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PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Kiefer Sherwood's one-timer with 8:25 remaining in regulation snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted the Miami hockey team to a 2-1 victory over No. 10 Providence on Saturday night.

The RedHawks' (1-1) power play accounted for all of their scoring for the second-consecutive night as their excellent special teams play gained them a split with the Friars (1-1) on opening weekend.

"The guys played hard tonight," head coach Enrico Blasi said. "We gained a lot of experience going through a lot in this game. This was a really good team effort."

After a combined 18 power plays in Friday night's season opener, game two started with a familiar tone as the Friars were whistled for a penalty just 25 seconds in. The RedHawks wasted little time capitalizing on the penalty as Carson Meyer redirected Louie Belpedio's wrister from the center point for his first collegiate goal with just 30 seconds gone by. Sherwood also picked up an assist after winning the faceoff.

Meyer's goal energized the RedHawks as they were noticeably better with the puck on Saturday early on after being outshot 14-5 in the opening period 24 hours earlier as play was much more even. The Friars got their first crack on the power play with 6:16 gone by in the frame, but the Red and White prevented them from getting a shot on target over a scoreless two minutes.

A Miami penalty with 2:34 remaining put Providence back on the power play, but it was MU that put together better pressure as Josh Melnick brought the puck up ice for a 2-on-1 rush, but Hayden Hawkey stopped the attempt. Before that rush, PC committed a penalty and the ensuing whistle put the game to 4-on-4. Eventually the RedHawks got a brief power play late, but the Meyer tally was the only one on the board as MU took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes. Shots on goal were even at 7-7.

After a relatively innocuous first period saw only a couple penalties each way, there was a bit of a parade to the penalty box that marred the second. The Friars took another penalty in the first minute of the second period, but that power play was cut short by a RedHawk penalty at the 2:25 mark. The RedHawks managed to kill off that man advantage and play got to 5-on-5 for the next few minutes.

That all changed at the 9:18 mark when the RedHawks got called for a five-minute boarding major with an accompanying game misconduct. Things got even dicier for MU as a minor penalty at the 11:03 mark gave the Friars a two-man advantage for a full two minutes. Miami's penalty kill was equal to the task thanks to three strong stops by Ryan Larkin and deft positional play by the on-ice unit. After the first penalty expired, the rejuvenated group had little trouble salting away what remained of the major penalty.

Saturday's parade to the penalty box was not done there as another Miami penalty with 4:20 left in the frame put Providence back on the power play. Undaunted, Larkin made three more saves and a PC penalty eventually salted away the last few seconds. After the shortened RedHawks' power play was unable to convert, they got another try with 1:08 left in the frame. While it did not score, another Friar penalty at the end of the period opened the door for the Red and White to extend their 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Despite the fresh ice and extended two-man advantage, Miami was unable to extend its lead as Providence prevented any shot from getting attempted. That penalty kill spurred on PC as a wraparound centering feed by Erik Foley found Bryan Lemos for a back door goal just 2:24 into the third period. During that scoring strike, Miami was whistled for a penalty, giving PC another power play with an opportunity to take the lead. Down a man, Miami managed to collect itself and did not even yield a shot attempt to leave the score tied with 15 and change remaining.

From there, Providence was called for four-straight penalties over the next six minutes, one of which was taken during what stood to be a brief 5-on-3 power play for Miami. That extra penalty allowed even more time for the RedHawk special teams to break through, which they did when Kiefer Sherwood launched a one-timer from atop the left circle to put the Red and White back in front at 2-1 with 8:25 remaining. Josh Melnick also picked up an assist on the go-ahead goal.

As the contest wore on, the Friars got another power play chance with 4:45 remaining. PC got an outstanding chance early on in the man advantage when the puck worked through traffic to Scott Conway in the slot, where he brought the puck to his forehand and tried to beat Larkin stick side, but the freshman stayed with the play and covered the puck to keep it a one-goal lead. The penalty was eventually killed off by Miami's stellar PK unit.

With time winding down, Providence pulled Hawkey for an extra skater and eventually drew a penalty with 5.6 seconds remaining to get an offensive zone draw in a 6-on-4 situation late. While the Friars won the faceoff, they could never get a shot through to the net as the RedHawks came away with a well-earned split.

Miami outshot Providence by a 24-21 margin on a night that once again saw a combined 18 power plays. The RedHawks struck on 2-of-10 power plays and killed off all eight Friar man advantages. All five of Miami's goals in the series came on the power play while the PK killed off the last 17 PC power plays. Sherwood (1g, 1a) and Belpedio (2a) both had multi-point efforts in the win. Larkin picked up his first collegiate win by stopping 20 of 21 shots while Hawkey turned away 22 of 24 shots.

The RedHawks begin a five-game home stand on Saturday when they host in-state rival Ohio State. Puck drops in Miami's home opener at 8:05 p.m.