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Ten things to know about Miami University ahead of this weekend's series against UND

UND players try to clear out screens in front of goalie Adam Scheel. Photo by Ricardo Trevino/Miami athletics.
UND players try to clear out screens in front of goalie Adam Scheel. Photo by Ricardo Trevino/Miami athletics.

UND will end its five-game homestand this weekend with a two-game series against Miami University.

It could be a notable one.

If UND wins Friday night's series opener (7:37 p.m.), it will match the program's second-longest winning streak ever in Ralph Engelstad Arena , which opened in 2001.

Here are 10 things to know about Miami before this weekend's series:

1. Green is NCHC's active career leading scorer, goal-scorer

No player in the NCHC has more career collegiate points than Miami senior forward Gordie Green, who has 88 entering this weekend's series. That's one point ahead of Western Michigan senior forward Hugh McGing, a St. Louis Blues draft pick.

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Green also is the NCHC's leading career goal-scorer with 38, which is two ahead of Western Michigan's Wade Allison (36), a Philadelphia Flyers draft pick.

Most NCHC career points

88 - Gordie Green, Miami, senior, forward

87 - Hugh McGing, Western Michigan, senior, forward

83 - Jack Ahcan, St. Cloud State, senior, defenseman

78 - Liam Finlay, Denver, senior, forward

75 - Wade Allison, Western Michigan, senior forward

73 - Nick Halloran, Colorado College, senior forward

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2. Miami's first trip to REA in two years

Miami is making its first trip to Ralph Engelstad Arena in quite a while.

The RedHawks did not travel to Grand Forks last season, so this will be their first series in the city since Nov. 10-11, 2017. In that series, UND won the series opener 4-1 and tied 3-3 on Saturday.

Nine players on the current Miami roster played in that series -- Green, Karch Bachman, Casey Gilling, Ben Lown, Phil Knies, Rourke Russell, Chaz Switzer, Alex Mahalak and Ryan Larkin.

3. Miami's lone draft pick likes to shoot

One player who won't be shy about getting the puck to the net this weekend is Bachman.

The senior forward -- and the lone NHL draft pick on Miami's roster (2015 fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers) -- ranks second in the NCHC in shots on goal with 29. Western Michigan's Josh Passolt leads the league with 32 shots on goal.

This is no surprise.

As a freshman, Bachman ranked third on the team with 72 shots, despite only scoring twice. As a sophomore, he launched more shots on goal than any forward (97) on the team. Last season, he led all RedHawk players by a wide margin with 120 shots on goal. Nobody else on the roster had more than 92.

4. Explosive speed up front

One reason why Bachman gets a lot of shots on goal is because he has explosive speed and can easily gain separation.

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Bachman may be the fastest player in the NCHC, and UND saw that speed firsthand a year ago in Oxford, when he used it to get to a loose puck, blow past the UND defense and score the eventual game-winning goal on a breakaway in a 3-2 Miami victory.

Bachman isn't the only player who is known for blazing speed on his line. Green also is an elite skater.

5. Miami will be a different team in January

The RedHawks will look slightly different when these teams meet Jan. 17-18 in Oxford, Ohio.

For that series, they will have Holy Cross transfer Matt Barry, expected to be a key figure. Barry was dominant in the USHL, leading the Youngstown Phantoms to the Clark Cup Final, before going to Holy Cross.

He opted to transfer after just one semester there. Barry will become eligible at Miami for the second semester.

6. New coach for this trip to GF

This will mark the first time Miami has ever played in Grand Forks without Enrico Blasi behind the bench.

The RedHawks made their first trip to North Dakota in November 2009 for the Subway Holiday Classic. They have subsequently made five trips to the Grand Cities -- all with Blasi as the head coach.

Blasi was let go in the offseason and replaced by Chris Bergeron, who was previously at Bowling Green.

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7. Bergeron vs. UND once again

Although Bergeron has been coaching in college hockey since 2000, he has only been on the opposite bench from North Dakota for two games in 19 seasons.

The first was the 2005-06 season opener in the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, for the Lefty McFadden Invitational. Bergeron was an assistant at Miami at the time.

UND won that game 3-0 thanks to a 37-save shutout from goalie Jordan Parise. You may recognize the guys who scored goals for UND that night: Jonathan Toews in the first period, T.J. Oshie in the second period and Drew Stafford in the third. It was the first college game (and goals) for Toews and Oshie.

Bergeron was also an assistant during the 2009 matchup in Grand Forks, which ended in a 5-5 tie. Reilly Smith, now a star for the Vegas Golden Knights, had two goals and an assist for Miami in that game. He scored the game-tying goal with just 2:41 left in the third period.

Bergeron left Miami for Bowling Green in 2010. UND hasn't played against Bowling Green since Jan. 3, 1993.

8. Bergeron vs. Berry

That doesn't mean that the coaches aren't familiar with each other.

Bergeron and UND head coach Brad Berry were former minor-league hockey rivals.

At the tail end of Berry's playing career, and the start of Bergeron's, they both played in the International Hockey League. Berry played in Kalamazoo. Bergeron played in Cincinnati. Those teams were in the same four-team division, so they saw a lot of each other.

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9. Larkin's heavy workload

Miami senior goaltender Ryan Larkin has been the go-to guy since his rookie year.

By the end of this season, Larkin may wind up shouldering a heavier workload than any goalie in Miami's program history.

Larkin has played 103 games, ranking third all-time at Miami. The record-holder is David Burleigh, who played 134 between 1999-03. Second is Mark Michaud, who played 108 between 1988-92.

Larkin is currently third in total saves with 2,697. He needs just 278 to catch Burleigh, the leader, and 159 to catch Michaud, who is second.

10. Son of Miami hockey legend

Miami freshman forward Ryan Savage is the son of former Miami great Brian Savage, who played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.

Brian, who served as an alternate captain for Montreal for two years, played at Miami from 1990-93, tallying 109 points in 106 career games. Brian was an alternate captain at Miami for the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The main captain in those two years? Bergeron.

Brian's other son, Red, is committed to Miami.

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald's circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year once. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.

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