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OXFORD, Ohio – Two third-period goals by No. 7 Minnesota Duluth sent the No. 6 Miami hockey team to a 3-1 loss at Steve ‘Coach’ Cady Arena on Friday night.
Friday’s defeat snaps the RedHawks’ (18-10-1, 11-7-1-1 NCHC) five-game unbeaten streak.
The RedHawks came out flying in the early going, pinning the Bulldogs (19-11-1, 11-7-1 NCHC) in their own end for minutes at a time over the first six minutes and change. A Miami penalty at the 6:56 mark gave Minnesota Duluth a chance to go to work on a power play. UMD took advantage as Justin Crandall’s shot got behind Jay Williams and eventually was knocked in off an MU skate, putting the Bulldogs up 1-0 7:12 into the game.
Blake Coleman evened the score 50 seconds later as Andrew Schmit started the play up ice to Coleman, who paired with Anthony Louis for a beautiful give-and-go goal to tie the game at 1-1 with 11:58 to go in the opening frame.
Both goaltenders were busy in the opening 20 minutes of play, facing a combined 23 shots. The Red and White owned a 13-10 edge in shots over the first, but the score remained tied at one apiece at the break.
Play was a bit more disjointed in the second period with four combined penalties. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to regain the lead when the RedHawks were called for too many men on the ice at the 7:34 mark. Another MU penalty with 9:17 elapsed in the period gave UMD a two-man advantage for 17 seconds, but the Red and White penalty killing unit stood tall to keep the Bulldogs off the board.
The RedHawks went on their first power play of the night with 7:48 remaining in the second. Miami fired four pucks at Kasimir Kaskisuo, but could not solve the Minnesota Duluth netminder during a scoreless two minutes. UMD had a golden chance late in the frame to go in front when Adam Krause picked up a loose puck behind the MU defense for a breakaway, but Jay Williams stayed with him to make a stellar save and keep the score tied. Miami would get another opportunity on the power play with 2:08 remaining in the middle frame, but only directed one shot on goal as the teams remained deadlocked in a 1-1 tie after 40 minutes of play.
A Miami penalty 1:13 into the third period proved costly as Tony Cameranesi jammed a loose puck in from the side of the crease for Minnesota Duluth’s second power play goal of the night, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead 2:47 into the final regulation frame.
The Red and White got two power play looks of their own at the 4:44 and 6:40 marks, respectively. Miami possessed the puck in the attacking zone for the vast majority of that four-minute stretch, but Kaskisuo turned away all three shots that came his way to hold MU off the board.
MU found offense harder to come by as the period wore on as UMD ended up with a 16-8 edge in shots in the final 20 minutes of play, doubling its game total from the first two periods. Willie Corrin gave the Bulldogs insurance with 4:29 left as he held the blue line and walked it in to the left circle before flipping a wrist shot into the net to make it 3-1.
The Bulldogs outshot the RedHawks 32-31 overall and went 2-for-4 on the power play while killing all four Red and White man advantages. Kaskisuo stopped 30 of 31 shots for UMD while Williams made 29 stops for MU.
Saturday’s season finale begins at 7:05 p.m. Fans can stick around for Skate with the Hawks after the contest concludes.
