>Click to view the CCHA tournament bracket:

One game on the docket today would decide two second round playoff series’ as the first round of the CCHA playoffs came to a close. In Sunday’s only match up, Western Michigan defeated Lake Superior 3-1 to win the series against the Lakers and move into a second round matchup with the University of Michigan next weekend. With the Broncos win, Nebraska-Omaha also found out what awaits them in just six days-a trip to South Bend to take on the number one seed Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

As you can see on the bracket above, Ohio State travels to Alaska and Northern Michigan will make their second trip into Oxford this season, to once again battle the RedHawks.

Here now, this blogger’s official predictions for next weekend’s action. Don’t play these odds in Vegas, please:

(8) Nebraska-Omaha at (1) Notre Dame: UNO showed some fire against a bad Ferris State team, but the Irish sweep the best of three series.

(5) Ohio State at (4) Alaska: OSU will be without Ian Boots this weekend, due to his involvement in a second period fight against Bowling Green on Saturday night. This was his second game disqualification of the year. Zach Pelletier will also be out Friday night for his involvement in the BGSU tussle (automatic one game suspension). I take the Nanooks to sweep on their home ice.

(6) Northern Michigan at (3) Miami: The RedHawks will have to be ready as the Wildcats beat Miami and tied during their weekend series just a few weeks ago. I think it will take Miami three games to punch their ticket to the Joe. Northern takes the Friday night game, but Miami wins the series.

(7) Western Michigan at (2) Michigan: Michigan in the post-season? Thanks for playing, Western. U of M with the sweep.

>Click to view the CCHA Tournament Bracket

Saturday Night Scores:

Final at Columbus, Ohio
(12) Bowling Green 1
(5) Ohio State 7

Ohio State wins the series 2-0, will face Alaska next weekend.

Final at Marquette, Michigan:
(11) Michigan State 2
(6) Northern Michigan 8

Northern Michigan wins the series 2-0, will face Miami next weekend.

Final at Omaha, Nebraska:
(9) Ferris State 2
(8) Nebraska-Omaha 5

Nebraska-Omaha wins the series 2-0, will face either Notre Dame or Michigan next weekend.

Final in 2OT at Kalamazoo, Michigan:
(10) Lake Superior 3
(7) Western Michigan 4

Series tied at 1 game each. Teams will play Sunday to decide a winner. If Western wins, the Broncos will travel to Ann Arbor to face the University of Michigan. If Lake Superior wins the series, the Lakers will lay Notre Dame and Nebraska-Omaha will face Michigan next weekend in Ann Arbor.

>Click to View the CCHA Tournament Bracket

Friday Night Scores:

Final at Columbus, Ohio
(12) Bowling Green 4
(5) Ohio State 5

Ohio State leads the series 1-0

Final at Marquette, Michigan:
(11) Michigan State 3
(6) Northern Michigan 5

Northern Michigan leads the series 1-0

Final at Omaha, Nebraska:
(9) Ferris State 0
(8) Nebraska-Omaha 3

Nebraska-Omaha leads the series 1-0

Final at Kalamazoo, Michigan:
(10) Lake Superior State 6
(7) Western Michigan 3

Lake Superior leads the series 1-0

>My apologies for the pathetic maintenance of this site over the past few weeks. For those that have sent me e-mails, thanks for the kick in the pants. Onto news everyone knows by now…

– The RedHawks finished the CCHA regular season in third place. Not too shabby for a “rebuilding” year, but well below where this team could have finished. Miami saw a rough second half of the season. The silver lining here…Miami gets a first round bye in the CCHA tournament. As the RedHawks await their second round opponent, one has to ponder if this team still gets into the NCAA Frozen Four tourny, without winning the Mason Cup later this month. I say yes, but some have speculated that Miami will be the best team left OUT of this year’s field. Miami’s current PWI is at 11, but only time will tell. Expect a Miami/Northern Michigan matchup in round two of the CCHA tournament. College Hockey News has a CCHA bracket here.

Here are the other first round matchups:

Bye: Notre Dame
Bye: Michigan
Bye: Miami
Bye: Alaska (standout year for the Nanooks)

#12 Bowling Green at #5 Ohio State
#11 Michigan State at #6 Northern Michigan
#10 Lake Superior at # 7 Western Michigan
#9 Ferris State at #8 Nebraska-Omaha

– Miami finishes the regular season ranked 8th in the latest USCHO poll.

– With two goals in Saturday’s 7-5 Miami win over Ohio State, senior forward Justin Mercier becomes the 43rd player to join Miami’s 100-point club, however, Mercier also has a title that is all his own. The Erie, Pennsylvania native is the only player in school history with 100 career points and career wins. Certainly a big accomplishment.

– And some sad news to pass along, to those that haven’t heard. Notre Dame play-by-play announcer Mike Lockert passed away in his sleep early Friday morning. As a veteran of radio and sports announcing, Lockert also served as the media relations director for the South Bend River Hawks, the Arizona Diamondbacks Single-A affiliate. What’s even more remarkable, is that Mike was born in of all places, Los Angeles, California. Who knew he’d wind up as the Voice of the Fighting Irish for the past seven seasons? Mike Lockert was 43.

>– The number 8 ranked Miami Icers can kick back and relax this weekend, as they are one of two CCHA teams idle this weekend (Alaska being the other). The ‘Hawks will get back at it next weekend, with a long trip to Sault Ste. Marie, to take on Lake Superior.

– Hockey’s Future checks in with more NCAA prospect updates. Here is what HF says about Colorado Avalanche prospect Justin Mercier:

With an impressive breakout campaign last season, Mercier has continued where he left off.

Though Mercier’s goal totals seemed to have taken a dip from his impressive 25 a year ago, he’s already matched his assist totals with 15. He continues to be a top point producer for Miami. Five of his eight goals have come on the power play, and he’s notched one game winner. He’s also a +5 this season.

The hard-working, feisty, two-way player is continuing to play a strong overall game in his final year at Miami. And though he may never develop into a top-six forward, the tools are there to become a legit NHL player after some AHL seasoning.

And San Jose Sharks draft pick, Tommy Wingels:

The hard-nosed center is ranked sixth on his team in scoring with seven goals and nine assists in 28 contests. Wingels does not shy away from action and leads his RedHawks with 52 penalty minutes and is also tied for first in game-winning goals (2) and shorthanded goals (1).

Wingels has the potential to develop into a powerful two-way force and Sharks fans will certainly watch his development with interest.

– For those who didn’t hear, the University of Alabama-Huntsville has formally applied for admission into the CCHA. This week, USCHO columnist Paula Weston offers her thoughts on the Chargers possible addition to the league.

We hear, “Alabama,” and we think, “South.” Well, yeah, but northern Alabama isn’t as far south as you may think it is — unless you’re thinking with an entirely Michigan perspective.

Huntsville is 442 miles south of Oxford, Ohio — a trip of 90 more miles than it takes for the RedHawks to get to Big Rapids, and 200 miles closer to Oxford than is Marquette, Mich.

To put it further in perspective, Bowling Green is 585 miles from Huntsville — and 526 miles from Marquette.

And with teams in Alaska and Nebraska, the distance shouldn’t be an argument. Simply put, we’re the closest place for UAH to land.

You can read the rest of Paula’s column here and for more on the possible realignment, click here.

>Friday Night
TV: ONN, NHL Network (7:35pm)
Radio: MURedHawks.com

Saturday Night
TV: ONN (7:05pm)
Radio: MURedHawks.com and WMOH-AM 1450

“CHECKING BOWLING GREEN”

The Falcons enter the weekend with 13 points in the CCHA standings and in 11th place in the league. Bowling Green holds an overall record of 9-14-3 and conference mark of 6-11-1-0. The Falcons, Ferris State and Michigan are the only schools in the conference yet to record a CCHA shootout win. The road has been rough for Bowling Green as it holds a record of 2-6-1 in road games this season but both of its wins have come in conference. The Falcons have won two of their last four games including a shutout win over No. 8 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dan Sexton leads the Falcons in goals, assists and points (12-18-30). Sexton is fourth in CCHA trailing Aaron Palushaj, Louie Caporusso of Michigan and conference scoring leader Carter Camper. The Falcons enter the weekend eighth in the CCHA in team offense and 12th in team defense, having allowed a conference high 86 goals this season. Bowling Green is coming a off a weekend split with Lake Superior in Bowling Green with the Falcons taking game one 4-3 and the Lakers grabbing game two by a 8-4 score.

Miami holds an all-time record of 34-58-7 with the RedHawks trailing in games held in Oxford by a mark of 22-24-2. The Red and White have controlled the series lately winning 10 of the last 11 games and the previous three consecutively. Miami has not lost to bowling at home in the regular season since Feb. 12, 2000.

THE REDHAWK RUNDOWN

– The RedHawk icers will wear stickers on their helmets starting this weekend to commemorate Miami’s 200th anniversary.

– Miami’s senior class needs two more wins to surpass last season senior as the class with the most wins in school history. The 2007-08 senior class posted 98 wins in their four seasons in the Red and White.

– The match up this weekend between the Falcons and the RedHawks will feature three of the Top 5 scorers in the CCHA. Pat Cannone ranks fifth in the league with 28 points (11-17-28). Dan Sexton of Bowling Green is fourth in the conference with 30 points (12-18-30) and Miami sophomore Carter Camper leads the conference in scoring with 32 points (16-16-32).

– Justin Mercier is only three points away from becoming the 42nd member of Miami’s100-point club. Mercier has 46 career goals and 41 assists. In 11 career games against BGSU, Mercier has four points (3-1-4) and a +3 mark.

– In Mercier’s career, Miami holds a record of 57-9-5 when the Erie, Pa. native records a point and a 38-3-1 mark when he scores a goal.

– Carter Camper leads the CCHA in points with 30 (16-16-32) his point total ranks him tied for sixth nationally.

– Pat Cannone leads the RedHawks in game tying goals with four. No other RedHawk has more than one.

– Connor Knapp ranks 10th in the nation in goals-against average. Knapp has one shutout this season and has posted 20 saves in eight of 14 starts including a team high 33 saves against Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 23.

– In Miami’s second game against Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 24, the RedHawks and the Mavericks skated in front of 10,111 fans which is the most highly attended RedHawk regular season game since Nov. 30, 2001 when 14,747 came to Columbus to Miami take on Ohio State.

– In his first 78 games with the Red and White, Gary Steffes scored 11 goals in his last 26 he has found the net eight times.

– Camper, Steffes, Mercier and Tommy Wingels all have at least four second period goals this season. Camper leads the team in second frame scores with six.

Elsewhere…

– Paula C. Weston over at USCHO is back with her latest column and weekend predictions. Here’s what Paula’s ever so popular crystal ball says this week:

Both of these in-state rivals took points last week, with the Falcons giving up 11 goals in a weekend home split against Lake Superior, and the RedHawks earning three points in Omaha with a 2-2 tie and a 6-1 win. BG is one of six teams fighting for home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs; just two points separate 11th-place Bowling Green from eighth-place Lake and Northern. The RedHawks are four points behind first-place Notre Dame but the Irish have two games in hand on Miami. The RedHawks haven’t lost to the Falcons in Oxford during the regular season since Feb. 12, 2000, and the ‘Hawks have taken 10 of their last 11 contests against the Falcons. Miami 4-2, 4-1

– For those of you that saw the U of M/MSU “incident” last weekend, both Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp are both off of the Michigan State hockey team. Conboy dropped out of school all together and Tropp is playing the rest of this season for Sioux Falls of the USHL.

GO REDHAWKS!

>The latest USCHO Division I Rankings have been released, and Miami still finds itself at number 10 after a 1-0-1 weekend against Nebraska-Omaha. Here’s the poll:

1. Notre Dame
2. Boston College
3. Northeastern
4. Cornell
5. Minnesota
6. Vermont
7. Denver
8. Michigan
9. Princeton
10. Miami
11. Boston College
12. North Dakota
13. New Hampshire
14. Ohio State
15. Wisconsin
16. Minnesota-Duluth
17. Colorado College
18. Yale
19. Air Force
20. Dartmouth