Games 11-12
Friday, Nov. 9 • 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10 • 7:05 p.m.
Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena (3,019) • Oxford, Ohio

No. 19/RV Miami RedHawks (7-3, 1-1 NCHC) vs.
No. 11/11 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-2-1)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv (stream)
Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/Tune In Radio (Greg Waddell-pbp)

MATCHUP
Miami briefly returns home to host North Dakota for a weekend series.
THE SERIES: The RedHawks and Fighting Hawks went 1-1-2 against each other last year and UND leads the all-time series 13-6-3.

PUCK POINTS
• Three of Miami's four games against North Dakota last season went to overtime (1-0-2).

• Miami outshot its opponent in eight of its first 10 games and ranks in the national top 10 in shots per game (ninth) and is 11th in shots allowed per game.

• Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has started 77 of Miami's 83 games since his freshman season in 2016-17. He has allowed one goal or fewer in six of seven starts this year.

• At 7-3, the RedHawks are off to their best start since 2014-15 (7-3). That team began the year 8-3 after topping North Dakota in a series opener.

• Gordie Green has notched 61 points (28g, 33a) in his last 66 games dating back to midway through his 2016-17 freshman campaign. He has scored in a career-best four-straight games.

• All 26 of senior blue liner Grant Hutton's career goals have come since his sophomore year and his goal total is fifth most all-time among Miami defensemen, one behind Andy Greene & Joe Cook for third all-time.

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

• Miami's three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2) against North Dakota is its longest in series history.

LAST WEEKEND
Miami went on the road to open NCHC play at Omaha over the weekend and came away with a split. The RedHawks held the Mavericks to just 20 shots on goal in Friday's opener, with Jonathan Gruden and Brian Hawkinson netting their first collegiate goals in the first period and Gordie Green netting two goals to put away a 4-1 victory. Power play goals by Grant Hutton and Phil Knies staked MU to a 2-0 lead in the first period of Saturday's finale, but UNO scored once before intermission and a pair of penalties, the second a major, led to three second period power play goals for the Mavericks. While Green pulled MU within 4-3 in the third, that was as close as it would get as UNO pulled out a 6-3 win in the series finale.

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 394-291-72 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 NORTH DAKOTA: After an 0-2-1 start to the season, the Fighting Hawks have won four straight with each victory coming against a nationally-ranked opponent. UND outscored Wisconsin 8-2 in a weekend sweep in Ralph Engelstad Arena last weekend, prevailing 5-0 and 3-2 in overtime. North Dakota's scoring has been fairly balanced, being paced by Nick Jones' (1g, 5a) six points while Colton Poolman, Grant Mismash and Rhett Gardner have netted three goals apiece. UND's defense allows the fewest shots on goal per game in the nation (20.86) and the bulk of its games in goal have been started by Adam Scheel (1.58 GAA, .923 SV%).

CONTROLLING PLAY: A catalyst of Miami's 7-3 start to the season has been its ability to control the puck. The RedHawks have outshot their foes in eight of 10 games and are ninth nationally in shots on goal per game (33.10) and allow the 11th fewest shots on goal per contest (24.70).

SHUTTING THEM DOWN: Another area of improvement through the first month for Miami has been its defense. The RedHawks' 1.70 goals against per game is sixth nationally. MU has allowed one goal or fewer in seven of 10 contests, posting three shutouts in that span.

SCORING BY COMMITTEE: Scoring for Miami has been more of a group effort. Fourteen RedHawk skaters have netted at least one goal so far, with five different players (Karch Bachman, Gordie Green, Grant Hutton, Phil Knies and Josh Melnick) netting at least three goals, led by Green's six. The RedHawks have scored 17 goals in their past four games after tallying just five goals combined the four games prior.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 77 of the RedHawks' 83 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 21 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 is off to a strong start this year, posting a nation-leading three shutouts while his 1.51 goals against average and .942 save percentage rank eighth 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.

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 66 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 61 points on 28 goals and 33 assists and his 12 points (6g, 6a) this year leads the team.

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 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.

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 nine points shy of becoming Miami's 52nd member of the 100-point club with his career totals of 31 goals and 60 assists (91 points).

NEED MORE POWER: One area that is beginning to come around for Miami is its power play. After a 2-for-8 performance on opening night, MU went 20-straight power plays without scoring until Derek Daschke netted the game-winning goal in the third period against UMass Lowell on Oct. 20. The RedHawks have scored a power play goal in five-straight games, netting six power play goals in their last 18 man advantages (33.3 percent).

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 eight games, Bachman has scored three goals, including two game-winners, and is tied for the team lead with 34 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 MU has played just one game decided by less than three goals, a 2-1 win over UMass Lowell on Oct. 20. Miami is 6-3 in games decided by three or more goals this season.

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 manning the crease again this year.

NEW FACES: The RedHawks have used a lot of fresh blood on this year's roster. 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 two of Miami's first 10 games, with seven putting up at least one point and four (Brian Hawkinson, River Rymsha, Derek Daschke and Gruden) recording at least four 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 logged 69 games of in four years with the Big Green. The two have already acclimated themselves to Miami, with Uhelski holding a 2.04 goals against average in two starts and Rymsha notching four points (2g, 2a) and a +5 rating in seven 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 the episodes throughout the season on TheSeason2018.com.