His game has a little bit of everything.

Miami University freshman Matthew Caito is a defenseman with a nose for the net and has four points, leading all defensive players on the RedHawk hockey team’s roster through 10 games.

“I like to play both sides,” Caito said. “If I can get pucks to the net and score goals, that’s good. If I don’t get a point, I’m not going to mope over it or anything. Whatever happens, happens. That’s just how I go with it.”

The 5-foot-10, 194-pound Caito has a goal and three assists for MU. That goal came against Northern Michigan last Friday at Steve Cady Arena.

“I was pretty happy. I’m not going to lie,” Caito said. “If you saw in the (celebration), I kind of almost fell. I was real excited.”

Miami coach Enrico Blasi isn’t surprised by Caito’s offensive nature. Indeed, that’s what’s expected of him.

“Matthew was recruited to fill sort of an offensive void that we obviously lost in (Chris) Wideman and (Cameron) Schilling,” Blasi said. “He’s always been somebody that can get up and down the ice. We thought we could use him on one of our power plays. He’s a good, puck-moving defenseman, which is something that we’ve tried to continue to recruit.”

Caito is a well-traveled individual. His hometown is Coto de Caza, Calif. He went to prep school in Connecticut and played for the Dubuque (Iowa) Fighting Saints last year in the United States Hockey League.

“I wanted to play for my high school, but in California, they don’t have high school hockey,” Caito said. “So I had to go away.”

And now he’s a RedHawk, part of a roster that includes players from 11 states, Canada and the Netherlands.

“It’s great to see that, different people from different places. It’s really bonding,” Caito said. “When I came here, I loved it. It just sold itself to me when I visited. The campus is beautiful. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“My parents are used to it,” he added of being far away from home. “Mom would like to have me at home a little more, but she knows how hockey is.”

Blasi said Miami’s recruiting net will continue to stretch in all directions.

“We’re everywhere right now,” he said. “As long as we’ve got a good report on these guys, we’re going to pursue them.”

Scouting the Spartans: The RedHawks (6-2-2 overall, 3-2-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association) will host Michigan State (5-5-1, 3-3) for a two-game series that starts tonight.

The Spartans are coming off a 7-2 beating of Michigan.

“Their forwards are pretty dynamic,” Blasi said. “They’ve scored a boatload of goals, especially on Saturday nights.”

Sophomore Matt Berry leads MSU with 11 points (six goals, five assists). Freshman Matt DeBlouw has 10 (four goals, six assists).

Miami got a 5-2 win and then a 2-2 tie (ultimately a shootout victory) against Northern Michigan last weekend. Blasi felt it was a good series for his young squad.

“I like the way we played Friday, and I like the way we came back on Saturday in the last two periods,” the MU coach said. “Anytime you go through some adversity in a game, you have to stay together. I thought our team did that.

“Sometimes you grow from ties. Saturday was one of those situations where I thought our team got a little better in terms of coming back and staying together and focused and composed. Those are all things that we talk about, but unless you go through them in a game situation, I’m not sure they make a lot of sense.”

As for the RedHawks’ goaltending situation, Blasi said Jay Williams and Ryan McKay should both be available this weekend. McKay is practicing and appears to have recovered from a leg injury.