The Miami RedHawks hockey team seeks its first win of the season in the home opener against Alaska Anchorage this weekend.
While winning is important, the team’s long-term success hinges on embracing the new regime with new Head Coach Anthony Noreen, according to Assistant VP of Development/Associate Athletic Director of Revenue Generation Brad Okel.
“I think the key for this team is going to be building some belief and learning how to win,” said Okel. “If we want to truly compete on a national stage, knowing that it was kind of like ‘okay who gives us the best opportunity, and what type of coach is going to be able to answer that call of what is needed to compete at that level’…it came down to Coach Noreen [who] has been around that type of talent for a long time, been around some of the top players [and knows] this is what they do to get to that next level and he’s going to encourage and show our guys- some of the returners and then the ones he’s bringing in- like this is what it takes to compete at the highest level.”
While Coach Noreen has a history of success and hopes to instill those cultivated qualities in his current team, he also expects his players to maximize their potential on and off the ice.
“My general coaching philosophy is ‘development of players, development of people,’” said Noreen. “I think the X’s and O’s side is a huge part of it, but, I think, you can teach anyone that. That’s, you know, I don’t want to say that’s the easy part, but that part is easy to learn. The hard part is managing people and personalities, and the development of people is not a one-size-fits-all thing. Same thing with the development of players. It’s finding what makes guys tick. It’s finding what ways you could push them outside of their comfort zone to maximize what they’re capable of, but doing it in a way where you’re supporting them, and they know you’re doing it because you care about them.”
“I’ve said from day one that we have an extremely high expectation for the players and the people around this program,” said Noreen. “That expectation is not going to change.”
Although the team has only played in two matches thus far (0-0-2) and shared only a handful of practices, players like Junior Forward Johnny Waldron have already begun to embrace their new leader.
“I like him a lot,” said Waldron. “He’s like a high-energy guy, he’s super positive, he knows a lot about hockey and he kind of makes you feel welcomed at the rink and gets you excited to come to work every day.”
Work is the fun part, and the team will work toward wins this weekend to carry momentum throughout the season, according to Noreen.
“I’ve said from the beginning that the work is the fun part,” said Noreen. “That’s the part you remember. It’s never when you get there and you reach the end result, It’s the work that goes in between that makes you who you are, it makes you what you are.”
And for the match Noreen wants that work to translate.
“We want to play hard, we want to play fast, we want to be resilient and we want to be great teammates,” said Noreen. “There’s a lot that goes into those things that we’re, you know, showing, we’re talking about, we’re teaching and we’re evaluating. [Things that] we’re constantly trying to get better at, as a group.”
Things have slowly been coming together, and there is great excitement for everyone involved in this home match, according to Okel.
“There’s such a community engagement opportunity in venues like this to be able to come together as a group with friends, family, whatever it might be and that’s what I think is so incredible about college athletics,” said Okel. “Goggin is a beautiful facility and when you fill it up it’s a lot of fun. A lot of fun is something we like to create in all of our venues but certainly, with the hockey season starting here, I think we can do something special.”
The excitement for the team, however, comes with a win on Friday night and later on Saturday, according to Noreen.
“You want to win,” said Noreen. “There’s an enormous amount of pride and belief in this program from the people that have lived it, from the people that have supported it, and for the people that are coming in here. We want our fans, our supporters and everyone around this program to feel that.”
The sky’s the limit for the RedHawks this season and it all starts with tallying up wins. But with anything worth playing for, Noreen says it best:
“We got a lot of work to do.”
The RedHawks finished its 2022-2023 campaign with a record of 7-26-3 and 1-21-2 in conference play. In a 2024-25 preseason media poll, conducted by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), the Miami RedHawks are predicted to finish in last place out of nine teams in the NCHC standings.
The Miami Redhawks will play two matches against Alaska Anchorage at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12 in the Goggin Ice Center‘s Steve “Coach” Cady Arena.
Tickets are available here for $28 with other purchase options such as season tickets for $286.
