Games 5-6
Friday, Oct. 19 • 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 20 • 7:05 p.m.
Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena (3,019) • Oxford, Ohio

Miami RedHawks (3-1) vs. UMass Lowell River Hawks (1-1)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv (stream)
Radio: Miami IMG Network/Tune In Radio (Greg Waddell-pbp; Drew Davis-analyst)

MATCHUP
The RedHawks host UMass Lowell in the River Hawks' first-ever trip to Oxford this weekend.
THE SERIES: The River Hawks and RedHawks have met just twice in their histories, both neutral site contests. Last time MU and UML met was in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, which UML won 4-3 in overtime.

PUCK POINTS
• Grant Hutton's 13 goals last season led all NCAA defensemen and were the most by a Miami blue liner since Dan Boyle netted 14 in 1997-98. The senior's 23 career goals are the sixth most all-time among Miami defensemen.

• Miami has allowed 21 shots or fewer in three of its four games, posting two shutouts in that span. This is the first time MU has posted multiple shutouts in a season since the 2015-16 campaign.

• Junior forward Karch Bachman has netted three goals in the RedHawks' first four games with two game-winning goals in that span.

• The RedHawks are off to their first 3-1 start since the 2014-15 campaign. Last time MU won four of its first five games was in 2009-10 (4-0-1).

• Gordie Green has notched 51 points (23g, 28a) in his last 60 games dating back to midway through his 2016-17 freshman campaign.

• Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has started 72 of Miami's 77 games since his freshman season in 2016-17. His two shutouts in three starts are already a single season career high.

• Senior forward Josh Melnick is 17 points shy of becoming Miami's 52nd player to hit 100 career points.

LAST WEEKEND
The RedHawks returned to the Ice Breaker tournament for the first time since opening Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena in the 2006-07 season. Miami took on No. 4/5 Providence in the opener, but two PC goals 1:28 apart midway through the first dug MU into a hole it could not climb out of. Miami had seven power play opportunities, but could not capitalize in an eventual 4-0 setback. The Red & White bounced back in Saturday's consolation game against host Mercyhurst, getting a Karch Bachman goal 29 seconds in and using 21 Ryan Larkin stops to post a 3-0 victory. Ryan Siroky and Phil Knies also added goals in the second period in the victory.

COACH BLASI
Enrico Blasi (Miami '94) begins his 20th season behind the RedHawk bench. He is a five-time CCHA Coach of the Year and was named National Coach of the Year in 2005-06. He is the RedHawks' all-time winningest coach with a 390-289-72 record at his alma mater, which he has taken to 10 NCAA Tournaments, including two Frozen Four berths, a National Championship game appearance, a trio of CCHA regular-season titles and two conference tournament titles.

ABOUT UMASS LOWELL: The River Hawks opened their regular season last weekend with a split against RIT, winning the opener by a 2-1 score before dropping a 5-4 decision in the finale. UML went 17-19 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament for just the second time since the 2011-12 campaign. Ryan Dmowski and Connor Wilson each chipped in a goal and two assists on opening weekend while Tyler Wall (25 saves/26 shots) and Christoffer Hernberg (25 saves/30 shots) split the duties in net against RIT. Four of the River Hawks' six goals against the Tigers came on the power play as they went 4-for-13 with the man advantage.

LIMITING THE OPPOSITION: A catalyst of Miami's 3-1 start to the season has been its defense as it has allowed just one total goal in its three victories. While the goaltending of Jordan Uhelski and Ryan Larkin have been on point, MU's skaters have helped as well by allowing just 20.75 shots on goal per game (sixth in NCAA) and allowing 21 shots on goal or fewer in three of its four outings (all wins).

NEED MORE POWER: One area Miami would like to clean up is its power play, which netted two goals on opening night, but none since. MU has not scored in its last 14 power play tries and is just 2-for-22 (9.1 percent) on the man advantage after finishing ninth nationally with a 23.2 percent clip a year ago.

OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE: Senior defenseman Grant Hutton provided Miami with a boom on defense thanks to his return. A year ago, Hutton led all NCAA defensemen with 13 goals, a total that was one off Miami's overall team lead. All 23 of Hutton's goals have come since his sophomore season and his career total ranks sixth all-time among Miami blue liners. Hutton has three points on a goal and two assists through four games.

CHASING 100: Senior forward Josh Melnick comes into the season looking to build off last year's career-best 29 points (10g, 19a) as he nears a milestone. Melnick is 17 points shy of becoming Miami's 52nd member of the 100-point club with his career totals of 29 goals and 54 assists (83 points).

PLAYING IT TIGHT: The RedHawks were quite accustomed to playing tight contests as 21 of their 37 games last year (including ties) were decided by two goals or fewer. When Miami was able to keep contests manageable and low scoring, it had some success as evidenced by its collective 8-8-5 record in those situations. Games that opened up were more problematic as MU was 4-12 in games decided by three or more goals, but so far all three of Miami is already 3-1 in games decided by at least three goals this year.

GOING GREEN: Junior forward Gordie Green enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign and hopes to build on that after leading the RedHawks with 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists a year ago. Green's status as a go-to scorer started midway through his freshman campaign as he adjusted to the college level. In his last 60 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 51 points on 23 goals and 28 assists.

A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING: Another sophomore looking to make strides off a steady debut is forward Casey Gilling. The second year center led Miami in faceoff-winning percentage (54.7 percent) while chipping in 19 points (9g, 10a) last season. Through four games, Gilling has won 54.3 percent of his faceoffs while chipping in an assist.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his first two seasons in Oxford. Larkin's started 72 of the RedHawks' 77 games since his 2016-17 freshman campaign. The Clarkston, Mich., native debuted with a strong .910 save percentage as a freshman and made 30 or more saves 12 times that year. In his career, Larkin has 19 games where he has recorded at least 30 stops. He already owns two of Miami's top eight seasons in total saves with 905 as a freshman (third) and 863 in 2017-18 (eighth). He has started the season with two shutouts in his first three starts and earned NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors following his opening weekend 11-save shutout performance against Alabama Huntsville.

CAUSING HAVOC: One player who has shown a knack for creating scoring chances with the potential to lengthen the Miami attack is junior forward Karch Bachman. Despite only scoring nine goals in his first two seasons, the Florida Panthers' 2015 draft pick has finished third in shots on goal each of his first two campaigns with his 97 shots leading all Miami forwards in 2017-18. Through four games, Bachman has scored three goals, including two game-winners, and leads the team with 15 shots on goal.

WE'RE STILL HERE: While much was made of Miami graduating defenseman Louie Belpedio and an early departure of Kiefer Sherwood to the prefessional ranks, the RedHawks bring a good amount of last season's production back to the ice this year. Seven of Miami's top nine scorers are on this year's roster, including top scorer Gordie Green and his 33 points. In fact, all four Miami players who netted at least 10 goals are back for another season. That also doesn't account for Ryan Larkin's 36 starts being set to man the crease again this year.

NEW FACES: The RedHawks have a lot of fresh blood breaking into the roster entering 2018-19. Ten of Miami's 27 players were not on campus a year ago. That group includes a member of the USA National Team Development Program in Ottawa draft pick Jonathan Gruden, six players who played in the USHL last season, two graduate transfers, one NAHL player and one OJHL player. All 10 of the RedHawks' newcomers have suited up in at least one of Miami's first four games, with five putting up at least one point and four (Brian Hawkinson, River Rymsha, Derek Daschke and Jonathan Gruden) recording at least two points thus far.

CHANGE OF VENUE: Among the newcomers to Miami this year are a pair of fifth-year transfers in defenseman River Rymsha (Dartmouth) and goaltender Jordan Uhelski (Alabama Huntsville). The duo are believed to be only the second and third postgraduate transfers in Miami hockey's history as they add another layer of experience to the roster. Uhelski was Alabama Huntsville's starting goaltender the past two years, logging 52 starts since 2016-17. Rymsha played a career-high 28 games at Dartmouth last year and brings 69 games of college hockey experience with the Big Green to the Miami blue line. The two have already acclimated themselves to Miami, with Uhelski picking up an opening night win with 18 saves against Alabama Huntsville and Rymsha earning NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors after posting three points (1g, 2a) in the opening-weekend sweep of the Chargers.

A LOOK INSIDE THE BROTHERHOOD: A partnership with the NCHC and Miami hockey's equipment provider, STX, has led to the creation of The Season (Miami Hockey). This six-episode documentary series promises to take fans inside the RedHawks' preparation for the 2018-19 season. The first episode aired on Oct. 4 and fans can check out the episodes throughout the season on TheSeason2018.com.