Mullin was one of a record 22 high school hockey players selected in the 2010 draft this weekend.

Mullin was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning late in the fourth round, 118th overall. Mullin is expected to play one season of juniors, probably in the USHL, before joining the RedHawks in the fall of 2011.

"There are a lot of talented players in high school hockey, but the big knock has always been that teams don't know if there's good enough competition (at the high school level)," Blackhawks prep draftee Justin Holl - the 54th pick overall - said to NHL.com. "High school hockey is on the rise, and a lot of people are beginning to realize it now. The leagues throughout the country can produce a lot of good players and we're beginning to see that."

Mullin played for Shattuck St. Mary's prep school last season - the same Minnesota institution that Sidney Crosby suited up for prior to joining the Penguins - where he finished with 32 goals and 40 assists for 72 points in 55 games.

The Philadelphia-area native was the 12th high school player selected in this year's draft, and the only one picked by Tampa Bay.

Mullin is listed at 5-feet-10, 152 pounds (a Friday article in the Philadelphia Daily News said he was 5-11, 165), which may be why he was not selected higher, although the NHL Central Scouting Bureau had him projected 165th overall. Had that happened he would have been taken midway through the sixth round.

Mullin was the lone Miami player taken over the weekend, but that was mostly because most other incoming RedHawks' birthdays did not fall in the draft window.

The incoming class of 2011 may be another of coach Enrico Blasi's masterpieces. Forwards Tyler Biggs and Alex Gacek - both highly-touched NHL prospects - are also expected to join the team for 2011-12.

ANALYSIS: I was pleasantly surprised to see Mullin drafted in the fourth round, although the height-weight discrepancy may have accounting for at least part of his jump.

So it's a great day for Mullin. It looks like he has an extremely bright future in hockey ahead of him. And it's a great day for Miami, which has once again had its program validated by having one of its recruits picked in the draft.

I'm not sure, and I'm not sure if even Blasi is sure, exactly which players are coming here this fall, but I'm not sure that a season in juniors is necessary for a player who scored 32 goals in 55 games at the elite prep level.

This is purely a guess, but it may be a numbers game with the incoming players already slated to come in this fall.

Here's a few of the absurdities tabled in a piece released by U.S. College Hockey Online last month:

--Some made-up idea of "hybrid icing" that makes the decision arbitrary at the hands of the linesmen.

--Allowing goals to be kicked in.

--Requiring penalty killers to remain on the ice for the duration of minor and double-minor penalties.

--Not allowing penalty killers to ice the puck.

--Not allowing players to leave their skates to block shots.

Before I start dissecting these items, it is important to note that there is little chance these proposals will be implemented. Still, the fact that such potential bastardizations of the game are even being tabled shows that a segment of the NCAA brass is utterly clueless about hockey.

First, a few thoughts on icing. Touch-up or no touch-up? The NHL's touch-up system is dangerous and caused several injuries this past season. In a way I like it, but it isn't worth the injury risk. The NHL also waives off icing way too often for reasons players don't even fully understand.

The NCAA has no-touch icing. It isn't a perfect system, but it's fairly straight-forward and does not encourage players to skate full-speed toward the boards to either induce the icing call or nullify it.

At the college level, why can't we just keep the no-touch and allow linesmen to waive it off if a defensive player pulls up to allow it to cross the line?

The USCHO piece says "if the attacking player reaches an imaginary line between the faceoff dots before the defending player, icing is negated. That would presumably increase scoring chances and hit on another committee mandate, reducing whistles."

It's no secret college hockey doesn't have the best officiating in the world. Why put more of a burden on the lowest-ranking two officials on the ice?

Next, we have the elimination of the "distinct kicking motion" rule. Seriously? The subject doesn't even warrant discussion. This isn't soccer.

Then we have two items designed to further punish short-handed teams. Requiring players to remain on the ice might be the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Part of the strategy of killing penalties is line changing. Do you attempt it and risk getting caught on a change when the puck comes to center ice?

Prohibiting a team from changing lines for two minutes - or even four - is the equivalent of forcing football teams to keep the same personnel on the field for an entire possession for being assessed a penalty.

To make matters worse, they don't want to allow PK units to ice the puck. Why not just award a goal to any team heading to the power play?

A minor penalty should not give a team a 50/50 chance of scoring, but if the proposed rules changes were implemented, that's what would happen.

Oh yeah, not allowing players to leave their skates to block shots. Good one. I have a better idea: If the NCAA is dead-set against allowing teams to play defense, let's make a rule preventing teams from using goalies?

So in the NCAA's dream world, players could kick the puck toward the net and defensemen wouldn't be allowed to slide in front of the "shot" to block it.

Even if you aren't against all of these ideas, even more asinine proposals surfaced today on the Inside College Hockey site. INCH said that the decision on these issues will be made next month.

The highlights:

--Mandatory sentencing for contact to the head penalties.

--Changing ends for overtime.

--If a team scores on a delayed penalty situation, the penalty is still assessed to the offending team.

The NCAA wants a mandatory major for contact to the head, but unfortunately it isn't that simple. There are several factors involved, including intent, size discrepancy, whether the violated player had his head down, degree of impact, etc.

I'm in no way saying that penalties for dangerous head shots are unwarranted, just that a one-size-fits-all approach is a very bad idea.

A player turning into a check at the last second is not the same thing as a player dishing out a deliberate head shot in a 7-1 game with two minutes left.

My suggestion: For better of worse, the NCAA hired the referees it has for a reason. Let them make the decisions instead of tying their hands.

There was no context for the changing ends for overtime, but it sounds like that would happen every time a game was tied after three periods.

I think it's a great idea for CCHA and NCAA Tournament games, but I don't understand it for regular-season games (but hey, our seats are at the end opponents shoot at twice, so horray for us and too bad for the student section).

Other than just being silly, the other drawback is making players have a longer way to go for a line change after playing a full 20-minute period.

And the penalty after a goal stemming from a delayed penalty is pretty silly. So a minor penalty could cost a team two goals?

I will say that I do like one idea being floated: On a delayed penalty, make violating teams clear their zone. Possession is often an arbitrary concept for officials. Usually the penalty is assessed when a player touches the puck (see: Knapp, Connor during overtime vs. Michigan in the regional final).

This seems a lot more cut-and-dry. Either the puck is out of the zone or it isn't. Anytime you can take discrepancy out of the hands of officials, it's a good thing.

That said, almost all of these changes seem to be geared toward encouraging more scoring. Specifically, the NCAA seems to want to inflate power play percentages.

In the CCHA, teams averaged 2.78 goals per game in 2009-10, and an average of 5.46 goals were scored in games played by the 12 teams in the league.

Throw out 32 "goals", which were actually shootout wins which weren't actually hockey goals per se, and that number drops to 5.39.

So 3-2 was pretty much the norm in 2009-10. Five-plus goals in a 60-minute game.

That's the same number of scoring plays as one would see in a 21-14 football game or a 5-4 baseball game with two three-run homers.

While I wouldn't mind seeing a little more scoring (the NHL average was 5.53 when shootout "goals" are removed), I have no problem with the current format, and I wonder why the NCAA has proposed such radical measures.

The combined power play percentages of the CCHA teams was 17.6 (433 for 2456). The NHL average was 18.2 (1,664 for 9,136).

If the NCAA really wants to help college hockey, it can encourage schools to take up the sport and try to ensure strong programs like Alabama-Huntsville don't fold because they have no conference.

But leave the on-ice product alone.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Junior captain Tommy Wingels became the latest Miami Hockey player to join the professional ranks Tuesday when he signed with the San Jose Sharks, executive vice president and general manager Doug Wilson announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tommy Wingels (Cathy White/CNATI.com)

Wingels, 22, spent the last three seasons with the RedHawks, amassing 99 points (43-56=99) in 127 games played. He helped Miami to consecutive Frozen Four appearances in the last two seasons, including the championship game in 2008-09.

This season, Wingels served as team captain and finished second on the club in goals (17), fourth in points (17-26=43) and second in game-winning goals (5). His 43 points were tied for 33rd among all NCAA scorers and tied for ninth in the CCHA. Following the season, he was named the league's "Best Defensive Forward", while being selected second-team all-conference.

As a junior, Wingels tallied 28 points on 11 goals and 17 assists with two goals and an assist in the national semifinal win over Bemidji State. He scored 15 goals and dished out 14 assists for 29 points as a sophomore. Prior to Miami, Wingels played with Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League (USHL), helping the 2006-07 RoughRiders to a 37-18-5 regular-season record and second-place finish in the USHL's East Division.

"Tommy's mix of hockey sense and skill allow him to make an impact in all phases of the game," said Wilson. "Miami head coach Enrico Blasi has built an extremely strong program at Miami and Tommy was a leader for them during his three years there. We're excited for him to begin his development at the professional level."

The 6-foot, 195-pound native of Wilmette, Ill., was selected by San Jose in the sixth round (177th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The son of Robert and Karen Wingels, Tommy is a finance major.

ANALYSIS: Wingels had a great career and is an outstanding person off the ice, and he's going to be an outstanding pro. Few players have been more deserving of this opportunity.

That said, this is obviously a huge loss for Miami. The RedHawks lose their captain, one of their top goal scorers and a major physical presence.

I'm in no way second-guessing his decision or the decisions of those who have left after three years in previous seasons (see: Martinez, Alec, and Zatkoff, Jeff), but I've never really understood turning pro with one season left. Two? Sure. But not one.

Miami is obviously expected to contend for a national title again this season, and Wingels bled Miami red.

Everyone close to the situation was saying he was going to stay as recently as mid-April. Nothing within the organization changed since then (former assistant Chris Bergeron was announced as the coach of Bowling Green before then), so I have to believe the Sharks persuaded him to leave early.

NHL teams generally aren't concerned with whether players receive their degrees - their goal is simply to win hockey games, and develop players that will help them do that. The Sharks figure the sooner they can get Wingels acclimated to their system, the sooner he can start contributing at the NHL level.

San Jose likes to bring its players along slowly, so Wingels will likely start next season in Worcester of the AHL and may not get a taste of the NHL until 2011-12.

I have no doubt he'll have a successful NHL career because of his size, physical nature and goal-scoring ability.

Trying to look at the positives:

1-His departure allows Miami to bring in another player this fall, which I'm guessing will be one of the studs in the RedHawks' system.

2-This helps balance the classes out. Palmer was the only major departure from 2009-10, and Miami was going to suffer a ton of key losses after the upcoming season, so this sort of softens the blow.

3-The pre-game music at Cady Arena might improve.

That's all I can come up with. Congratulations to Tommy, and hopefully the RedHawks will be able to win a national championship without him, but it's going to be tough.

Cyclones defenseman Kevin Roeder (Cathy White/CNATI.com)

Kevin Roeder could not have found a better fit than the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Like the franchise he plays for, the defenseman seems to encounter endless hurdles, yet he always manages to clear them and hit the ground as strong as ever, preparing for the next obstacle.

He is best known for being a victim of arguably the unluckiest goal in college hockey history. Playing for Miami University last season in overtime of the national title game, a seemingly innocuous shot by Colby Cohen deflected off his shoulder and into the net to give Boston University an NCAA championship.

But 13 months later, Roeder has again put himself in position to win a major hockey title. The Cyclones beat Idaho, 3-2 on Thursday to take a 3-games-to-1 lead in the Kelly Cup finals.

Game 5 will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at U.S. Bank Arena.

"Anytime you can have a guy that's been in that winning environment - they've got a great program up at Miami," Cyclones coach Chuck Weber said. "That was one of the reasons we brought him here is that he's used to winning, and his being able to contribute to our culture here is huge."

Roeder, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Ill., began his Miami career in the fall of 2005. Immediately he became one of the most intimidating hitters in college hockey, as well as an outstanding stay-at-home defenseman.

He scored five goals and dished for 31 assists as a RedHawk. As a junior, he led the team with a plus-27 rating and helped Miami finish with the highest penalty killing percentage in the country.

Roeder was an assistant captain his senior season, finished second on the team in blocked shots (41) and played in Miami's first-ever national championship game.

Roeder, playing for Miami in 2008-09 (Cathy White/CNATI.com).

But with a two-goal lead and less than a minute left in regulation in that game, a nightmare scenario unprecedented in college hockey unfolded. Boston U. scored twice with an extra attacker, forcing overtime.

Just over halfway through the extra session, that fateful shot hit Roeder, who was playing his position properly, and the deflected puck floated, end-over-end through the air and over the shoulder of Miami goalie Cody Reichard.

The clip was repeatedly aired on highlight reels nationwide.

"It was an unlucky bounce off of me for BU to win, but it's part of the game," Roeder said.

Roeder missed several games down the stretch prior to that game due to multiple injuries, and rumor had it he would require surgery after the season. Many wondered aloud if he would pursue a professional career.

After all, at 5-feet-9, even a healthy Roeder is considered undersized for professional hockey at any position, much less defense.

But last fall, there was Roeder, competing for a job with Syracuse, the Columbus Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate. He was one of the final cuts, and Roeder ended up in Cincinnati.

"It's part of the job," Roeder said. "I understand the situation that I was in, and if I had to start here in Cincinnati, that's OK, but you know what? You have to work to get to the top."

Weber said that Roeder's work ethic was never affected after he came to the Cyclones.

"It was get-down-to-work - he definitely put a workmanlike attitude in," Weber said.

Roeder was recalled by Syracuse during the regular season, but he never played in a game and was sent back to Cincinnati three days later.

Then he got hurt. Roeder identified the injury only as "lower body", but it was uncertain if he would ever return in 2009-10.

Roeder had played only 23 professional games, recording a goal and two assists, and now faced the possibility of a season-ending injury.

"I thought I was going to be out for the year, but I did a lot of rehab on it and let it heal, and got some time off, so that helped," Roeder said.

"And now I'm back out playing."

He played in seven games before the end of the regular season, and has been in the lineup for all 23 of the Cyclones' postseason games.

"It was disappointing - when he finally got his feet under him, he got hurt," Weber said. "Hopefully, he can use this playoff run to springboard him for next year."

That 2008-09 Miami team nearly missed the NCAA Tournament because of a late regular-season and conference-tournament drought, and the RedHawks were written off by experts because of their youth.

The Cyclones faced their own mortality in the conference finals, when they fell behind, three-games-to-none to Reading.

But this franchise has played the underdog role far too often to be fazed. The Cyclones became the first team in ECHL history to rally from a 3-0 hole to win a series, defying overwhelming odds.

Like when the team was declared dead in April 2004 when it announced it was going dormant.

Then again two years later when it re-emerged in the ECHL and was the only team in the league to average less than 2,000 fans per game in 2006-07.

The Cyclones' response? All they did was win a Kelly Cup in 2007-08, giving Cincinnati its first professional hockey league title since the Swords in 1973.

The deciding Game 6 was played in front of 12,722 fans, also with Weber behind the bench.

Apparently no one told the Cyclones that the Bengals, Reds, University of Cincinnati and Xavier basketball are king here, and hockey is an afterthought.

It is no coincidence that the Cyclones are playing for their second ECHL championship in three years. And it is also not random luck that Kevin Roeder is on the team.

The RedHawks open up with an exhibition game vs. Waterloo on Oct. 3, then they host New Hampshire the following weekend to begin their regular season.

Miami will play 16 home games, 16 road games and two neutral-site contests against Maine and either St. Cloud or Cornell at the Florida College Classic the weekend after Christmas.

With Nebraska-Omaha leaving the league, the CCHA is down to 11 teams for next season, but the conference schedule will remain at 28 games. Miami has home-and-home series vs. Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State.

Here is the complete schedule:

(Home games in CAPS)
Oct. 3: WATERLOO (exhibition)
Oct. 8-9: NEW HAMPSHIRE
Oct. 15-16: at St. Cloud State
Oct. 22-23: N. MICHIGAN
Oct. 29-30: L. SUPERIOR ST.
Nov. 5-6: at Ferris State
Nov. 12-13: ALASKA
Nov. 19-20: at Bowling Green
Nov. 26-27: at Western Michigan
Dec. 3-4: NOTRE DAME
Dec. 29: vs. Maine*
Dec. 30: vs. St. Cloud or Cornell*
Jan. 7-8: at Ohio State
Jan 14-15: BOWLING GREEN
Jan. 21-22: at Michigan State
Jan. 28-29: at Notre Dame
Feb. 4-5: MICHIGAN
Feb. 11-12: WESTERN MICHIGAN
Feb. 25-26: at Lake Superior State
   *-at the Florida College Classic, Estero, Fla.

But on Monday, it was announced that the former Miami forward was signed to a one-year contract by his hometown Minnesota Wild.

"It's incredible to actually sign an NHL contract and see my name, and see who I'm playing for," Palmer said. "I literally couldn't believe it."

Jarod Palmer (Cathy White/CNATI.com)

Palmer led the RedHawks in goals (18), points (45) and plus-minus (27) this season, and he finished 12th all-time among Miami scorers with 137 points. He also broke the school record for most career games played (169) as he never missed a game in a Miami uniform.

Palmer attended the Wild's prospect camp in 2009, and he said the process of becoming a member of the organization began then. He said he was impressed with facilities and the training available.

"I knew if I went there I would get a lot better at hockey," Palmer said. "That was a big part of me wanting to play for the Wild. I don't think I'm going to make it if I don't improve."

Palmer, who is from the Minneapolis suburb of Fridley, said he had offers from other teams - a couple of which offered him more money - making the decision extremely difficult.

The Wild will give Palmer a chance to make the team out of training camp this fall, he said, and if he does not secure a roster spot, he could be sent to Houston of the AHL to develop his skills.

Palmer's maternal grandparents live in Texas, and he said if he plays for the Aeros it could give him a chance to bond with them.

Another factor in Palmer's decision to choose Minnesota is the style of hockey to Wild have implemented. Previous Minnesota teams played a defensive system and lacked physicality.

But under general manager Chuck Fletcher and head coach Todd Richards, the Wild are more up-tempo and do not shy away from contact.

"I think it was a big factor in me going there," Palmer said. "It was frustrating for years to watch it. It's nice to know (the current regime) thinks there needs to be a difference in the style of play. I'm hoping they look to me to be a guy that brings in that new change of hockey."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Palmer's contract is worth about $700,000. He receives a $90,000 signing bonus, and would make $67,500 if he played in Houston.

Palmer said a one-year deal for free agents in situations similar to his is common.

"It puts a little added pressure on me to prove I'm worth it," Palmer said.

As for now, Palmer has two weeks of classes remaining until graduating, including some difficult schoolwork before he completes his degree.

He said he still gets to skate at the Goggin Ice Center, and he is looking forward to playing some shinny hockey with his Miami teammates in the near future.

Palmer is unclear about his living arrangements once he graduates. He said he may rent a place near home in Minnesota until it's determined where he will play this fall.

Palmer said a couple of months ago that his ultimate dream was to play in one NHL game. Now the Wild have given him a chance, and he may be just months away from achieving it.

"It hasn't sunk in yet - it will probably sink in when the check comes in," Palmer said. "I've been kind of on cloud nine since."

Over the years, some players have openly acknowledged they dread that moment.

But on Saturday, Gary Steffes got on stage and said he had actually been looking forward to giving his senior speech. It was the first time I'd ever heard anyone admit that.

Steffes opened his speech by pointing out that he played in less than half of the RedHawks' games this season, and he recorded just one point. Last season, he said, media wanted to interview him and he scored a goal in the national championship game.

Steffes then challenged the audience to judge his career at Miami as a success or a failure.

This senior class is the first to play at Cady Arena for its entire career, and I became a season ticket holder when the rink opened, so I have seen every home game in which Steffes has played (except one when I had to attend a funeral in Chicago).

I met Steffes for the first time a few weeks ago, and it was because I wanted a quote from another senior for a feature I was doing on Brandon Smith. My first choice was Jarod Palmer, whom I already knew and had done a feature on previously.

Plus Palmer is having the type of season that has NHL teams watching. But he had a late class that day and left practice early, so I asked if I could talk to Steffes.

I talked to everyone else for my story, and I was waiting on him to finish his lifting regiment. I stood in the visitors' bench for five minutes, then 10, and a thought in my head kept getting louder.

Wouldn't this guy be a little resentful that I'm asking for a quote about someone who has basically passed him on the forward depth chart this season?

When he finally emerged from the locker room, I met a player who seems utterly incapable of feeling such envy. The ultimate team player, Steffes was more than willing to sacrifice his time to benefit a teammate and close friend.

I'd heard from others what a great person he is, but that's the type of thing one has to experience for his or herself. He's one of those rare people whose mere presence makes one feel a little more upbeat.

He's the type of person the world needs more of.

So near the end of Steffes' speech on Saturday, he told people not to feel bad for him. He talked about how he wasn't close to any of his family members when he enrolled in college.

But he said the growth he underwent and friendships he made at Miami made his experience in Oxford unforgettable. And now he's closer than ever with his family.

He's also going to leave Miami with a degree, having accrued a 3.6 grade-point average.

It was like he was reading my mind, because standing there on the visitors' bench before he arrived for our interview, I felt sort of sorry for him and a little anxious because I wasn't sure how he would take being asked about a classmate who was having more success.

As a hockey player he had progressed so much during his collegiate career, but his senior season ended with him wearing a suit during the Boston College game in Detroit.

Steffes probably won't take a shift in the pros, but The Brotherhood made him a better person, made that unfocused college freshman into a man, and that will last longer than a hockey career.

"I feel like the most fortunate person in the room tonight," Steffes said near the end of his speech.

He wasn't the only one that felt that way.

Yes, Steffes' Miami career was a success.

The RedHawks' annual Night of Celebration was held at Shriver Center, and former NHLer Rick Vaive and the brother of the late Brendan Burke spoke about the team manager who was killed in a traffic accident on Feb. 5.

"Other than his family, the most important thing in his life was this team." Patrick Burke said.

Patrick Burke accepted the Jim Grant Seventh Man Award for Brendan. Their mother, Kerry, was also in attendance.

"Brendan Burke was ultimate seventh man," said Rick Vaive, who gave the award to the Burke family. "He would've won this award regardless of the events that unfolded."

Jim Grant, for whom the award is named, was the father of former RedHawks forward Todd Grant. Jim Grant died from cancer following the 2002-03 season, but he attended games up until a week before his death.

"We love Miami, and I don't think I'll ever be able to express how much you guys mean to us," Patrick Burke said.

Here were the team award winners (others nominated in parentheses):

Blue Line Club Award - Tommy Wingels (Pat Cannone, Brandon Smith).

Scholar-Athlete Award: Dane Hetland, Gary Steffes, Brandon Smith and Jarod Palmer.

Rookie of the Year: Joe Hartman (Reilly Smith, Curtis McKenzie).

Outstanding Defensive Player: Will Weber (Joe Hartman, Vincent LoVerde).

Most Improved Player: Justin Vaive (Dane Hetland, Cameron Schilling).

Outstanding Senior: Jarod Palmer (Dane Hetland, Brandon Smith).

Outstanding Offensive Player: Andy Miele (Carter Camper, Jarod Palmer).

Most Valuable Player: Cody Reichard (Andy Miele, Tommy Wingels).

Jim Grant Seventh Man Award: Brendan Burke.

Some of the best comments of the night:

"The campus was beautiful and the women were beautiful, and that was all I needed." - Dane Hetland on why he chose Miami.

"We consider him the fifth senior on this team." - Dane Hetland on Brendan Burke.

"We'll miss you, you're not far, and don't think you're beating us." - Enrico Blasi to Chris Bergeron.

"Your colors are orange." - Blasi on Bergeron's new team.

"The wind blows north, east, south and west at the same time." - Blasi on Bowling Green.

"If you get bored, players can practice on I-75." Blasi still ripping on Bowling Green.

Blasi also said that his daughter, Sophie, has asked if she can take over for departed assistant coach Chris Bergeron, and Blasi said he had to tell her "no".

Blasi then said "she's not speaking to me. I guess I have that affect on women."

During Hetland's senior speech he also mentioned that the team would have to improve its cardio program for junior defenseman Vincent LoVerde.

Other interesting pieces of information learned from Saturday:

Palmer revealed that classmate Gary Steffes bailed him out a potential "butt-kicking" by some football players during their freshman season.

Wingels is minoring in Chinese.

Blasi was asked before John Buccigross' ESPN piece on Burke was released if he was OK with the timing of it, since it could have posed a potential distraction. He was completely supportive of its publication.

ANALYSIS: This is honestly one of my favorite nights of the year. The Blue Line Club does an outstanding job with this event, and $35 is a more than reasonable price to pay for the opportunity to say good-bye to the seniors, wish everyone else a good summer and watch great highlights reels.

Not to mention we get to enjoy excellent food and see all the cool stuff available in the silent auction.

But the best part for me is the senior speeches. While many schools merely pay lip service to the student-athlete concept, it brings stability to my world to see not just the great hockey players but also the quality young men that the Miami hockey team continues to hone.

All four seniors finished with a GPA over 3.0.

We sat with Pat Cannone, a player I'd actually never met. What a delightful young man. He has a great sense of humor.

The sad thing about the night is that it signifies the end of the season. But I have the memories of the evening to get me through the summer.

The end-of-the-season loss rocks everyone's world, but the aftershock - this is, players leaving early for the pros - can happen at any time and be just as devastating.

Or it could not happen at all. But at the very least it raises a cloud of uneasiness around everyone involved during that period.

Obviously, that's what Miami fans are hoping for this off-season, and there is a good chance their wishes may be granted.

Miami will keep most of its players from its 2009-10 team, with the exceptions of stud forward Jarod Palmer, fourth-liner Brandon Smith, and part-timers Gary Steffes and Dane Hetland. For the remaining players to know how good next season's team will be has to factor into each player's decision.

And since four days have elapsed since the end of the RedHawks' season, and no one has left yet has to be considered a good sign.

It's a complicated issue that is not easy to analyze, and it must be looked at from each individual's standpoint, and the track record of the NHL team owning the player's rights has a major impact.

For example, the Los Angeles Kings tried to get Marty Guerin to leave after his freshman season, and they succeeded in getting Jeff Zatkoff and Alec Martinez to leave a season early. Former Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson is another player that came out before graduating to join the Kings' organization.

The excellent returning team, coach Enrico Blasi and the team's commitment to The Brotherhood and the situations of each of the players themselves are reasons I believe no one will depart early this off-season.

Plus, only two players have gone pro early in recent years, and both were Kings draft picks. Miami currently does not have a Kings draftee on its roster. And neither has made the NHL yet, which may also factor into current players' decisions.

So here's a look at drafted and undrafted players who could depart:

D Will Weber - It's been rumored the Blue Jackets' draftee wants to stay, and he still needs to develop offensively before he can be an impact player in the pro ranks.

D Cameron Schilling - It's not much of a secret that NHL teams are salivating over the sophomore. Schilling has made a ton of progress since the beginning of his freshman year, and he may be the biggest flight risk on the team.

D Chris Wideman - Wideman is a Senators pick who still needs work in his own end before he can help a pro team. He still gets pushed around too easily by big forwards, and hopefully he'll benefit from Matt Cady's outstanding strength and conditioning program.

D Joe Hartman - Hartman is undrafted, and he's an older freshman who could help a pro team right away. One knock on him is a supposed lack of speed, which is absurd for anyone who watches him regularly. He should stay, but after next season fans will be biting their nails.

Fs Curtis McKenzie and Reilly Smith - Both Dallas draft picks were true freshman last season, and will be only 19 in 2010-11. Players rarely go to the AHL at that age.

McKenzie had a solid year, but he still needs to become a more disciplined player and consistent scorer. Smith looked great in the second half before fading late.

F Justin Vaive - Vaive, an Anaheim draftee and son of former NHL 50-goal scorer Rick Vaive, obviously has the pedigree to go pro, but his development has been slow.

He played very well in Miami's last few games, but the problem is he will not play on one of the RedHawks' top two lines because the team is so loaded. The senior-to-be could look elsewhere for more ice time if a degree is not a priority.

F Trent Vogelhuber - Vogelhuber was all but invisible offensively the first year and a half of his career, but something clicked in February and the Blue Jackets draft pick started scoring regularly. His stickhandling and hitting also improved drastically. He still needs work and his development will benefit from continued ice time at Miami.

Also, coach Blasi likes him and gives his shifts on the power play and penalty kill.

F Tommy Wingels - Wingels is obviously good enough to play in the pros at this point, but the Sharks draftee is captain of the team, and probably would not have accepted or been offered captaincy if he was a flight risk.

Fs Carter Camper, Pat Cannone and Andy Miele - All undersized, undrafted junior forwards who could undoubtedly land pro jobs but probably will not because of the quality of the team coming back this fall.

For whatever reason, none are as highly regarded as Schilling in terms of free agent interest, so it would be wise for all to finish school. All three have the talent to play in the AHL some day if they choose.

G Connor Knapp - A Sabres draft pick, Knapp was a true freshman coming in and will only be 20 during his junior season this fall.

Like Vaive, the biggest risk factor for Knapp is his playing time. Miami should continue rotating goalies, which cannot please Buffalo. Knapp has only played 43 games in two seasons, and in the pros he could play 60 or more in one year.

But Knapp is an outstanding student, the Sabres should have Ryan Miller in net for a long time and Knapp should continue to play in a winning atmosphere.

Bergeron, who was a member of coach Enrico Blasi's staff for the past 10 seasons, takes over a team that finished 11th out of 12 in the CCHA last season.

"I'm very excited to be a part of putting Bowling Green back where it belongs in the hockey world," Bergeron was quoted as saying in a press release sent out by Miami Monday morning. "My family and I are looking forward to becoming part of the Bowling Green community. What excites me the most, though, is seeing how hungry everyone is to make Bowling Green hockey successful again."

Bergeron is a 1993 Miami graduate and a former member of the Cincinnati Cyclones of the former IHL and the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL. He also played in the ECHL and CHL.

While playing for the RedHawks, Bergeron recorded 120 points, ranking him tied for 25th on Miami's all-time scoring list.

The Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune reported that Bergeron's contract is for six years, with a base salary of $125,000 annually with additional incentives for on-ice and athletic performance.

Bergeron's hiring gives the CCHA two new coaches from the Miami pipeline in the last week. Indiana Ice coach Jeff Blashill was hired by Western Michigan as its head coach last week.

Blashill is also a former RedHawks assistant.

ANALYSIS: Congratulations to coach Bergeron. This is a move in the right direction for Bowling Green, and honestly I'm surprised it took this long for Bergeron to land a head coaching job.

For Miami, this is a substantial loss. Bergeron and Blasi have worked together for 10 years, and they were RedHawks teammates for three seasons.

Fortunately, the RedHawks already have a head coach who is an excellent recruiter, and next season's team should be as solid as the 2009-10 version.

Having a beautiful facility like the Goggin Ice Center doesn't exactly hurt Miami in its search, either.

I have no doubt Miami will find a quality replacement shortly, if it hasn't already. Internally, goaltenders coach Nick Petraglia is an option.

Petraglia is in his sixth season at his current post, and he's also a Miami graduate and a former player who is very highly regarded by the coaching staff.

Opening faceoff (Cathy White/CNATI.com).

DETROIT - Once again, No. 1 Miami's season ended at the hands of Boston College.

For the fourth time in five years, the RedHawks fell to the Eagles in the NCAA Tournament, this time 7-1 in a national semifinal at Ford Field on Thursday.

"We thought we would get a little luck this year, but looks like the curse of Boston continues," Miami senior forward Jarod Palmer said.

Another Boston team - Boston University - eliminated Miami in the championship game last year, 4-3 after scoring twice in the final minute of regulation.

Miami coach Enrico Blasi, who is now 0-5 lifetime vs. the Eagles, was asked to comment on the game to open the postgame press conference.

"I don't think you need a comment on me for that," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said.

No. 3 Boston College scored five seconds into a power play late in the first period to make it 1-0. Forward Ben Smith deflected a blueline shot from forward Joe Whitney into the top corner with 1:28 left.

Miami (29-8-7) took another penalty eight seconds into the second period, setting up a major turning point in the game.

RedHawks center Andy Miele had a shorthanded breakaway, but he was denied by Boston College goalie John Muse. Then with three seconds left in that power play, Eagles forward Jimmy Hayes' one-timer gave Boston College (28-10-3) a 2-0 lead.

"If he scores then it's 1-1," Blasi said. "It's a different game, no question -- and it would have been shorthanded -- giving us momentum."

"You have to capitalize on your opportunities. The fact that we weren't getting many to that point, and it was early in the second if we scored it's a totally different game. So absolutely it was a turning point."

Sixty-two seconds later, forward Joe Whitney buried another one-timer to extend Boston College's lead to three. That goal ended Miami goalie Connor Knapp's evening after stopping just 6 of 9 shots.

Fellow sophomore netminder Cody Reichard turned aside all nine shots he faced in that period in relief to stop the bleeding.

Meanwhile, Miami generated just four shots on goal in the middle stanza.

Miami seized the momentum briefly after defenseman Joe Hartman scored on a blueline wrister that made it 3-1.

But after Reichard had stopped his first 16 shots since entering the game, he allowed goals on three straight shots to put the game away.

"It's important to build shifts on top of one another," Miami junior captain Tommy Wingels said. "We'd have a good shift here or there then we disappear for the next three, four minutes after that. That was pretty frustrating."

It was the first time all season Miami allowed more than five goals. The last time a RedHawks opponent scored more than seven goals was Ohio State in a 9-3 loss on Oct. 21, 2004.

Forward Ben Smith finished with a pair of goals and an assist, and forward Joe Whitney added a goal and a pair of helpers. Junior goalie John Muse stopped 17 of 18 shots to improve to 7-0 all-time in the postseason.

"Tonight Miami...they've had an outstanding year, and we were just very, very sharp, and they were maybe a little bit off their game," Boston College coach Jerry York said.

Miami was the lone team in the Frozen Four field returning to the national semifinals from 2009. Prior to 2008-09, the RedHawks had never appeared in a national semifinal.

The attendance for this game was 34,954, which set a world indoor ice hockey attendance record.

ANALYSIS: Do I have to?

Except for hitting, Miami was dominated in every facet of the game. Dominated.

Contributing factors: 1) Absence of Vincent LoVerde. 2) Bad ice took Miami out of its game. 3) Miami had never played in front of 35,000 fans before. 4) The death of team manager Brendan Burke drained the team emotionally. 5) Boston College played really, really well. 6) Miami really, really didn't.

I won't spend time harping on the negatives. Miami was the only team to advance to the Frozen Four the past two seasons, and this was still an outstanding season for the RedHawks even though they fell short of their ultimate goal.

I'll keep the grades very brief because I'm tired and well, the nothing good is really going to come out of it.

GRADES

FORWARDS: F. Miele was all over the place as he has been the entire playoffs, but Palmer and Wingels were again MIA and Camper didn't play at his normal high level.

If I can take a positive, it's that I look forward to seeing an entire season of Vaive, Vogelhuber and Cannone playing like they did down the stretch.

DEFENSE: D. Again, LoVerde's absence as a shot blocker and all-around defensive stud really hurt Miami.

Hartman had Miami's lone goal, but he also took a penalty that resulted in Boston College's first goal.

Boston College finished with 30 shots, and had way too many good chances. Miami regularly left Eagles open right inside the Miami crease.

GOALTENDING: F. It's the first time since Reichard and Knapp have been at Miami that both had a bad game on the same night. They combined to allow seven goals on 30 shots.

I still love both, but on Thursday they were hard to like.

I have no doubt they'll both bounce as strong as ever in 2010-11.

www.NCAA.com

DETROIT - We're an hour away from gametime, and it looks like Wisconsin is headed to the national championship game. The Badgers lead, 6-1 with eight minutes remaining.

We're an hour away from Miami gametime.

I'm not sure how I was expecting the football field and ice surface to mesh, but it's not at all what I envisioned.

Although I was initially skeptical about the whole concept - and I'm certainly not saying it's perfect - the whole set-up is sort of cool.

It's pretty strange seeing an NFL stadium half full, although I'm sure that's not unusual here considering the team this building houses, I like a lot of what they've done to make it seem hockey-ie.

7:37 p.m. - Three minutes left in the RIT-Wisconsin game. Still 6-1 Badgers.

Make it 7-1.

Still a great story and a great season for RIT. Truly the Butler of this season's hockey tournament, except they're getting buried in this game.

A cool thing I noticed is that they have every Division I team's jersey hanging in the concourse between the first and second levels.

Jeez, and now it's 8-1. Make it stop.

Banners for every team in the tournament are hanging at the top of the grandstand created at midfield. Very neat.

7:43 p.m. - And it's final. 8-1 Wisconsin.

Whichever team wins the Miami-Boston College game will absolutely have its work cut out for it. Shots were 33-14, and I thought the margin was wider than that.

PA guy just said the game will start in about 50 minutes, so that would put the opening faceoff at 8:33.

7:53 p.m. - Knapp WILL be in net tonight.

7:56 p.m. - Stats from Wisconsin-RIT. Brendan Smith: 5 assists. Derek Stepan: 2 goals, 2 assists. Blake Geoffrion, Justin Schultz: 1 goal, 1 assist each.

Scott Gudmandson: 13 saves.

Wisconsin: 3-for-7 on the power play. RIT: 1-for-4.

35 minutes to gametime.

8:01 p.m. - Miami lines: 

FORWARDS

Vaive-Mantha-B. Smith

R. Smith-Miele-Wingels

Hirschfeld-Cannone-Vogelhuber

McKenzie-Camper-Palmer 

DEFENSE

Weber-Hartman

Schilling-Tomassoni

Wideman-Spinell

8:04 p.m. - Puck drop slated for 8:41. Teams are taking the ice for warm-ups.

Cheering for both teams is drowned out by the immensity of the building.

8:18 p.m. - Warm-ups are ending. I can see what they meant when they said it's a long walk to the locker rooms.

It's a good 100 feet just to the tunnel in the corner of the end zone.

8:23 p.m. - Down time...

On the way up I-75 around Lima, we saw a car with a Miami jersey and hat in the rear windshield. It looked awesome -- we took a picture that I'll be sure to get up at some point.

Ideally it would've been nice to get a few shots of the rink, but it just takes too much time to walk all the up from field level to the press box, which is also very tight.

Quick bathroom break...

8:31 p.m. - Much better...

After the Zamboni resurfaced, the ice doesn't look great. It's being allowed to rest somewhat right now, which is good, but it needs to refreeze better than this.

8:35 p.m. - Refs are on the ice. Miami band is playing.

8:37 p.m. - Anthem. I must admit that's the longest it ever took me to locate the U.S. flag. It was facing sideways from our seats, and I didn't see it until "and the rockets red glare".

8:40 p.m. - Wow, Miami crowd is much louder than BC's for the lineups.

8:42 p.m. - We're underway!

8:47 p.m. - Miami slightly better early, but a penalty of Schilling for obliterating a BC player without the puck.

8:51 p.m. - Boston College got two good scoring chances on the power play, but the Miami PK held. Palmer and Miele did a good job killing time.

If Miami takes a lot of penalties BC will make the RedHawks pay...

Miami had two great chances after returning to even strength.

RedHawks are doing much more hitting early.

8:57 p.m. - Penalty on BC coming up. Heard unofficially attendance was 32,000-ish.

Officials had to work on the ice during the break. I'm guessing that won't be the last time.

9:01 p.m. - Miami did nothing on its power play. No shots, no scoring chances.

Shots are 5-2 Miami, 8:20 left in the first period.

9:03 p.m. - Boston College clearly has the momentum right now. The Eagles had a great chance on a 3-on-2 but couldn't put it in the net.

Looks like Wideman blocked a near-certain BC goal. Tough to tell from the replay, but the puck definitely went wide.

9:06 p.m. - Vaive-Cannone-Vogelhuber line plays a great shift to neutralize the BC attack. Coincidental penalties. 4x4 hockey coming.

9:08 p.m. - Puck was loose momentarily in the Miami crease, but Knapp steered it aside; Wideman fired a shot that didn't miss by much.

Miele again creates a scoring chance from nothing.

Both teams back to full strength.

9:12 p.m. - Miami dominated with the Miele line for an entire shift, but BC came right back with a strong showing of its own.

Now a penalty against Miami. 1:33 left in the first.

Shots say 5-4 Miami. I'm calling shenanigans.

9:15 p.m. - And Boston College scores immediately. A shot from the blue line was redirected into the corner of the net by the Eagles' Ben Smith. 1-0 Boston College. Goal at 18:32.

9:18 p.m. - Weber had a good blueline shot that created a rebound, but Miami couldn't get it in.

End of first period. BC 1, Miami 0. Shots: 5-5.

FIRST PERIOD SUMMARY: The pace was amazing, and the shots and score don't indicate how exciting this period was.

The teams played about evenly, with Boston College showing a clear speed advantage while Miami showed off its size edge (hitting clearly favored Miami).

The Eagles' goal was a good one -- a great redirect. As I said early in the first period: Miami cannot give Boston College six or more power play chances and expect to win.

Boston College goalie John Muse played well, and his defense in front of him was excellent.

9:35 p.m. - Getting ready for the second period. Ice looks really, really wet.

Some dude with one of those giant ice scrapers was pushing water all over the place.

I'm still pretty optimistic. Miami didn't play badly and got beat on a good goal.

9:39 p.m. - Wow, Will Weber with a bad penalty at five seconds. What was I saying about giving this team power play chances?

9:40 p.m. - Miele breakaway denied. He's playing out of his mind. Then BC ices it. Half of the PK done.

9:42 p.m. - Boston College scores again with three seconds left on the power play. One timer on a pass from the goal line in the corner by forward Pat Mullane to the slot for an awaiting Jimmy Hayes. 2-0 Boston College.

The shame of it is: Miami looked really good on that penalty kill until that shot, which was BC's first of the period.

9:44 p.m. - Another one-timer high makes it 3-0, and Knapp's night is done. Eight shots, five saves.

Cody Reichard in net. Knapp isn't to blame for the first two goals, but that one he probably would've wanted back.

9:47 p.m. - Cody Reichard is now in net, and he makes a quick save off a redirection shot from the slot.

9:50 p.m. - Miami has done nothing offensively since Miele's breakaway, and it's been a shooting gallery on Reichard since entering the game.

9:52 p.m. - Reichard unofficially credited with six saves since taking over for Knapp.

9:56 p.m. - Camper with a good scoring chance, Miami's first since Miele's breakaway in the opening minutes.

Miami starting to get some offensive chances after Boston College dominanted the first nine minutes of the period. 9:01 left in the middle stanza.

More work on the ice by the linemen in front of the penalty box.

9:58 p.m. - Right off the draw Boston College gets a 2-on-1 and Reichard makes the save. Unless Miami gets a lot better really fast, the RedHawks' season is going to end in about an hour.

9:59 p.m. - Not a save, but a nice grab BC goalie Muse. The puck had hit off the glass behind him and bounced back over the net, where he snagged it.

10 p.m. - Miami puts the puck in on Muse again, and he doesn't handle it cleanly. But Miami was unable to jab it in. TV timeout, 7:52 left.

Shots unofficially 15-8 BC.

10:02 p.m. - Didn't catch it, but BC took a slashing penalty. Miami needs to score here -- obvious statement of the night.

10:04 p.m. - Miami's power play is awful again. Not sure why Matt Tomassoni is still on the power play -- he's totally overmatched.

No shots on the power play.

10:06 p.m. - Coincidentals. 4x4 hockey upcoming, with Wingels being the Miami violator.

10:09 p.m. - Final TV timeout of the period. Still no offense from Miami, and linemen are working on the ice again.

10:12 p.m. - Miami had a brief surge, but again couldn't get the puck on Muse, who has only faced 10 shots.

Less than two minutes left in the period.

10:13 p.m. - Miami takes another penalty at the end of the period. Boston College already has two power play goals.

Call is slashing against Cameron Schilling. Looked like a frustration penalty.

10:15 p.m. - End of the second period. 3-0 Boston College.

BC takes a shot more than a second after the final whistle and players come together at the blue line.

SECOND PERIOD SUMMARY: While the teams played evenly in the first period, this period was no contest.

Boston College completely outplayed Miami in every facet of the game. The Eagles' goaltending was better, their defense was better, their offense was better, faceoffs, puckhandling, transition game, did I miss anything?

Reichard looked great, but he and Miele were about the only ones.

Once again penalties killed Miami. Boston College has a power play goal in both periods.

The turning point of the period was Miele's shorthandede breakaway that Muse denied. The Eagles went down and scored on that power play to make it 2-0, and Miami never seemed to recover. 

Miami had better score early in this period to have any chance of extending their season.

10:36 p.m. - Miami is back on the ice for the third period.

10:38 p.m. - The puck drops on perhaps the last period of Miami's season...and the penalty kills ends.

10:41 p.m. - Miami playing somewhat better to start the period, then McKenzie gets a great chance in the BC crease but can't put it home.

10:43 p.m. - Reichard does the splits to deny a fourth BC goal. Save of the game to this point.

By the way, shots in the second period were 13-4 Boston College, making it 18-10 for the game.

10:46 p.m. - Joe Hartman score for Miami on a blue line wrister with 14:41 left, making it 3-1 Boston College.

Miami had really dominated the previous minute-plus for the first time since the first period. Momentum definitely in the RedHawks' favor right now.

10:48 p.m. - Goal was reviewed...and upheld.

10:49 p.m. - Reichard has to make a difficult save right away after the goal...then Miami's sustains pressure in the BC zone again.

Palmer misses a wrister from the faceoff circle...Miami continues to dictate.

10:51 p.m. - 34,954 is the attendance, a new Frozen Four record.

10:53 p.m. - The TV timeout seemed to return the momentum to Boston College.

Eagles are completely controlling.

10:55 p.m. - Reichard has to make another good save. He's been outstanding in relief.

Another TV timeout with 11:03 remaining.

10:58 p.m. - A heartbreaking goal for Boston College on a backhand shot by Cam Atkinson makes it 4-1. He skated around a couple of Miami defenders and beat Reichard.

11 p.m. - And another Boston College goal sends fans heading for the exits. A shot from the faceoff circle by Patch Alber beat Reichard.

11:02 p.m. - The guys doing Miami student radio start talking about what to look forward to next season, which isn't good.

And the Eagles score again. That's three goals on three shots, and one Reichard would've liked back. Boston College up 6-1 with eight minutes left.

11:07 p.m. - Speaking of the student radio guys, they did a fantastic job calling the game tonight. I'd never had a chance to hear them do a game since I'm at all home games, and I came away impressed.

11:10 p.m. - 4:35 left in Miami's season. This has been tough to watch, knowing how good Miami can be and watching the team playing so poorly.

Wow, another Boston College goal. 7-1 now with 3:39 left.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still say I'd rather lose like this than the way Miami went down last season. At least Boston College is the better team tonight.

11:13 p.m. - 2:37 left and the final TV timeout.

This won't be a fun press conference...  

11:15 p.m. - One more thought I was reminded of by the student radio guys. The loss of LoVerde for this team was really a killer. Not saying Miami wins with him, but he's such a steady force on defense, a unit that has really struggled since his health problems.

11:17 p.m. - Oh yeah, Miami was shorthanded.

And that's a final. Boston College 7, Miami 1.

I'll pass on the third period summary -- I think everyone gets the idea.

WHAT: NCAA national semifinal. Championship game is Saturday.

WHERE: Ford Field, Detroit.

WHEN: 8:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2.

NOTES: Miami is 0-3 vs. Boston College in the NCAA Tournament, and 0-4 against the Eagles under coach Enrico Blasi.

Those three tournament losses came in consecutive seasons - 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

The latter was the most heartbreaking of all: A 4-3 overtime loss after Miami had built a multi-goal lead in the second period.

But Miami is 1-0 in national semifinals games after beating Bemidji State, 4-1 to advance to the NCAA championship last season.

Boston College is second in the country only to Wisconsin in offense, averaging 3.98 goals per game. The Eagles have netted 33 goals in six games since the start of the postseason, and they scored nine in their win over Yale in the regional final.

Sophomore Tommy Atkinson is the team's leading scorer with 50 points on 27 goals and 23 assists. He had a hat trick and a helper in the regional final.

The Eagles have four other double-digit goal-scoring forwards. Junior Brian Gibbons leads the team in assists with 30, and he has 46 points overall. Freshman Steven Whitney also had four points vs. Yale, and he has 16 goals and 23 assists overall.

Freshman Chris Kreider (14 goals), senior Ben Smith (13) and sophomore Jimmy Hayes (12) have also been key contributing forwards for the Eagles.

Senior Carl Sneep led all Boston College of blueliners in goals (11) and points (28). Freshman defenseman Brian Dumoulin has a goal and 18 assists.

Junior John Muse has been in net for both of the Eagles' NCAA Tournament games, but he has struggled recently. Muse has allowed 14 goals on 100 shots in his last three games (.860), including seven on 39 shots in Boston College's last game.

The Eagles' other option is freshman Parker Miner, who is 10-2-1 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Muse is 17-8-2, and he has a 2.54 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Speaking of goaltending, Miami still has a goaltending dilemma of its own. Sophomore Cody Reichard held Alabama-Huntsville to one goal in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but he had surrendered 10 goals in his previous two starts.

Fellow sophomore Connor Knapp stopped 55 of 57 shots in a regional final win over Michigan, and he has given up just four goals in his last five appearances.

In both seasons Miami qualified for the Frozen Four, the only team in the country to appear in the last two national semifinals.

And while Miami held the top spot in the polls most of the season and earned to No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, few teams have played in consecutive Frozen Fours the past couple of seasons.

The RedHawks hit the ice at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday when they take on Boston College at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The national title game is at 7 p.m. on Saturday on ESPN.

Some stats on the Frozen Four:

--Miami is the only team to qualify for consecutive Frozen Fours since Boston College and North Dakota accomplished that in 2007-08.

--No CCHA team had advanced to the Frozen Four in consecutive seasons since Michigan in 2002 and 2003.

The last time a CCHA team played in two straight NCAA championship games was Michigan State in 1986-87.

MSU is the only team to accomplish that since the inception of the CCHA. Michigan played in three straight finals games twice in the 1950s.

--Since the turn of the century, eight teams have participated in back-to-back frozen fours: Boston College, North Dakota, Maine, Denver, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire and Miami.

North Dakota was involved in four straight in 2005-08.

--Miami is the first Ohio team ever to play in two straight Frozen Fours. The RedHawks also tie Bowling Green for most Frozen Four appearances all-time with two.

Before last season, no Ohio team had made the Frozen Four since Ohio State in 1998 or had qualified for the NCAA finals since Bowling Green in 1984.

--Six teams have lost in the championship game one season and won an NCAA title the next. North Dakota and Boston College have done it twice.

The teams are North Dakota (1959 and 1980), Cornell (1970), Michigan Tech (1975), Minnesota (1976), Lake Superior State (1994), Boston College (2001 and 2008).

No team has even bounced back from a NCAA finals loss in overtime to win a title the following season.

--Miami is the first team since Boston College in 1998-99 to bounce back from an OT loss in the championship to advance to the Frozen Four the next season.

None of the 12 overtime losers in NCAA history have rebounded to play in the following season's final.

--This is the sixth time the Frozen Four has been held in Michigan. Wisconsin, which is in the field this season, is the only team to win twice in that state.

Boston College is 0-2 in national semifinals held in Michigan.

He kept mentioning how the RedHawks had "so many pieces" in their lineup, comparing the team to a puzzle.

The way Blasi recruits players, a puzzle analogy works for Miami.

Every off-season fans look at the returning team and discuss Miami's needs. Those final few pieces that complete the puzzle. Somehow, Blasi always gets the players he need that fit perfectly in the final few vacant spots.

Getting not only the right players but the best young men is something that Miami fans now expect annually.

Blasi makes it seem easy.

This current team is no exception. This is the first class to play entirely at Cady Arena, Miami's magnificent home rink, which has played into the collegiate decisions of several current RedHawks.

They are members of the first team to win an NCAA game, when the RedHawks upset New Hampshire in Worcester, Mass., before losing to Boston College in the regional final.

Jarod Palmer, who is as good as anyone who has ever worn a Miami hockey jersey, but he's so humble he doesn't even fully realize it. He's the only RedHawk to play in every game at Cady Arena.

Brandon Smith, who sat out two years before getting his shot on the ice. Other RedHawks have more athleticism, but that's canceled out by the fire with which he plays, making it impossible not to love watching him on the ice.

Gary Steffes, who too is not the most athletically gifted player on the team but plays with maximum effort and he encourages others with his infectiously gregarious personality.

Dane Hetland, who almost never plays but seems to make something happen every time he does.

The junior class, Blasi's No. 1 recruiting achievement, got back to the regional finals and again lost to Boston College. While the RedHawks didn't give BC much of a game in the 2006-07 loss, the 2007-08 rematch went to overtime.

Carter Camper, who was instantly awesome from Day One as a RedHawk. Barring injury he'll finish his career one of the top scorers in Miami history.

Andy Miele, who has the rare distinction of joining Miami mid-season, and how it instantly looked like he'd been a RedHawk for years. He's the most improved RedHawk from last season, which is amazing because of how good he was in 2008-09.

Pat Cannone, who has played a completely different level the last couple of months and scored the two biggest goals of his career against Michigan on Sunday when the team needed them most. He's also never missed a game.

Vincent LoVerde, who is an outstanding shot-blocker and the most underrated RedHawk. He also recently lost his aunt to an accident and he was hospitalized this week, and Miami's defensive corps isn't the same without him.

Justin Vaive, who seemed to want last weekend's win over Michigan more than anyone. He's still only 20 and is just now starting to show his physical potential.

Patrick Tiesling and Ben Saksa, who bust their tails for countless hours in practice to prepare Miami for its opponents.

The sophomore class has not known a non-Frozen Four season while at Miami. They had to listen to how their first season was a "rebuilding year" for Miami, and didn't give them much of a chance for success.

The team almost proved the media right with a late-season slump that nearly knocked them out of the NCAA bracket.

But the 2008-09 team got the last laugh, falling less than a minute short of a national title.

Cody Reichard, who will wrongly be eternally remembered as the goalie that had the deflected puck go over his shoulder in overtime. All he did was bounce back to win CCHA player of the year and get named a Hobey Baker finalist.

Connor Knapp, who is still just 19, stole last weekend's game against Michigan on national television. All season prior to Sunday, he's been in Reichard's shadow, only because his numbers are merely excellent while Reichard's have been video game-esque.

Alden Hirschfeld, who always seems to score goals when Miami really needs them. Like in double overtime against last weekend against Michigan.

Trent Vogelhuber, whose points total early in the season was meager enough for me to call for his benching, but he's been one of the my favorites to watch in the postseason. Without his gritty play and key goals down the stretch Miami wouldn't be preparing for the Frozen Four.

Chris Wideman, who looks more confident every game. He's the team's best passing defenseman and he started scoring goals this season.

Will Weber, who is turning into a giant version of Kevin Roeder with his physical play and hard-nosed defense.

Cameron Schilling, who looked so raw in his first few games as a freshman and who looks so polished now.

Matt Tomassoni, who plays every position except goalie and excels defensively despite his size.

The freshman faced tons of pressure by joining a team that had just gone the national championship game and was expected the repeat, and they've made a good 2008-09 team even better.

Reilly Smith, who looked right at home immediately playing on a line with super-skilled forwards Palmer and Miele. His offensive potential is through the roof.

Curtis McKenzie, who has tons of talent and just as much feistiness. He's already a very good player and when he learns to harness both he'll be unstoppable.

Joe Hartman, who has the most intimidating stare during lineups in all of hockey. Along with Weber, he has played on the top defensive pairing all season. In addition to being one of the best blueliners on the team, he's also Miami's defenseman goals leader.

Devin Mantha, who sat almost the entire first half of the season but has impressed with his physical strength and faceoff prowess.

Steve Mason, who has great speed and always seems to make something happen on the occasions he cracks the lineup. He's another player whose development will be fun to watch.

Garrett Kennedy, who has plenty of talent but is still waiting for his chance because Miami's defensive corps is so deep.

That leaves Tommy Wingels, the junior captain of the RedHawks. He hits, he scores, he passes, he plays defense, he never misses a game.

Hearing him say in the postgame press conference that the first thing he told Reichard after the puck went in was "I'm so happy to be your teammate", it was obvious Wingels was the RedHawks' next choice for captain.

Team manager and friend Brendan Burke was killed two months ago, and again Wingels epitomized the classiness a Miami captain is expected to display under duress.

He is constantly asked about Burke and about last season's loss in the championship game, and he is respectful every time he answers the repeat questions.

This team will face more questions in the next week about both subjects. Lots of them.

But Miami has made progress every season since moving into Cady Arena. First an NCAA game win, then overtime in the regional finals, then a near-miss in a national championship game.

There's only one step left to solve the puzzle.