WHO: No. 1 Miami RedHawks (8-1-3) at Western Michigan (5-4-1).
WHERE: Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, Mich.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, 7:35 p.m.
TV: None.
MIAMI RADIO COVERAGE: WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
NOTES: Anytime someone says "Western Michigan", my thoughts immediately return to old Goggin Arena and the best ending I've ever seen to a hockey game live.
Miami was on its way to an NCAA Tournament bid with a 16-4-4 record, and the Broncos stumbled into Oxford with five wins in their first 23 games.
The RedHawks won on Friday, 6-1 but Western Michigan had a late 3-2 lead on Saturday. The Broncos were whistled for a penalty with 1:04 left, giving Miami a power play for the remainder of regulation.
The RedHawks set up in the Western Michigan zone, and WMU's Chris Frank decided he was going to repeatedly cross-check whatever Miami player was camped in front of his net (was it Marty Guerin? - I think so but wouldn't swear to that).
After Frank hit the Miami player for the third or fourth time as hard as he could, the referee staring right at him finally blew the whistle with 54 seconds remaining. Miami pulled goalie Jeff Zatkoff, setting up a 6-on-3.
Defenseman Mitch Ganzak fired a slapshot at goaltender Daniel Bellissimo, who couldn't hold onto it, and Nathan Davis poked home the loose puck to tie the score with 22 seconds remaining.
Still on the power play, Miami brought the puck up the ice, Ganzak crossed the blueline and dropped a pass to fellow defenseman Andy Greene. As soon as Ganzak passed, three Broncos skated toward Greene, leaving only in front of the WMU net.
Greene got a pass through, back to Ganzak in the faceoff circle. Ganzak found a wide-open Marty Guerin in front of the net, and fed him perfectly for a one-timer.
Guerin's shot hit the back of the net with two seconds remaining, and broadcaster Dave Allen's call was "pandemonium like I've never seen it before in four years at Goggin Arena."
That remains the greatest ending I've ever seen to a hockey game live (Miami's collapse in the last minute of the NCAA finals is second).
Back to the present, Western Michigan has a winning record, but six of its games have been against Division III Mercyhurst, Alabama-Huntsville and Lake Superior State. The two decent teams the Broncos have played are Ohio State and Michigan State, and they're 0-4 against them.
With five division points (and by the way, since this is my blog, I'm not doing the 16-column conference record. It's silly, confusing and not relevant to anything but CCHA standings, and those won't matter until March), Western Michigan is tied with Lake Superior State for last in the CCHA.
Last weekend, the Broncos dropped a pair of 4-2 decisions at Ohio State. WMU has been better at home, going 3-1-1 at Lawson Arena.
Two young forwards are leading WMU in scoring - sophomore Greg Squires leads the team with 10 points and nine assists, and freshman Trevor Elias has three goals and five helpers.
Senior right wing Jarod Katz has notched a team-best five goals (5-2-7), and sophomore J.J. Crew is second with four (4-2-6).
Junior center Max Campbell - a fifth-round New York Rangers draft pick in 2007 - also has six points.
But Western Michigan has not gotten scoring from its defensemen. The Broncos have used the same six blueliners for all 10 games, and they have generated one goal and 14 assists.
Tampa Bay Lightning draftee freshman Luke Witkowski has the lone defenseman tally, and the 2008 sixth-round pick also has three assists.
Senior Tyler Ludwig leads WMU blueliners with five points - all on assists.
Senior Riley Gill has started eight of 10 games in net, posting a respectable 2.40 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
Junior Jerry Kuhn has actually been better in relief, posting a 1.93 GAA and stopping 94.4 percent of the shots he has faced, but his games were against Alabama-Huntsville and Lake Superior State.
Gill will likely start both games vs. Miami.
The RedHawks are 48-50-8 all-time against Western Michigan, although Miami has won four straight.
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