Follow: @MiamiOH_Hockey | @MiamiRedHawks
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Three extra attacker goals by the No. 4/4 Miami hockey team set the stage for a tremendous finish, but No. 14/15 Providence held off a late charge to top the RedHawks 7-5 in the NCAA East Regional semifinals on Saturday night.
The RedHawks (25-14-1) trailed 6-2 entering the third period, but aggressively pulling their goaltender for a sixth skater nearly allowed them to come all the way back as they got as close as 6-5 in the setback.
Miami put together the first good opportunity early on when Cody Murphy drove the net from the left corner for a point blank chance that PC goaltender Jon Gillies stopped. Murphy took advantage of his next opportunity at the 4:10 mark when he beat Gillies up high with a wrist shot to cap a transition rush initiated by Justin Greenberg and Louie Belpedio.
The Friars (23-13-2) took advantage of a RedHawk turnover in the offensive zone as Trevor Mingoia worked the puck up the right wing, used a defenseman as a screen and beat Jay Williams for his 14th goal of the year to even the score at 1-1.
Anthony Louis gave MU the lead back just over three minutes later after a nice job by his line mates of keeping the play alive in the offensive zone. Austin Czarnik first fed Chris Joyaux for a one-timer that skipped wide of the goal, but Louis pounced on a rebound off the wall and beat Gillies for his ninth tally of the year to make it a 2-1 Miami lead. That advantage lasted just 1:29 as Shane Luke capped a transition rush when the puck found his stick in the high slot and he flung it through traffic and in, tying the score at two apiece.
Only one minor penalty was called in the opening 20 minutes and that put Miami shorthanded with four minutes remaining in the frame. The Red and White were sharp down a man and did not yield a shot on goal during a successful penalty kill. Providence put together one more good look in the final minute when a shot was redirected wide of the net and bounced to Ross Mauermann behind the goal, who attempted a wraparound that Williams dove from the other post to stop with his paddle. That stop kept the contest tied at 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.
The RedHawks were put shorthanded again just 30 seconds into the second period, but managed to kill off another Friar man advantage to leave the game tied. PC did take the first eight shots on goal of the period, keeping Williams busy in the crease. Providence did eventually cash in on all that offensive zone pressure when Steven McParland jammed in a rebound to give it a 3-2 lead, its first advantage of the night.
Miami killed off another penalty midway through the frame to stay within a goal, but Providence continued pressuring in the offensive zone for the next few shifts. PC eventually added another goal as Brian Pinho finished a backdoor feed to up the Friar lead to 4-2 with eight minutes to go in the middle frame.
Noel Acciari made it 5-2 30 seconds later when he went up high on a backhand to chase Williams from the crease for the night. The RedHawks went on their first power play of the night with 3:29 to go in the frame, but Gillies stopped both shots he faced to keep it a three-goal Friar lead. Providence struck again with 1:17 to go in the frame as Shane Luke scored his second of the night on a 3-on-2 rush to give PC a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes.
The Red and White got a power play at the 3:41 mark of the frame, but were unable to convert on their second man advantage. Trailing by four goals, Miami pulled McKay out of the crease for an extra skater with just under 13 minutes to go in regulation. After extended play with an empty net, Matthew Caito drew MU a little closer when he picked the far corner on a wrist shot through traffic from atop the right circle to make it 6-3 with 8:34 remaining.
Miami got another chance to set up in the offensive zone with an extra skater just over a minute later and it paid off once again as Devin Loe redirected a Sean Kuraly shot past Gillies and in to make it 6-4 with 5:46 to go. The Red and White managed to strike again with an extra attacker as Kuraly cleaned up a rebound in front for his 19th goal of the year to make it 6-5 with 1:33 remaining in regulation.
The RedHawks got a chance to set up in the offensive zone with just over 30 seconds remaining and the sixth attacker on the ice, even having the puck come loose near the crease with 24 seconds remaining. However, no Miami stick could get to the loose puck and PC eventually clearned the puck before Brandon Tanev put the game away with an empty net goal with seven seconds remaining.
Providence outshot Miami 36-34 overall, though MU closed that gap by holding a 15-3 edge in the third period. Neither team scored on the power play as the Friars finished 0-for-3 on the man advantage while the RedHawks went 0-for-2. Czarnik dished out two assists to finish his career tied with Bill Bok for fifth in school history at 169 career points while Caito, Kuraly and Louis each posted a goal and an assist for multi-point games of their own. Gillies stopped 29 of 34 Miami shots while Williams (23 saves on 28 shots) and McKay (six saves on seven shots) split the duties in goal for the Red and White. Miami played 8:35 with an empty net, including 8:32 in the third period alone. MU got some tremendous hustle plays to prevent earlier empty net goals to keep its comeback bid alive, perhaps none more impressive than Belpedio’s diving stop that led to him crashing into the boards to keep the puck from crossing the goal line with under a minute left in regulation.
The RedHawks experienced a 10-win improvement from their 2013-14 total, finishing the year with 25 victories and winning their second conference tournament title in program history by claiming the second annual National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff.
