Love and honor to Miami!

Yes, this is a Cleveland sports blog, but I'm all abuzz about my alma mater, Miami University, having its first chance ever to play for a national championship in any sport. The RedHawks (known as the Redskins during my college days) dispatched the Bemidji State Beavers yesterday, 4-1, in a game that probably wasn't as close as the final score. One more win, and we're champs. I can hardly contain my excitement. The Hawks will be underdogs against the Boston U. Terriers of Hockey East, but our boys have proven they can hang with the big dogs.

The biggest moment in last night's game came right after Bemidji cut Miami's lead to 2-1 on a power play goal in the second period. Will Weber took a shot that hit Bill Loupee’s stick in the crease, and the puck ricocheted off Bemidji goalie Matt Dalton and back into the net. Miami, 3-1. They'd score their last goal on an empty-netter in the third. And in their first-ever trip to the Frozen Four, the RedHawks (23-12-5) have reached the title game.

The Terriers (34-6-4) come in after a hard-fought come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Vermont in the other national semifinal, and have won their last six and 11 of their last 12. They rattled off a nine-game winning streak earlier this season, which was followed by a rather bizarre three-game tying streak, then a five-game winning streak. So at one point, they won 14 games between losses. Since January 1, they're 23-2-3. This is a tough opponent for anyone. Our guys will have their hands full, but once the puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday, the score will be zero-zero.

I can hardly wait.