After opening the season with six straight wins against non-conference opponents, Miami begins its gauntlet NCHC schedule this weekend.
The RedHawks ride a 40-game, 657-day league winless streak into conference play vs. Arizona State on Friday.
The Sun Devils blew out MU last season, outscoring them 12-2 in a two-game set in Oxford.
VFG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: Arizona State Sun Devils (2-4) at Miami RedHawks (6-0).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday–7:05 p.m.; Saturday–6:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Arizona State leads, 2-1-1.
VIDEO STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights–Miamiredhawks.com. Greg Waddell (PxP) and Drew Davis (color).
NOTES: Miami has averaged 4.80 goals this season, tops in the NCHC, and Arizona State has allowed eight more markers than any league team, so chances are good the RedHawks will be able to hold their own offensively this weekend.
The Sun Devils are allowing 38.7 shots on goal per game, the third-worst clip in Division I only to Mercyhurst and Northern Michigan.
ASU’s goaltending has been solid — senior Bentley transfer Connor Halsley has a .913 save percentage, and back-up Samuel Urban’s save percentage is .912 despite a GAA of 3.43.
Arizona State’s defense corps has yet to find the net, combining for just 13 assists.
Anthony Dowd leads ASU blueliners in points with four assists, and Sam Court, Joel Kjellberg and Justin Kipkie have all chipped in with three helpers.
Up front, Carolina draftee Cruz Lucius has been the most lethal Sun Devil sniper, having scored six of ASU’s 19 goals, including four of the team’s seven on the power play.
Bennett Schimek is tied with Lucius for the team’s points lead at seven, and juniors Logan Morell, Sean McGurn and Kyle Smolen are all tied for third with four apiece.
Arizona State dominated the RedHawks in the teams’ first meeting as league foes last season, outscoring MU, 12-2, but the Sun Devils have won just two games in 2025-26 and were swept by Augustana last weekend.
Miami hosted ASU in 2023-24 when the team was still independent (but ranked in the top 20), and the RedHawks went 1-0-1 on the weekend.
Other notes:
— Officially, Miami has not won a team against an NCHC opponent since Jan. 13, 2024, a span of 657 days. The RedHawks are 0-38-2 (.025) since.
— ASU is one of 12 teams in Division I with an average height under six feet.
— The Sun Devils have been excellent in the faceoff circle, winning 56.1 percent of their draws, the seventh-best rate in college hockey.
— Arizona State has allowed the second-most shorthanded goals in college hockey (3).
— Miami’s is 5-7 all-time on Halloween, and seven of those 12 games were decided by one goal.
The RedHawks have not won on Halloween at Cady Arena. Their only Halloween game in Oxford since the New Goggin was built was in 2008, and the Nanooks won, 2-1.
— Still no update on Miami G Shika Gadzhiev, who remains in limbo pending the NCAA eligibility police that have allowed AHL and ECHL players to dress for Division I teams.
#FreeShika
— So…barring any late change, Matteo Drobac is considered the favorite to start both nights.
He is 6-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .913 save percentage.
— It’s unclear if David Deputy will return this weekend. The freshman forward was injured on a hit along the benches opening night.
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