Congrats to Jerry York on win #800 as the Eagles advance past the Gophers 5-2. Goals from Smith, Ferriero, Gannon, Whitney and Gerbe (empty net). John Muse was again solid in net, stopping 31 of 33 shots.

Up next: Miami. Here is a look at our Regional final opponent, the Miami University RedHawks. The game can be seen on ESPNU today at 4:30pm.

Opponent: Miami University
Location: Oxford, Ohio
Colors: Red and White
Nickname: RedHawks, née Redskins
Famous Alumni: Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Roethlisberger
Mascot: Swoop, a red hawk with an oddly misshapen head

Record: 32-7-1
Conference: Central Collegiate Hockey Conference
PairWise Ranking / National Ranking: #2
Road to NCAAs: At-large birth, finished with the most wins in Division I (32), lost to Michigan in the CCHA title game. Awarded #1 seed in Northeast Regional, survived Air Force yesterday 3-2 in OT
Fact: The RedHawks are the top offensive team in the nation, averaging 4.08 goals per game

National Championship / Hobey Baker winners: 0
Previous National Tournament games: 6 (2-4 overall)

This Year vs. the Eagles

BC has not played Miami in 2007-2008. Against other CCHA teams this year, BC is 0-1-0, having lost to Michigan 4-3 in OT to open the season in the IceBreaker invitational in St. Paul. The CCHA has been really strong in the National tournament so far with a record of 6-1. Conference representatives Michigan and Notre Dame (yes, that Notre Dame!) both punched tickets today to the Frozen Four in Denver. The only CCHA loss in the tournament so far was Michigan State, who lost to fellow CCHA conference member Notre Dame in the West regional final, ending the Spartans title defense.

History vs. the Eagles

The RedHawks have been no strangers to Boston College the last two years in the NCAAs. Miami notched its first tournament win in its program's history last year, upsetting the #1 Northeast Regional seed New Hampshire 2-1. Miami then went on to play the Eagles in the regional final, a game the Eagles decidedly won 4-0 to advance to the Frozen Four. The year before, BC found themselves paired against Miami in the #2 vs. #3 first round matchup in the Northeast Regional. The Eagles also shut out the RedHawks in that game, winning 5-0.

The last time the teams met in the regular season was the Silverado Shootout in Duluth back in 2001, a 5-1 BC victory. The Eagles would go on to win that holiday tournament, but would finish the year with a mediocre 18-18-2 mark and miss the NCAA tournament and the Hockey East semifinals. 2002 was the last year that BC missed the NCAAs, having made 6 consecutive appearnces in the national tournament since. BC holds a 3-2 edge in the series, having won the last 3 games.

... Not The Only RedHawks on Skates?

The men's hockey team isn't the only RedHawks team on skates. The university also has a synchronized skating team. Yes, that's right. A synchronized skating varsity sport. You can't make this stuff up.