March 24, 2007

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MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Miami RedHawks earned their first NCAA Tournament win by defeating the University of New Hampshire, 2-1. Miami, who is now 24-13-4 overall, will face the winner of the St. Lawrence vs. Boston College match-up at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon (March 25).

Miami knew a key in the game would be taking the New Hampshire crowd and the high-flying Wildcats out of their game and getting on the board first. The RedHawks did just that at 1:47 of the first period as junior Hobey Baker Candidate Nate Davis put Miami ahead 1-0 with a wrist shot over the left pad of UNH goaltender Kevin Regan. The goal was set up by junior captain Ryan Jones who dug the puck out from behind the net and fed it to Davis in the right side of the slot. From there sophomore starting goaltender Jeff Zatkoff turned away 14 shots on goal to send the game to the intermission, 1-0.

New Hampshire kept the pressure on in the second period, testing the Miami's penalty killing unit, which ranks No. 2 in the country heading into the tournament, with three power-play chances. The Wildcats used the man advantage to gain a large margin in the period, out shooting the RedHawks, 16-5. Zatkoff continue to mesmerize the UNH-dominated crowd stopping several point-blank opportunities.

Knowing there was 20 minutes of hockey left to play and just a one-goal lead, the RedHawk offense came out flying to start the third period. Just 39 seconds into the period Jones, who assisted on the RedHawks' first goal, powered the puck away from a Wildcat defenseman and threw a shot from behind the UNH net that deflected off a Wildcat and slid underneath Regan for Jones' 29th goal of the year.

Despite falling behind 2-0, the New Hampshire offense refused to quit and was held at bay by the Miami defense until 15:15 when junior forward Mike Radja struck for his 19th tally of the season.

Zatkoff continued his stellar performance, making a total of 43 saves, two short of his career high of 45 set earlier this season at St. Lawrence on Nov. 24. Zatkoff has been solid in net for Miami down the stretch, posting a 2.18 goal-against average and a .922 save percentage in his last six starts. He is now 14-7-2 on the year.

Jones was the offensive star of the game netting a goal and assisting on another for his 12th multiple-points game of the year. The RedHawks are now 11-0-1 in those games.

NOTES: Miami is now 17-5-4 when scoring first ... Nate Davis' goal at 1:47 of the first period was his first since Feb. 23 in the first game of a series at Northern Michigan ... the RedHawks are 17-2-4 when leading after two periods ... JR F Ryan Jones extended his scoring streak to seven games (9-4-13) with his 12th multiple-point game of the season ... Former RedHawk Greg Hogeboom was in attendance to watch his alma mater pick up their first NCAA Tournament win. Hogeboom, who played for Miami from 2000-2004, is currently playing for the American Hockey League's Manchester Monarchs.