So, what does this all mean for North Dakota-Miami?
Now, no disrespect to Charlie Effinger, but I don't think he'd get the start in this theoretical game, so give the RedHawks the edge in goal. I do think that when you look at players like Robbie Bina, Taylor Chorney and Joe Finley, the Sioux have an edge on the blueline, but it's just a slight edge. Alec Martinez is having a fantastic season, as is Mitch Ganzak, and I think the d-corps does its job more than adequately for the RedHawks.
Up front, Miami has a ton of weapons, to the point where the impact of Nathan Davis' injury has been minimized beyond anything that Rico Blasi could have hoped for. If you can add a healthy Davis to this team after the break, I won't go so far as to say that Miami will be unstoppable - enough of us already made that mistake about North Dakota - but there are just so many weapons on that team that it's scary.
The Sioux just don't have that kind of scoring depth this season, as things drop off pretty quick once you get past T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan. Is there potential for more? Certainly, and I do think the Sioux should come together after the break. They've been an excellent second-half team under Dave Hakstol, and last year's resurgence started with a win over a team from New Hampshire, too (UNH visits Grand Forks after the break). But Miami has it together right now in a way that you can't guarantee North Dakota will have it at all this season.
On that point, I think the RedHawks have had a greater team focus this season, if you look at their games, and that starts with the great senior leadership they have from the likes of Ryan Jones and Nathan Davis. In their second year as captain and assistant captain of this team, Jones and Davis are better able to establish the culture of hard-work and physical play that help make Miami so successful. No disrespect to Rylan Kaip and his assistant captains at North Dakota, but what Jones has done leading Miami this season, especially when Davis went down early in the first game of the season, is truly remarkable, and is just as big a part of his Hobey Baker candidacy as his first-half numbers.
I think that in this game between North Dakota and Miami, the way they're playing now, it'll be a great, hard-fought physical hockey game, but I think that Miami would be the team slowly wearing down North Dakota. I think Zatkoff and the defensive corps would stand up well enough to the Sioux, and that in the end, Miami would just have too many weapons, especially with all that size and strength on the wings.
So, that's my answer to that question, and I'm sticking to it until given reason to believe otherwise.
As for where Miami stacks up to everyone else, well, I'll make you wait until tomorrow for that...although you may already have some idea.
I read this article on the Rink Rant by CSTV’s Elliot Olshansky and although I love to listen to Elliot’s weekly pod cast from CSTV, I think he might be a little off of the mark, the season is half over and there is a lot of hockey to be played. Maybe we can wait and see how the cards fall before we start making grand predictions or crowning anyone champions. Here is an old cliché probably that probably rings true in this situation: championships are won in March and April and not in November, December and January. I wonder what the Miami apologists will say if Miami is bounced in the first or second round of the NCAA tourney again this season.
While I do think Miami of Ohio is a good to decent team; they are big, strong and talented. You can probably make the same argument for a lot of the teams that are in the top ten. The question I must ask people is Miami’s record really that impressive? Seriously folks, let’s have some perspective on this matter, let’s look at Miami’s not so impressive schedule a little deeper: The Miami Red Hawks; while winning in semi-impressive fashion have feasted on an unimpressive schedule of subpar mediocre to poor competition. The RedHawks are not beating the top teams in the nation.
Here is the list of unimpressive victories. Drum roll please: Vermont (29), Ohio State (50), Nebraska Omaha (31), Northern Michigan (34), Notre Dame (loss) (4), Michigan State (6), Canisius (54), Alaska (loss)(44), Rensselaer (21). That’s eighteen games played against a grand total of 2 teams that are actually nationally ranked in the top twenty or are above 20 in the Power Rankings as well. Miami is good but they have won nothing yet. There is no championship for having the best record at the half way point.
This exchange is also one of the silliest things that I have read in a long time:
Ryan (Oxford): If Miami handles St. Cloud State in the Ohio Hockey Classic, will they finally get the WCHA fans off their back...or will the WCHA continue to pretend they are "unquestionably" better than everyone else?
Dave Starman: The WCHA is allowed to stick its chest out, they have set the bar pretty high in terms of recruiting elite players, developing pros, and winning national titles...
Todd D. Milewski: Maybe in a head-to-head sense, but part of that attitude (for lack of a better term) is based in the league as a whole.
Dave Starman: HOWEVER... to say they are the best conference in college hockey right now would be wrong. The CCHA is pretty impressive.
Todd D. Milewski: Even though the CCHA's best is better than the WCHA's best right now, the dropoff point in the WCHA is a lot farther down the table than it seems to be in the CCHA.
Dave Starman: WCHA fans need to realize that you can't live in the was, you have to live in the is, and the CCHA IS probably stronger top to bottom.
Dave Starman: That being said, CC, Denver, North Dakota could all win the national title and Denver's home.
Yeah, while your top teams may or may not be ahead of the WCHA right now, lets look at the bottom 5 in the WCHA and look at the bottom 7 in the CCHA. Included is the standings and power rankings. If you look at the Power Rankings of the two leagues you will see that all teams in the bottom 5 of the WCHA are in the top 25 of the Power Rankings while the CCHA bottom 7 has one team in the top 25 of the power rankings.
WCHA's Bottom 5: 6.) Minnesota (13) 7.) Wisconsin (17) 7.)Saint Cloud(19) 7.) Minnesota State (24) 10.) Alaska Anchorage (22)
CCHA's bottom 7 is: 6.) Nebraska Omaha (31) 7.) Bowling Green (19) University tie 7.) Northern Michigan (34) 9.)Alaska, Ohio State(50) 10.) Western Michigan (49) 11.)Lake Superior (51)
Also, Ryan from Oxford your team the Miami RedHawks is supposed to beat SCSU if they are really as good as you claim. Think about it your team is ranked number one in the nation and SCSU is a team that is in 7th place in the WCHA. I would expect your team to win and if they do not win this game expect your team to drop in the rankings. I have seen a lot of Miami fans trying to peg this game as a bench mark game for bragging rights.
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