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OXFORD, Ohio – Alex Wideman scored two third-period goals and Jay Williams stopped 21 shots to lift the No. 11 Miami hockey team to a 3-0 win over Colorado College on Friday night.
Friday’s outburst was Wideman’s fourth-career multi-goal game as the RedHawks improve to 6-3 on the season and 2-1 in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play.
Both teams fired four shots on goal over the first six minutes with Miami’s best chance coming on a transition two-on-one rush that ended up on Riley Barber’s backhand in the slot that was fired wide. The Tigers (2-5, 0-3 NCHC) had a transition rush of their own that created a Miami penalty with 12:01 left in the opening frame.
Miami got a power play of its own with 8:36 remaining in the first after a good shift in the offensive zone. The RedHawks’ man advantage was stymied over the two minutes and did not fire a shot on goal. The teams played at five-on-five the rest of the period, with MU outshooting CC 10-8 in a scoreless 20 minutes.
CC’s Cody Bradley appeared to put the Tigers on the board just 1:09 into the second when he fired the puck in from the low right circle. However, the officials reviewed the play and waved the goal off, leaving the game scoreless. A Miami penalty at the 3:14 mark put Colorado College on its second power play of the night, but Williams made two saves and MU held CC off the board for the entire two minutes.
The RedHawks had two very dangerous power plays midway through the period. The first attempt saw MU fire eight shots Chase Perry’s way, several of which were in close. John Doherty had perhaps the best opportunity when a loose puck found him at the door step, but Perry made a desperation save without his stick to keep the puck out. It appeared the Red and White’s next attempt created a goal when Barber wristed a shot through traffic and into the net, but officials ruled MU went offside earlier in the play and waved off another tally as CC ultimately killed off the power play.
Another Tiger penalty with 4:44 remaining in the frame put the Red and White on another power play and Doherty had perhaps the best opportunity with a shot that drew iron. Despite a 20-4 edge in shots in the period, the contest was still scoreless after 40 minutes of play.
An offensive zone penalty at the 2:21 mark of the third put the Tigers on their third power play of the night. The RedHawk penalty kill was sharp again and held the Tigers without a shot on goal. Shortly after the power play expired, MU forced another whistle against CC, but it was unable to generate much during its fifth scoreless man advantage of the night.
A seam pass by Matthew Caito found Wideman just off the Miami bench for a breakaway. The senior shook off a trailing defender and beat Perry for his fourth goal of the season with 9:16 remaining in regulation. Wideman struck again by finishing Barber’s feed on a 2-on-1 rush that was started by Austin Czarnik’s outlet feed from the Miami zone. His second of the night put the RedHawks up 2-0 with 5:57 remaining.
Desperate to get back in the game, the Tigers began pushing the attack and fired five of their nine third-period shots after Wideman’s second goal of the night. Williams would not be beat as he turned aside all 21 shots he faced for his third-career shutout and first since Dec. 28, 2012. Sean Kuraly put the game away with 39 seconds remaining by firing a puck into the empty net with CC pulling its goalie for an extra skater. Czarnik picked up his second assist of the night on the tally to move into 16th on MU’s all-time scoring list with 132 career points.
Miami outshot Colorado College 41-21 overall, taking 13 of those shots during its five power plays (0-for-5). The MU penalty kill had its second perfect night of the season, allowing just two shots in CC’s three man advantages.
The RedHawks and Tigers close out their series on Saturday night at Steve ‘Coach’ Cady Arena. Opening faceoff is at 7:05 p.m.
