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ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Scoring chances were hard to come by for the No. 5/6 Miami hockey team in a 3-2 loss at St. Cloud State on Saturday night.
The RedHawks (14-8, 7-5 National Collegiate Hockey) were held to a season-low 19 shots on goal as they suffered their first weekend sweep at the hands of the Huskies (9-10-1, 4-5-1 NCHC)
After getting outshot 29-21 over the final two periods on Friday night, things got off to an inauspicious start for the RedHawks in the series finale. Jonny Brodzinski lugged the puck up ice and used a Miami defenseman as a screen when he wristed a shot top shelf from the left circle to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead just 2:09 into the contest.
Brodzinski’s goal headlined a dominant first 20 minutes for St. Cloud State as it outshot Miami 13-6 and kept MU hemmed into its defensive zone for large stretches of play. The Huskies had some chances on a power at the 4:02 mark, hitting a post during the man advantage but ultimately failing to score. Another power play with two minutes left was nearly killed off until David Morley centered the puck to Patrick Russell for a back door goal with 12 seconds left to send SCSU into the dressing room with a 2-0 lead.
The Huskies continued pressuring in the early stages of the second period and the RedHawks put them on the power play six minutes in after being caught with too many men on the ice. Miami’s penalty killing unit was able to keep St. Cloud at bay during that two minute stretch and finally got a power play of its own midway through the contest. That power play was exactly what MU needed as Kevin Morris got to a rebound from Louie Belpedio’s point shot and slipped it into the net for his third goal of the year, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 8:32 to go in the second period.
Miami did slightly outshoot St. Cloud State in the middle frame, taking 11 shots to SCSU’s 10, but that goal by Morris was the only one in the frame as MU trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes.
The RedHawks struggled to get many opportunities in the Huskies’ zone in the third period. One early opportunity for MU to tie it up came off the stick of Riley Barber, who had the puck in traffic from the low slot, but his shot was blocked off by the pad of Rasmus Reijola. Joe Rehkamp added an insurance tally at the 5:19 mark to put SCSU on top 3-1.
Miami would not go down quietly as Austin Czarnik came through on a transition rush and wristed a shot past Reijola with 9:03 left for his second goal of the season, which cut the gap to 3-2. Anthony Louis drew the assist on the play as he dropped the puck to Czarnik from the left wall. That point was the 147th of Czarnik's career, tying him with Dan Boyle and Ryan Jones for 11th most in program history.
While there was plenty of time left for another tally, the Huskies locked things up defensively over the final nine minutes. The RedHawks managed just one more shot on goal after Czarnik’s tally, one of only four shots they directed on net during the final frame.
The RedHawks were outshot 29-19 for the night. Miami converted on its lone power play attempt while St. Cloud State went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. Jay Williams made 26 saves in goal for Miami while Reijola turned aside 17 MU shots.
Miami is off until Jan. 23 when it starts a two-game home series against Denver. Opening faceoff is at 7:35 p.m.
