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OXFORD, Ohio – Cody Murphy helped the No. 9 Miami hockey team bounce back in a big way in Saturday’s 4-1 win over No. 11 Denver.
Murphy scored twice and dished out two more assists as the RedHawks (15-9, 8-6 National Collegiate Hockey) snapped a three-game losing streak and moved back into sole possession of fourth place in the NCHC standings.
Action was fast paced in the early going with the teams going nearly six minutes without a whistle at one point in the first eight minutes of play. A reshuffled forward lineup turned things up physically on the fore check in the Denver (14-8-1, 7-6 NCHC) zone. The line of Blake Coleman, Murphy and Andrew Schmit were probably the most active in the first few shifts, putting up a couple of shots on goal that Tanner Jaillet stopped.
The RedHawks got on the board with 7:53 remaining in the frame when Anthony Louis fired a shot that Jaillet got a piece of, but the puck fell behind him near the goal line. Louis crashed the net to poke home his fourth goal of the season with Coleman and Murphy both picking up assists. That goal was the lone tally of the frame as the Red and White skated to the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes for the second night in a row.
An early penalty in the second period allowed Denver to go on the attack with a power play. It appeared they tied the score at 1-1 at the 1:15 mark when Will Butcher’s point shot got through traffic and went in, but the officials took another look and determined that Ryan McKay was interfered with and subsequently waved the goal off. That call spurred on a successful penalty kill as the Red and White maintained their one-goal advantage.
MU was whistled for too many men on the ice at the 5:22 mark, testing the penalty killers once again. The RedHawks got some help during that kill as a one-timer by Joey LaLeggia hit the post, keeping them up a goal. The iron was unkind to Miami shortly after it returned to full strength as Austin Czarnik weaved through the neutral zone in transition and wristed a shot past Jaillet that caromed off the cross bar and out of play.
Matching minor penalties with 6:56 remaining in the middle frame opened the ice up with 4-on-4 play. The Red and White took advantage of the extra space as Coleman intercepted a pass to the point and lugged the puck the other way, dropping it to Murphy just inside the attacking zone. Murphy moved in on the right side and wristed a shot that beat Jaillet wide and slipped just inside the post to give them a 2-0 lead with 6:34 to go in the middle frame.
The Pioneers answered with the next tally as Gabe Levin intercepted a breakout pass and fed Zac Larraza for a wrister at the right circle that found the back of the net with 17:05 to go, cutting the RedHawks’ lead to 2-1 after 40 minutes.
After firing only six shots on goal in the third period on Friday, the RedHawks had a strong closing surge on Saturday. Miami outshot Denver 15-5 in the final 20 minutes of play. Miami was put short-handed midway through the third period, but a quick transition rush by Riley Barber and Czarnik led to a DU penalty just 11 seconds into the man advantage, wiping away that power play.
Denver had a great chance to tie the score with about seven minutes left when the puck found Gabe Levin’s stick near the crease, but McKay answered the bell with a big save to keep Miami out in front. The Red and White finally got their breathing room back with 4:22 left when Ben Paulides moved the puck to the neutral zone to Schmit, who won a one-on-one battle for the puck before dishing it ahead to Murphy. The senior forward fired a heavy wrist shot that Jaillet knocked straight into the air, but the puck fell past the DU goalie and into the net for his second of the night.
In an effort to claw back into the game, the Pioneers pulled Jaillet for an extra skater with three minutes to go, but the RedHawks stymied that right away as Murphy used the boards to clear the zone and Schmit found Coleman in transition for an empty net goal to cement the win with 2:40 to go.
Miami outshot Denver 34-22 overall on the evening and killed off all four DU power plays. The RedHawks technically went 0-for-1 on their power plays, but their only attempt was an 11 second stint with the man advantage in the third period. McKay stopped 21 shots to pick up his second win of the year. The line of Murphy (2g, 2a), Coleman (1g, 2a) and Schmit (2a) combined for nine points on three goals and six assists.
The RedHawks are back on the ice on Jan. 31 when they head to Western Michigan.
