{"id":27653,"date":"2005-10-07T20:28:42","date_gmt":"2005-10-08T01:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/07\/200506-miami-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:19","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:19","slug":"200506-miami-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/07\/200506-miami-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2005-06 Miami Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
History is the great propagator of doubt.<\/i> — A.J.P. Taylor<\/p>\n
Miami deserves a better fate than that of sixth in the CCHA preseason coaches’ poll, seventh in the media poll. <\/p>\n
Yes, the RedHawks struggled last season — to put a team on the ice. Once they got there, however, they really knew how to play. In the second half of the 2004-05 regular season, Miami went 8-6-2. That may not seem like much about which to crow, but given how sick and injured Miami was at midseason, it makes a fan wonder what would have happened if a healthy Miami team had, say, five more weeks of play.<\/p>\n
In early December of last season, Miami head coach Enrico Blasi bemoaned that the second half of the season couldn’t come soon enough for him. He threatened — jokingly — to skip practice altogether and go straight to games, since most of Miami’s injuries came during practice. At one point, there were three RedHawk blueliners playing offense.<\/p>\n
Add to the injury and illness bug an ailment better diagnosed in hindsight: Brandon Crawford-West-ism. The junior goaltender missed several games during the season — was benched, really — because of an attitude that led him straight to an early departure.<\/p>\n
Certain healthy RedHawks showed flashes of brilliance last season, though, especially down the stretch. This Miami team is loaded with talent, with one of the most potentially explosive offenses in the league and one of the CCHA’s tightest defenses. What remains to be seen is who will man the cage.<\/p>\n
“We are led by our captain Andy Greene, an All-American,” says Blasi. Greene, arguably one of the best defensemen in the country, is joined by the dynamic two-way sophomore, Mitch Ganzak, sophomore Brad Robbins, and senior Matt Davis. <\/p>\n