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GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sean Kuraly had a hand in each goal for the No. 7 Miami hockey team as it posted a gritty 3-2 win at No. 2 North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena on Friday night.
The Red and White (8-3, 4-1 National Collegiate Hockey) picked up their third-straight victory in the effort and ended UND’s (7-2-1, 2-1 NCHC) nation-best eight-game unbeaten streak.
“We came to play tonight,” head coach Enrico Blasi said. “I thought we got a pretty good team effort from everyone. This was one of those games we knew would come down to the wire and our guys sacrificed their bodies all night, especially at the end, to get the job done.”
The RedHawks got things going right away when Kuraly initiated a quick cycle by working the puck to Anthony Louis behind the goal line, who in turn fed Alex Gacek atop the crease. The junior forward quickly spun a shot that slipped just inside the right post and in for his first goal of the year just 3:09 into the contest.
North Dakota was given an opportunity to even the score when Miami was whistled for tripping 30 seconds later, but it was the MU penalty kill that had the last laugh. Matthew Caito cleared the puck ahead to Gacek for a two-on-one, where he fed Kuraly back-door for his eighth tally of the year to make it 2-0 with just 4:15 gone by.
MU carried the play for the bulk of the first 10 minutes, at one point owning a 12-3 edge in shots. Zane McIntyre helped weather the Red and White storm with 10 saves to keep it a two-shot game. With 5:24 to go, Michael Parks gathered a puck near the crease and wrapped it around for a goal to cut MU lead to 2-1.
Tempers flared when Blake Coleman bumped UND goaltender Zane Mcintyre with 3:15 left in the frame. The ensuing scuffle led to two ejections, four other players in the penalty box and a UND power play. The Red and White were able to kill off their second penalty of the night and skated into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes of play.
The RedHawks started the second period with a minute and a half of power play time to work with, but UND managed to even the score when Drake Caggiula scored on a 2-on-0 rush to even the score just 1:22 into the frame. A Miami penalty at the 2:24 mark gave North Dakota a shot to take its first lead of the night, but MU managed to hold strong for another successful penalty kill.
Miami’s second power play of the night was infinitely more successful as Sean Kuraly opportunistically pounced on Scott Dornbrock’s shot that caromed off the glass to the doorstep for his second score of the night to make it 3-2. Alex Wideman also assisted on the power play strike at the 6:50 mark. That marker capped the second period scoring as MU owned an 11-9 edge in shots.
UND went on its fifth power play of the night with 4:04 gone by in the third. The MU penalty killers were once again sharp, clearing the puck several times and maintaining good positioning in its zone to salt away two scoreless minutes. North Dakota pressured shortly after its failed man advantage and drew another Miami penalty, but the RedHawks once again killed it off.
Despite the early man advantages, the Miami defense was razor sharp over the final 20 minutes of play. The RedHawks allowed UND a mere five shots on goal in the frame, with Jay Williams sharp when called upon. North Dakota pulled Mcintyre for an extra skater with under a minute left and a faceoff in Miami’s end. A clear down the ice left Austin Czarnik with a chance at the empty net, but the UND defense was there to block the attempt and another by Riley Barber to keep hope alive. North Dakota used the opportunity to rush the other way and a shot from the blue line was deflected just wide of the net in the closing seconds to give Miami its first ever win over North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Miami outshot North Dakota 30-23 on the night, but it was the special teams that really shined in the win. The RedHawks killed all six North Dakota power plays, scored a shorthanded goal and went 1-for-2 on the man advantage in the win. Williams improved to 8-1 on the year by stopping 21 of UND’s 23 shots. At the other end, Mcintyre turned aside 27 of 30 MU attempts. Kuraly matched a career best with three points and notched his nation leading sixth game-winning goal of the year while Gacek posted his second-career multi-goal game.
“Our penalty kill did a good job of blocking shots tonight,” Blasi said. “Jay also made saves when we needed him to. Sean’s line got the bounces and took advantage, but this was a good team win from top to bottom. We had good performances from everyone tonight, but we know they are going to come out hard again tomorrow and we’ll have to be ready.”
The RedHawks conclude their series with North Dakota on Saturday. Puck drops at 8:07 p.m.
