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OXFORD, Ohio – Sean Kuraly scored two second-period goals to snap a 1-1 tie and deliver the No. 10/11 Miami hockey team a 3-2 win over Bowling Green on Sunday evening.
Kuraly’s effort gave the RedHawks (1-1) a split of their opening weekend home-and-home series with the Falcons.
An early Miami power play led to a one-timer by Austin Czarnik at the left wing, but no goals in its third man advantage of the season. The Red and White did get on the board on a nice transition rush at the 3:38 mark. Czarnik drove wide and dropped the puck at the top of the right circle for Louie Belpedio, who ripped a deflected off a Falcon defenseman and in for his first-collegiate goal to give Miami a 1-0 lead. Blake Coleman also earned an assist on the tally.
Both teams had abbreviated power plays midway through the period, but none ended up connecting for a goal. A goaltender interference penalty by the Falcons at the 6:15 mark forced Ryan McKay out of the net and brought Jay Williams into the crease for the rest of the night.
The Falcons’ third power play of the night converted at the 12:19 mark when a blocked shot was redirected across the crease by Matt Pohlkamp right to Kevin Dufour, who scored his third goal of the weekend to even the score at 1-1.
Another Miami penalty with 4:52 left in the frame gave Bowling Green its fourth power play of the first period, but the RedHawks were able to kill it off. After spending the next few minutes defending well in its own end, MU got a little attack going in the final minute and drew a BGSU penalty that put it on the power play with 27 seconds remaining in the frame. The RedHawks didn’t beat the buzzer, but they walked into the intermission in a 1-1 tie with 1:33 remaining on the man advantage.
The Red and White took advantage at the 1:29 mark of the second when Kuraly redirected Matthew Caito’s wrister from the point into the top corner to give them a 2-1 lead. Riley Barber also assisted on the goal after playing catch with Caito at the point.
On the ensuing shift, the Falcons got a golden opportunity when Dufour got loose in the slot, but Williams made a strong save on the play to keep the lead intact.
That goal propelled the RedHawks to a strong second period where they outshot the Falcons 15-6. For awhile, Tommie Burke was spoiling Miami’s pressure with some strong saves, but Kuraly finally gave the Red and White some breathing room with 5:13 to go in the period when he pounced on a rebound off a Caito shot after Anthony Louis worked the puck to the point. Kuraly’s second strike of the period gave the RedHawks a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.
The Falcons pulled within 3-2 just 3:05 into the third after a held in clearing attempt was worked to Mark Friedman at the left point. BGSU’s defenseman walked the puck up the slot and beat Williams to make it a one-shot game. Jakob Reichert and Nolan Valleau both picked up assists on the play.
From there, Bowling Green turned up the pressure in a period it outshot Miami 9-2, including a 6-1 margin over the first 15 minutes of play. Williams managed to stand tall, however, making eight saves and stopping the last six shots he faced to preserve the victory.
The RedHawks narrowly outshot the Falcons 29-27 for the evening. Miami scored its first power play goal of the year, going 1-for-4 with the man advantage while Bowling Green scored once in its five power plays.
Kuraly (2 goals) and Caito (2 assists) both notched multi-point nights for the Red and White offensively, In net, McKay got the start and stopped both shots he faced in 6:15 of action before Williams stopped 23 of 25 shots in 53:45 of action.
The RedHawks return to the ice on Friday when they start a home-and-home series at Ohio State. Opening faceoff on Friday night in Columbus is at 7:05 p.m.
