Games 29-30
Friday, Feb. 8 • 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 9 • 7:05 p.m.
Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena (3,019) • Oxford, Ohio

Miami RedHawks (9-15-4, 3-11-2-1 NCHC) vs. Omaha Mavericks (8-16-2, 4-11-1-1 NCHC)
TV/Stream: CBS Sports Net (Friday; DirecTV Ch. 221/DISH Ch. 158), NCHC.tv
John Sadak-pbp; Pat Micheletti-analyst
Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/Tune In Radio (Greg Waddell-pbp; Drew Davis-analyst)

MATCHUP
Miami returns home for its lone series in Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena this month when it takes on Omaha.
THE SERIES: Miami split a November series at Omaha right at the start of NCHC play. MU is 21-18-6 all-time against UNO, though Omaha has an 11-4-3 lead since the formation of the NCHC in 2013-14.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's freshman class has combined for 56 points (14g, 42a), 13th most in the country.

• Gordie Green has notched 69 points (32g, 37a) in his last 84 games dating back to midway through his 2016-17 freshman campaign.

• Senior forward Josh Melnick is tied for 50th in program history with 101 career points as he looks to start a new point streak after having his career-best eight-game point streak snapped on Saturday.

• All 28 of senior blue liner Grant Hutton's career goals have come since his sophomore year and his goal total is the third most all-time among Miami defensemen.

• Miami has allowed 30 or more shots on goal in 17 of its last 19 games, something that only happened twice in its first nine games.

• The RedHawks have allowed the first goal in 12-straight games and held the lead just twice in that span.

• Miami has been tied or within a goal at some point in the third period in 10 of 14 games during its current winless streak.

LAST WEEKEND
The RedHawks' losing streak reached eight games as they suffered their fourth-straight conference series sweep, this by identical 5-1 scores at No. 1 St. Cloud State. A power play goal by Grant Hutton early in the second period tied the score at 1-1 in Friday's opener, but SCSU struck on the power play 53 seconds later to regain the lead and scored three more times in the third to pull away. Saturday saw St. Cloud State net the first five goals of the contest to take a 5-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. Gordie Green eventually ended the shutout bid with 7:33 left in the third to cap the scoring.

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 396-303-76 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 OMAHA: The Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak by topping Western Michigan by a 6-3 count on Saturday. UNO currently sits seventh in the NCHC with 14 points and own a record of 8-16-2 (4-11-1-1 NCHC). Omaha only has one road win, which came on Nov. 10 as it holds a 1-10-1 record away from Baxter Arena. The Mavs get the bulk of their offense on the power play, netting 29 of their 73 goals with the man advantage thanks to their eighth-ranked power play (24.6 percent). Individually, Fredrik Olofsson's 30 points (10g, 20a) paces the team while Mason Morelli (17-12-29), Zach Jordan (7-16-23) and Taylor Ward (7-15-22) all have at least 22 points. Defensively, Omaha allows the fourth most goals per game (3.81) and Evan Weninger holds a 3.58 goals against average and .900 save percentage in 25 starts.

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 84 games dating back to December of 2016, Green has 69 points on 32 goals and 37 assists and his 20 points (10g, 10a) this year are tied for the team lead.

THERE WHEN YOU NEED HIM: Graduate transfer goaltender Jordan Uhelski has provided depth in net of late. After starting just two of the RedHawks' first 15 games, Uhelski has appeared in nine of MU's past 12 games (six starts). He has been particularly sharp in his past seven appearances (four starts), making 30 or more saves three times and posting a .913 save percentage.

WELCOME RETURN: Senior forward Josh Melnick returned to the lineup on Feb. 1 after missing six games due to injury. He made his presence felt immediately by assisting on MU's lone tally at St. Cloud State to extend his career-best point streak to eight games at the time. His return was a sorely needed boost to the lineup given how MU performed without him.

	With Melnick	Without Melnick
Record	9-9-4	0-6
G/Gm	2.5	1.3
GA/Gm	2.5	3.8
SOG/Gm	28.6	30.2
SOGA/Gm	24.2	34.2
PP%	18.3% (17/93)	5.3% (1/19)

PLAYING CATCHUP: Miami has found itself chasing the game during its 14-game winless streak (0-10-4). MU has trailed at some point in all 14 of those contests and surrendered the first goal 13 times, including 12-straight outings. The Red & White have led for just 37:53 out of a possible 740 minutes of hockey in this stretch.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: As usual, the meat of the NCHC schedule has done no favors to Miami as it has played 10 of its last 12 games against teams in the top 20 of the Pair Wise. That doesn't figure to change as six of the last eight games come against schools that are ranked in the top 10 of the PairWise. MU is 0-6-2 against teams in the PairWise top 10 this year (1-7-3 vs. the top 20). Miami's remaining slate has two road games each at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth and No. 7 Denver along with a home set against No. 10 Western Michigan. 

SHOTS GETTING FIRED: More rubber has been getting to the Miami net since the first month of the calendar switched to November. MU has been outshot in 17 of its last 19 games, giving up at least 30 shots on goal 17 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	0-10-4	N/A

OFFENSIVE BLUE LINE: Miami's defense has impacted the scoresheet this season with the group posting 53 points this season (14g, 39a). That group is led by Derek Daschke's 17 points (5g, 12a) and Grant Hutton's 16 (6g, 10a).

FRESH FACES LEADING THE WAY: With eight freshmen on the roster, the opportunity 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 56 points (14g, 42a), which is the 13th most nationally. Derek Daschke paces the newcomers with 17 points.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Junior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 89 of the RedHawks' 100 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 28 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 2,287 career saves rank fourth in school history.

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 28 of Hutton's goals have come since his sophomore season and his career total is third all-time among Miami blue liners. Hutton has 16 points on six goals and 10 assists this season.

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 and his 97 shots led all Miami forwards in 2017-18. Bachman has seven goals, including three game-winners, this season and leads the team lead with 99 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 2.66 goals against average and .909 save percentage in 11 games and Rymsha has six points (3g, 3a) in 27 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.