Hockey swept at home by North Dakota

Miami University hockey’s struggles continued this weekend as the team got swept at Steve “Coach” Cady Arena by National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) opponent North Dakota.

North Dakota (12-11-4, 6-8-2 NCHC) beat the RedHawks (7-17-2, 2-13-1 NCHC) 4-1 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday. The losses extended Miami’s losing streak to seven games. In six games since the new year, Miami has been outscored 32-2.

So far in Head Coach Chris Bergeron’s four seasons at the helm of Miami hockey, the RedHawks haven’t been up to the unenviable task of getting themselves out of the basement of the NCHC, which is colloquially referred to as “Hockey’s SEC.”

Earlier this season, it seemed like this 2022-2023 team might be different, after a road win over No. 16 Massachusetts-Lowell and a resounding road sweep over Canisius College. But once the NCHC schedule started, the RedHawk success stopped.

Miami’s roster is bursting with talent. Bergeron’s most recent recruiting class was his best on paper by far. With more experience, hopefully the team will become more consistent. This is the same team that beat No. 4 St. Cloud 5-0 in early December. They beat North Dakota at the famed Ralph Engelstad Arena earlier this year too. We know they have what it takes to compete, as deep down as it may be.

All eight teams in the NCHC make the postseason tournament, so if these RedHawks figure it out at the right time, there’s no ceiling to where they can go.

They hit the ice again this weekend for a series at St Cloud. Game one is on Friday at 7:05 p.m., and puck drops on game two at 5:05 p.m. on Saturday.

@jackschmelznger

schmelj2@miamioh.edu