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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Jay Williams came up big down the stretch as the No. 7 Miami hockey team held off a spirited comeback bid by Colorado College in a 2-1 win on Saturday night.
The RedHawks (18-9-1, 11-6-1-1 National Collegiate Hockey) extended their season-long unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) and moved into a three-way tie for first place in the NCHC standings with 35 points. Matching North Dakota and Omaha’s totals.
“This was a good hockey game tonight,” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. “Special teams were a crucial part tonight and we played hard to get the result. Every game is a battle in our league and you have to bend, but not break to get results. We expect we will be in store for playoff hockey the rest of the way and will continue taking things one game at a time going forward.”
Both teams were playing close to the vest defensively in the early stages as the teams combined for three shots over the first 10 minutes. The RedHawks did have a good chance when Riley Barber got a step down the left wing, but Tyler Marble stopped him as he cut in to keep the contest scoreless.
The Tigers (5-21-1, 1-16-1 NCHC) went on the first power play of the night at the 11:15 mark, but the RedHawks were sharp while killing the penalty. Miami allowed just one late shot on goal as the contest remained scoreless late into the frame. CC got another power play with 4:59 to go in the opening stanza and MU was again up to the task. The Tigers took a penalty with two seconds left on the man advantage, giving the RedHawks an opportunity of their own with an extra body. The man advantage failed to click despite some early pressure as the teams went to the dressing room still scoreless with both sides firing five shots on goal.
Miami established its game in the second period and pinned Colorado College in its defensive zone for long stretches. The RedHawks ended up with a 22-8 edge in shots in the middle frame, but the contest was still scoreless midway through the contest. A power play goal by Louie Belpedio changed all that as he finished from the right circle after Austin Czarnik fed him with a beautiful cross-ice seam pass to put Miami on top 1-0. Riley Barber also drew an assist on the power play tally, though Czarnik’s primary helper tied him with Carter Camper for second in school history with 114 career assists. The Red and White came through on the power play again with 2:25 left when Sean Kuraly poked home a rebound near the crease for his 14th goal of the season to spot them a 2-0 lead with Anthony Louis and Alex Wideman picking up assists on the play.
Colorado College’s power play took advantage of a chance of its own in the late stages of the frame. Scott Wamsganz cut MU's lead in half with 53 seconds left in the frame, leaving Miami with a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes for the second-straight night.
Wamsganz’ goal seemed to energize the Tigers as they turned things up a notch in the third and outshot the RedHawks 14-6 in the final 20 minutes of play. A Miami penalty 5:03 into the period allowed Colorado College a golden chance to tie the contest up, but MU was able to withstand that surge.
It appeared the Tigers finally struck for the tying goal with 9:05 left when Cody Bradley found a loose puck and fired it into the net. However, the officials went to the booth for a lengthy review and ultimately concluded Hunter Fejes interfered with Williams, pulling him out of position to make a play on Bradley’s shot.
With the goal waived off, the RedHawks still had 9:05 left to go to secure the weekend sweep. A power play chance with 8:31 left allowed a chance at breathing room and Miami had a good look early when Riley Barber’s redirect went just wide of the cage. That man advantage was unable to find an insurance tally and the wide rink managed to open up a little more when coincidental penalties with 3:57 left sent the teams to 4-on-4 play.
A Miami penalty 45 seconds later gave the Tigers a glorious shot at tying the score with a 4-on-3 power play. Jacob Slavin had one look early on that eluded Williams, but hit the post. The Red and White took advantage of the break to kill off the remainder of the penalty and ultimately salt away a series sweep.
The RedHawks outshot the Tigers 33-27 for the night and converted on 2-of-4 power plays while killing of 1-of-5 Tiger man advantages. Williams was stellar down the stretch, making 26 saves, including a perfect 14 of 14 effort in the third period to improve to 16-4 on the season. Kuraly’s 14th goal of the year stood up as the game-winning tally, which gives him a school-record nine this season. That total is one shy of Austin Ortega’s national lead and NCAA record-tying total.
Miami returns home for the first time since Jan. 24 when it begins a two-game series with Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 20.
