Miami RedHawks (9-6-1, 3-3 NCHC) vs. No. 1/1 St. Cloud State Huskies (11-1, 4-0 NCHC)

TV/Stream: NCHC.tv

Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/Tune In Radio (Greg Waddell-pbp; Drew Davis-analyst)

The RedHawks close out the first half of their season when the host first-place St. Cloud State.

THE SERIES: Miami holds a 17-16-2 lead in the all-time series, though the Huskies went 4-1 against the RedHawks last year, including a three-game NCHC Playoffs win.

PUCK POINTS

• Miami's freshman class has combined for 37 points (6g, 31a), the fourth most in the country.

• Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has started 82 of Miami's 89 games since his freshman season in 2016-17. He has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of 13 starts this year.

• The RedHawks' blue line has posted 38 points on 10 goals and 28 assists, a total that ranks sixth nationally.

• Gordie Green has notched 62 points (28g, 34a) in his last 72 games dating back to midway through his 2016-17 freshman campaign.

• All 26 of senior blue liner Grant Hutton's career goals have come since his sophomore year and his goal total is tied for the fifth most all-time among Miami defensemen. His 10 points (4g, 6a) are tied for sixth among NCAA blue liners (third in the NCHC).

• The RedHawks have not gone winless in three games all season.

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

The RedHawks suffered their first winless weekend of the season in their trip to New Hampshire following Thanksgiving. Friday's series opener at UNH was a back and forth affair as MU trailed 2-1 following two periods before getting goals from Karch Bachman and Ben Lown to nab 3-2 lead early in the third. The Wildcats battled back to tie the score with 33.2 seconds left, however, and the teams played a scoreless overtime in what amounted to a 3-3 tie, MU's first draw of the season. Josh Melnick netted his second goal of the weekend to open the scoring 10:28 into Saturday's finale, but New Hampshire responded with a power play tally late in the frame. After entering the third period still deadlocked at 1-1, the Wildcats got another power play goal with 8:55 left off the stick of Patrick Grasso, then struck again 2:44 later to go up 3-1 before getting an empty netter to seal a 4-1 win.

COACH BLASI

Enrico Blasi (Miami '94) is in 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 396-294-73 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 ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies have roared out to an 11-1 start to the season and have the nation's second best offense (4.25 goals per game) and defense (1.83 goals against per game). Eight SCSU skaters have double digit points, led by Patrick Newell's (8g, 7a) 15. That group includes a pair of veteran defensemen in senior Jimmy Schuldt (4g, 8a) and junior Jack Ahcan (1g, 11a), who both have 12. Sophomore David Hrenak has started eight of St. Cloud State's 12 contests and holds a 2.12 goals against average with a .907 save percentage while senior Jeff Smith has a 1.26 GAA and .948 save% in four starts. Both SCSU's penalty kill (2nd) and power play (10th) rank in the top 10 nationally.

SHUTTING THEM DOWN: One area of improvement through the first two months for Miami has been its defense. The RedHawks' 2.06 goals against per game is fifth nationally. MU has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of 16 contests, posting three shutouts this season.

SHOTS GETTING FIRED: More rubber has been getting to the Miami net since the calendar switched to November, although Ryan Larkin has proven equal to the task of being the last line of defense. MU has been outshot in six of its last seven games, giving up at least 30 shots on goal six times after outshooting its foes in eight of its first nine outings when it was ninth nationally in shots on goal allowed per game (23.33).

STUCK ON NINE: For whatever reason, Miami has found itself struggling once its hit nine wins the last few seasons, something that continued last weekend at New Hampshire when a previously 9-5 RedHawk squad suffered their first winless series of the year.

	Record at 9th W	Record after	Final Record
2016-17	9-11-6	0-9-1	9-20-7
2017-18	9-8-2	3-12-3	12-20-5
2018-19	9-5	0-1-1	N/A

OFFENSIVE BLUE LINE: Miami's defense has been an area of strength and that has gone beyond keeping the puck out of its net. The RedHawks' blue line has posted 38 points this season (10g, 28a) a total that ranks fourth in the nation. That group is led by Derek Daschke's 12 points (3g, 9a) and Grant Hutton's 10 (4g, 6a).

FRESH FACES LEADING THE WAY: With eight freshmen on this year's roster, the oportunity was going to be there for new players to make an impact and that's what has happened. The RedHawks' freshman class has combined for 37 points (6g, 31a), which represents the fourth-best total nationally. Derek Daschke paces the newcomers with 12 points along with a robust +12 rating.

SCORING BY COMMITTEE: Scoring for Miami has been more of a group effort. Fifteen RedHawk skaters have netted at least one goal so far, with eight different players (Karch Bachman, Derek Daschke, Gordie Green, Grant Hutton, Phil Knies, Josh Melnick, River Rymsha and Ryan Siroky) netting at least three goals, led by Bachman, Green and Melnick's six.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 82 of the RedHawks' 89 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 24 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). His 2,122 career saves rank sixth in school history, 14 shy of Richard Shulmistra for fifth. This season, his 1.76 goals against average sits eighth nationally and his .939 save percentage rank fourth among all NCAA goaltenders. He has also earned NCHC Goaltender of the Week twice in four weeks and was named NCHC Player and Goaltender of the Month as well as National Goaltender of the Month in October. His three shutouts are also tied for the national lead.

CHASING 100: Senior forward Josh Melnick has perked up offensively since a slow start. After notching just two points in the first six games of the year, Melnick has notched 13 of his team-best 15 points in the last 10 contests. He is four points away from becoming the 52nd Miami skater to reach 100 career points as he has 34 goals and 62 assists in his career.

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 72 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 62 points on 28 goals and 34 assists and his 12 points (6g, 6a) this year leads the team.

HUTTON FOR GOALS: 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 26 of Hutton's goals have come since his sophomore season and his career total is tied with Louie Belpedio for fifth all-time among Miami blue liners. Hutton has 10 points on four goals and six assists this season. His next goal will tie him with Andy Greene and Joe Cook for third most in school history among defensemen.

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 in each of his first two campaigns with his 97 shots leading all Miami forwards in 2017-18. Bachman has scored six goals, including three game-winners, this season and leads the team lead with 57 shots on goal.

GAMES OPENING UP: 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 and went 8-8-5 in those instances as opposed to 4-12 in games decided by three goals or more. Things have been much different this year as only six MU 16 games have been decided by less than three goals (3-2-1 in those instances). Miami is 6-4 in games decided by three or more goals this season.

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 his last two years, logging 52 combined starts in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Rymsha played a career-high 28 games at Dartmouth last year and logged 69 games of in four years with the Big Green. The two have already acclimated themselves to Miami, with Uhelski holding a 2.37 goals against average in three starts and Rymsha notching six points (3g, 3a) and a +2 rating in 15 games.

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 all six episodes on TheSeason2018.com.