The Baddest Hockey Bounce of All

FanHouse brings you full coverage of the 2009 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON -- Chances are, you've never heard of Kevin Roeder, a defenseman for Miami University. But whether or not you've heard his name before tonight, I'm pretty much certain he's the most miserable hockey player in the world right now.

After all, what can you possibly say to a player who did exactly what he was supposed to do, yet who at this moment probably thinks that his actions cost his team a national title?

We've seen it all the time in sports. They call it the bad bounce. And tonight, Roeder, a senior defenseman from Glenview, Ill., was victimized by the baddest of all hockey bounces.

Let's set the scene. After a solid, but by no means spectacular regular season and an early exit in their conference tournament, the Miami RedHawks caught fire at the right time and managed to fight their way to the Frozen Four. After dispatching Bemidji State in the semifinals on Thursday night, Miami had a 3-1 lead over Boston University in the national title game with just one minute remaining.

Which is right about the time the world came crashing down around their ears.

With just 59 seconds to go and Boston University's goalie pulled, defenseman Zack Cohen threw what can only be called a seeing-eye backhand from the right wing faceoff circle onto the net that somehow beat Miami's Cody Reichard to cut the lead to 3-2. Forty-two seconds after that, BU's Nick Bonino fired a shot past Reichard on his glove side to tie the game, 3-3, a goal that that sent the game into overtime.

In just 42 seconds, Miami went from potential national champions to once again having to fight for their lives against a team that all season long was considered to be the best in college hockey.

But the ultimate indignity would eventually fall to to the guiltless Roeder. With 8:13 remaining in overtime, BU's Kevin Shattenkirk left a drop pass for Colby Cohen. He fired a big slap shot on net from the left point.

In response, Roeder did what every defenseman has been taught to do from their earliest days in the game: do whatever you can to block the shot. So Roeder threw himself in the path of the puck.

And his instincts were right, as the shot clipped him and bounced high in the air.

It bounced so high, in fact, that Reichard, Miami's goalie, simply lost track of it.



And that's when the puck fell back to the ice surface behind him and into the net to give BU its fifth national title and send Miami back home to Ohio with nothing but questions about what might have been.

In time, I'm sure that the RedHawks will realize just how much the team accomplished in getting to the Frozen Four. Just a few minutes ago, Miami head coach Enrico Blasi mentioned how this senior class of RedHawks had won more hockey games the last four seasons than any other program in college hockey. In time, perhaps the pain will fade and they'll be able to appreciate what they've done.

Then again, it's hard not to be reminded of the words of another great college hockey coach, Herb Brooks. Before the game against Finland that the USA needed to win in order to secure the gold medal in ice hockey in the 1980 Winter Olympics, Brooks didn't have much to say before his team took to the ice outside of this:

"If you lose this game, you will take it to your f****** grave. To your f****** grave."

In the case of a gallant Miami Red Hawks team, let's hope not.