Miami, Notre Dame taking series outdoors

Teams to play Sunday at Soldier Field

Miami's Marc Hagel (Cathy Lachmann/WCPO.com).

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Posted: 02/14/2013

By John Lachmann
Kypostsports@yahoo.com

WHO: No. 3 Miami RedHawks (18-7-5) vs. No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-11-1).

WHERE: Friday—Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio; Sunday—Soldier Field, Chicago.

WHEN: Friday—7:35 p.m. in Oxford; Sunday—1 p.m. in Chicago.

TV: Friday—CBS Sports (DirecTV Ch. 613, Dish Network Ch. 152); Sunday—FSN Ohio (DirecTV Ch. 660, Dish Network Ch. 425), FSN Cincinnati (DirecTV Ch. 661, Dish Network Ch. 427), ComCast Chicago (DirecTV Ch. 665, Dish Network Ch. 429), MSG Plus (DirecTV Ch. 635), ComCast California (DirecTV Ch. 698, Dish Network Ch. 409), FSN Detroit (DirecTV Ch. 663, Dish Network Ch. 430), FSN North (DirecTV Ch. 668, Dish Network Ch. 436), FSN Wisconsin (DirecTV Ch. 669); NESN (DirecTV Ch. 628, Dish Network Ch. 434), Root Sports Alternate (DirecTV Ch. 695).

Note: According to Miami’s athletic office, any Fox Sports affiliate that doesn’t have a professional obligation during that time slot (NHL/NBA game) will be picking up FSN Detroit’s broadcast.

MIAMI RADIO: Friday—None. Sunday—WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.; and WMOH-AM (1450), Hamilton, Ohio.

NOTRE DAME RADIO: WHFB-FM (99.9), South Bend, Ind.

NOTES: The majority of fan and media attention has been given to Sunday’s outdoor game, but the coaches and players need to focus on Friday first, especially considering the magnitude of this series in the conference standings.

Even during their recent skid, the Fighting Irish have had no problem putting the puck in the net, a skill that has eluded Miami at times this season.

Notre Dame had lost six of seven heading into last weekend’s series vs. Michigan, in which the Fighting Irish scored 13 goals en route to a series sweep.

Overall, UND is easily the highest-scoring team in the CCHA, averaging 3.07 goals per game. In their last five games, the Fighting Irish have netted an average of 4.6 goals.

Junior forward Anders Lee is a particularly dangerous offensive threat. He leads the CCHA and is tied for fourth in the country in goals with 17.

And with 12 assists, Lee – who somehow slipped to the sixth round of the 2009 draft in Montréal before being selected by the New York Islanders – is third behind RedHawks sophomore forward Austin Czarnik and freshman forward Riley Barber for the conference points lead by one.

Among its forwards, three juniors and a freshman have also stood out offensively for Notre Dame this season, and all are NHL draftees.

Bryan Rust, a Penguins draft pick and brother of former Michigan standout Matt Rust, is tied with second on the team in points (10-14-24), including a four-point game against his brother’s former team last Friday.

T.J. Tynan was selected by the Blue Jackets, and is tied with Rust in points (8-16-24). Tynan has 119 points in his career, leading all current Fighting Irish skaters.

Ottawa draft pick Jeff Costello tallied a goal and five assists last weekend, giving him 22 points in 22 games this season. Injury prone, the fifth-rounder had just 30 points in his first 70 games with Notre Dame.

The freshman of the group, Maria Lucia has scored nine goals and dished for nine assists in his rookie season. The son of legendary Minnesota coach Don Lucia was drafted in the second round of the Minnesota Wild in the 2011 draft, which was held in St. Paul. Lucia notched a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win over Ferris State on Feb. 26.

Four other Notre Dame forwards are NHL draftees – freshman Thomas DiPauli (Washington 5-6-11), freshman Steven Fogarty (NY Rangers 4-3-7), sophomore Austin Wuthrich (Washington 3-4-7) and senior Nick Larson (Calgary 2-3-5).

Among its non-drafted forwards, juniors Mike Voran and David Gerths have been the Fighting Irish’s biggest offensive contributors. Voran has four goals and six assists, and Gerths has the unusual stat line of 7-0-7.

On defense, four Notre Dame players have recorded at least 10 points. Sophomore Islanders draft pick Robbie Russo leads that corps with five goals and 13 assists for 18 points.

Senior Sam Calabrese has a goal and is tied for second on the team with 15 assists, and junior Chicago Blackhawks draftee Stephen Johns has recorded 13 points on a goal and 12 helpers.

Junior Shayne Taker also has racked up 11 points, with a marker and 10 assists.

So clearly the Fighting Irish have tons of players that can rack up points. The biggest question mark surrounding this team is its ability to prevent goals, a skill Notre Dame excelled at early in the season but has struggled with recently.

It their first 20 games, the Fighting Irish allowed just 33 goals, or 1.65 per game. The last 10 games, Notre Dame has surrendered 36 markers, an average of 3.60.

Junior Steven Summerhays has been the primary goaltender for the Fighting Irish, and his season numbers (15-10-0, 2.05 GAA, .907 save percentage) are respectable, but he was one of the CCHA’s leaders earlier in the season.

He had allowed just 28 goals in 19 games after shutting

out Michigan State on Jan. 12, but he has struggled since. He let in three goals on 24 shots in the series-finale loss vs. the Spartans the next night and has given up 23 goals in seven games since that blanking, compiling a 2-5 record.

Miami seems to have broken out of its mid-season offensive slump, with occasional relapses, scoring 3-0-2-2-3-4-6-0-4 goals in its last nine games after netting six in its previous six games.

Multiples lines have been producing offense for the RedHawks in recent weeks, which has made a difference in their goal totals. Miami has scored 14 goals in its last four games, and Czarnik, Barber and sophomore forward Alex Wideman have combined for five.

The RedHawks’ defensemen, who contributed very little offensively the first half of the season, have registered more points recently and have joined the play more often, forcing teams to respect them as a scoring threat.

Freshman Matthew Caito in particular seems to have been green-lighted to jump into rushes, as he has two goals and six assists in his last nine games. Senior Steven Spinell also has four assists in his previous five.

In addition to being a penalty killing stud, senior Marc Hagel is the hottest RedHawk in terms of points, registering six in his last four games. Czarnik, Barber and freshman forward Kevin Morris all have four each in that span.

And of course, Notre Dame will have to solve Miami’s goalies, currently the best duo in college hockey.

Freshman Jay Williams will likely start again on Friday, boasting an 11-5-3 record with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage.

Miami coach Enrico Blasi has played Williams every Friday and fellow freshman Ryan McKay on Saturdays since McKay returned from an early-season injury, so it is likely McKay will get the nod on Sunday.

McKay is also a native of the Chicago western suburb of Palatine (and he has a sketch of the rink at Soldier Field etched on the back of his mask).

McKay’s stat line this season is ridiculous. He is 7-2-2 with a 0.98 GAA and a .964 GAA. He also blanked Western Michigan last Saturday a night after Williams committed the cardinal sin of allowing two goals.

Will nerves be a factor on Sunday? Notre Dame is definitely the more veteran team, but the young RedHawks have passed every hostile road test they have encountered, going 7-5-2 away from Cady Arena in places like Yost (Michigan), Kohl Center (Wisconsin) and in front of a 10,000-plus crowd at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

Miami’s fan base is also expected to be huge on Sunday, and the RedHawks have played very well in front of its own crowd, going 10-1-3 at Cady Arena.

In terms of standings, the RedHawks enter this weekend in first place, three points ahead of the third-place Fighting Irish. That means Notre Dame would take over Miami’s spot with a sweep, or if the RedHawks manage just one of a possible six points in the series.

Second-place Western Michigan, one point back of Miami, is at Ohio State for two games this weekend.

Check back Saturday morning and Sunday night for game stories, analysis and photos.