Oct. 22, 2005
Box Score
OMAHA - Miami University improved to 2-0-0 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action, as the RedHawks completed a series sweep of the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks, with a 3-2 win on Saturday night. The series sweep by the RedHawks (3-1-0, 2-0-0 CCHA) marked the program's first sweep of the Mavericks (2-2, 0-2 CCHA) in Omaha.
Senior Matt Davis (Rocky River, Ohio) made the most of a Nebraska-Omaha turnover in the neutral zone, combining with junior Joe Cooper (Toronto, Ontario) to make it 1-0 for Miami at the 13:56 mark of the first period. Davis intercepted a UNO clearing effort at the red line and worked a 2-on-1 with Cooper that resulted in Davis' first goal of the 2005-06 campaign.
The Mavericks capitalized on a turnover early in the second period to make it 1-1. While on the power play, Miami turned the puck over at its own blue line, resulting in a 2-on-0 that left freshman goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (Chesterfield, Mich.) to fend for himself. Alex Nikiforuk fed Scott Parse in the slot, who promptly one-timed the puck past Zatkoff at 3:30.
With Miami on the power play midway through the second, senior Chris Michael (Skokie, Ill.) revived the Miami lead with his third goal of the series when he walked out from behind the UNO net and roofed the puck over the shoulder of Eric Aarnio at 11:49.
That lead was short-lived, however, as Bill Thomas banged in a loose puck for UNO, making it 2-2 at the 12:49 mark.
Miami started the third period with 2:34 to kill of a five-minute checking-from-behind penalty to freshman Alec Martinez (Rochester, Mich.), and for the second night in a row, gained momentum from successfully holding the Mavericks at bay for the duration of a major penalty.
That momentum paid off in the form of sophomore Mitch Ganzak's (Canton, Mich.) first goal of the season. After a shot by junior Geoff Smith (Toronto, Ontario) went wide, Ganzak picked up the loose puck behind the UNO net and stuffed it between Aarnio's left pad and the post at 11:20 of the third, giving the RedHawks their third lead of the game at 3-2. The second assist on the goal went to sophomore Ryan Jones (Chatham, Ontario).
With less than three minutes to play, the Mavericks had a golden opportunity to tie the game, but Zatkoff made a scintillating save to stone Nikiforuk and preserve the Miami lead and subsequent victory.
Zatkoff made 25 saves to pick up his second consecutive victory and improve Miami's record to a perfect 2-0-0 in conference play. Aarnio turned away 21 of 24 Miami shots in a losing effort for the Mavericks. UNO outshot Miami 27-24. Miami converted 1-of-7 power plays while UNO went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage.
Miami takes next weekend off before returning to the ice with a home-and-home series versus the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 4-5. The RedHawks host the Buckeyes on Nov. 4, before heading to Columbus on Nov. 5.
NOTES: UNO's first goal in the second period was the first goal an opponent had scored on FR Jeff Zatkoff in 103:06, dating back to the second period of the game versus North Dakota ... SO Mitch Ganzak's goal was the second of his career ... the sweep of the UNO was Miami's first ever sweep of the Mavericks in Omaha ... Miami head coach Enrico Blasi needs just 15 more victories to become the winningest coach in program history ... Zatkoff was the game's first star while Ganzak earned the third star.
