Feb. 9, 2008

By Dave Starman
Special to CSTV.com

OXFORD, Ohio -- It was a scene that had to be seen to be believed.

DAVE STARMAN
Dave is a CSTV game and studio analyst, and contributes regular insight to CSTV.com.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- STAR TREATMENT 4/10: DelCastillo Calls It Quits At Alaska 4/1: Hobey Baker Breakdown 3/27: They Could Be Heroes 3/26: Chalk It Up 3/21: Notre Dame's Believing 3/14: It's Just Reality 2/22: Berenson Built To Coach Big Blue 2/15: Watching Michigan 2/9: Michigan Sizzles, Miami Fizzles 1/18: Irish Not Just About Football 1/11: Been There, But Not Done Yet 12/30: Tech Is Back 12/30: Michigan Is A Team Again 12/29: History Made, Revisited At Great Lakes Invitational 12/29: From Stripes To Suits 12/27: Go West Young Men 12/21: More Questions Than Answers 12/21: Forechecking Makes Things Happen 12/19: Not All Holiday Surprises Are Happy Ones 12/7: Feeling The Love 11/30: How About Next Time? 10/19: Home Sweet Home 10/10: What's The Worst That Can Happen? 9/27: A Shot In The Heart 9/25: CCHA Media Day Notebook 9/25: DelCastillo's Balancing Act 6/20: College Well Represented at NHL Draft 5/16: Morris Back in the Saddle 4/6: Numbers Game At Frozen Four 4/6: Notes On The Frozen Four 4/6: At Maine, There Is No Off-season 4/6: Behind The Scenes 4/5: Heart On Your Sleeve 4/5: Nothing New For Cavanaugh 4/5: Frozen Four Storylines 4/4: Even Keeled Whitehead Suits Maine Just Fine 4/3: Comley Calm Behind Spartans' Bench 3/24: The X-Factors: Saturday Edition 3/23: The X Factors: Friday's Semifinals 3/23: Sitting On The Panel 3/12: Two Expressions Told It All, One Is Lasting 3/7: Officiating, Conference Alignment and More 3/1: In A Fantasy World, Five Trades In College Hockey 2/7: Here They Come Again 1/31: Revamp The NCAA Tournament 1/26: No-goal Controversy Needs Another Look 12/29: Team USA Has Talent To Be Much Better 12/14: Composite or Wood? 12/6: Making Sense of the Senseless 11/24: Hensick Working On His Two-Way Play 11/7: Wisconsin is Fully Equipped 11/3: Pooley Receives Ultimate Honor 11/2: Off Wisconsin 10/6: NCAA Rules Committee Lays Down Law 6/27: NHL Entry Draft Thoughts 6/16: Collegiate Stars Making Mark In Finals 4/7: Damon and Moore: Maine Men 3/25: Women�s Frozen Four Notebook 3/23: At The Frozen Four With SLU 3/23: UW's Slusar Wins Off The Ice 3/7: Questions Asked And Answered 2/16: Pioneering Spirit 2/15: Playing Five Questions 12/20: Christmas Edition

Miami is not the first campus to see its hockey-enthused fans lined up 24 hours before game time for tickets.  Students started camping out on the beautiful campus of Miami University in the early afternoon on an unseasonably warm day in Oxford, Ohio. In groups, in tents, with music, books, laptops and whatever else was needed for entertainment, they stayed there for a chance at the 1,000 tickets available for what was undoubtedly the perfect storm of events on campus.

Miami was No. 1 in the nation. They were on a roll. They have earned national credibility with a well recruited and coached team. They had the No. 2 team was coming in for a huge nationally-televised game on CSTV. There was a chance to further tighten their grip on first place in the CCHA. Best of all, the hated Wolverines of Michigan were their opponents.

Walking into the Steve "Coach" Cady Arena at 5 p.m., there was a carnival-like atmosphere. The concourse was packed with students, local electronic media outlets and a very excited Miami staff. All eyes were on Oxford and the Redhawks and it was their weekend to show on a national stage how far they had come as an athletic program and a hockey program.

Alfond Arena in Maine, still the best, in my humble opinion, place to see a college game, is the only place where I have ever seen a team get a roaring standing ovation as they hit the ice - for warm-ups. This place rocked that same way as Jeff Zatkoff led his team out for the pre-game sweat. It felt like UNH-Maine all over again.

The jam-packed student section, both seated and in standing room, did its best to unnerve Michigan and goalie Billy Sauer. They were great, a terrific reminder of what awesome fans college kids can be when supporting their team. The hockey players have embraced the Oxford community, and the community has responded.

The roaring didn't stop until Michigan decided it had had enough of sub par play over its last four games and absolutely steamrolled Miami. Starting with a huge defensive play by Chad Kolarik to prevent a great scoring chance in the game's opening 90 seconds, Michigan did what great teams do. They took the crowd out early and kept them out until it was too late to matter.

This weekend, which Miami head coach Enrico Blasi referenced at Media Day in September as a huge one for the program (it was Michigan's first ever visit to the new arena), was set up to belong to Miami. It was two great teams in a game that featured history vs. amenities. It was the old guard from the ancient, but rustic, Yost Ice Arena (which ranks No. 2 on my list of the best places to see a game) marching into the state-of-the-art arena to face the new kids on the block, in terms of national recognition.

While Miami put its best foot forward and showed the country what an exciting hockey atmosphere can be, the team came out tight, apprehensive at times and way too soft in front of its own net.  Zatkoff seemed tentative also, not looking like the goalie who on film looked smooth, confident and almost flawless in his movements. I'll cut him some slack on Kevin Porter's goal that made it 3-0. Not even Ken Dryden would have stopped that shot - it was a pure goal scorer's goal.

So what's the fallout here? Miami could win Saturday, but if I'm voting on Monday (which I don't for polls), Michigan is the No. 1 team in the country. Who is No. 1 in the polls is pretty much irrelevant to anyone outside of the fanatical followers, but when you are Miami, being No. 1 is huge because you are still in the process of making believers out of people. With Michigan, people believe. It's like the Red Wings and the Ducks. The Ducks are Stanley Cup Champs, but the Red Wings are still the Red Wings, the known brand name. That attracts a lot of attention.

The theme of this game was whether Miami could handle the hype of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 when they were No. 1. The answer is they couldn't.  Whether they were too high for the game or not at the right emotional level is a question only they can answer.

They'll get another chance on the big stage, but handling the big stage takes several components. Miami's job is to figure out how.