Featured Stories
Double threat in net
By John Lachmann, CNATI.com Posted March 2, 2010 11:19 PM ET
OXFORD, Ohio -- One is 6-feet-5. The other is 5-11.
One played three seasons of juniors, the other came to Miami right after turning 18.
Though they are physical opposites and took different paths to Oxford, Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp have stepped into a high-pressure situation to become the best goaltending duo in college hockey.
"They're both technically sound in what they do," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "One obviously is a lot bigger and relies on his technique, but he can make the acrobatic save when he needs to, and so can Cody."
Miami has shut out opponents in a quarter of its games this season and is the only team in Division I allowing less than two goals per game, thanks to the sophomore tandem.
Reichard was born in Michigan, but moved to Celina, Ohio -- a town southwest of Lima near the Indiana border -- when he was seven.
Reichard played forward as a kid before settling in between the pipes. He played juniors with Indiana for two seasons, but was released after posting a 4.07 goals-against average in 23 games in 2006-07.
It was during those years that Reichard began talking to Miami.
"They just told me to keep at it, and they would keep watching me," Reichard said.
He hooked on with Fairbanks of the NAHL in what he knew would be his final chance to salvage his hockey career, and the rejuvenated Reichard went 33-15-2 with a 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage.
Reichard's other major collegiate options were also CCHA schools: Nebraska-Omaha and Fairbanks-based Alaska.
"He was pretty good in juniors, and we felt like the person that he was, he was going to continue to work hard and continue to improve," Blasi said. "So he's held true to that fact."
Reichard was impressed with the Miami program, and his hometown is just 90 minutes driving time away.
"It wasn't a hard decision at all," Reichard said.
Meanwhile, Knapp played youth hockey in Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester, near his hometown of York, N.Y. His junior year of high school, he moved to Worcester, Mass., to live with a billet family and play for the Boston Junior Bruins.
He was named the team's defensive player of the year, the league's goaltender of the year, and he was named to the all-star team.
At the USA 17 Festival, former Miami assistant coach and current Indiana Ice coach Jeff Blashill was impressed with Knapp and contacted him.
Other schools showed interest in Knapp, but Clarkson was the only other school making a major push for him, so he decided on Miami.
"I came here, loved the school," Knapp said. "I didn't go into detail with other schools. I knew I liked Miami and I knew it would be a good fit for me in terms of playing time, and also (there's) a great coaching staff, great players here."
Knapp was originally slated to play a season in juniors, but then-Miami starting goalie Jeff Zatkoff was considering leaving Miami a season early to turn professional.
"I knew the situation was that I would come here whenever Zatkoff would leave," Knapp said. "But the consensus was that he was planning on turning pro a year early, so myself and the coaching staff were 95 percent sure that I'd be coming in (for the 2008-09 season)."
Zatkoff did turn pro, and Knapp joined the RedHawks three months after his 18th birthday in the fall of 2008, giving Miami two freshman goalies entering the season.
Because of the young goaltending and the loss of key players like Ryan Jones and Nathan Davis -- plus defenseman Alec Martinez, who also turned pro with a year of eligibility remaining -- many considered Reichard and Knapp's freshman season a rebuilding year for the RedHawks.
"We knew it was on our shoulders," Knapp said. "We knew we had a good team, but the big question was: Who are these two freshmen goalies coming in? I knew Cody had a lot of experience in juniors, had a great year in the NAHL, and I had a good year.
"We both worked really hard over the summer, and we knew coming in there was going to be a lot of pressure, but I think we handled it pretty well, and the team was really supportive, and the coaching staff was really supportive, and it was just a great situation to come into."
Blasi went with Reichard on Friday nights and Knapp on Saturdays to start the season, similar to how he handled the RedHawks' previous goalies, Zatkoff and Charlie Effinger.
That rotation is still in tact during the regular season for the most part, although Blasi stuck with Reichard during an extremely hot stretch earlier this season, and Knapp got the nod for a couple of additional games in 2008-09.
"The coaching staff was upfront with us from the start, and we knew we were both going to get a chance," Reichard said. "The history with Miami goalies is that they rotate, so it wasn't a real big deal."
Both were decent but unspectacular in their first few games with Miami - with Knapp playing slightly better early in the season - but both settled in quickly and had goals-against averages well under two midway through the 2008-09 regular season.
Knapp's number declined slightly down the stretch, and Blasi gave the nod to Reichard for the NCAA Tournament.
"I wasn't playing my best and Cody was red-hot, so you're going to go with the guy who's going to give you a chance to win," Knapp said. "That's how hockey is. You have your ups and downs, and it just happened to be one of my downs and one of his ups."
All Reichard did was stop 65 of 69 shots in the first three games to lead Miami to the national championship game.
What happened next was every goalie's nightmare.
The RedHawks were beating top-ranked Boston University, 3-1 with under a minute remaining, but the Terriors scored two 6-on-5 goals to tie the score and eventually won, 4-3 in overtime on a fluke goal that hit Miami defenseman Kevin Roeder and floated over Reichard's shoulder.
"It was just devastating," Reichard said. "It's not really something you can put into words so much. It's just tough for the seniors who won't get a chance to do it again."
Said junior center Andy Miele: "To see how heartbroken he was -- obviously we were all heartbroken - but how people were heartbroken for him too, it was a sad thing to see."
Knapp finished his freshman season with a 2.04 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts, and he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round last June. Reichard had a 2.11 GAA and also recorded two shutouts.
The duo's four blankings equaled a team record. But in 2009-10, Knapp and Reichard would destroy that mark.
The first weekend of the season, Knapp shut out St. Cloud State. Reichard picked up his first on Nov. 20 vs. Western Michigan.
Miami then blanked Notre Dame in both ends of a weekend series, and Reichard put up a zero in the following game, establishing a Miami record for consecutive shutouts. The RedHawks went 239:13 between goals allowed, the fourth-longest span in Division I history.
Reichard set the RedHawks' individual record for single-season shutouts when he earned his fifth vs. Lake Superior State on Feb. 5. But Knapp is only one behind after making 23 saves in a 0-0 tie at Ohio State in the regular-season finale last Saturday.
That makes nine total, more than twice the previous team record of four.
Reichard leads the nation in goals-against average by nearly half a point at 1.48. Denver junior Marc Cheverie has a 1.93 GAA, and is second in Division I. Knapp is fourth at 2.02.
"I expected it from (Cody)," Miele said. "I expected it from Connor too - they've both done great this year. Cody's numbers are a little bit better, which comes with age and experience too, so I'm happy for both of them."
In CCHA play, Reichard's 1.23 goals-against average set a conference record, breaking the old mark set by U.S. Olympic silver medalist Ryan Miller. Miller had posted a 1.24 GAA in 2000-01 with Michigan State.
Knapp was second in the conference at 1.60 in CCHA games. The next closest was Spartans sophomore Drew Palmisano at 2.21.
Miami opens CCHA Tournament play on March 12. Reichard is expected to be in net for that game, but which one starts in subsequent games is anyone's guess.
Blasi said he makes decisions about his starting netminder on a game-by-game basis, but if last season is any indication -- not to mention GAA and save percentage -- Reichard may again switch to full-time duty at some point for the duration of the postseason.
Both goalies acknowledge that the quality competition has benefitted both.
"Both of them know they can get the job done," Blasi said. "Both of them push each other in practice. It's a little competition out there between the two of them, so it's definitely made them better."
Constantly vying for playing time means Reichard and Knapp always have to be in top form during practices.
"We know the competition is there," Knapp said. "We get along, but we always know in the back of our minds that we're going against each other, so we battle each other in practice every day, and we definitely keep score on just about everything."
As for their futures at Miami, both accept that the rotation may be a fact of life for all four seasons of their RedHawks careers.
"Obviously, we both want to play every game, but whatever the coaching staff decides," Reichard said. "As long as we're picking up wins, that's all that matters."
Said Knapp: "Even if it does end up I don't play as many games as either of us would play at a college where there's just one starting goalie, we still get amazing practice time with the best players in the country, and we get better every day, and it gives us a chance to get ready for the next level."
Despite having two years of eligibility remaining in addition to both only playing about half of the time, Reichard and Knapp are already climbing the Miami all-time leaderboard in several goaltending categories.
Reichard is in a three-way tie for second in career shutouts with seven, and he is ninth in career wins with 26.
Knapp is right behind him in both, fifth all-time with six shutouts and 10th with 20 wins.
If their careers ended today, Reichard would have the best goals-against average in school history at 1.77 and be second only to Zatkoff in save percentage (.926). Knapp's 2.06 GAA would place him third, and his .910 save percentage would rank in the top five.
"We're lucky enough to have them both, and at any time they can steal a game for us," Miele said.
Categories: College, Featured Stories, Hockey, Miami University
Tags: Andy Miele, Cody Reichard, Connor Knapp, Enrico Blasi, Jeff Zatkoff, Miami, Miami hockey
Comments (0)