Miami snapped a 13-game winless streak against Western Michigan last week, and now it has a chance to halt an 0-9-2 skid vs. Colorado College.
The RedHawks were swept at home by the Tigers in November and were outscored, 9-2 in Oxford.
MU is 0-2 in the brand-new Ed Robson Arena, having dropped a pair in its inaugural home series in Colorado College’s on site rink last season, with both games being decided in overtime.
VFTG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: Miami RedHawks (7-11-2, 1-8-1 NCHC) at Colorado College Tigers (11-8-1, 5-5).
WHERE: Ed Robson Arena (3,400), Colorado Springs, Colo.
WHEN: Friday — 9:05 p.m.; Saturday — 6:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Colorado College leads, 19-11-4.
TV: Friday — CBS Sports Network (DirecTV Ch. 221).
MIAMI RADIO: Friday — WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.; Saturday — WMOH-AM (1450), Hamilton, Ohio.
COLORADO COLLEGE RADIO: Both nights — KRDO-AM (1240), FM (95.5) and FM (105.5), Colorado Springs, Colo.
STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
NOTES: Here are Kris Mayotte’s winning percentages his first 2 1/2 seasons as head coach at Colorado College: .292, .382, .575.
The Tigers are clearly on the upswing and are currently fifth in the NCHC in points (13) despite have played a brutal road-heavy schedule early this season. They have an excellent chance of earning home-ice for the first round of the conference tournament.
Peter Mannino, a former Miami assistant who was let go after just one season along with Enrico Blasi’s entire coaching staff in 2019, is CC’s associate head coach.
Balanced scoring up front has been a major reason for Colorado College’s strong start, as six forwards have at least 10 points through 20 games and 10 forwards have notched at least five points.
Noah Laba leads the team in goals (9) (including both of CC’s shorthanded tallies) and points (16), and Logan Will and Gleb Veremyev have 15 points apiece.
Ryan Beck leads the team with 11 assists and has 14 points overall, and Stanley Cooley (3-8-11) and Bret Link (3-7-10) have also been significant offensive threats for the Tigers.
Four of those six top scorers are freshmen or sophomores.
On defense, Nicklas Andrews leads the team in points (3-5-8), and he has been a solid two way blueliner for four seasons.
Freshman Max Burkholder has transitioned well to the college game, netting three goals and earning four assists.
Jack Millar and Chase Foley also have seven points apiece from the blue line.
Kaiden Mbereko has logged all but 19 of the Tigers’ total minutes in net this season, and he has a 2.78 goals-against average and a save percentage of .908.
There’s no reason to believe he won’t start both nights this weekend.
Colorado College is .500 in the league but despite playing its home games at altitude — Robson is over 6,600 feet above sea level — the Tigers are 0-3 at Robson Arena in conference play.
For Miami, defenseman Michael Feenstra (upper body) and goalie Logan Neaton (lower body) are out indefinitely.
Friday’s game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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