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DULUTH, Minn. – Blake Coleman had a hand in every goal for the No. 10 Miami University hockey team, but his heroics were not enough to complete a comeback bid in a 4-3 loss to No. 19 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
Coleman scored two goals and added an assist, with his second goal of the night tying the score at 3-3 just 18 seconds into the third. However, a Willie Raskob power play goal with 8:12 left proved the difference as the RedHawks (5-3, 1-1 National Collegiate Hockey) settled for a split in their first NCHC series of the year.
“We played hard, but made a couple of key mistakes that they capitalized on today,” head coach Enrico Blasi said. “We will rest up tomorrow and get back to work to prepare for Colorado College on Monday.”
Miami’s penalty kill was tested just 32 seconds after the puck dropped. The unit was up to the task as Minnesota Duluth attempted just one shot, which was blocked by the defense during a scoreless two minutes.
With 3:20 gone by, Cody Murphy held the line on a UMD clearing attempt and found Coleman with a pass. The senior forward then brought the puck into the middle and flicked a shot through traffic that beat Kasimir Kaskisuo glove side for his fifth goal of the season and second of the weekend to put the RedHawks up 1-0. Miami got an opportunity to work with the man advantage at the 6:25 mark, but the power play did not get a shot through as it remained a one-shot game.
After Miami began with an early 5-3 lead in shots, UMD took over possession for the rest of the first. The Bulldogs ended the period with a flurry, funneling 15 of the next 17 attempts at Ryan McKay. UMD tied it up at the 15:06 mark when the puck when Justin Crandall got the puck in the slot in transition and beat McKay up high to even the score at 1-1.
The Red and White got another power play with 4:11 to play in the frame, but it was the Bulldogs who got the better of the chances with two short-handed shots and a missed breakaway by Dominic Toninato. Miami once again did not get a shot off during a scoreless two minutes and then found itself killing another penalty with 1:08 left in the frame. Miami was able to keep Minnesota Duluth from grabbing the lead as the teams skated into intermission tied at one with shots 18-7 in favor of UMD. McKay was sharp in his first action since Oct. 12 as he stopped 17 of UMD’s 18 shots in the first 20 minutes of play.
Another Miami penalty 17 seconds into the second period gave Minnesota Duluth a two-man advantage. It took just 18 seconds after that whistle for Alex Iafallo to score as the puck worked over to the right side and he found an open net to put the Bulldogs on top 2-1.
A UMD penalty at the 5:57 mark ended with MU actually losing ground when Andy Welinski scored shorthanded after a turnover and a step up at the blue line created a 2-on-1 that made it a 3-1 UMD lead at 6:49. The Red and White were short-handed again at the 12:05 mark, but managed to kill off the man advantage thanks in part to two more McKay saves. Twenty seconds after Miami killed the penalty, Riley Barber found a loose puck behind Kaskisuo and tapped it into an open net with 5:35 remaining in the second. Murphy and Coleman both picked up assists on the play, giving them each multi-point nights. Despite being outshot 16-7 in the second, Miami was within one shot at 3-2 after 40 minutes of play.
The Red and White got an opportunity with a penalty shot just 18 seconds into the third and Coleman made good on it for his second of the night to even the score at 3-3. After being outshot 34-14 in the first 40 minutes of play, Miami took 12 of the first 13 shots of the third period to get back into the contest.
A RedHawk penalty at 10:51 led to the go-ahead Bulldog goal when Raskob connected at 11:48 to make it 4-3. Miami continued to pressure the rest of the way, firing seven more shots on net that Kaskisuo turned aside to hold off the comeback bid despite MU’s 19-6 advantage in shots in the final 20 minutes.
Special teams once again proved to be the difference. This time it benefited the Bulldogs, who went 2-for-5 on the power play, killed off all five RedHawk man advantages and scored a short-handed goal. UMD ended up with a 40-34 edge in shots as McKay made 36 saves while Kaskisuo stopped 31 MU shots.
“Minnesota Duluth played well tonight,” Blasi said. “They took advantage of their special teams opportunities and were the better team tonight.”
The RedHawks resume NCHC play when they host Colorado College for a two-game series beginning on Friday night at 7:35 p.m.
