The Miami University men's ice hockey team split the series with Ohio State University this weekend as each squad skated away with a victory in a home-and-home battle of the bubble teams. OSU sophomore Kyle Reed's hat trick doomed the Red and White Friday night as the Buckeyes earned a 6-2 win-their first triumph in Steve Cady Arena. The RedHawks redeemed themselves Saturday night with a 7-5 victory, and an early 3-0 lead proved instrumental for the brotherhood to survive a three-goal OSU onslaught late in the final frame.

Miami honored its senior class prior to Friday's contest in the final regular season home game. The seniors, Raymond Eichenlaub, Michael Findorff, captain Brian Kaufman, Alexandre Lacombe, Bill Loupee, Justin Mercier and assistant captain Kevin Roeder, became the winningest class in program history Jan. 31 when they clinched their 99th career win against Bowling Green State University.

Unfortunately, the RedHawks were unable to notch a win that night. OSU's Reed doubled his goal production for 2008-09 with three tallies against the Red and White and an assist to boot.

"They outplayed us in every aspect of the game, and they deserved to win," Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. "There's not much to say about that."

Four of Reed's six goals this season have been against Miami. The forward from Calgary, Alberta opened scoring halfway through the first frame when he intercepted a cross-ice pass from Mercier and skated it to the net to angle it in past rookie goaltender Connor Knapp's glove-side.

Reed then expanded the Scarlet and Gray's lead to two with a quick shot over Knapp's left shoulder 5:19 into the second stanza.

Kaufman cut the lead in half at 8:39, outskating a swarm of Buckeye defenders on a stolen breakaway to score his fourth unassisted goal of the year.

Junior Jarod Palmer put Miami back in the game when he scored the equalizer less than five minutes later off a faceoff won by sophomore Pat Cannone on the power play.

The RedHawks' rally effort was short lived however, as OSU sophomore Sergio Somma scored his 10th of the season just 16 seconds later to regain the lead for the Buckeyes.

"That was obviously a big moment for them to come back right away and score, get the lead right away," Blasi said. "Took our crowd right out of it again.

The Scarlet and Gray went on to score three more goals, including an empty netter with under three minutes left in the third, to earn their first road win against Miami since March 4, 2004. Prior to Friday's contest, Knapp had only allowed eight goals in his last seven starts.

"We got our backs against the wall and played a very good team in a hostile environment, and I'm very proud of the way the kids played," OSU head coach John Markell said.

Both teams had a lot on the line going into Saturday night's game-Miami needed to earn at least a split on the weekend in order to maintain a solid stake in the NCAA tournament, while the Buckeyes knew they would have to walk away with at least three points in order to secure a first round bye and avoid a trip to Alaska for the second round of the CCHA tournament. In the end, the RedHawks prevailed in front of a crowd of 9,012 at Value City Arena with 12 different RedHawks registering points on the evening. Kaufman, Mercier and freshman Alden Hirschfeld all scored twice during the contest.

OSU sophomore Peter Boyd was whistled for boarding 4:13 into the first, giving the brotherhood's No. 15 power play unit a man-advantage on sophomore net minder Dustin Carlson. It wasn't long before Kaufman seized the golden opportunity and gave Miami the early lead. The senior from Shoreview, Minn. picked up the puck where sophomore Tommy Wingels had left it for him at the top of the crease and put it away just past Carlson's right side-the RedHawks first shot-on-goal of the night.

Mercier then increased the lead with a shot from right point to make it 2-0 for the Red and White. Findorff and sophomore Andy Miele were credited with the helpers.

Kaufman's third goal of the weekend came at 2:41 of the second stanza, putting the brotherhood up 3-0 until OSU's Boyd picked up a backwards pass from Reed and put it over Knapp's right shoulder.

Hirschfeld widened the gap again at 10:40 of the middle frame with his second tally of the season, making it 4-1 for the RedHawks.

All bets were off in the third period, however, as the Buckeyes fought for their lives and both teams combined for a total of seven goals.

Boyd beat Knapp on a breakaway less than two minutes into the third frame, but Hirschfeld answered again off a rebound from a Brandon Smith shot at 4:43. Miele then broke away on the power play at 9:07 to give Miami a 6-2 lead.

The Buckeyes would not go without a fight, and sophomore Hunter Bishop found the net at 11:41 to cut the score in half. Markell pulled Carlson with 5:09 remaining in the contest in favor of an extra attacker, and senior Corey Elkins scored twice in 24 seconds to pull the Buckeyes within one with 1:15 left to play.

"The team never gave up," Boyd said. "We could have given up, but the last five or six minutes we put the pressure on them. We didn't do that for 60 minutes though and if we did, it'd be interesting to see how we could be."

Miami persevered, and it was Mercier who put the game away with an empty net goal at 19:00 of the final frame. Fittingly, the last regular season goal scored by the RedHawks was Mercier's 100th career point, making him the first player in Miami history to have 100 points and 100 wins.

"We did a better job of protecting the puck tonight," Blasi said. "At the end, Ohio State started throwing everything at us, and I give them credit for that, but we were able to hold on for the win."

With the weekend's results, Ohio State finished fifth in the CCHA with a conference record of 13-11-4-3 and an overall record of 20-12-4.

Miami finished the regular season tied for second with the University of Michigan, holding a conference ledger of 17-7-4-2 and with a mark of 19-10-5 overall. Since the Wolverines had more conference wins, they earned the second tournament seed, while Miami is seeded third for CCHA post-season play. The RedHawks will have next weekend to recuperate and prepare for their second round home ice match-up March 13 to 15 against the winner of Northern Michigan University vs. Michigan State University.