The Miami RedHawks (10-6-2) of the NCHC head into their second in-season tournament of the season this weekend, this time inside the United States. Miami opens the 59th Great Lakes Invitational on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 3:37 PM EST against host Michigan Tech (10-6-2) of the CCHA. Yes, both teams enter with the exact same record.
The 59th annual GLI will stream for free at UpperMichigansSource.com and on the WLUC TV6/FoxUP Roku app. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Related: Noreen Talks Miami’s Midseason Progress
Miami remains undefeated in non-conference play at 8-0-0. The RedHawks claimed the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with wins over RIT and 20th-ranked Union College.
Miami enters the GLI averaging 3.5 goals per game, tied for the 12th-highest scoring rate in the country. They are also allowing 3.5 goals per game and taking 5.1 penalties per night. The RedHawks rank 28th nationally in shot attempts with 956 and sit at 46.2% on faceoffs, which places them 56th in the country (seventh worst).
Matteo Giampa leads the team with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists. He also has four game-winning goals and two power-play goals. Vladislav Lukashevich leads all Miami defensemen with 14 points on the season, scoring two goals and adding 12 assists, the team lead in that category. He plays a massive workload, averaging 22:20 of ice time per game, the highest on the team.
Noreen on Michigan Tech
Head coach Anthony Noreen emphasized the challenge ahead when discussing Michigan Tech earlier this week.
“It is a program that has been where they have been the last number of years for a reason. They have been a force in the CCHA, they have made a lot of national tournaments, and they have made a lot of noise on the national level. It is as storied a program as there is in college hockey.
This tournament comes with a great amount of pride. It means a lot to their university, their program, and the state of Michigan. It is going to be as challenging a game as we have been part of all year.
They have an elite goaltender, and their numbers speak for themselves. Their forward group has put up a lot of points. I have known a lot of their guys over the years, whether from recruiting or coaching against them or scouting them when I was running a junior draft. It is not by chance that they have gotten to where they are nationally. They are well coached, disciplined, they play hard, and they have a lot of ability.”
Michigan Tech brings one of the most aggressive and structured penalty kills in the country. Their 84.2% unit swarms, suffocates, clears pucks well, and blocks a high volume of shots. On the man advantage, they sit at an 18.9% conversion rate with 10 goals on the season.
Freshman Kalem Parker leads the team with 26 blocked shots, followed by 6-foot-6, 222-pound Senior Jack Anderson with 23. That top pairing leads an overall physical defensive core and a mix of younger/older players on each pairing, just like the RedHawks.
Notably, Michigan Tech has swept Ferris State twice and took one of two on the road at Minnesota. They sit 34th in the NPI and roll all four lines with minimal separation in ice time up and down the forward group.
Players to Watch (Michigan Tech)
Stiven Sardarian (F): Sardarian ranks second nationally in assists with 18 and sixth in points with 26. He plays left wing on the top line with Max Koskipirtti at center and captain Isaac Gordon on the right side. The Russian is averaging 1.44 points per game, has two game-winning goals, and is an important contributor on the power play. He is also on a five-game point streak and averages 18:13 of ice time per night.
Teydon Trembecky (F): Trembecky plays left wing on the second line and is an important part of the Huskies’ scoring depth. He has six goals and eight assists and averages 14:12 of ice time per game. He is producing at a 0.93 points per game pace and has three power-play goals on the top unit.
Jack Anderson (D): Anderson has put up four points so far while playing on the top defensive pairing. With his size and physicality, he is a difficult matchup and a major piece of the Huskies’ defensive core.
Owen Bartoszkiewicz (G): Bartoszkiewicz holds a 10-5-2 record with 38 goals allowed, a 2.23 goals-against-average (GAA), and a .920 save percentage (SV%). He has made 435 saves this season. Miami faced him last year when he was at Lindenwood, where the RedHawks took one of two from him in a series split. He transferred to Michigan Tech this offseason.
Net up for Grabs
For the first time this season, Miami may not start Matteo Drobac. Freshman Mathis Langevin has been cleared to play and could see his first action in the NCAA. Noreen will not release a starter until line charts come out two hours before puck drop. Drobac has started all 18 games and has faced 557 shots. He holds a 10-6-2 record with a 3.14 GAA and a .898 SV%.
Langevin arrives with a strong junior resume. Last season, he led Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to a league final and a Memorial Cup appearance with a 12-4-0 record, a 1.57 GAA, and a .944 SV%. According to MiamiRedHawks.com, he holds the team record for most time without a goal allowed in playoff history, dating back to 1995.
This season was more difficult, and after losing the starting job and being rumored in trade discussions, he chose to join Miami. He left the QMJHL this season with a 3-7-0 record, a 3.74 GAA, and a .891 SV%.
Special Teams Importance
Miami’s special teams have been inconsistent. At times, they have won games, and at times, they have cost them games. The power play is converting at 15.6%, tied for 46th nationally with Alaska. Despite ranking seventh in the country in power-play shot attempts with 119, the RedHawks have scored 12 goals with the man advantage in 77 opportunities.
The penalty kill sits at 76.3%, which is 47th nationally and second-to-last in the NCHC. Miami has faced 122 shots while shorthanded, the third most in the country.
Freshman forward Ethan Hay explained where the penalty kill has improved and where it still needs work.
“We have had hot streaks and cold streaks, and consistency is the biggest thing you can have on the penalty kill. Since the start of the year, we have really been able to identify when we are pressuring more and choosing our spots to pressure. I think we have gotten a lot better at that.
Some stick detail stuff needs cleaning up, and some clears too, but that is all stuff we are working on. Our PK is going to be big in this tournament coming up. We want our special teams to be elite because that is what wins hockey games, so we have to keep building it.”
Miami enters the weekend 26th in the NPI. A pair of wins in the GLI could push them back into the top 20. Depending on Sunday’s result, Miami will face either Michigan State, which is without dynamic forwards Porter Martone and Ryker Lee, or Ferris State, whom Miami swept in the season-opening series in Oxford. The third-place game is at 3:30 PM EST on Monday, with the championship coming later that night at 7:00 PM EST.
But none of that matters without getting past Michigan Tech first, and that is no easy task.
