Hockey season is here, and it’s almost time for the Miami University RedHawks to get back on the ice after a disastrous 2023-24 campaign.
Six first years and six transfers join the Miami roster this year. The RedHawks, now under a new coaching staff, hope to turn around what has been a disappointing past couple seasons.
Ten players transferred out or graduated in 2024, leaving 17 returning players from the previous squad, including three sophomores. The team’s leadership relies on the players who have been with Miami for several years.
The returning players are crucial for the RedHawks’ work ethic on and off the ice. They are who the new players look up to, learn from and grow from.
Graduate student forward Ryan Sullivan transferred to Miami in 2023 after spending three years with the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. UMass won the NCAA national championship in 2021 when he was a first year.
“I’d like to think [I’m] putting the team first and being a two-way player,” Sullivan said. “I like to block shots and help the team in any way that I can, just trying to be versatile.”
With his experience on a nationally-dominant team, Sullivan made his impact felt last year at Miami, logging five goals and four assists. Despite only being here one year, Sullivan believes he can serve as a leader for the new RedHawks this year.
“The direction the program is heading in is exciting,” Sullivan said. “I really believe we got a good team together, and we can do something special this year.”
Sullivan said one thing that won’t change this upcoming season is the chemistry between the players. The RedHawks are a close-knit bunch, and their cohesion as a group will continue to grow.
This team rapport can be linked back to a stunning comeback game last season against the Arizona State University Sun Devils. Down 4-1 in the third period, Miami scored three goals in the final eight minutes to send the game into overtime.
Junior forward Johnny Waldron sealed Miami’s victory with an overtime goal. The third-year RedHawk remembers that game fondly, but an important aspect of the team’s win that day came from their chemistry.
“Just being able to come to the rink every day and build a friendship with all my teammates,” Waldron said. “Everything you do is with them.”
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The win against Arizona State shows the level of intensity the Redhawks play with, a preview of what is to come this season.
New head coach Anthony Noreen has made improvements to the team in key areas. One objective during the offseason was managing fatigue better. Sixty-minute games can be strenuous for players, especially when having to play multiple games in a weekend.
This fatigue proved to be a detriment in several matchups last season that the RedHawks let slip late in the game. Graduate student defenseman Dylan Moulton expressed this concern with his own personal experience.
“We had time to show how good of a team we can be, and we struggled to do it for the full 60 minutes of the game,” Moulton said. “Obviously there are going to be parts where we mess up, but [we’re] making sure that we don’t turn them into a roller coaster, and [that] we stay even-keeled the whole time.”
Miami’s program has developed a strong group of leaders who are exuberant about maintaining a winning culture. Moulton said the structure of this season’s roster is one that brings all the pieces together.
“We have guys that have won in other places, and we are bringing in pieces,” Moulton said. “The returners have started a foundation for a culture that we are continuing on, and hopefully we can get the results this year.”
It is no surprise that the returning players have stepped up and proven themselves as true leaders for this RedHawk team. New coaching additions, championship-winning players and a culture based on improving the program are all signs that point to a fantastic RedHawk season.
For Sullivan, this season and Miami hockey as a whole have an opportunity to fulfill expectations for all of the RedHawks’ fans during this new era for the program.
“Hockey has impacted my experience a ton,” Sullivan said. “It’s given me some of my best friends, and it’s made my time here the best. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
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