Games 33-34
Friday, March 6 • 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 • 7:05 p.m.
Lawson Ice Arena (3,667) • Kalamazoo, Mich.

Miami RedHawks (8-19-5, 5-14-3-2 NCHC) at Western Michigan Broncos (16-13-5, 10-9-3-2 NCHC)
TV/Stream: NCHC.tv
Radio: 1450 AM-WMOH (Greg Waddell-pbp)

MATCHUP
Miami closes out its regular season with a trip to Western Michigan.
THE SERIES: The RedHawks posted a tie and a loss in their home series against the Broncos a few weeks ago and the all-time series is tied 68-68-12.

PUCK POINTS
• Miami's trio of Gordie Green, Karch Bachman and Casey Gilling has combined for 91 points. Green himself leads the team with 34 points (12g, 22a) while Bachman (9g, 20a) has 29 and Gilling (9g, 19a) 28.

• Miami has been tied or ahead in the third period in 15 of its last 23 games, going 6-6-3 in those instances.

• Gordie Green leads the RedHawks with 34 points this season and leads all active NCHC players with 113 career points (40th in school history).

• Miami defensemen are tied for seventh in the country with 20 goals this season, nine of which have come from Derek Daschke (t-fifth).

• The RedHawks are looking for their first three-game winning streak since Oct. 20-Nov. 2, 2018 on Friday night.

• Ryan Larkin's back-to-back shutouts give him eight in his career (sixth most in program history).

• Miami outshot Omaha in both games last weekend, only the sixth and seventh times it has outshot its opponents this season (3-1-3 in those instances).

LAST TIME OUT
Miami rebounded from a tough weekend in Denver to post a memorable senior weekend against Omaha. After getting outscored 14-3 two weeks ago, the RedHawks posted a pair of shutouts against the Mavericks for their first series sweep of the season and their first against an NCHC team since Jan. 6-7, 2017. On Friday, Miami outshot Omaha 35-19 and got goals from Karch Bachman, Ryan Savage and Gordie Green to prevail by a 3-0 count. Saturday MU outshot UNO 19-5 in the first period, but a scoreless game persisted until Grant Frederic found the net in the second. A power play goal by Savage extended the lead to 2-0 before Casey Gilling upped the gap to 3-0. Green capped the scoring at 4-0 and Ryan Larkin made 29 saves for his second-straight shutouts, the first time MU has posted a shutout series since Feb. 26-27, 2016 when Jay Williams blanked Colorado College twice on his senior weekend.

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: The Broncos suffered a series sweep at North Dakota last weekend and are still battling for home ice in next week's NCHC Playoffs. WMU currently holds the fourth and final home ice spot with 35 points, two ahead of St. Cloud State. Western Michigan boasts the nation's ninth-best scoring offense (3.29 goals per game), though it has only scored three times in its past three games (all losses). Hugh McGing paces WMU with 30 points while Dawson DiPietro (25), Austin Rueschhoff (22) and Paul Washe (20) all have at least 20 points. In net, Brandon Bussi has started 32 of 34 games and holds a 2.62 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

PLAYOFF POSITIONING: With one week left in the regular season, seeding for next week's NCHC Playoffs are beginning to take shape. Miami is currently seeded seventh with 20 points and if the standings do not change this weekend, it would play a best-of-three series against Minnesota Duluth. There exists the possiblity of moving up in the standings, however, as MU is only four points behind Omaha for sixth place and holds the tiebreaker due to its 3-0-1 record against UNO this year. Moving to sixth would likely involve a trip to Denver. Miami split its lone series with Minnesota Duluth and went 0-4 against Denver this year.

CLOSING IT STRONG: Miami's senior class had a memorable Senior Weekend in last week's sweep of Omaha. The RedHawks outscored the Mavericks 7-0 in their first NCHC series sweep since Jan. 6-7, 2017 against St. Cloud State. It also marked the first time Miami has posted a shutout in both games of any series since blanking Colorado College over a Senior Weekend sweep Feb. 26-27, 2016.

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 23 games, the RedHawks have found themselves either tied or ahead at some point in the third period 15 times, but are just 6-6-3 in those instances.

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 23 goals this season and totaled 50 points. Forwards Ryan Savage (7g, 7a) Chase Pletzke (6g, 7a) and John Sladic (6g, 6a) have all scored at least 12 points while defenseman Jack Clement (4g, 4a) has eight.

GETTING THE PUCK: Part of Miami's first weekend series sweep since the 2016-17 season came on the strength of its puck management as it outshot Omaha 75-48 on the weekend. MU outshot UNO in both games of the series, something it has only done seven times all season (3-1-3 when it happens). Prior to last weekend, the RedHawks had been outshot in 22 of 24 contests.

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 (12g, 22a), Karch Bachman (9g, 20a) and Casey Gilling (9g, 19a) have totaled 91 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 21 of the team's 44 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 28 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 118 of the RedHawks' 142 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 3,150 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 113 career points (40th in MU history) leads all active NCHC players.

Miami Rank Player (Career Points)	Player (Career Points)
35.	Tim Leahy (118)
36.	Bobby Marshall/Marty Guerin (115)
38.	Andy Cozzi/Andy Greene (114)
40.	Gordie Green (113)

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 124 shots on goal (12th nationally) and he has a career-best 29 points on nine goals and 20 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 10 points (3g, 7a) in 15 games with three multi-point outings.