OXFORD, Ohio - The 2009-10 season was one of the most emotional in Miami hockey history, and on Saturday the team took one more opportunity to remember the events of the past few months.
The RedHawks' annual Night of Celebration was held at Shriver Center, and former NHLer Rick Vaive and the brother of the late Brendan Burke spoke about the team manager who was killed in a traffic accident on Feb. 5.
"Other than his family, the most important thing in his life was this team." Patrick Burke said.
Patrick Burke accepted the Jim Grant Seventh Man Award for Brendan. Their mother, Kerry, was also in attendance.
"Brendan Burke was ultimate seventh man," said Rick Vaive, who gave the award to the Burke family. "He would've won this award regardless of the events that unfolded."
Jim Grant, for whom the award is named, was the father of former RedHawks forward Todd Grant. Jim Grant died from cancer following the 2002-03 season, but he attended games up until a week before his death.
"We love Miami, and I don't think I'll ever be able to express how much you guys mean to us," Patrick Burke said.
Here were the team award winners (others nominated in parentheses):
Blue Line Club Award - Tommy Wingels (Pat Cannone, Brandon Smith).
Scholar-Athlete Award: Dane Hetland, Gary Steffes, Brandon Smith and Jarod Palmer.
Rookie of the Year: Joe Hartman (Reilly Smith, Curtis McKenzie).
Outstanding Defensive Player: Will Weber (Joe Hartman, Vincent LoVerde).
Most Improved Player: Justin Vaive (Dane Hetland, Cameron Schilling).
Outstanding Senior: Jarod Palmer (Dane Hetland, Brandon Smith).
Outstanding Offensive Player: Andy Miele (Carter Camper, Jarod Palmer).
Most Valuable Player: Cody Reichard (Andy Miele, Tommy Wingels).
Jim Grant Seventh Man Award: Brendan Burke.
Some of the best comments of the night:
"The campus was beautiful and the women were beautiful, and that was all I needed." - Dane Hetland on why he chose Miami.
"We consider him the fifth senior on this team." - Dane Hetland on Brendan Burke.
"We'll miss you, you're not far, and don't think you're beating us." - Enrico Blasi to Chris Bergeron.
"Your colors are orange." - Blasi on Bergeron's new team.
"The wind blows north, east, south and west at the same time." - Blasi on Bowling Green.
"If you get bored, players can practice on I-75." Blasi still ripping on Bowling Green.
Blasi also said that his daughter, Sophie, has asked if she can take over for departed assistant coach Chris Bergeron, and Blasi said he had to tell her "no".
Blasi then said "she's not speaking to me. I guess I have that affect on women."
During Hetland's senior speech he also mentioned that the team would have to improve its cardio program for junior defenseman Vincent LoVerde.
Other interesting pieces of information learned from Saturday:
Palmer revealed that classmate Gary Steffes bailed him out a potential "butt-kicking" by some football players during their freshman season.
Wingels is minoring in Chinese.
Blasi was asked before John Buccigross' ESPN piece on Burke was released if he was OK with the timing of it, since it could have posed a potential distraction. He was completely supportive of its publication.
ANALYSIS: This is honestly one of my favorite nights of the year. The Blue Line Club does an outstanding job with this event, and $35 is a more than reasonable price to pay for the opportunity to say good-bye to the seniors, wish everyone else a good summer and watch great highlights reels.
Not to mention we get to enjoy excellent food and see all the cool stuff available in the silent auction.
But the best part for me is the senior speeches. While many schools merely pay lip service to the student-athlete concept, it brings stability to my world to see not just the great hockey players but also the quality young men that the Miami hockey team continues to hone.
All four seniors finished with a GPA over 3.0.
We sat with Pat Cannone, a player I'd actually never met. What a delightful young man. He has a great sense of humor.
The sad thing about the night is that it signifies the end of the season. But I have the memories of the evening to get me through the summer.
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