Anthony Noreen learns something new after every Miami University ice hockey game.

And he loves it.

Noreen has Miami hockey winning trophies, knocking off ranked teams, and back in the polls in his second season leading the program. He’s also finding out facts with each accomplishment courtesy of “right-hand man” Tim Cary, Miami’s assistant director of news, data, and information and the communications contact for hockey.

Following each win, Cary feeds a different statistic to Noreen. Take two from St. Cloud State? That’s Miami’s first regular-season sweep there since 1999. Win the Friendship Four? The Belpot Trophy is the RedHawks’ first championship since the Frozen Faceoff in 2015.

Miami’s latest factoids? A 3-2 overtime triumph against defending national champion Western Michigan last weekend was the program’s first victory over a top 10 team since 2024 and the first time since the 2009-2010 season the RedHawks have won five straight regular-season conference games.

The secret to their success is really no secret to Noreen: “The people who are sitting in that locker room,” he said. “When I took the job, the number one thing I said was, ‘We need to get the right people in the right seats.’ We need to set a standard and establish a culture.”

Right now, that standard has Miami at No. 20 in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls. The RedHawks are 17-9-2 overall, already a 14-win swing from a year ago.

They travel to No. 3 North Dakota this weekend, another opportunity for the RedHawks to test their mettle.

“We have a lot of guys who are really great players, but they also have that competitive nature in them,” said Kocha Delic, a first-year forward from Ottawa, Ontario. “It’s kind of us against the world, and we’re just trying to show everybody what we’ve got here.”

What the RedHawks have is a very balanced team with several contributors. There are 11 players who have accounted for double-digit points (Delic and Matteo Giampa lead the way with 20 each).

Ryan Smith is another of those 11 RedHawks. The sophomore forward and transfer from Quinnipiac University has 18 points this season. He’s also one of 20 newcomers to the current roster.

With so many new faces, the team worked hard to get on the same page — and stay there. They went through a program with a Navy SEAL. They spent Super Bowl Sunday together.

“We do the little things to get better every day,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, we’re a team and we build everything else around that.”

David Deputy was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season following his game-winning goal against Western Michigan. Deputy has a team-high 14 goals. Maximilion Helgeson, Vladislav Lukashevich, Casper Nassen, Michael Quinn, Ilia Morozov, Doug Grimes, and Ethan Hay also have double-digit points for the RedHawks. Goaltender Matteo Drobac has three shutouts and a .938 save percentage.

Smith played for Noreen in his previous role with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. Noreen led the Storm from 2017-2024, and he stepped into the role of president of hockey operations for the organization in 2019.

Noreen also has extensive experience with USA Hockey and was an assistant from 2007-2010 at his alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

One of the best pieces of advice Noreen received throughout Miami’s interview process came from Steve Cady, former head coach and namesake for Steve “Coach” Cady Arena in Goggin Ice Center.

Cady, Noreen said, compared the Miami head coach position to being CEO of a company.

“It’s the most accurate thing I’ve been told,” Noreen said. “We want to win. We want to develop these guys. We want to help them achieve their goals, make lifelong friends, hopefully move on to the NHL or maximize what they’re capable of in hockey, and get a great education.”

There are other goals, like re-energizing the fan base — both on campus and throughout the community — and re-engaging with alumni. Playing meaningful games late in the season is on the agenda, too.

The RedHawks are well on their way to meeting those ambitions. Sellout crowds witnessed both of their two-game series with Western Michigan, then ranked No. 4 in the country, with many hockey alumni taking part in the weekend.

“We want to get our alumni to want to come back and want to be a part of this,” Noreen said. “Nights like this past weekend are huge building blocks toward that.”

Added Smith: “The crowd, it gets you into the game. It gives you that little extra motivation, especially maybe when you’re down a goal or you get a big hit and they all cheer. Stuff like that gives you that little extra juice and the push that you need.”

The next opportunity to see the RedHawks at Goggin Ice Center is Feb. 20-21 against Minnesota Duluth.

“Everything we have here in terms of the facilities, the schooling, the resources, everything is top notch,” Delic said. “I think it competes with the best programs in the country. If we bring the right personnel in, we have the right attitude, and we build the right team culture, we can bring the program back to that level and compete for national championships every year. It’s really exciting that we have this great foundation. Now it’s just on the players to deliver the results.”

So far so good in that regard. And Miami’s success on a national stage this winter isn’t limited to the ice. The RedHawks’ men’s basketball team is ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll and currently the only undefeated NCAA Division I team remaining. Miami’s women’s basketball team is also 20-4 overall, 11-0 in the Mid-American Conference, and ranked 12th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.

It’s good company to be in.

“We’re talking about it. We’re sharing stories with each other. We all have high expectations for this place,” Noreen said. “We all believe in this place. We all know what it’s capable of. I think that’s really helped the student-athletes and pushed them on a day-to-day basis as well, because we’ve established a pretty high bar here.”

Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg.