Games 29-30
Friday, Feb. 14 • 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 15 • 7:05 p.m.
Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena (3,019) • Oxford, Ohio

Miami RedHawks (6-16-4, 3-11-2-1 NCHC) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (14-10-4, 8-6-2-2 NCHC)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv
Radio: 1450 AM-WMOH/101.3 FM-WFMG (Greg Waddell-pbp; Drew Davis-analyst)

MATCHUP
Following a bye week, Miami returns to the ice to host Western Michigan for a weekend series, which is part of a home heavy One Miami Weekend (detailed below)
THE SERIES: Western Michigan won all four meetings against Miami last season to trim MU's all-time series lead to 68-67-11. 

ONE MIAMI WEEKEND
To help show their gratitude and deep appreciation for the commitment, dedication and exceptional service of Miami University's faculty and staff, and to bring together all campuses to celebrate being "One Miami," President Greg and Dr. Renate Crawford invite the Miami community to the fourth annual One Miami Weekend presented by Mercy Health February 14-15, 2020. Faculty and staff will receive free admission and free parking to the Miami basketball doubleheader on February 15 and also free admission to one of the February 14-15 Miami hockey games. The community will receive free admission to both basketball games.

Faculty and staff may request complimentary tickets for their immediate family for basketball. One ticket gains entrance to BOTH basketball games. Starting at noon and again between games, there will be a Carnival on the Concourse with inflatables, games and activities for our younger fans.

Faculty and staff may choose to attend one of the hockey games, whichever night fits best into your schedule. A maximum of two (2) complimentary tickets will be provided to faculty and staff for them and their families. Additional tickets may be purchased at the group rate of $20 per ticket. All available reserved seats will be filled before standing room only tickets are distributed and will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling has combined for 74 points. Green himself leads the team with 27 points (t-14th nationally) while Bachman (8g, 17a) has 25 and Gilling (7g, 15a) 22. That trio has just one point in its last four games.

• Miami has been tied or ahead in the third period in 12 of its last 17 games, going 4-6-2 in those instances.

• Gordie Green leads the RedHawks with 27 points this season and is the NCHC's active career leader with 106 points.

• Miami defensemen are tied for seventh in the country with 17 goals this season, eight of which have come from Derek Daschke (t-fourth).

• Karch Bachman has posted at least one point in 11 of his last 15 games and his 25 points this season are a new career best.

• During its five-game losing streak, Miami has been outscored 10-0 in the third period after entering the frame tied or ahead three times.

• Three of Miami's five freshman skaters have scored double digit points and the RedHawks' freshmen have netted 21 goals (t-16th nationally) and 45 points.

LAST TIME OUT
Two weeks ago, Miami suffered a road sweep to St. Cloud State that appears to have relegated to battling for the final two seeds of next month's NCHC Tournament. The Jan. 31 series opener saw MU grab a pair of second period leads as Alec Capstick opened the scoring early in the second period. Following a goal by SCSU, Matt Barry struck shortly thereafter with his second Miami goal to make it 2-1 midway through the second before the Huskies tied it up two minutes before the second period horn. The Huskies netted a pair of third period tallies to pull out the victory and then finished off the sweep by outshooting the Red & White 38-18 in the series finale to nab a 3-0 win. That marked the first time this season Miami has been shut out and spoiled a strong 35-save performance by Ben Kraws between the pipes.

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 WESTERN MICHIGAN: After starting the second half with a 0-2-2 record that dropped them to 7-9-4 on the season (3-5-1-2 NCHC), the Broncos have heated up to the tune of a 7-1 record in their past eight games. During that stretch, WMU has outscored its foes 44-20 and risen to 18th in the PairWise and a tie for third in the NCHC standings. While Western Michigan does not have a single 10 goal scorer, it does feature a balanced attack that has nine players with 16 or more points and three players with nine goals this season. Hugh McGing paces the offense with 27 points (7g, 20a) while Dawson DiPietro, Wade Allison and Rhett Kingston have nine goals apiece. Seven of Allison's nine goals and 13 of his 17 points have come in Western's last eight outings. WMU plays a fairly wide open game and does allow 2.93 goals per game (38th nationally) and Brandon Bussi has started 27 of 28 games in goal with a 2.74 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

IN IT, CAN THEY WIN IT: While the record doesn't necessarily reflect the progress, Miami has put itself in position to record more wins of late. Over the past 17 games, the RedHawks have found themselves either tied or ahead at some point in the third period 12 times, but are just 4-6-2 in those instances. MU has also been getting off to better starts since the second half started, scoring first in six of nine games and going ahead by at least a 2-0 score five times despite holding a 2-6-1 record since play resumed on Dec. 30.

GROWING UP FAST: Miami's freshman class has developed quickly. All five of the team's freshman skaters have seen the ice for at least 20 games. That group broke out in a tie with New Hampshire on Oct. 12, combining for six points on three goals and three assists. In a Nov. 23 win at Omaha, the newcomers combined for five points on two goals and three assists while freshman Ben Kraws stopped 32 of 33 saves in a 4-1 victory. MU's freshmen have scored 21 goals this season (t-16th nationally) and totaled 45 points. Forwards Chase Pletzke (5g, 7a), John Sladic (6g, 5a) and Ryan Savage (5g, 6a) have all scored at least 11 points while defenseman Jack Clement (4g, 4a) has eight. 

RESURGENT OFFENSE: Since winning the 2015 Frozen Faceoff and earning a No. 1 seed to the ensuing NCAA Tournament on the strength of the nation's 11th-best offense, goals have been hard to come by for Miami. That has changed in a big way through the first 24 games as MU is looking for its first season in the top half national finish in scoring since 2014-15.

Year	G/Gm (Rank)
2014-15	3.25 (11th)
2015-16	2.39 (t-43rd)
2016-17	2.53 (45th)
2017-18	2.78 (32nd)
2018-19	2.29 (52nd)
2019-20	​​2.81 (29th)

GETTING THE PUCK: An area that is still a work in progress for Miami is its puck management. The RedHawks have been outshot in 19 of their last 20 contests and have only outshot their opponents four times all season. After firing at least 30 shots on goal in four-straight games from Dec. 7-Jan. 11, Miami has been limited to just 121 shots in the past six games (20.2 per game).

TOPPING OUT: Miami's experienced trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling have been carrying the mail for the RedHawks all season. After an eight-point opening night, the trio of Gordie Green (10g, 17a), Karch Bachman (8g, 17a) and Casey Gilling (7g, 15a) have totaled 74 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 15 of the team's 36 multi-point games this year.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP: 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. Daschke has eight goals and 11 assists in his past 24 outings and his 19 points this year lead the Miami defense. His eight goals are tied for the fourth most among all NCAA defensemen.

HE'S SEEN A LOT: Senior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been kept busy over his time in Oxford. Larkin's started 114 of the RedHawks' 137 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 42 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). On Jan. 24, he broke David Burleigh's school record of 2,975 career saves and now has 3,028 in his Miami career.

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, and posted his eighth career game of three or more points when he put up a goal and two assists at Bowling Green on Dec. 30, becoming the 53rd member of Miami's 100-point club in the process. His 106 career points (t-47th in MU history) lead all active NCHC players.
Miami Rank Player (Career Points)
40. Pete Shipman/RobVanderydt (112)
42. John Malloy (111)
43. Brian Savage (109)
44. Craig Fisher (108)
45. Blake Coleman/Josh Melnick (107)
47. Randy Robitaille/Greg Dornbach/Gordie Green (106)

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 107 shots on goal (sixth nationally) and he has a career-best 25 points on eight goals and 17 assists.

MID YEAR BOOST: With the first semester complete, Miami enters the second half able to enjoy the services of sophomore forward Matt Barry. As a mid-year transfer during the 2018-19 season, Barry had to wait until the first semester ended to be eligible to play. He 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. Since debuting on Dec. 30, Barry has posted six points (2g, 4a) in nine games with two multi-point outings.