Nov. 18, 2011

Box Score | Notes

OXFORD, Ohio - Freshman Blake Coleman scored twice while senior goaltender Cody Reichard shut out Bowling Green giving the Miami hockey team its first whitewash of the year, a 4-0 victory Friday night at Steve Cady Arena. With the win, Miami (6-6-1, 4-4-1-1 CCHA) extends its unbeaten streak to a season-best five games while beating the Falcons (6-6-1, 1-6-0-0 CCHA) for the 12th straight time.

Coleman scored the first and last goals for the `Hawks marking his first career multi-goal and multi-point game for Miami while giving him three tallies on the year. Reichard stopped 23 shots en route to his 11th career shutout, which is just one shy of tying David Burleigh ('03) for the Miami career record of 12.

"You have to make some plays out there and we were fortunate that we got a bounce early," head coach Enrico Blasi said. "They could have easily scored a few in the first, but Cody made some big saves. In a game like that, you have to make the most of your chances."

The RedHawks broke the 0-0 tie with 4:34 remaining in the first period when senior Trent Vogelhuber and Coleman connected to light the lamp on the eventual game-winner, the first of Coleman's career. Vogelhuber carried the puck into the offensive zone and was bumped off the puck by a Falcon defender. He maintained possession, using his body to shield the puck from the defense with his back to the Falcon net. He spun and sent a puck toward the goal that went wide, but it ricocheted off the back boards to the left side of the crease where Coleman buried the rebound for the 1-0 Miami lead. Senior Chris Wideman earned the second assist on Coleman's second career goal.

Miami would take a 2-0 lead at the 5:10 mark of the second period when junior Garrett Kennedy took a pass from classmate Curtis McKenzie on a one-timer in front of the BGSU net. Senior co-captain Alden Hirschfeld found McKenzie moving into the Bowling Green zone along the left side and followed the play moving up the middle of the ice with Kennedy trailing on the right side. McKenzie sent a centering pass toward Hirschfeld, who let the pass go to the far side of the ice where Kennedy found the back of the net for his first goal of the season, poking it between BGSU netminder Andrew Hammond's legs.

McKenzie added to the RedHawk lead with a redirect in front of Hammond with 2:53 left in the second period. Junior Steven Spinell took a pass that deflected off freshman Tyler Biggs and sent a slap shot from the point toward traffic in front of the crease where McKenzie tipped it past Hammond for the 3-0 Miami lead.

"We knew going into the season we were going to need a balanced scoring attack this year," Blasi said. "Everybody seems to be contributing now, and guys are doing a pretty good job. We need to just keep getting better. We are focused on a day-to-day process. That's the type of culture we have set here, and guys are feeling more confident on the ice."

The `Hawks added one more at 14:33 of the third period when Vogelhuber picked up a loose puck off a shot by senior Matt Tomassoni and sent it to the front of the net where Coleman one-timed it home after crashing the net. It gave Coleman a career-high two goals on the night and upped the Miami lead to 4-0, which tied a season high for goals (Oct. 14 at Colgate).

The RedHawks finished with a 30-23 edge in shots and were a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, extending their streak to 26-straight successful kills, dating back to their Oct. 28 contest with Lake Superior State. Miami had just two power play opportunities on the night. Hammond ended with 26 saves in the loss for BGSU.

The RedHawks go for the sweep of the Falcons Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at Steve Cady Arena on Miami Hockey's Alumni Weekend.