Preview: Miami hockey faces Robert Morris in home-and-home series

The last time the Miami University hockey team stepped onto their home ice was against the No.9 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. 

On Feb. 21, the RedHawks fell 4-1, closing out a sweep for the visitors following Friday’s 5-2 defeat. After that, they jetted off to Omaha, Nebraska, to play the University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks in a two-game series, which they split. 

Then, the RedHawks fell to the eventual national champion, the University of Denver Pioneers, in the first round of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) postseason, concluding their year.

Now, the RedHawks return to the ice at Goggin Ice Center for their home-opening game against the Robert Morris University Colonials, part of a home-and-home series between the two programs.

This schedule may seem familiar, because it is.

The Colonials and RedHawks have played a Thursday-Saturday home-and-home series once before under Miami Head Coach Anthony Noreen. The games came in his first year at the helm, with Robert Morris taking both games decisively by scores of 5-1 and 4-1, respectively.

The Colonials have won the last five meetings against Miami, leading the overall series 5-4. 

However, both programs look different than they did the last time they met. 

“They obviously took it to us,” Noreen said. “Specifically here in that game on Thursday night in front of our home fans and a full building. You keep that in the back of your mind when that happens. We went into their rink and weren’t able to get a win, and credit (to) them. Since then, I think you’re always trying to grow, always trying to learn.

“Our culture is in a much different, a much better place. I think we’ve got a group sitting in that room that’s trying to take advantage of every opportunity and excited to be a part of this. I think we’re excited to put ourselves in that same kind of situation, and we like to feel that we’re better prepared for it. That doesn’t mean it changes the result or a score, but there’s certainly a different level of swagger and confidence in (our) room.”

The Colonials are coming off a bye week as well, but their first series of the 2026-27 college hockey season was against the No.6 University of Wisconsin Badgers. And while they lost both games, neither was a blowout. In the Oct. 2 affair, RMU lost 4-2 and followed that up the next night with a 1-0 loss. 

Sophomore goaltender Charlie Schenkel finished the series with 2.52 goals against average and a .938 save percentage, matching the RedHawks up against an elite goaltender for the second series in a row.

The RedHawks are coming off an opening weekend split against the Northern Michigan University Wildcats. In the first contest, Miami couldn’t put up a goal, but it also didn’t give up a goal at even strength. Instead, the RedHawks allowed a shorthanded goal and two straight power-play goals. 

In the second contest on Saturday, the RedHawks also didn’t score a 5-on-5 goal, but the result was far more favorable for the visitors. The first career collegiate goals for sophomore Michigan State University transfer forward Austin Baker and freshman forward Matouš Kucharcík, along with tallies from senior forward Matteo Giampa and sophomore forward Bradley Walker, aided Miami to the win.

“Going into Northern last weekend, obviously, we took our foot off the gas a little bit (in the) first game,” sophomore defenseman Michael Phelan said. “I think that’s good for this group to face some adversity. And then going into Saturday we were really good, I thought. But we’re not satisfied with anything. There’s a lot to learn from the weekend and a lot to build off of coming into this weekend.”

Starting a season with three of the first four games on the road may seem like a challenge for the Miami hockey team, but it provides an opportunity for players to become acclimated to one another. The plane ride to Marquette, Michigan, and bus ride to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, on Friday gives time for plenty of different team activities. 

“I think any time you get out on the road, especially early in the season, it’s good for the group,” Noreen said. “You get some different guys rooming with each other, sitting with each other at meals, playing in some different arenas. Obviously, there’s not a lot of teams geographically that are close enough for us to do these type of situations with, and Robert Morris is one of them. 

“We had an opportunity to do it a few years ago with them, and aside from the result we thought everything was what we wanted out of it. Both teams get a home game, it evens out your non-conference play and we think one game on Thursday night and that day in between isn’t the worst thing either.”

One of the concerns following Miami into the bye week was injuries. Sophomore forward David Deputy, freshman defenseman and second round selection of the Montreal Canadiens, Timofei Runtso and junior defenseman defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich all missed the first series against Northern Michigan due to injury.

However, the week off has allowed players to rest and recover a little more than a regular week might, giving way for some new entries into the lineup. Specifically, sophomore forward David Deputy, the RedHawks leading goal-scorer last season, could be back in the lineup for this weekend’s series. 

During his bye week press conference, Noreen said that the return for a couple of players was getting closer than they thought a couple of weeks prior. 

“I think that (bye) week was really good,” Noreen said. “The exciting thing for us is we’re excited to see those guys in practice. There was a long period of time where there were some guys we just didn’t see on the ice with our group. So we’re starting to see that, build stuff around them line-wise, power-play wise, things like that. We’ve got a couple of guys who are still going to be unavailable this weekend. We may have a couple that are available now for this weekend.”

Regardless of who is in the lineup on Thursday and Saturday night, the RedHawks will be playing in front of home fans for the first time this year. With the program’s best season since 2014-15 under its belt, there’s an air of expectation and excitement around Goggin Ice Center. 

With memorable games from last season – defeating St. Cloud State University 6-5 in overtime at home, winning the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, beating No. 4 Western Michigan University in overtime at home – engrained in the minds of Miami hockey fans, the home opening game at Steve “Coach” Cady Arena will be special and give the RedHawks a chance to prove themselves once again. 

But Noreen says it’s important to stay grounded and play goal-based hockey.

“I’m a believer that nerves are a good thing,” Noreen said. “It means you care. You’re invested in it. Now you’ve got to manage and handle them the right way. I think, specifically, what we liked about our growth from last Friday to Saturday was we had a high energy level and we played with passion, but we didn’t let that leak into emotion. Friday night, specifically some of the penalties we took, some of our physicality was more emotion-based as opposed to accomplish-the-mission-based. 

“Home openers, you only get so many of them. They’re always special. You always remember them. Last year, this arena, playing at “Coach” Cady Arena, playing at the Goggin Ice Center, we feel like there were a lot of nights where we had the best home ice advantage in college hockey. Our guys fed off it. We felt like our student body and supporters fed off our guys, and it made for a lot of special memories. I think our guys remember that, and there’s going to be a high level of pride in that.”

The RedHawks will take the ice at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 15, at Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio. Miami then travels to play at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.