INDIANAPOLIS - To get another look at the three Miami commits playing for Indiana of the USHL, and a first look at Tri-City forward Cody Murphy, we again ventured deep into the Hoosier State to watch the Storm battle the Ice at Pepsi Coliseum on Saturday.
(And Pepsi Coliseum is indeed a barn, all the way down to the chevron-shaped ceiling. The building formerly known as Indiana State Fair Coliseum on the state fairgrounds is 71 years old, making it the oldest building I've ever seen a hockey game in. It's unorthodox for a hockey rink, no doubt, and the acoustics are terrible, but it's still a cool building to watch a game in.)
All four are expected to being play for the RedHawks this fall.
Tri-City rallied from a 3-0 deficit to pull out the win, 4-3 in a shootout.
F Alex Wideman - Height: 5-8. Weight: 148 pounds. GP: 34. G: 6. A: 3. Pts.: 9. Age (10/1/10): 18.
I said in my first report that while he is tiny, he still likes to hit around the boards. He was used extensively on the penalty kill on Saturday, and I was impressed by his defensive play.
I still think his speed is decent, but it should be better to compensate for his height if he hopes to be an everyday player at Miami.
He scored a goal when Tri-City goaltender Steven Bolton misplayed a puck after coming out of the crease to between the faceoff circles. Wideman took it away, moved away from the sprawling goalie and backhanded it top shelf. It was a pretty good goal even though it was obviously the result of bad puckhandling by the goalie.
(NOTE: Bolton was pulled after that goal, and his replacement, Carsen Chubak, stopped all 19 shots he faced to earn the comeback win. )
I still see him being a similar to Brandon Smith - an energy guy on the fourth line - but Wideman's defense may earn him more ice time.
He likes to play a harassing style of penalty killing, similar to current RedHawks senior Jarod Palmer. But the goals won't come often - that was his second in his last 15 games.
F Max Cook - Height: 6-1. Weight: 178 pounds. GP: 32. G: 11. A: 18. Pts.: 29. Age (10/1/10): 20.
Cook, who was originally supposed to come in last fall, has the most upside of the three Ice players headed to Miami but he desperately needs to put on muscle.
In the first period on Saturday, he was one of four or five players against the boards battling for the puck, and a defender pushed him out of the pile with one hand and he fell back five feet. The more physical players in the CCHA will eat him alive unless he bulks up.
The kid definitely has talent. He takes faceoffs, can skate the puck up the ice, kills penalties and is frequently used on the power play - all useful attributes on a Miami team that is losing Palmer after this season.
Cook is second on the Ice in points, and the assistant captain will represent his team in the USHL All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
He recorded a secondary assist on a goal Saturday, and has drifted back into the stratosphere after a red-hot start to 2010. Cook had eight points in his first four games after New Year's - and a plus-6 rating - and has two points in four games since.
Cook was also unsuccessful on a shootout attempt.
I stand by my original assessment that if he joined the RedHawks now, he would be a taller version of former RedHawk Chris Michael. But he has the potential to be a second-line forward similar to a taller version of current junior Pat Cannone.
F Shane Berschbach - Height: 5-8. Weight: 140 pounds. GP: 30. G: 10. A: 17. Pts.: 27. Age (10/1/10): 19.
Berschbach has good enough offensive skills to succeed in the CCHA, but he needs to develop other skills. He's very small and doesn't have exceptional speed to compensate.
He's never used on the penalty kill, doesn't take faceoffs and isn't physical.
But the offense is pretty impressive, and he works hard to create scoring chances. On the power play, he loves to hang out on the side of the net to the goalie's left to feed teammates and receive passes (in the two games I've seen he's been involved in at least four scoring chances from that position).
He scored a goal Saturday after getting knocked down - he took an initial shot, was dropped and kept whacking at it until it went in. He also picked up a primary assist on a goal scored in heavy traffic.
In eight games this month, Berschbach has 10 points playing alongside Cook. Berschbach, also a USHL all-star, had 44 points in 56 games last season.
His scoring has picked up, so contrary to my first report, I think he will get into the Miami lineup right away, but he still needs to improve his non-scoring skills, and hitting the weight room more wouldn't hurt.
F Cody Murphy - Height: 5-10. Weight: 195 pounds. GP: 34. G: 6. A: 1. Pts.: 7. Age (10/1/10): 19.
This was my first time seeing Murphy, and it was hard to get a read on him since he plays on the third line.
His best play of the night by far was a steal in the offensive zone, during which he cleanly stripped an Ice player then backhanded a pass into the crease for a Tri-City scoring chance.
He plays like the anti-Berschbach - he has the physical and defensive skills but not the offensive prowess.
After a big hit by an Ice player on one of Murphy's teammates, he got the Indianapolis player back with a solid, clean hit of his own on the same shift, which was impressive.
Murphy's offense has picked up a bit - he had just two goals and an assist in his first 21 games, but has scored four goals in his last 13.
I think Murphy may sit a good portion of his freshman season because of the talent Miami has up front, but he could end up being a Nino Musitelli-type player when he cracks the lineup.
ANOTHER MIAMIAN COMING FROM INDIANA? Bryon Paulazzo is the linemate of Cook and Berschbach, and he has narrowed his choice of colleges to Miami, Denver and Northern Michigan, according to a story written by Kasey Hammel in the Indiana Ice gameday program.
Berschbach is third on the team in scoring, Cook is second and Paulazzo is first with 30 points, including a team-best 20 assists.
Paulazzo, who is already 20, has until the end of January to decide, so we should find out where he is going soon.
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