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OXFORD, Ohio – First minute Denver goals in the second and third period spoiled a strong start by the No. 9 Miami hockey team in a 3-1 loss at Steve ‘Coach’ Cady Arena on Friday night.
The 11th-ranked Pioneers (14-7-1, 7-5 National Collegiate Hockey) tied the RedHawks (14-9, 7-6 NCHC) in the conference standings with this result.
Miami came out flying early on with a shot by Alex Gacek from the right circle getting by Tanner Jaillet, but ringing off the post in the opening minutes. Louie Belpedio also had a good shift when he blocked a point shot and started a rush the other way where he set up Blake Coleman in the slot, but Jaillet once again made the save.
A goaltender interference penalty put Miami on the penalty kill at the 8:17 mark, but it was the RedHawks that found their offense down a man. Riley Barber tipped a centering pass away at the point and Austin Czarnik fed him up ice for a breakaway that Barber converted with a nifty backhand to the top shelf. His 11th goal of the year gave the Red and White a 1-0 lead with 8:54 gone by. Czarnik’s assist was his 148th career point, tying him with Mike Orn for 10th on the school’s all-time list.
The RedHawks stayed on the prowl for the latter half of the period, outshooting the Pioneers 11-6 in the opening 20 minutes of play. Miami had a couple more good rushes in that stretch, with Barber wristing a shot from the right circle that Jaillet paddled aside and Anthony Louis’ backhand shot getting stopped in the waning seconds. Barber’s short-handed tally was ultimately the lone strike of the opening frame as the RedHawks maintained their 1-0 lead.
DU evened the score just 41 seconds into the second period when Emil Romig finished off a 3-on-2 rush on a backdoor pass by Gave Levin. After weathering the Pioneer storm over the next couple minutes, Louis’ nifty stickhandling into the DU zone drew a tripping penalty and put the Red and White on their first power play at the 4:39 mark. Jay Williams was the one tested early on as the puck was given away in the slot to Matt Tabrum for a shot that Williams steered aside.
Despite some sustained possession in the DU zone, MU was unable to convert on that man advantage or another one at the 8:05 mark, leaving the score tied at 1-1 midway through the second period. The RedHawks got one more golden opportunity when Ty Loney checked Taylor Richart from behind and was whistled for a five-minute major and a game misconduct with 5:39 remaining in the frame. Miami’s third power play of the night struggled to generate any attack, going nearly three and a half minutes without a shot before getting whistled for a penalty to end the man advantage. The teams finished 40 minutes locked in a 1-1 tie.
Much like the second period, Denver scored in the first minute of the third to grab its first lead of the night when Danton Heinen’s shot from the point was tipped by Trevor Moore through traffic 30 seconds into the final frame. The RedHawks got another power play at the 1:37 mark, which produced three quality shots on goal. Slap shots through traffic by Belpedio and Louis were stopped by Jaillet and the DU goaltender stood tall when the puck was given away to Coleman in the slot.
The Pioneers were given two power plays to try and add breathing room at the 8:04 and 11:06 marks, respectively. The MU penalty kill stood strong under siege and kept it a one-shot game entering the latter stages of regulation.
With a lead in hand, Denver was able to keep Miami from generating much speed on the attack as the RedHawks fired only two shots on goal after their power play early in the third. Pulling Williams for the extra skater did not create much more offense as the Pioneers eventually put the game away on Moore’s empty net goal with 10.8 seconds remaining.
The RedHawks outshot the Pioneers 28-24 overall, but only got six shots on goal during the third period. Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play and Miami added a short-handed goal. Jaillet stopped 27 of MU’s 28 attempts while Williams turned away 21 of 23 DU shots.
Puck drop for Saturday’s series finale is at 7:05 p.m.
