winning the regular season title, the Red and White cruised past Western Michigan University in the CCHA tournament quarterfinals and dominated Northern Michigan University in the semifinals before meeting its match in Michigan State University during the title game. The Spartans downed Miami 2-1 and freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg emerged as the tournament’s MVP and a household name.

In 2007-08, the ’Hawks bested Notre Dame University in overtime in the semis only to come up short against the University of Michigan in the championship contest.

With last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over rival Ohio State University (OSU), Miami punched its ticket to Detroit. The RedHawks will take on Michigan in the semifinal game March 19 at the Joe Louis Arena with aspirations of advancing to the title game and winning what they hope will be the second of three championships this season.

“Not many Miami teams have made it to the Joe,” sophomore net minder Connor Knapp said. “Even though we’ve had a lot of success the last five years, not many of them have gone to the Joe. Our seniors have only been there once. It’s a big honor to make it there.”

The Brotherhood had to battle hard to get back to “The Joe,” as the Buckeyes’ overtime win Saturday forced a game three. In the end, outstanding goaltending by Knapp backed his team all the way to a gritty 2-1 victory in front of a frenetic Goggin Ice Center crowd.

“It’s what we expected,” Miami Head Coach Enrico Blasi said. “Do or die, game seven, if you will. I thought both teams played their hearts out. I don’t know if you can ask for anything more from either team. We just got one more bounce than they did. They really came after us.”

The Red and White set the tempo in the first frame of Sunday’s rubber match, outshooting the Buckeyes 10-2. Scoring opportunities seemed to be a click off, though, and the scoreboard showed 0-0 going into the first intermission.

At 9:15 of the middle stanza, Miami broke through with a Cameron Schilling blast from the top of the right circle. Junior Vincent LoVerde sent a crossing pass to the sophomore blue liner, and Schilling’s wrister found its way through traffic and into the back of the net.

The Scarlet and Gray played with a desperate intensity that imperiled the RedHawks’ marginal lead, and the Buckeyes outshot the Brotherhood 21-14 in the final two frames. Backed by Knapp, the Red and White weathered the onslaught, and sophomore Alden Hirschfeld’s insurance goal at 10:15 in the third was just what Miami needed to tighten the collar. The forward took a feed from junior captain Tommy Wingels and slid the puck behind OSU junior goalie Dustin Carlson from just outside the crease to make it 2-0.

“We did a really good job (of limiting chances) in the first and second,” Blasi said. “Once we got that first one that was huge for us. You want to be playing from the lead.”

As the clock wound down, the Buckeyes frantically tried to keep their season alive and saw their efforts pay off when junior center C.J. Severyn reduced Miami’s lead to one at 14:20. With sophomore Will Weber in the box for cross-checking, OSU managed to solve the RedHawks’ penalty kill (PK) and a perfectly placed one-timer by Severyn sliced past a sprawling Knapp.

“(OSU’s) season was on the line and we knew they were going to come out hard,” Knapp said. “We knew we had to match their intensity and stay within our game plan and we executed.”

With 1:33 remaining in regulation, sophomore defenseman Matt Tomassoni delivered a punishing open ice hit to an OSU icer that garnered a trip to the sin bin, putting Miami at a dangerous man disadvantage against the red hot Buckeyes. The Red and White caught a fast break when OSU junior Kyle Reed was whistled for interference 22 seconds later, evening the field. OSU Head Coach John Markell pulled Carlson in an attempt to tilt the ice at 19:03, but Knapp stood tall all the way to the final buzzer. The ecstatic RedHawks converged on the ice in celebration, and Knapp was named the game’s first star for his exceptional efforts in the 2-1 victory.

“It was a fun atmosphere, obviously,” Blasi said. “Nerve-wracking for the coaches because we have no say in it. But I thought (OSU) threw everything at us. We blocked some shots. They missed the net.”

Every game was a war, and fans that cut their spring breaks short to attend Friday and Saturday’s contests certainly got their money’s worth. Miami was forced to battle from behind both nights with mixed results. After OSU junior Hunter Bishop dismantled Miami’s early lead on Friday, the Red and White dug deep and responded with five unanswered goals to go up one in the best-of-three series. On Saturday, the Red and White rallied from a three goal deficit to send the game into overtime, but ultimately fell 5-4 to the Scarlet and Gray, forcing the extra session.

Game one featured paired scoring, with a trio of players netting two goals apiece. Junior Andy Miele netted the first lamplighter at 11:32 of the opening stanza and added a power play goal at 16:28 of the second that chased Carlson from goal. The center also had two assists on the night.

Bishop was another player who found success in pairs. The Fairbanks, Alaska native tallied two goals 6:10 apart in the first frame to erase Miele’s early lead and turn the tables on the Red and White with a 2-1 OSU advantage.

Junior Carter Camper’s two goals at the start of the second stopped the Buckeyes’ rally effort cold and reinstated the RedHawks in the lead. Senior Jarod Palmer and Hirschfeld also found net for the Brotherhood, and the final score stood at 6-2.

On Saturday, the Buckeyes shocked the Red and White by going up 3-0, the largest deficit Miami has faced all season. Sophomore standout Zac Dalpe capitalized on the first penalty of the game with a power play goal just 2:21 into the opening stanza. Junior Patrick Schafer pushed the lead to two when he went top shelf at 17:24.

Early in the second, freshman Steven Spinell laid Bishop out with a nasty check from behind, garnering a five minute major penalty and game misconduct. Just minutes after he lay crumpled in the corner, Bishop exacted his revenge with a goal at 6:57.

Sophomore Trent Vogelhuber finally broke through for Miami at 14:49 of the middle frame with a shot past Carlson’s glove side.

Less than four minutes later, junior Pat Cannone pulled the Red and White within one with a wrist shot through traffic, and the score stood 3-2 going into the second intermission.

Sophomore Matt Bartkowski blasted a shot from the blue line just four seconds into an OSU power play at 14:55 in the third to put the Buckeyes ahead 4-2.

The RedHawks refused to give up, and staged an epic rally effort at the 11th hour. LoVerde’s shorthanded tally at 16:58 got things rolling, and Cannone’s outstanding individual effort led to a goal at 18:40 that sent the game into a 20-minute sudden death overtime.

Though the Red and White had all of the momentum going into the fourth frame, OSU junior Sergio Somma put the game away before Miami could complete its rally effort, forcing Miami to work overtime for its eventual ticket to Joe Louis Arena.

The road gets rockier from here as the Brotherhood will face its nemesis from the north — the Michigan Wolverines — in Friday’s semifinal game. The Maize and Blue upset rival Michigan State to advance to the next round and pose a definite threat to Miami. Should the RedHawks prevail, the championship game will take place Saturday night in Detroit.

“Michigan’s Michigan and they’re going to come after you and you better be ready,” Blasi said. “And they’re at home, if you will. It’s going to be exciting and should be a lot of fun.”