Miami University
Notre Dame
No. 19 Miami Blanks No. 13 Irish, 3-0
2/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Feb. 17, 2012
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
OXFORD, Ohio - Senior goalie Connor Knapp pitched his third shutout of the season and the No. 19 Miami hockey team scored just over two minutes into the game and never looked back en route to a 3-0 blanking of No. 13 Notre Dame Friday night at Steve Cady Arena. With the victory, the RedHawks (18-13-2, 12-11-2-1 CCHA) have now won three straight games, tying their season-long winning streak, and continued their recent dominance of the Fighting Irish (16-14-3, 11-11-3-0 CCHA), as Miami is now 9-1-2 in its last 12 meetings against UND.
Knapp stopped all 31 shots Notre Dame sent his way to pick up his 11th career shutout, which is one shy of tying the school record of 12, held by classmate Cody Reichard and David Burleigh ('03). The whitewash was also Miami's fifth of the season, which leads the CCHA. The RedHawks put just 16 shots on goal, being outshot by 15, but Miami capitalized on opportunities and played tough defense to earn the win.
"His rebound control was really good tonight," head coach Enrico Blasi said of Knapp. "I don't think we gave them too many second chances and I thought our defense did a good job of closing gaps and eliminating space for their gifted forwards."
Miami wasted little time jumping in front as freshman forward Blake Coleman put the `Hawks up 1-0 just 2:08 into the contest. The teams were battling for the puck along the boards in the offensive zone and senior forward Alden Hirschfeld poked it loose. Coleman then gathered it and skated towards the left side of the net, firing a low wrister that beat Irish goalie Mike Johnson on the far post. It was Coleman's ninth tally of the year.
The RedHawks appeared to make it 2-0 late in the first period on the power play as junior forward Reilly Smith put the puck behind Johnson. After review however, the referees determined Smith batted the puck into the net with his hand and no goal was ruled. The Irish then applied pressure in the closing seconds of the frame, sending two shots toward the goal, but Knapp sprawled out to make one save while Notre Dame's T.J. Tynan hit the post on a rebound and time ran out before UND could get another look as the `Hawks took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Smith did make it 2-0 4:19 into the second stanza on his CCHA-best 22nd goal of the year. Senior defenseman Will Weber dug the puck out of a scrum in the defensive zone and led Smith with a pass up the left side of the ice. Smith skated into the attacking zone and centered to freshman defenseman Ben Paulides between the circles, where he fired a shot. Johnson made the save but the rebound ricocheted off freshman forward Tyler Biggs' leg to Smith, who was alone on the doorstep to bury the puck and double Miami's lead.
The Irish outshot the `Hawks, 15-8, in the second period, but came away empty-handed. With just over four minutes left in the game, senior defenseman Cameron Schilling was called for a hook, giving Notre Dame its second power play of the night. With 2:46 remaining and UND still a man up, Johnson left the ice in favor of an extra attacker, creating a 6-on-4 advantage. Miami's penalty kill held strong as Notre Dame was unable to get a shot on goal, however
After Miami returned to full strength, Biggs intercepted a cross-ice pass between UND defensemen just outside the blue line and quickly fired a shot before being hit. The puck slid into the empty net for the 3-0 final, as he scored his eighth goal of the year with 2:09 left in the game. He finished with a pair of points, his first career multi-point game.
"It's huge," Knapp said of the win. "We're getting to the point where every game is like a playoff game and a lot of these games are must wins in terms of playoff seeding and NCAA Tournament berths. We treat every game like it's our last and I felt we played that way tonight."
Both teams finished 0-for-2 on the power play while Johnson ended with 13 saves in defeat. Blasi also earned his 200th career CCHA victory, becoming the ninth coach in history to win 200 CCHA games.
The RedHawks go for the sweep of the Fighting Irish when the two teams meet again Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at Steve Cady Arena.
--MURedHawks.com--
