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Blue Jackets: Howson still seeking trade, remains confident answers lie within - From Examiner.com:


As the Columbus Blue Jackets returned home Monday from a week-long road trip where the club went 0-4, general manager Scott Howson is still looking for a potential dance partner in a quiet trade market.



Last week, defenseman Mike Commodore expressed his displeasure for his lack of playing time and wanted the team to seek a trade. Howson has been unable to find a suitor for Commodore who was scheduled to make $3.8 million this season. His value to clubs would have been small given his hefty price tag of $6.85 million for the next two years of his contract.



Howson said today that there are still quite a few possibilities including sending Commodore to the Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield.



“We are still reviewing our options and in communication with Mike and his agent (Wade Arnott), try to review the best possible outcome in this scenario,” Howson said.



On Sunday, the Blue Jackets officially demoted Commodore to Springfield though he has not been placed on its roster.



“He is an NHL player who has played in the NHL for a long time,” Howson said. “He contributed significantly to our playoff run two years ago. He is still a good player. He is still an NHL player and we want to help him find a home in the NHL.”



Trade rumors have been circulating around for the last week; not just for moves involving Commodore. Though no general manager turns off their cell phones during the season, getting other GMs to pull the trigger more than a month before the trade deadline is a challenge.



“I’ve been fairly busy talking to other teams,” Howson said. “There is nothing imminent or anything like that. We’re still working our way at it.



“I think there are teams that have the urgency. You don’t want to be in desperation mode because you’ll make a bad trade or a bad deal. I think there are other teams that have urgency, but we’re at a point in the season where the teams that are going well are looking at things and to set themselves up to be better down the road.”



The Blue Jackets are doing their best to ignore rumors of trades but the recent west coast road trip shows the squad’s focus was not where it needed to be.



“When it comes to distractions, other than the young guys who have never been through it before, everybody else certainly went through it last year,” Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said. “They have experienced that so we can’t use it as an excuse. At the end of the day, you play your games. Is it somewhat of a distraction maybe off the ice, away from the games? Once the games start, it should never be there.”



Howson is no stranger to midseason trades. Last year, he made a move in December during the midst of last year’s doldrums to acquire Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina for forward Jason Chimera. The trade was not enough to jolt the Blue Jackets back into their winning ways.



Despite the similarities between this season and last for the Blue Jackets, the squad remains just four points out of eighth place in the Western Conference for the final playoff spot. In order to get back in the race however, they’ll have to jump a number of squads as they sit No. 13 in the Western Conference.



“You don’t want to compare to last year,” Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger said. “Last year was just miserable. What we can control is we want to play meaningful games in March. We know the feeling from not doing that last year. You get that feeling that you’ll do anything to win some games once you’ve been in that situation. This next month of hockey is crucial; is important to setup a push.”



Despite the Blue Jackets only making one off-season move picking up forward Ethan Moreau who currently sits on the injured reserve and the squad continuing to struggle, Howson remains steadfast that the solution is still within the locker room.



“You have to fix what is going on on the ice inside the confines of your own team first,” Howson said. “A trade can help and we’re trying to accomplish that if it makes sense. If it makes sense and it’s the right fit, and the right person, we’re going to do it. The players are focused. The coaches are focused on getting us playing better again.”







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Albert and Somma spark Ohio State to sweep of No. 7 Miami



Read more: http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2011/01/08/albert-and-somma-spark-ohio-state-to-sweep-of-no-7-miami/#ixzz1B2QLtmcQ


Buckeyes notch first sweep of RedHawks since 2004

By J. Justin Boggs • USCHO Arena Reporter • Saturday, January 8, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a game that featured odd-bounces and a shot that went through the net, John Albert and Sergio Somma sparked an Ohio State Buckeyes five-goal third period rally to comlete the sweep over the No. 7 Miami RedHawks 5–2 Saturday evening.



It is Ohio State’s first weekend sweep of Miami since October, 2004. Miami has its first three-game losing streak since January, 2009.



“It is another step,” Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki said about sweeping Miami. “That is really what we’re talking to our team about. Enjoy it right now. Understand that feeling in the third and what it took, and how they played how they had to play hard for each other.”



“It is a big game for us,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “We’ve been on the other side. It is a tough loss, but we have to regroup. We have another series next weekend.”



After trailing 2–0 entering the third period, the Buckeyes scored five unanswered goals in the third. Ohio State’s first came 2:21 into the third by Sergio Somma, who got the Buckeyes’ only power-play shot of the game.



“We didn’t have too many opportunities (on the power play) but we made it count,” Somma said.



Freshman Brandon Martell tied the game 3:23 later after receiving a nice cross-crease pass and shooting the puck past the stick of RedHawks goalie Connor Knapp. It was Martell’s first collegiate goal.



“Well, they got that power-play goal, we took that stupid penalty and away they went,” Blasi said. “I thought they outplayed us in the third period. They made the most of their chances.”



Albert got his first of two goals at 9:55 of third as he shot a howitzer past Knapp to give Ohio State a 3–2 lead.



Miami had a chance to tie the game in the final four minutes. On a loose puck, RedHawks forward Trent Vogelhuber’s shot from in front of the crease crossed the goal line, but the officials ruled the net was off of its moorings.



After Knapp was pulled for an extra attacker in the final 90 seconds, the Buckeyes notched a pair of goals. Ohio State’s first empty-netter came with 1:11 remaining from Albert after blocking a Miami shot from the blue line. Danny Dries put OSU up 5–2 with 33 seconds left. Ohio State outshot Miami 14–6 in the third and 34–25 for the game.



Miami struggled early in the game. The RedHawks did not get their first shot on goal until the 10:30 mark of the first, as the Buckeyes outshot them 11–1 at one point, but they could not capitalize. Miami scored 16 seconds into the game’s first power play as Alden Hirschfeld notched his ninth of the season on a slapper through the five-hole of Buckeyes goalie Cal Heeter at 15:11 of the first.



“Anytime you score an early goal, you get some momentum,” Blasi said.



Miami fully gained the momentum of the game early on in the second period. Miami’s Andy Miele appeared to hit a one-timer from Carter Camper off the stick side post of Heeter on its second power play of the game. Play went on for 25 seconds before a whistle blew.



When officials stopped play, they looked at a monitor from the Miami penalty box to review Miele’s shot. After nearly five minutes of reviewing, the officials gave the RedHawks their second goal of the game when it was determined the puck went through the netting.



“I didn’t see it go in,” said Somma who was on the ice during the goal. “It was weird. I thought it hit somebody in front and trickled by the net.”



“As good as we played in the first period, we played equally as bad in the second,” Osiecki said. “We haven’t said much in between periods, but we did there (in the second intermission). We played well in the first. We didn’t get that goal and the guys felt it.”



Due to changes in the CCHA scheduling process, Ohio State and Miami only meet twice this season. Last time the two squads did not play each other four times in a season was in the 1998–99 season.


Buckeyes, Heeter blank RedHawks, 1–0



By J. Justin Boggs • USCHO Arena Reporter • Friday, January 7, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State Buckeyes junior goalie Cal Heeter was still in high school the last the Miami RedHawks lost to the Buckeyes at Value City Arena in Columbus. The Buckeyes snapped a nine game home winless streak against the No. 7 RedHawks with a 1–0 victory Friday evening.



The last time Ohio State defeated Miami in Value City Arena was Jan. 10, 2006.



Heeter’s performance was sterling stopping all 40 shots against and his defense did its share cleaning up rebounds left around crease. Heeter’s counterpart, Miami’s Cody Reichard had to make some key saves himself stopping all but one of Ohio State’s 24 shots on goal.



“He gave up one goal, that is pretty standard for Cody over the years,” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. “We’re pleased with his game.”



The nation’s leading point scorer Carter Camper was held off the score sheet for the first time in seven games despite having eight shots on goal.



“The game started off pretty good (for me), I saw a few shots early and for me, that really helps me focused early,” Heeter said.



Ohio State had been shutout in its previous two matches at home against Miami. The Buckeyes went 166 minutes without a home goal against the RedHawks, dating back to Feb. 28, 2009.



“Some games you win, some games you lose, Ohio State is a pretty good team and their goaltender played pretty well,” Blasi said. “Am I disappointed in the loss? Yeah. But I don’t think you can question either team in effort tonight.”



A key difference in the game was converting on power plays.



The RedHawks had six opportunities and had 10 shots during the man-advantage but were unable to convert. Miami’s best chance on the power-play came midway through the third as it had a 5-on-3 advantage for 57 seconds.



“Anytime a team kills a 5-on-3 or scores on a 5-on-3, it is a momentum shifter,” Blasi said. “They did a great job. Heeter played well; they blocked shots when they had to. I don’t know if we got any second or third chances in front of the net.”



“Obviously your penalty kill starts with your goaltender,” Ohio State head coach Mark Osiecki said.



“Cal (Heeter) played extremely well for us. He was the player of the game for our team. Our guys played pretty well in front of him but obviously the key was the penalty kill.”



Ohio State went one-for-four on the power play converting in the closing seconds of the second. John Albert’s shot went off the pad of Reichard and caused the goalie to go well out of position. With Reichard’s glove side open, Sergio Somma scored the game’s only goal at 19:51 of the second.



Miami had the better of the chances in the third attempting 27 shots and getting 16 of them on net. Ohio State got seven shots on goal during the third.



“Our forwards and our defense played absolutely excellent tonight,” Heeter said. “The (defense) in front were blocking guys out. (Their) guys stand in front, when shots are coming in, they block a shot or clear out in front.”



“You knew they were going to come out and play Miami hockey,” Osiecki said about the third period. “It is up-tempo, in your face, puck at the net, and they did that right away in the third and our guys hung on.”



The first half of the game featured a more psychical brand of hockey between the two teams. The Buckeyes and RedHawks picked the pace of the game up midway through the second.



The Buckeyes have their first five-game winning streak since January of 2009. Following their 4–3 loss last week against St. Cloud State, the RedHawks have not had a conference losing streak since the 2009 CCHA playoffs when they lost back-to-back games to Northern Michigan.





Read more: http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2011/01/07/buckeyes-heeter-blank-redhawks-1-0/#ixzz1B2QopyIF