SEASON STATS

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan welcomes the No. 1 team in the nation to Lawson Ice Arena of Friday and Saturday night. Both games  are slated for 7:35 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come early on Saturday due to a sold-out event at Miller Auditorium at 8 p.m.

LAST WEEK
Western Michigan lost a pair of 4-2 contests at Ohio State. On Friday, the Broncos carried a 1-0 lead in to the third period but a spurt of three goals in 49 seconds by Ohio State changed the course of the game and Western Michigan was unable to recover. Jared Katz scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season and Luke Witkowski tallied his first career goal in the loss.

On Saturday Ohio State scored two goals in the first period before Greg Squires tallied his first of the season right before intermission. In the third period OSU’s Zac Daple scored his second goal of the game to give OSU a 3-1 lead. Patrick Nagorsen cut the lead to one, 3-2, before Ohio State added an empty net  goal to seal the sweep.

SERIES HISTORY - Western Michigan 50-48-8
This weekend will be the 107th and 108th meeting between the Broncos and the Redhawks. WMU holds the all-time edge 50-48-8 with a 27-21-5 record at Lawson Ice Arena. Western Michigan is 0-4-0 in its last four games with the Redhawks and were swept at home last season.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
From the beginning of the season, Miami (8-1-3, 5-1-2-0 CCHA) has been the top-ranked team in the nation in both the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. Miami returned the majority of a team that lost to Boston University in the 2009 National Championship game.

The Redhawk offense is scoring an average of 3.08 goals per game, enough to rank second in the CCHA, but the goal scoring is truly done by the team. Of the 15 players that have scored a goal for Miami, 11 of them have scored more than one, eight have scored three or more. Jarod Palmer leads the team with five goals and his 12 points are second on the team behind Andy Miele. Miele has three goals and leads the CCHA with 10 assists to lead Miami with 13 points.

Miami’s defense has only surrendered more than one goal once in its last five games, allowing two in against Ferris State on Friday night. Sophomore netminder Cody Reichard has had the most opportunities between the pipes for Miami, starting in nine games on the season. Reichard has yet to lose, boasting a 7-0-2 record with a 1.61 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.

Max Campbell leads all scorers against the Redhawks with two goals in four games. P.J. Kavaya has two assists in his two career games, but no other player has more than one point.

WMU vs. GOLIATH
Under head coach Jim Culhane the Broncos have defeated nationally ranked opponents 36 times. Miami has fallen victim to WMU three times, the last coming Jan. 13, 2007. The Redhawks were then the No. 6 team in the nation and fell to the Broncos 5-3. The last time WMU defeated the No. 1 team in the country was Feb. 16, 2001, in a 4-2 win at home against Michigan State.
 
SIZE MATTERS NOT
In his second season after transfering from a now defunct Wayne State program, senior centerman Jared Katz is leading the Broncos in goal-scoring with five tallies on the season. In 31 games last year, Katz only netted two goals and notched nine assists for 11 points. In just nine games so far this season he has seven points on five goals and two assists. Listed at 5-foot-7, Katz is one of six players at 5-foot-7 or shorter in the CCHA.

TWO BIRDS, ONE GOAL
Freshman defenseman Luke Witkowski killed two birds with one stone, or in this case a goal, in Friday’s loss to Ohio State. In the third period with a five-on-three advantage, the Holland, Mich., native tallied his first career goal and the first goal by a Bronco defenseman this season. WMU was the only team in the CCHA without a tally from the blue line until last night. While the Bronco blue line has only netted one goal, it has combined for 13 assists on the season.