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Fire & ice

Alex Butler, Senior Staff Writer

(MICHAEL GRIGGS | The Miami Student)

Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard compete everyday. Most of the time, the duo locks eyes from across the ice as they sit in their respective creases, working to prevent the puck from slipping by. After the practice week, there is only one spot in the starting lineup for a goaltender on the Miami University hockey team.

When Knapp and Reichard aren't on the frozen floor or in school, they can be found lounging, eyes fixated on the TV, fingers on the trigger button of their videogame controllers. The goaltenders don't hang out everyday and actually live on opposite ends of the Oxford campus, but they come together more often than not to play videogames like Call of Duty.

"We've been playing that a lot lately," Knapp said. "We're competitors in that too, but we get along great. It's been a great relationship the past three years."

It was three years ago when hockey Head Coach Enrico Blasi found out he had a good problem on his hands.

The coach was replacing Jeff Zatkoff after the Los Angeles Kings drafted the goaltender in the 2006 National Hockey League entry draft.

"Our hopes were that both of them would develop," Blasi said. "Our track record is that we've played two goalies in the past. Even with Zatkoff here, we played (Charlie) Effinger, so we owe it to the two goaltenders to develop them both for whatever comes after. Fortunate for us, both of them played really well."

Knapp is 6-5-4 this season, while his counterpart stands at 11-4-2. Knapp leads the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) with just a 1.82 goals against average, while Reichard's 0.643 winning percentage is third in the CCHA. Reichard's 0.706 winning percentage overall is top in the country.

Friends, not foes

The 24-year-old Reichard is the son of Martin and Barb Reichard of Celina, Ohio. He is a finance major who was on the honor roll for four years in high school. Prior to suiting up for the RedHawks, Reichard played in 51 games for the North American Hockey League (NAHL) Fairbanks Icedogs. His record stood at 33-15-10, making him the NAHL's top goalie and most valuable player.

Knapp hails from York, N.Y. and is the son of Gregory and Colleen Knapp. A 20-year-old management and organizations major, Knapp played juniors with the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL), where he earned goalie and defensive player of the year honors. He was 22-1-0 in 2006-07 with the Junior Bruins prior to his Oxford arrival. Knapp was an EJHL all-star in 2007-08.

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With seniors Andy Miele and Carter Camper lighting the lamp this year offensively, the goaltending duo has denied scoring chances for an average of 0.908.

"We both knew the situation coming in and it hasn't changed since we got here," Reichard said. "We both want to play every game, but that's not the case here. We are good friends off of the ice and we just try and be supportive with whoever is playing. We both just battle as hard as we can and try and stop every puck and just leave everything else up to the coaches."

Usually Reichard and Knapp don't know who will guard the cage until the day before a game. When the week's battle is too close to call, it is anyone's guess who will get the starting nod.

"There have been a few mix-ups this year," Knapp said.

"Obviously, there were times when the team was struggling and the coach had to mix things up, but ultimately it's up to us. We know when we're playing well and when we're playing bad, and it comes down to how we're practicing and how we're playing."

Although competiveness strikes a similar chord in them both, the like traits may end there. Knapp stands at 6 feet 6 inches and 220 pounds, while Reichard measures in at 5 feet 11 inches, one inch taller than the two shortest RedHawks on the roster.

Reichard said his stature is helpful and integral to his rapid reflexes.

"Me and Connor are two totally different goalies from Jeff Zatkoff and from each other," Reichard said. "We are both trying to be as good as we can be. Connor is a big kid, and he moves really well and he handles the puck really well. I'm not as big, but maybe a little more athletic."

A tough decision

In 2008-09, Reichard backstopped the RedHawks all four games of the NCAA tournament and he holds the school record with three NCAA wins. He guarded the cage all of the way to the national championship and the RedHawks' second-place finish.

In 2010, Blasi faced a tough decision about who to start in the Mid-West Regional against the rival University of Michigan Wolverines.

Reichard, the 2010 CCHA player of the year and RedHawks' most valuable player, had all of the credentials. He was also one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award given to the nation's top player. His 0.788 winning percentage was the best in the country, and he had an unbeaten record of 15-0-2 in the CCHA. Reichard even broke the record of Michigan State University goaltender Ryan Miller's goals against average with a 1.23 mark. His conference save percentage of 0.950 tied him with Miller for best in CCHA history.

Still, the coach believed the skilled net minders deserved an equal chance to backstop the RedHawks prior to the matchup.

"Right now, they both deserve to play and they are both going to play, and until something tells us otherwise, that is the way we are going to go," Blasi said at the time. "I think we are in a very good situation when it comes to our goaltending. We have two of the top goalies in the country, so I think you will see the dynamic duo hopefully continuing to do what they do."

Ultimately it was Knapp, the other half of the "dynamic duo," who earned the start against the Wolverines and did not disappoint. He finished the regional final with a career-high 55 stops, and the RedHawks won the game in double overtime to advance to the Frozen Four. Knapp was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 Mid-West Regional.

The duo earned time in a disappointing loss to Boston College in the Frozen Four. They combined to surrender seven goals in the defeat.

A common denominator

As RedHawks, Knapp's career mark is 29-14-11, while Reichard owns a 40-16-7 mark. Reichard's 40 career wins tie him for third place in RedHawks history, while Knapp's 29 wins place him at ninth.

Winning is the common denominator between the two net minders, and Blasi often has a tough decision before each weekend battle. Both Reichard and Knapp have a choice to make after this season in whether or not to go professional. Right now, Blasi recommends waiting until the end of the week to ask who will be his starter.

"Every team you go to, you compete against a goalie," Knapp said. "Coaches never give you the starting job. You've got to earn it every time. It's always been like this all the way on up, so it will continue to be like this. It's nothing new and it'll never get old."


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