The Brotherhood celebrates an exhibition game win Saturday night. (Michael Griggs / The Miami Student)
Raging Miami University RedHawk hockey fans got the "mooore goals" they demanded in a jammed packed Steve Cady Arena Saturday night. The crowd and the team never batted an eye as the Red and White discharged the University of Windsor Lancers back to Canada with a 6-2 victory.
Freshman Reilly Smith sent the RedHawk faithful into bedlam when he beat the Lancer keeper to give the RedHawks their first lead of the season and tally his first score in his new Red and White threads. Sophomores Trent Vogelhuber and Andy Miele fed the freshman on the score.
"It was absolutely remarkable," Smith said. "We've been waiting to play for like two months. We've just been practicing so hard and working out. As soon as the puck went in the back of the net I couldn't even speak. I just tried to jump in the air and Trent Vogelhuber caught me. It was great because I really didn't know what to expect because I've never played a Canadian or any university team before so just getting that first goal and getting the momentum on our side really helped."
Sophomore Forward Alden Hirschfeld poured salt in the wound four minutes later when he put a Gary Steffes feed in the back of the net. Senior Jarod Palmer joined the entourage two minutes later to put the 'Hawks in front 3-0 during a RedHawk power play.
Head Coach Enrico Blasi stoically stood behind the bench of his new RedHawk team as it undressed their northern foes.
"I like this team," Blasi said. "I think the effort was certainly there. Our speed is a little bit better from last year. We have a little bit more skill, if that's possible. For the most part we have a veteran group."
And those veterans came calling after a second period Lancer score. Miele capped off second period scoring with a goal at the 7:14 mark. Junior captain Tommy Wingels then piled on with a goal in the final period before Palmer found the net for his second goal of the night and the 'Hawks' last in the exhibition contest.
"Getting used to the building and the crowd and the fans is part of the exhibition," Palmer said. "A lot of guys have a tendency their first night to just get so fired up that they can almost forget how to play the game and when you're in front of that many fans just screaming like that, it has a tendency to multiply the effect. So just calming yourself down and getting used to the environment is a big part of the exhibition game."
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The Lancers added a late goal before they boarded the bus.
The Red and White skated into the contest with a No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason poll. Polls aren't exactly a staple in Miami hockey culture, according to Blasi.
"Our culture is all about focus and just taking it day by day," Blasi said. "We don't worry about any polls or anything that is going to happen down the road. We have to focus Monday and get better Monday. That's part of our culture. That's part of who we are. Its great that people recognize us, but we know it's a process we have to go through and you can't fast forward it. We can't worry about the future we just have to work hard and get better everyday. We are a team that never quits, that is relentless in everything that we do. I think it will be a fun brand of hockey."
After the 2008-09 season's frozen finish in the National Championship, Palmer knows what the mission is this year.
"We want to get back to that game," Palmer said. "We still have a bad taste in our mouth and we want to get rid of it."
The RedHawks will host the St. Cloud State University Huskies at 7:35 p.m. Oct. 9 and 10.
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