Former Miami hockey head coach Enrico Blasi returns to Oxford with St. Thomas, where he left a lasting legacy

The Miami University hockey team takes the ice for the first conference series of the season on Halloween weekend. And while the opponent is a new one, the face behind the bench is as familiar as can be – former head coach Enrico Blasi.

Blasi first stepped into the old Goggin Ice Center as a student-athlete in 1990. Hailing from Weston, Ontario, Blasi played for the Miami hockey team from 1990-94, winning a Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) championship as a junior in 1992-93, and captaining the team in 1993-94. He tallied 123 points in 151 games in his RedHawk career.

After finishing his playing career in Oxford, Blasi headed to the University of Denver, where he was brought in first as a graduate assistant, and was then hired as an assistant coach under his former head coach with the RedHawks, George Gwozdecky.

After four years with the Pioneers from 1995-99, where the team made the NCAA tournament twice and won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament in 1999, Blasi was hired as the head coach at Miami. Then-Athletic Director Joel Maturi made him the youngest head coach in Division I college hockey at just 27 years old, in a move that set the program on a path to growth and greatness.

In his time with Miami, Blasi oversaw three CCHA regular season championships in 2006, 2010 and 2013. In 2011, the RedHawks won the Mason Cup in the CCHA tournament as the No. 6 seed, and, in 2015, they won the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) tournament.

Blasi also oversaw the program’s move from the CCHA to the NCHC, with a record of 311–196–53 (222–129–43 in-conference) in the former, and an 87–115–23 (45–84–15 in-conference) in the latter by the time his career in Oxford came to an end in 2018-19.

Now, “Rico” is the head coach at St. Thomas University with the Tommies, who, as of the 2026-27 season, have become full-time members of the NCHC as well.

Last season in the CCHA, the Tommies finished third place in the standings and ended as the runner-up in the conference tournament with a 19–14–5 overall record (13–9–4 in-conference).

But the record left behind isn’t as important as the impression made on the people.

“The one big thing with Rico was, I believe everyone – support staff, players and coaches – felt that they were on the same page at the same time,” Miami hockey Equipment Manager Andy Geshan said. “It just felt like everybody was in the same boat, rowing at the same time, for whatever the destiny was … There was happiness. But I just think that you felt like part of the family, no matter what your role was, no matter what the feeling was at the time.”

The two first met when Geshan was a student equipment manager for Miami in the late 1980s, before Blasi was officially a RedHawks player. Then, Geshan left for other opportunities and returned the year after Blasi graduated. 

Geshan said he doesn’t remember the first time he met Blasi after he was hired to lead the RedHawks, but what he does remember is the special bond they had because of their children.

Blasi’s first daughter and Geshan’s first son were born five months apart in 2001, allowing the two to grow up knowing each other inside and outside of the rink. They learned how to parent together, and so did their wives. Their kids became very close friends.

Geshan was also around for the “glory years” of Miami while Blasi was at the helm. “The Brotherhood,” a concept that developed through those years and is still ever present around Steve “Coach” Cady Arena, was Blasi’s doing. While the talent at Miami was some of the nation’s best, culture was everything.

“Those teams had the ability to just come to the office and work,” Geshan said. “ … Everybody came to work, and it worked. It didn't matter your talent level; they were just hard workers, and he was able to get everybody rallied around and just work hard.”

When defenseman Grant Hutton came to Miami in the 2015-16 season, he felt that culture, too.

By the time Hutton’s junior career was coming to an end, bouncing between the United States Hockey League and North American Hockey League, interest from colleges was slim to none. He wasn’t sure if he would continue playing the sport he loved. 

Then, Blasi came knocking.

Hutton was familiar with Miami, as he grew up in Carmel, Indiana, and attended the hockey school hosted every summer at Goggin with friends. So when the offer came to play Division I college hockey at the school he was most familiar with, he took it with no questions asked. 

The usual recruitment process involves visiting the school before committing, but Hutton first met Blasi after he committed to be a RedHawk.

“It was more of an introduction on a personal level, but more on an expectation level and what was going to be required of me if I want to be an instrumental part of the program’s success,” Hutton said. “And I was extremely impressed with the level of professionalism and, obviously, with what was built there over the years. I had a lot of respect for the coaching staff and Rico, specifically, for what they were able to build.”

When Hutton came into the program, the RedHawks were coming off their first and only NCHC championship, but Blasi’s culture element never wavered. Instead of making Miami a winning-first program, the goal was a team with ideals that made it easier to be successful in the next step, wherever that was. And that resonated.

The RedHawks struggled through Hutton’s four years. They were also the last four seasons before Blasi was dismissed, with a record of 47-81-19. However, even through the tough times, the message of culture and personal growth stayed true, helping Hutton even today.

“I think that was a learning experience for everybody in how to handle tough times and how to overcome them together because you’re not going to do it by yourself,” Hutton said. “But I think that’s what made Rico pretty special. You could have a bad weekend, and you show up on Monday for practice, and it’s a clean slate. I think my personality came out the more time I spent in the program and the more time I spent around Rico. And it benefitted me both as a player and as a person.”

On the ice, Hutton’s game soared. After committing to Miami and playing 35 games his freshman season, he had scored only five points from the blue line. But Hutton found his stride in his sophomore year and didn’t look back.

In 36 games, he registered nine goals and tallied nine assists for 18 points. 

Then, Hutton’s junior season was a career-best, not just continuing to be a beacon of consistency, but also on the stat sheet. Thirteen goals and 14 assists made for 27 points, which would end up being a career-high on all fronts by the time his college hockey days were over.

His senior year ended with 21 points in 37 games played, but most importantly, Hutton signed a contract with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) New York Islanders, playing his first NHL game in 2021-22.

For both players and support staff, one of Blasi’s trademarks was his humor, and it still is at St. Thomas. 

“Oh you guys didn’t hear? I won’t be coming back,” Blasi said jokingly in his interview on NCHC Media Day about returning to Miami. “I’m actually going on vacation that weekend … The staff’s going to be away.”

When asked where he was going, he said, “I can’t tell you.”

While he was with the program, finding a mix between being funny and stern was just one of the many facets of coaching that he faced daily. 

For those around him, though, Blasi struck a good balance, even during the hard times. 

“You just felt comfortable all the time, no matter what was going on, what the feeling was,” Geshan said. “You knew when you could be playful, and when you couldn't, but you felt comfortable to be who you wanted to be. You could just be you.”

While the return of the coach who built the program into what it is today is an exciting idea, the thought isn’t about who is standing behind what bench. Instead, the focus is on the players on the ice. 

“It’s going to be a little bit emotional and weird, but at the end of the day this is about our players playing the Miami players,” Blasi said. “Anthony (Noreen has) done a great job with the program, and I’m happy to see that, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be about me. I’m proud of what we did at Miami, but that was a long time ago, and we’re focused on St. Thomas now.”

The Tommies and RedHawks will square off over the Halloween weekend on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31. It will be the first weekend of NCHC play for both teams.

While Blasi’s return will be the storyline, the series itself makes for a weekend with major implications as well.