Miami, FL

Miami hockey’s plans for bye week and final stretch of the 2023-24 season

Published

2 years ago

February 17, 2024

Miami hockey’s plans for bye week and final stretch of the 2023-24 season

The Miami University hockey team’s schedule ramped up significantly after the new year. The team has played five straight National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) series, including four against ranked teams, two of which were in the top 10 in the nation at the time. Two of their five series were back-to-back road trips.

Now, the RedHawks finally get a break.

While the team’s bye week will have impacts from a practice and player recovery standpoint, the rest of the schedule is important to remember going in.

What the rest of the season will look like

First, on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, they take on the Denver University Pioneers, who are currently ranked fifth in the nation. The Pioneers will be coming back home from an away series against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

Then, to start the month of March, the No. 18 University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks will come to Oxford for the last home series of the 2023-24 season. The Mavericks are the last team in the NCHC that Miami has yet to face this season.

Finally, the RedHawks will head back on the road for their final regular season series of the year, and their second series against the Western Michigan University Broncos, who are currently ranked 13 and could end up higher by game day on March 8 and March 9.

After finishing the final series, the RedHawks will participate in the NCHC postseason, with their first matchup being in the quarterfinals in a best-of-three series, likely against the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

As of now, the focus is on the bye week, primarily regarding getting rest and potentially getting a couple of players back.

How the RedHawks are making the most of their bye week

For head coach Chris Bergeron, getting rest is essential over the early part of this bye week, but when it comes to the on-ice work, the focus will be on the defensive zone and conditioning.

“We need to work on our d-zone coverage,” Bergeron said. “I think we need to work on our conditioning a little bit for one more stretch … We’ll get some rest mentally and physically over the first few days of this week, and we’ll go back to work and prepare for Denver, which we know is a very long trip and difficult team to play against in their rink.”

Enjoy what you’re reading?
Signup for our newsletter

The name of the game at this point is using the week off to buy time for players to come back from injury and the others to get rest, as Bergeron said.

Two names came off the rather extensive RedHawk injury list: senior forward Matthew Barbolini and junior forward Raimonds Vitolins returned and immediately contributed in the most recent series against St. Cloud State University.

Goaltender Logan Neaton and sophomore forward William Hallén are waiting to re-enter the lineup, as Bergeron classified their injuries as a “week-to-week” issue.

If the RedHawks were to add those two at full health, it would be another energy boost for a locker room that wants to win as many games as possible down this stretch, especially given the results they had for three series straight despite their excellent efforts.

Miami’s place in the NCHC standings is likely decided. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t use this bye week as a huge advantage to regain some reinforcements, find the right energy, create a strong mindset and focus on fixing the issues that were exploited against St. Cloud State. Their game is good enough to beat anyone, and this final stretch will be about testing their character as well as their on-ice ability.

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu

Source link

Miami, FL

Dolphins focus on secondary, special teams with addition of three players

Published

5 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Dolphins focus on secondary, special teams with addition of three players

The Miami Dolphins continue a targeted focus on their defensive secondary and special teams as the NFL’s 2026 free agency period kicks off. According to reports, the Dolphins have added former Las Vegas Raiders defensive back Lonnie Johnson, Jr., former Green Bay Packers safety Zayne Anderson, and former New England Patriots cornerback Alex Austin.

The Dolphins added cornerback Darrell Baker and re-signed cornerback A.J. Green III earlier on Wednesday.

Who is Lonnie Johnson, Jr.?

A 2019 second-round pick by the Houston Texans, Johnson has bounced around the league, with Miami marking his seventh different team as he enters his eighth season. He spent three years with the Texans before a preseason stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. He was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans, spending the 2022 season there before moving over to the New Orleans Saints in 2023.

Johnson returned to the Texans in 2024, but was released at the end of the preseason. He signed to the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad that year, then was promoted to the active roster. In 2025, he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, starting the year on injured reserve before being activated in Week 10.

In seven seasons, he has 224 tackles, one fumble recovery, 17 passes defensed, and four interceptions in 92 games played (22 starts). Last year, he was primarily a safety for the Raiders, however he has spent much of his career playing both defense and special teams.

What are Johnson’s contract details?

Johnson and the Dolphins agreed to terms on a one-year contract. No monetary information was reported.

An undrafted free agent out of BYU in 2021, Anderson first joined the Kansas City Chiefs, spending two seasons primarily on the team’s practice squad. He joined the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2023 season but was cut at the end of the preseason and was claimed off waivers by the Packers. The 29-year-old has appeared in 47 games during his five-year career, tallying 36 tackles, two fumble recoveries, two passes defensed, and an interception.

He played just 22 defensive snaps last year for the Packers, but was in on 206 special teams plays. For his career, he has 700 special teams snaps, compared to 145 defensive snaps.

Anderson ended 2025 with an ankle injury, but had seen action in all 16 games prior to the final week of the season. He follows new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan from the Packers to Miami. The Dolphins are also expected to sign former Packers quarterback Malik Willis.

What are Anderson’s contract details?

Anderson was a restricted free agent prior to Wednesday, but the Packers did not place a qualifying tender on him. They had tried to work out a new contract below the $3.5 million tender, but could not come to an agreement and Anderson was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year began at 4 p.m. Eastern.

No details of Anderon’s contract were reported.

The former Patriots cornerback continues to work his way through the AFC East, having originally been a seventh-round draft pick in 2023 by the Buffalo Bills. He was waived at the end of the preseason and was claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans, then was waived on November 1 and signed to the practice squad. The next day, the Patriots poached Austin, signing him to their active roster.

After bouncing aorund as a rookie, Austin returned to the Patriots for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He has appeared in 29 games (6 starts) during his three seasons, recording 31 tackles, eight passes defensed, and an interception.

As with the other two players above, Austin has seen plenty of playing time on special teams and likely will continue with that role with the Dolphins.

What are Austin’s contract details?

Like Anderson, Austin was set to be a restricted free agent, but the Patriots chose not to tender him. According to Schultz, Austin has agreed to a one-year contract with Miami. No compensation was reported.

Source link

Miami, FL

2-year-old boy bitten in face by two pit bulls in Miami Gardens backyard, police say

Published

17 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

2-year-old boy bitten in face by two pit bulls in Miami Gardens backyard, police say

Updated on: March 11, 2026 / 7:47 AM EDT
/ CBS Miami

An investigation is underway in Miami Gardens after police say a toddler was bitten in the face by two pit bulls on Tuesday.

Miami Garden police told CBS News Miami that officers responded to reports of a dog bite involving a child in the 3600 block of Northwest 191st Street just before 7 p.m.

When officers arrived, they said they were told that a 2-year-old was in the backyard of a home when he was bitten in the face by two pit bulls.

The child was rushed to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

No other information was released, and police said the incident remains under investigation.

In:

Source link

Miami, FL

Miami Dolphins Fans Sound Off On The Signing Of QB Malik Willis

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Miami Dolphins Fans Sound Off On The Signing Of QB Malik Willis

What I would have done is taken my lumps and rolled with Ewers during the 2026 season. From my understanding, the reality of Willis’ deal is two years x 22.5M. After that, the Dolphins can part with him, no harm, no foul. Hiwever, don’t you think that the Dolphins could have used that money, considering their salary cap situation, in other areas? Yeah, to me, this is a textbook Steve Ross engineered deal where the Dolphins are bidding against themselves and hoping against hope that they’re not as bad as they’re predicted to be.

As for Willis, he reminds me of another ex-Green Bay QB named Matt Flynn. Like Willis, Flynn was the 2nd string QB at GB and shined in a couple of relief appearances for Aaron Rodgers during the 2011 season. He is best remembered in Green Bay for his record-setting 480-yard, 6-touchdown game in 2011 versus the Lions. That set him up for a big contract with Seattle, but he never really did anything there due to the emergence of Russell Wilson.

Source link