Sophomore Garrett Kennedy pushes a Bowling Green State University skater against the glass Jan. 14. (MICHAEL GRIGGS | The Miami Student)
Coming off its first sweep since Nov. 19 and 20, the Miami University ice hockey team (10-6-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), 13-8-3 overall) looks to continue climbing the CCHA standings as they face off against the Michigan State University Spartans (5-9-2 CCHA, 9-11-4 overall) Jan. 21 and 22. The RedHawks head to East Lansing, Mich. with a few recent adjustments.
Against the Bowling Green State University Falcons, senior Pat Cannone joined Carter Camper in sporting a "C" on his jersey. The new co-captain was chosen by Head Coach Enrico Blasi in order to remove some of the pressure from Camper and assistant captains Andy Miele, Will Weber and Alden Hirschfeld.
"He embodies everything that we ask of any of our players, and he's been very consistent all year long," Blasi said of Cannone. "Sometimes there's a lot of pressure that goes on with being a captain, and he can alleviate a little bit of the pressure from the rest of the guys so they can just focus on their game."
Even with the new leadership role, Cannone does not see the coaches' expectations changing for him.
"They still expect me to go out and do my job, make plays and create some offense," Cannone said. "They just want me to keep doing what I'm doing, keep high tempo play up and work hard. I think my role is still the same."
In addition to their new co-captain, the 'Hawks were backstopped with 49 saves in two games against the Falcons by netminder Cody Reichard. Following the sweep, Blasi said the team will continue to make goaltending decisions as they come.
"I think right now we're just looking to go weekend to weekend and trying to get two wins every weekend and try to get on a little bit of a roll," Blasi said. "It could be Cody (Reichard), it could be Connor (Knapp), it just all depends on how the team is looking with either one in front of them."
After the wins, Miami moved into the third place spot in the CCHA standings. Although the Spartans sit in 10th in the CCHA, the 'Hawks are ready for a tough battle.
"They're going to be good, they're always a tough team to play against, especially in their own rink," Cannone said. "We know that we're going to get their best and they have a hot goalie, so we're going to try to get as many shots as we can, see what happens and try to make his life tough in front of the net."
The Red and White have been focusing on their special teams play this week to prepare for the weekend series. Miami currently leads the CCHA in special teams, both in power play (21.2 percent) and in penalty kill (91.4 percent).
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Historically, the Spartans are 35-15-3 all-time when taking on the 'Hawks in East Lansing, but the last two contests between Michigan State and Miami have been splits, both in Oxford. Miami is 4-0 in the last two series between the teams in Munn Arena, but those sweeps came in November 2007 and 2008.
Echoing Cannone, Reichard said Michigan State is going to be ready to play.
"They're a good team, they have quite a few good players, they're well coached," Reichard said. "It should be a good series."
The 'Hawks are set to start at 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
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