6. Miami University

Miami University

Key losses: Todd Grant, F; Brandon Crawford-West, G; Joe Pomaranski, D
Key Returnees: Andy Greene, D; Matt Christie, F; Marty Guerin, F; Nathan Davis, F
Key recruits: Justin Mercier, F; Alexandre Lacombe, F; Alec Martinez, D, Jeff Zatkoff, G
Projected leading scorer: Matt Christie

Grades:

Offense: B
Defense: C+
Goalie: C
Coaching: C-

Analysis:

Last year, Miami suffered from the dreaded “CCHA Rebound” where a team has a surprising run to the top one year, and then goes into the toilet the following season. Miami will be looking to get back into the top half of the CCHA this season and possibly back to the NCAA tournament.

Two years ago, freshmen Matt Christie and Marty Guerin were able to work in the shadow of the talented senior line of Derek Edwardson, Mike Kompon and Greg Hogeboom and had an incredibly productive first season on the second line. This past season, Christie and Guerin were bumped up to the top line, and while their production essentially stayed the same, they weren’t able to make the jump to the type of numbers a first line needs to score in order to among the top teams in college hockey. Hopefully for Miami fans, now that they are underclassmen, they will be able to make this jump and become one of the most dangerous lines in college hockey. Nathan Davis had a very good freshmen year, and with a year under his belt, could move onto the top line with Christie and Guerin.

On defense, Miami returns possibly one of the most underrated players in the country in defenseman Andy Greene. Mitch Ganzak had a very good freshmen season running the Miami powerplay.

In goal, Miami lost starting goalie Brandon Crawford-West in an off-season departure likely stemming from problems between him and head coach Enrico Blasi. It will be a three way race between Steve Hartley, who was highly touted as an incoming freshmen two years ago before losing the starting spot to Crawford, and eventually losing the backup job to newcomer Charlie Effinger last year. Freshmen Jeff Zatkoff will also have the chance to earn some playing time. My guess is that Effinger will see the majority of time this year, though Zatkoff could challenge him for time in the future.

Now that long time pariahs Bruce Crowder and Dave Poulin, as well as Merrimack coach Chris Serino, have been let go by their respective universities, and with Craig Dahl and Rick Comley reaching the end of contracts that will be their last at their respective schools, Miami coach Enrico Blasi could be the next coach to find himself halfway between the hot seat and the door. The NCAA tournament trip two years ago bought him some time, but there’s been a growing feeling in Oxford that Blasi’s coaching style and attitude aren’t meshing well with his players. The players leaving the program early is always a pretty decent indication that they’ve had enough of a coach. If Miami doesn’t maintain a high level of success, it could be the end of the line for Blasi.