Miami University
Lake Superior State
Miami Edges No. 19 Lake Superior, 2-1
1/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Jan. 13, 2012
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - After falling behind late in the first period, the Miami hockey team scored two goals early in the second period and played strong defense the rest of the way to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory over No. 19 Lake Superior State Friday night at Taffy Abel Arena. The RedHawks (12-9-2, 8-7-2-1 CCHA) have now won three straight games for just the second time all year and have knocked off the Lakers (12-10-3, 7-8-2-2 CCHA) six straight times on their home ice.
Senior goalie Connor Knapp made 25 saves to earn his fourth straight win, including each of Miami's last three games, while not allowing more than one goal in any of his last three starts either. The RedHawks finished with a 34-26 advantage in shots on goal and went 1-for-5 on the power play. Lake Superior was 1-for-3 on the man advantage, all coming in the first period as Miami did not commit a penalty over the final 40 minutes. LSSU netminder Kevin Kapalka finished with 32 stops in defeat.
Miami had the first chance to grab the lead as LSSU's Nick McParland was called for boarding and given a game misconduct, resulting in a five-minute power play for the `Hawks but Miami was unable to put much pressure on the Lakers. Late in the first period with LSSU already on a man advantage, senior forward Matt Tomassoni was called for elbowing resulting in a delayed penalty and a 6-on-4 advantage for Lake Superior. While on the delayed two-man advantage, Kyle Haines sent a cross-ice pass to Kellan Lain, who fired a shot through traffic that beat Knapp five-hole to make it 1-0 Lakers with just 2:27 left in the opening period.
The RedHawks wasted little time answering as senior forward Alden Hirschfeld scored his seventh goal of the year just 1:13 into the second stanza. Junior forward Curtis McKenzie flipped the puck towards net from the circle to Kapalka's right and Hirschfeld found it in front of the crease, where he poked it home just inside the near post to level the game at 1-1.
Miami grabbed the lead 7:11 into the middle frame on the power play when junior forward Reilly Smith scored his team-leading 14th goal of the year. The `Hawks worked the puck around the shell as senior defenseman Chris Wideman passed down low to freshman forward Jimmy Mullin, who fired toward net. The puck ricocheted high on the far side where Smith gloved it, dropped it and skated into the slot before beating Kapalka top shelf to make it 2-1 RedHawks. The goal turned out to be the game-winner - Smith's fifth game-winner this year, which already ties for fourth in Miami single-season history.
The game remained a one-goal contest heading into the final period. The RedHawks used strong defense and controlled possession on a pair of power plays to keep the Lakers off the attack. With just under a minute to go, LSSU pulled Kapalka in favor of the extra skater but Miami blocked a shot, Knapp made a save and the `Hawks cleared the zone several times to preserve the 2-1 victory - Miami's fifth 2-1 win this year as the RedHawks improved to 7-4 in one-goal games this season.
Miami goes for a sweep of the Lakers Saturday and looks to avenge a sweep at the hands of LSSU from back in October when the two teams square off again at 7:05 p.m. at Taffy Abel Arena.
--MURedHawks.com--
