Miami University
Notre Dame
Notre Dame Rallies Past No. 6 Miami in OT
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
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ESTERO, Fla. – Goals by Cody Murphy and Conor Lemirande staked the No. 6 Miami hockey team to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, but Notre Dame scored twice in the final 6:43 of regulation and struck again in the final minute of overtime to top the RedHawks 3-2.
The result drops Miami to 11-6 and marks the first time all season MU has dropped consecutive games. This contest was played in Germain Arena as part of the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla.
Play went back and forth in a competitive first period. Devin Loe had Miami’s first solid scoring opportunity when he settled down a bouncing puck in the slot and fired a heavy wrist shot that Cal Petersen shrugged aside in the opening minutes.
The Fighting Irish drew the first power play of the contest just 5:08 into the opening stanza, but the RedHawk penalty kill bled off the man advantage to leave the contest scoreless. Shortly thereafter, Miami got a power play of its own with 12:30 to play in the opening stanza, but it was unable to connect as the game remained scoreless midway through the first.
Mario Lucia had Notre Dame’s best opportunity of the period when he fired one shot that Ryan McKay stopped and had another look at the doorstep that was blocked by Louie Belpedio as the freshman defenseman slid into the crease to cover for McKay during the play.
Miami’s best opportunity belonged to Kevin Morris, who got all of a one-timer from the low slot after Andrew Schmit fed him with a perfect centering pass, but Petersen knocked that puck away. Notre Dame enjoyed a slim 8-7 lead in shots in the opening 20 minutes of play, but neither McKay nor Petersen allowed anything past them in a scoreless first period.
The Fighting Irish opened the second period with 1:27 left on a carry over power play, but the RedHawks’ penalty killers were again up to the task and once again held UND off the board. The RedHawks had another power play come empty at the 2:18 mark. About a minute after the power play expired, Cody Murphy pounced on a Fighting Irish turnover and beat Petersen with a wrist shot to give Miami a 1-0 lead with 5:36 gone by in the second period.
Notre Dame got three more power plays in a 6:38 span, albeit one was abbreviated after one Miami penalty negated a Red and White power play. The RedHawks were stingy in their zone each time and McKay made several quality saves to keep the Fighting Irish from connecting on the man advantage.
With time winding down in the middle frame, a falling Austin Czarnik picked the pocket of a Notre Dame defender and fed Riley Barber in the slot for a shot that Petersen stopped. Conor Lemirande hustled to the rebound, however, and finished atop the crease for his first-collegiate goal with 1:08 remaining in the second, giving the RedHawks a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes of play. With the primary assist, Barber became the 49th Miami player to record 100 career points.
Penalties marred the flow of the third period, with nine total minor penalties getting called. The Fighting Irish had three more power play opportunities that the RedHawks managed to kill off, but the constant penalty killing left Miami struggling to get much going in a period Notre Dame held a 12-3 edge in shots. Jordan Gross started UND’s comeback bid by wristing a shot through traffic with 6:43 left to pull within 2-1. Miami got a power play with 3:09 remaining, but was unable to connect, which left Notre Dame with one more chance. With time winding down and an extra skater on the ice, the Jake Evans found a loose puck behind the goal line during a scramble and banked the shot in off traffic in front to tie the score with 22.6 seconds remaining and sending the game to overtime.
The RedHawks held territorial play for much of the overtime frame, but managed just one shot on goal. With under a minute left in the extra session, Evans tried a wraparound that McKay made a strong diving save on, but the rebound went back to Evans and he scored on the second attempt to give Notre Dame the win.
Notre Dame outshot Miami 34-20 overall, including a 14-4 mark in the third period and overtime. The Red and White penalty kill killed off all eight Fighting Irish power plays, but went 0-for-5 with the man advantage themselves.
In his first start since Nov. 15, McKay made 31 saves while his counterpart Petersen stopped 18 of 20 Miami shots.
The RedHawks will play either Cornell or Lake Superior State in the consolation game of the Florida College Hockey Classic on Monday at 4:05 p.m.
