Games 12-13
Friday, Nov. 22 • 8:07 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23 • 8:07 p.m.
Baxter Arena (7,500) • Omaha, Neb.

Miami RedHawks (3-6-2, 1-3-0-0 NCHC) at No. 18/RV Omaha Mavericks (6-3-1, 1-1-0-0 NCHC)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv
Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/1450 AM-WMOH (Greg Waddell-pbp)

MATCHUP
The RedHawks resume NCHC play on the road when they head to Omaha for two games.
THE SERIES: These teams split both of their series with each other last season and Miami is 22-19-6 all-time against Omaha.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling has combined for 28 points through 11 games. Green himself leads the team with 12 points (4g, 8a) while Gilling (1g, 7a) and Bachman (5g, 3a) have eight apiece.

• Senior goaltender Ryan Larkin has started 107 of Miami's 122 games since his freshman season in 2016-17. He is 56 saves away from moving into second on the school's career list and needs 175 to become the all-time record holder in that category.

• Senior forward Gordie Green has begun the season with 12 points in 11 games and he's nine points away from becoming the 53rd player in program history to post 100 career points.

• After going scoreless the first two games, Derek Daschke leads the defense core with nine points on three goals and six assists.

• Miami has scored 24 goals the past nine games and had 13 different goal scorers in that span.

• The RedHawks have allowed six goals in 18 power plays (66.7 percent kill rate) in four NCHC games.

LAST WEEKEND
Miami split a pair of tight contests against two-time defending national champion and sixth-ranked Minnesota Duluth at home. The RedHawks skated into the third period with a 1-0 lead on Friday night and Derek Daschke snapped a 1-1 tie with 3:58 remaining to make Ryan Larkin's 35-save performance a winner in the series opener. Monte Graham chipped in a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win but assisting on the winner and icing the contest with an empty netter. The RedHawks fell behind early in Saturday's finale, but a Chase Pletzke power play goal beat the first period horn and left it 1-1 after 20 minutes. UMD struck twice on the power play to go up 3-1 in the second, but Rourke Russell netted a power play tally to make it 3-2 after two periods. Despite a third period power play and sustained zone time at 6-on-5, MU was unable to find a tying goal in a 3-2 setback.

COACH BERGERON
Chris Bergeron (Miami '93) returns to his alma mater for his first season as head coach. Before returning to Oxford, Bergeron went 171-154-44 in nine seasons as Bowling Green's head coach, leading the Falcons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990 in his final season in 2018-19. BGSU posted 20 or more victories in Bergeron's final five seasons at the helm. Prior to going to Bowling Green, Bergeron spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Miami and helped the Red & White go an astounding 226-139-37 during his tenure. The RedHawks qualified for six NCAA Tournaments and reached the Frozen Four in Bergeron's last two seasons as an assistant, including a national runner-up finish in 2009. As a player, Bergeron spent two years as team captain and helped Miami capture its first CCHA title in 1992-93, posting 61 of his 120 career points that season.

ABOUT OMAHA: The Mavericks split their first NCHC series of the year at Western Michigan last weekend and sport a 6-3-1 overall record. UNO's offense has hummed along, averaging 3.70 goals per game (eighth nationally) as junior Kevin Conley paces a balanced attack with 11 points on five goals and six assists. Ten Maverick skaters have notched at least six points on the season and five have lit the lamp at least four times in their first 10 games. Omaha's power play has contributed 13 goals and a 26.5 percent conversion rate and freshman goaltender Isaiah Saville has started nine times and holds a 2.44 goals against average along with a .908 save percentage.

TIGHTENING UP: Miami is showing signs of progress since a tough opening to NCHC play. Following its 7-1 loss at North Dakota on Nov. 8, the RedHawks have been tight in the third period in their last three outings. Miami won a 3-1 decision against two-time defending national champion Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 15 by scoring twice in the final 3:58. Even though it dropped its other two games around that victory, both tilts against top-10 opponents North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth were one-goal games where Miami had a chance to tie down the stretch.

STOP DIGGING: If Miami's results are to improve, one thing that has to get better is its starts to contests. MU has trailed by three or more goals in five of its first nine outings and been down two goals on three more occasions. The RedHawks have managed to battle back in some of those contests, clawing back from 3-0 down to tie New Hampshire on Oct. 12 and erasing a 3-1 deficit to tie Colgate on Oct. 25. Miami has only been ahead by multiple goals in three games and won each time.

GROWING UP FAST: Miami's freshman class has been getting seasoned in the early going. All five of the team's freshman skaters have seen the ice for at least six games with two of them playing in all 11 contests. That group broke out in a tie with New Hampshire on Oct. 12, combining for six points on three goals and three assists. Overall this season, MU's freshmen have totaled 16 points on eight goals and eight assists as all five have recorded at least one point thus far. Jack Clement and John Sladic leads all newcomers with five points apiece on identical 2-3-5 lines.

TOPPING OUT: Miami's experienced trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling have been carrying the mail for the RedHawks through the first 11 games. After an eight-point opening night, the trio of Gordie Green (4g, 8a), Karch Bachman (5g, 3a) and Casey Gilling (1g, 7a) have totaled 28 points. All three of them notched a multi-point game on opening night against Bowling Green, paced by Green's four, and the trio has five of the team's 13 multi-point games this season.

BALANCING IT OUT: Head coach Chris Bergeron mentioned needing to do some scoring by committee this season and that has been bearing out of late. The RedHawks have netted 24 goals in the past nine games and 13 different players have found the net in that span. Overall, 14 players have scored goals for the Red & White, led by Karch Bachman's five.

QUITE A DEBUT: Sophomore defenseman Derek Daschke enjoyed quite the debut season on the RedHawks' blue line. His 22 points (6g, 16a) led all Miami defensemen while ranking third on the team overall. Daschke was the first MU freshman blue liner to record at least 20 points in a season since 2012-13 season and his point total was the highest for a Miami freshman defenseman since Chris Wideman had 26 in 2008-09. After going scoreless in the first two games, Daschke has three goals and six assists in his past nine outings to lead the defense with nine points this year.

MAKING SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL: Special teams have been a sore spot for Miami this season with both the power play (38th) and penalty kill (53rd) ranking in the bottom half of the country. MU's power play showed signs of life last weekend, going 3-for-7 against Minnesota Duluth with a 2-for-3 outing on Saturday marking the first time MU has netted multiple power play goals in a game. While the penalty kill had shown life entering NCHC play by killing off 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) power plays over in the four games prior to league action, it has allowed six power play goals in 18 chances (66.7 percent kill rate) in the first four games of NCHC play.

GOING GREEN: Senior forward Gordie Green is once again back in the mix to help anchor Miami's attack. The RedHawks' leading goal scorer the past two seasons opened the year with a bang, scoring twice and notching four points on opening night against Bowling Green. Green also added a three-assist game on Oct. 25 at Colgate, his seventh career game of three or more points. In his last 105 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 86 points on 37 goals and 49 assists. He needs nine points to become the 53rd member of Miami's 100-point club.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Senior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 107 of the RedHawks' 122 games since his 2016-17 freshman campaign. The Clarkston, Mich., native debuted with a strong .910 save percentage as a freshman and despite seeing a lot of pucks come his way a year ago, recorded a respectable .907 save percentage in 2018-19. In his career, Larkin has 36 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 2,733 career saves rank third in school history. He needs 175 more saves this season to catch David Burleigh's school record of 2,975 saves.

SHAKING SOPHOMORE SLUMPS: If Miami is to put more pucks in the net this year, two players who could go a long way towards helping that are junior forwards Casey Gilling and Phil Knies. As freshmen, the duo helped lengthen MU's attack by combining for 37 points on 20 goals and 17 assists. Gilling contributed nine goals and 19 points while Knies chipped in 11 goals and 18 points in 2017-18. However, both had tougher sledding in their second go round through college as Gilling's production dropped to 12 points (4g, 8a) while Knies dipped to nine (6g, 3a). So far this season Gilling has eight points (1g, 7a) in 11 games while Knies has five (2g, 3a).

CAUSING HAVOC: Entering his senior season, Karch Bachman has never lacked for generating scoring opportunities in his career. The Florida Panthers' draft choice netted a career-best 10 goals in 2018-19 and his ability to create shots makes further strides in the goal column possible. Bachman led the RedHawks with 120 shots on goal last season after putting 97 shots on net in 2017-18 and he finished third on the team in shots on goal as a freshmen with 72 in 2016-17. This year, Bachman leads the Red & White with 51 shots and he has eight points on five goals and three assists.

COMING THIS WINTER: While it will take time to pay off, Miami is looking towards sophomore forward Matt Barry for some additional offense this season. As a mid-year transfer during the 2018-19 season, Barry has to wait until the first semester ends to be eligible to play. Barry spent the first half of 2018-19 with Holy Cross and tied for the team lead with 11 points at the time of his departure. In his final USHL season in 2017-18, Barry notched 54 points in 57 games to help Youngstown reach the Clark Cup finals and he put up 59 points in 59 NAHL games with Bismarck the year before.