Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, OH - Miami avenged its Friday night defeat by beating Bowling Green, 5-2, Saturday at BGSU Ice Arena. Junior forward Bill Loupee had his best offensive game of the season, scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist. Loupee earned first-star honors for his efforts.

Freshman Justin Vaive set a career-high for points in a game with three, all coming on assists. Vaive has seven points to his credit in his first season with the RedHawks.

Junior goaltender Jeff Zatkoff returned to his winning ways, turning aside 26 of the 28 shots Bowling Green put on Miami's net. With the victory, Zatkoff boasts a 15-3 record for the 2007-08 campaign, placing him just behind Michigan's Billy Sauer (16-2) for the nation's best record.

Junior alternate captain Brian Kaufman started the night off right for Miami, taking a nice feed from freshman forward Pat Cannone and scoring a power play goal on the team's first shot of the game. The goal was Kaufman's second in as many nights. Cannone owns the conference lead in assists by a rookie with 17.

Junior forward Alexandre Lacombe kept the offensive pressure on with his third goal of the season, tapping a quick pass from junior Bill Loupee through a wall of people in front of the Bowling Green net and past Falcons' netminder Jimmy Spratt. The score came just 1:43 after Kaufman's tally.

Bowling Green defenseman Mike Nesdill narrowed the RedHawks lead to 2-1, when he slapped a shot from the blue line past Miami goaltender Jeff Zatkoff.

The Falcons evened the contest at two goals apiece when forward David Solway scored off of an offensive zone faceoff, just five seconds into the team's second power play of the game.

Only 56 seconds after BGSU tied the game, Bill Loupee netted his third goal of the year, putting the team ahead by a 3-2 margin. For Loupee, the goal was his second point of the night.

Roughly five minutes into the third period, junior forward Justin Mercier extended the RedHawk lead to two goals, after he picked up a rebound in the slot, and buried the puck in the open right side of the net.

Freshman forward Tommy Wingels sent the Bowling Green faithful heading toward the exits with 7:54 remaining in the game, as his goal increased the Miami lead to 5-2. The goal by Wingels was his 11th tally of the season, tying him with St. Cloud State's Garrett Roe the most goals scored by a freshman in the nation.

The RedHawks now head westward, as they will take on Nebraska-Omaha in conference play on January 11-12.

NOTES:

Miami is a perfect 13-0 in games in which the RedHawks score first.

MU has not lost back-to-back games since the team was swept by Lake Superior in the second round of the CCHA playoffs last season (March 9-10, 2007.)

RedHawk freshmen accounted for 10 of the team's 20 points in the weekend series with Bowling Green (Carter Camper - two assists, Pat Cannone - one assist, Vincent LoVerde - one assist, Justin Vaive - three assists, Tommy Wingels - two goals).

Freshman forward Carter Camper extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Brian Kaufman's first period goal. Camper has three goals, six assists and nine points during the streak.

ATTENDANCE: 3341