#9 Miami (11-2) vs. #11 Louisville (10-7)

The match-up of the weekend in the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL) is the Battle of the Red Birds. The Miami Redhawks host the Louisville Cardinals Friday night, and the Cards return the favor on Saturday as the series shifts south of the border. 

Miami had another Final Four appearance last year and now is in their first season as a member of the TSCHL. Louisville is back-to-back-to-back TSCHL Champions, however the Cards are winless (0-6) all-time versus the Redhawks. Miami’s schedule hasn't been that difficult so far, and their only losses are to #6 Cincinnati, who the Cards managed to split with. Their schedule, however, will be tough as Miami will play Toledo and Grand Valley State in December. 

Miami's offense is lead by #9 Chad Olson (Medina, MN) 26 pts, #13 Ethan Whitney (Cleveland, OH) 24 pts, and has plenty of depth scoring. Miami is solid in goal with Goalies #30 Ben Camp (Beverly Hills, MI) and #29 Jake Gerdes (Eden Praire, MN) both of whom have GAA below 1.63 and SV % above .923. 

Louisville’s offense is led by #11 Yannis Soukas (Banff, AB) 51 pts and #19 Louie Abounader (Montreal, QC) 41 pts. 

My prediction is that the home team wins both ends of this home-and-home with the Cards pulling out a close one in Louisville Saturday. However, I would not be surprised if Miami won both to continue their winning streak in Battle of the Red Birds.

Other TSCHL Game Predictions:

Akron – The Zips have a home-and-home with winless rival Youngstown State.  Akron should win both games but, with giving up 29 goals last weekend in two games versus Miami, it could be a split with YSU.

Bowling Green – The Falcons host Ohio State Friday at the prime time start of 11:30 pm. I believe they will lose a close game to the Buckeyes.

#6 Cincinnati – The Bearcats are home for the weekend with Dayton Friday night and Pittsburgh Saturday. Cincinnati should take care of business this weekend. They may play one of these games close, but I'd be surprised if they didn't win both games.

Dayton – The Flyers are coming off a huge weekend with two upset wins over Ohio State and Ohio U. They play at Cincinnati Friday, and I see them possibly playing the Bearcats close, but I don't see them winning. They play rival Wright State Saturday, and you never know in rivalry games, but they should win.

#11 Louisville – The Cardinals will split with Miami (see above)

#9 Miami – Predicting a split with U of L, but wouldn't be surprised with the sweep.

#14 Ohio – The Bobcats should handle Xavier easily both games, however they have some odd results this year with beating good teams then losing to lesser teams – even at home. 

#15 Ohio State – Brutus is coming off two close losses to Cincinnati and Dayton. They play at Bowling Green Friday. BGSU is a hard place to play, but I think the Buckeyes will prevail.

Pittsburgh – The Panthers are on the road, playing at Wright State Friday and Cincinnati Saturday. They should have no problem against the Raiders Friday, but will have their hands full against Cincinnati. Pitt played the Bearcats close earlier in the year but I'd be surprised if they won Saturday.

Wright State – Two home games for WSU this weekend as they host Pitt and Dayton.  I don't see them winning either game.

Xavier – Another tough weekend in store for the Musketeers with two probable losses to OU.

Upset Alert:  

Cincinnati – UC should be careful Friday night against Dayton as, in the past two weeks, the Flyers have picked up upset wins over #6 Trine, #14 Ohio and #15 Ohio State.

Dayton – UD needs to be cautious of Wright State since this is a rivalry game and, call me crazy, but the way the conference has been so topsy turvy this year, you never know.  Wright State would need a huge performance from their goalie to make an upset happen.

Ohio State - Playing at Bowling Green State seems to be a place where you have to battle the Falcons and the officials. OSU needs to be cautious.

--- Kyle Hughes

TSCHL Team of the Week: Dayton Flyers

The University of Dayton is 7-5-2 through their first 12, and currently rank #20 in the Southeast ACHA rankings. The Flyers are coming off a positive weekend against the Ohio State University, winning a game and coming away with a tie in the other.  

Dayton has a challenging weekend ahead of them coming up, playing three games in three days, against three different teams. On Friday, they face off with #6 ranked Cincinnati, who is off to their best start in program history.  

The Flyers do not have any significant top scorers in their line-up, but possess a solid distribution of scoring amongst their top point getters. They have six players who have eleven or more points in the fourteen games played, but no player has more than sixteen.  

Next semester provides Dayton with an opportunity to gain momentum to head into the TSCHL Tournament. After facing Miami at the end of January, their schedule lightens up.  This could help them build great confidence heading into the postseason. 

--- Grant Hennessy