It’s hard to believe this is Miami’s final home series of 2025-26.
This regular season ends earlier than usual, the RedHawks finish their league slate on the road and because they participated in two tournaments, they dressed for just 12 previous games at Cady Arena.
But while Cady Arena has hosted fewer games than normal, this series compensates for that in quality, featuring a pair of ranked teams fighting for home-ice advantage in the conference tournament.
VFG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: No. 9 Minn.-Duluth Bulldogs (18-12, 9-11 NCHC) at No. 20 Miami RedHawks (17-11-2, 8-10-2).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,019), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday–5:30 p.m.; Saturday–6:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Minn.-Duluth leads, 35-7-5.
VIDEO STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
DULUTH RADIO: KDAL-AM (610) and KDAL-FM (103.9), Duluth, Minn.
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights–Miamiredhawks.com. Greg Waddell (PxP) and Drew Davis (color).
NOTES: UMD and Miami have followed similar trails in conference play.
Like Miami, Minn.-Duluth has run the proverbial gauntlet the past few weeks, going just 2-6 since conference play resumed after Christmas break, including series vs. Denver, Western Michigan and North Dakota.
Despite their recent record, the Bulldogs (like the RedHawks) have also played very tight games against their brutal league slate, needing extra time in three of their last five (and losing two of three in overtime).
With just four league games remaining, this is the first time these teams have met this season.
Sophomore brothers Max and Zam Plante, sons of eight-year NHL veteran Derk Plante (also a UMD alum) have terrorized goalies all season, tied for fourth and eighth, respectively, in all of the NCAA in.
Max is the NCHC’s only 20-goal scorer, with 21 assists for a conference-best 41 points. Zam is 14-24-38. They have combined for eight game-winners.
Fellow soph forward Jason Shaugabay leads the team with 27 assists in addition to his nine tallies for 36 points.
Minn.-Duluth is pretty top heavy up front, as Callum Arnott (10-14-24) is the only other forward with more than 13 points.
Ty Hanson has been UMD’s top offensive threats from the blue line, racking up eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points, and Grayden Siepmann is having a solid freshman season with five markers — two on the power play — and seven helpers.
Starting goalie Adam Gajan is in Italy playing for Slovakia in the Olympics, leaving former Miami goalie Ethan Dahlmeir to tend the net for the Bulldogs. In limited action, Dahlmeir has been much improved since transferring to Minn.-Duluth, posting an .897 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average (Gajan is .905 and 2.29).
We mentioned the power play: It’s imperative Miami stays out of the penalty box. UMD is second in Division I only to Michigan in man-advantage proficiency at 30.6 percent. Both Plante brothers have scored eight PPGs.
The RedHawks are 0-6-2 in their last eight meetings with UMD, with their last win coming on Feb. 22, 2023 in Duluth. Miami did earn its lone tie in its winless 2024-25 conference slate vs. the Bulldogs.
Miami, with 25 league points, can clinch a conference tournament berth (which means it can’t finish last in its nine-team league) with a regulation win, which would give MU 28.
Last-place Omaha (18 points) is playing eighth-place Arizona State (19 points) this weekend, and there’s no scenario where both of those teams could reach that total.
The RedHawks are in sixth place, three behind both St. Cloud State and UMD, but the Huskies have just two NCHC games remaining and MU and Duluth play this weekend and next.
So with a strong weekend, Miami could move into fourth place outright and hold home-ice advantage for the first round of the NCHC Tournament, or with an unsuccessful weekend, the RedHawks could drop as far as a tie for seventh.
The RedHawks truly do control their own destiny, and they finish the regular at Omaha, a team they swept handily in Oxford.
MU finished in the cellar outright in the NCHC four straight seasons and tied for last in 2020-21.
It’s been 11 years since Miami has played this meaningful of games this late in the regular season.
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