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Games 31-32
Friday, Feb. 28 • 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 29 • 7:05 p.m.
Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena (3,019) • Oxford, Ohio

Miami RedHawks (6-19-5, 3-14-3-2 NCHC) vs. Omaha Mavericks (13-14-5, 7-10-3-0 NCHC)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv
Radio: 1490 AM-WKBV/1450 AM-WMOH (Greg Waddell-pbp; Drew Davis-analyst)

MATCHUP
The RedHawks host their final home games of the year this weekend when they take on the Omaha Mavericks.
THE SERIES: Miami came away with a win and a tie in a November road series against Omaha and now leads the all-time series 23-19-7.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling has combined for 78 points. Green himself leads the team with 30 points while Bachman (8g, 17a) has 25 and Gilling (8g, 15a) 23.

• Since going 3-for-5 on the power play against North Dakota on Jan. 18, Miami is just 2-for-20 on the man advantage over the past eight games.

• Miami has been tied or ahead in the third period in 13 of its last 21 games, going 4-6-3 in those instances.

• Gordie Green leads the RedHawks with 30 points this season and is second among active NCHC players 109 career points (t-43rd in school history).

• Miami defensemen are tied for eighth in the country with 19 goals this season, nine of which have come from Derek Daschke (t-fifth).

• The RedHawks have allowed three goals or more in 10 of 11 games during its 11-game winless streak.

• Miami has been outscored 16-3 in the third period during its 11-game winless streak, entering the final frame ahead, tied or within a goal seven times in that stretch.

LAST TIME OUT
The RedHawks dropped a pair of tilts at Denver over the weekend. Casey Gilling put Miami briefly ahead a minute and a half into Friday's opener, but the Pioneers ended the period with four-straight goals to build a 4-1 lead at intermission. Goals by Grant Frederic and Chase Pletzke brought MU within two goals on a couple occasions in the second, but DU scored the next goal both times and maintained a 6-3 lead after two periods before ending up with a 7-3 win. After Miami trailed 1-0 after the first period in Saturday's finale, Denver broke the game open with four goals in the second and ended up skating away with a 7-0 win.

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 are 5-5-2 in their past 12 games and sit at 13-14-5 overall this season (7-10-3-0 NCHC). Omaha boasts one of the nation's better offenses as its 3.25 goals per game are tied for 12th in the country. Taylor Ward leads the attack with 27 points (16g, 11a), one of four Mavericks with 20 or more points and one of three with at least 11 goals. Goal prevention has been a bit of an issue for UNO as it allows 2.94 goals per contest (t-36th nationally). Isaiah Saville has gotten the bulk of the playing time in net and has a 2.83 goals against average with a .905 save percentage.

POWER OUTAGE: One thing that propelled a Miami offense that sat in the national top 20 in the middle of January was a dynamic power play. While the RedHawks still rank 17th nationally with a 21.2 percent conversion rate, that mark has dipped considerably as they have scored on just 2-of-20 man advantages over their past eight games. This came after going 3-for-5 on the power play against North Dakota on Jan. 18.

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 21 games, the RedHawks have found themselves either tied or ahead at some point in the third period 13 times, but are just 4-6-3 in those instances.

SHARP DOWNTURN: Miami's second half of the season started on a couple of strong notes. On Dec. 30, it resumed play with a 4-2 victory at Bowling Green and followed that up with an emphatic 6-1 series opening win at Colorado College on Jan. 10. Things have hit a hiccup from there as MU is a winless 0-9-2 in the 11 games since its breakout performance.

	Through Jan. 10	Since Jan. 10
Record	6-10-3	0-9-2
G/Gm	3.05 (t-18th)	1.91 (55th)
GA/Gm	3.47 (t-52nd)	4.36 (60th)
PP%	20.6% (20th)	22.6% (21st)
PK%	77.8% (t-46th)	65.8% (60th)
SOG/Gm	25.53 (51st)	22.45 (60th)
SOGA/Gm	31.89 (48th)	35.82 (58th)
SOGM/Gm	-6.37 (52nd)	-13.36 (58th)

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 24 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 and totaled 45 points. Forwards Chase Pletzke (6g, 7a), John Sladic (6g, 6a) and Ryan Savage (5g, 7a) have all scored at least 12 points while defenseman Jack Clement (4g, 4a) has eight.

GETTING THE PUCK: An area that is still a work in progress for Miami is its puck management. The RedHawks have been outshot in 22 of their last 24 contests and have only outshot their opponents five 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 171 shots in the past eight games (21.4 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, 20a), Karch Bachman (8g, 17a) and Casey Gilling (8g, 15a) have totaled 78 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 16 of the team's 39 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 nine goals and 12 assists in his past 26 outings and his 21 points this year lead the Miami defense. His nine goals are tied for the fifth 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 116 of the RedHawks' 140 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 43 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 3,102 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 109 career points (t-43rd in MU history) is second among all active NCHC players.

Miami Rank	Player (Career Points)
36.	Bobby Marshall/Marty Guerin (115)
38.	Andy Cozzi/Andy Greene (114)
40.	Pete Shipman/RobVanderydt (112)
42.	John Malloy (111)
43.	Brian Savage/Gordie Green (109)

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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 116 shots on goal (t-13th 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 eight points (3g, 5a) in 13 games with three multi-point outings.