Games 21-22
Friday, Jan. 11 • 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 12 • 7:00 p.m.
Lawson Ice Arena (3,667) • Kalamazoo, Mich.

No. 20 Miami RedHawks (9-7-4, 3-3-2-1 NCHC) at No. 14/14 Western Michigan Broncos (11-6-1, 4-3-1-1 NCHC)
TV/Stream: CBS Sports Network (Friday: Ben Holden-pbp; Dave Starman-analyst; Shireen Saski-rinkside); NCHC.tv (Saturday)
Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/Tune In Radio (Greg Waddell-pbp)

MATCHUP
Miami resumes NCHC play with a road series against long-time rival Western Michigan this weekend.
THE SERIES: These teams split both of their series last season. Miami holds the all-time series lead at 68-63-11.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's freshman class has combined for 44 points (9g, 35a), t-ninth most in the country.

• Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has started 85 of Miami's 93 games since his freshman season in 2016-17. He has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of 16 starts this year.

• Gordie Green has notched 65 points (28g, 36a) in his last 76 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.

• The RedHawks have gone to overtime in five of their last seven games (1-0-4).

• Miami has allowed a power play goal in seven-straight games, killing off just 17 of 27 (62.9 percent) of opponent's power play in that span. MU allowed just eight power play goals in its first 13 contests.

• Senior forward Josh Melnick is riding a career-best seven-game point streak (3g, 5a) and became the 52nd Miami player to clear 100 career points on Jan. 5.

LAST WEEKEND
Miami wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a series at then-No. 10 Providence. After falling behind early in Friday's opener, MU got power play goals from Ryan Siroky and Josh Melnick to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. PC responded from there, outshooting Miami by a 30-7 margin in the final two periods and using a pair of third period goals to prevail 4-2. Facing their first series sweep of the season, the RedHawks rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third on Saturday. Siroky again got the offense started with a power play goal, but the Friars countered 13 seconds later to go up 3-1 in the third. From there, MU got clutch tallies from Christian Mohs (first collegiate goal) and Gordie Green, the latter of whom scored with 41.2 seconds remaining to force overtime. Ryan Larkin finished with 31 saves, including four overtime stops as the Red & White salvaged a 3-3 tie out of the weekend.

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 396-295-76 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 WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos are an unbeaten 7-0-1 in their last eight games since a 4-2 setback to Omaha on Nov. 10 dropped them to 4-6. WMU's surge includes a series sweep at North Dakota and a 1-0-1 home weekend against defending national champion Minnesota Duluth and it is coming off an Ice Vegas Invitational title last weekend, where it topped UConn and Air Force, 5-1 and 4-1, respectively. Western Michigan boasts the nation's sixth-ranked scoring offense (3.72 goals per game) and has seven players with at least 11 points, led by Josh Passolt's 19 (11g, 8a). Hugh McGing also has 10 goals while blue liners Cam Lee (15 points) and Corey Schueneman (11 points) also length WMU's attack. Senior goaltender Trevor Gorsuch has taken hold of Western Michigan's starting job and he holds a 1.95 goals against average (10th in NCAA) and .932 save percentage (fifth).

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: The remainder of Miami's schedule will certainly show whether the team can break its three-year absence from the NCAA Tournament as 12 of its last 16 games come against schools that are ranked in the top 13 of the PairWise. MU has only played five games against that field in their first 20 games, going 0-2-3 against No. 8 Providence (0-2-1) and No. 2 St. Cloud State (0-0-2). MU's remaining slate includes four games each against No. 13 Western Michigan and No. 6 Minnesota Duluth and two more at No. 2 St. Cloud State and No. 3 Denver. MU is 8-32-8 against PairWise top-13 schools since 2015-16 after going 9-9 against them in their last NCAA appearance in 2014-15.

SHUTTING THEM DOWN: One area of improvement through the first two months for Miami has been its defense. The RedHawks' 2.30 goals against per game is 16th nationally, a marked improvement from its No. 54 national ranking (3.46 goals against per game) a year ago.

SHOTS GETTING FIRED: More rubber has been getting to the Miami net since the first month of the calendar switched to November, although Ryan Larkin and Jordan Uhelski have proven equal to the task of being the last line of defense. MU has been outshot in 10 of its last 11 games, giving up at least 30 shots on goal 10 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 it's hit nine wins the last few seasons, something that has continued since the RedHawks moved to 9-5 with a Nov. 17 win at Colorado College.

	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	0-2-4	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 46 points this season (10g, 36a). That group is led by Derek Daschke's 14 points (3g, 11a) and Grant Hutton's 13 (4g, 9a).

FRESH FACES LEADING THE WAY: With eight freshmen on the 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 44 points (9g, 35a), which is tied for the ninth most nationally. Derek Daschke paces the newcomers with 14 points along with a robust +11 rating.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 85 of the RedHawks' 93 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 26 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 2,200 career saves rank fifth in school history, 44 shy of Steve McKichan for fourth. This season, .931 save percentage ranks sixth among all NCAA goaltenders while his 2.10 goals against average sits 17th. He has also earned NCHC Goaltender of the Week twice in the season's first four weeks and was named NCHC Player and Goaltender of the Month as well as National Goaltender of the Month in October. He is also tied for fifth in the country with three shutouts.

CATCHING FIRE: 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 17 of his team-best 19 points in the last 14 contests. He became the 52nd player in school history to reach 100 career points on Jan. 5 and enters the week riding a career-best seven-game point streak. His next point will tie him with Pat Leahy and Mitch Ganzak for 50th in program history with 101 career points.

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 76 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 65 points on 29 goals and 36 assists and his 16 points (7g, 9a) this year rank second on 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 13 points on four goals and nine 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 seven goals, including three game-winners, this season and leads the team lead with 76 shots on goal.

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 in four years with the Big Green. Uhelski holds a 2.21 goals against average and .915 save percentage in five games and Rymsha has six points (3g, 3a) and a +2 rating in 19 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.