Hockey

Opportunistic Huskies Top RedHawks, 5-1

Feb. 5, 2016

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OXFORD, Ohio - Chances came in bunches early on in the Miami hockey team's series opener with No. 3/3 St. Cloud State, but the Huskies weathered the storm and scored the final four goals to top the RedHawks 5-1.

Miami drops to 10-13-3 (5-10-2-2 National Collegiate Hockey) after its second-straight loss while St. Cloud State moves to 23-5-1 and 13-3-1-1 in the NCHC.

The RedHawks were sharp through their first two full rotations through their lines, recording the first three shots on goal and generally controlling play in the offensive zone. On the Huskies' first offensive zone possession, the Red and White got called for a trip, but the power play was short lived as SCSU interfered with a defender off the draw two seconds off the puck drop to make it a 4-on-4 situation. A Miami rush shortly after drew another Husky penalty to give the RedHawks a 4-on-3 power play.

While Miami had some good sustained pressure during the man advantage, the ice closed back off without a goal to a 5-on-4 power play. Shortly after the players returned, a rebound went off the glass and in front where Sean Kuraly redirected the puck into the goal, but officials immediately waved it off for being put in with a high stick.

St. Cloud State eventually killed off the second penalty, but the Miami attack continued as at one point it held a 12-2 advantage in shots with several dangerous opportunities. The Huskies' first shot was a quality look on their end as Joey Benik was fed in the slot for a one-timer that Jay Williams made a stellar pad save on to keep it deadlocked at 0-0.

Miami ended up attempting 28 shots (17 on goal) versus just 11 (6 on goal) from St. Cloud State and got another power play with 4:32 left in the frame, but could not crack Lindgren with the man advantage. With time winding down, Ethan Prow worked his way in from the right point to the slot, where he flipped a backhand through traffic and in to put the Huskies on top 1-0 with 39.3 seconds left in the period, a score that held into intermission.

That deficit did not last long as Josh Melnick tapped in a rebound of an Alex Gacek shot after Grant Hutton held the line to tie the score at 1-1 just 15 seconds into the middle stanza. Things opened up a bit more for both sides, but Miami still had the better of the chances. One shift in particular saw Jack Roslovic feed Kuraly in the slot on two occasions, one on a jam play that Lindgren gloved and another after a steady Williams save created an odd man rush where Kuraly beat Lindgren, but hit the post.

The RedHawks continued pressing the attack, but a turnover in the offensive zone left David Morley all by himself behind the play right off the bench and he was fed in for a breakaway goal to put the Huskies on top 2-1 with 8:25 left in the second period. SCSU had a chance to go on top by a couple when Kalle Kossila had the puck on the right wing during a 2-on-1, but Williams stopped him twice from in close. Nevertheless, another offensive zone turnover sprung Judd Peterson down the left wing, where he drove the net and scored on a backhand to put the Huskies ahead 3-1 with 5:53 left in the frame, leaving MU down by a couple after 40 minutes.

Miami tried to push on the attack at the start of the third period, with a Scott Dornbrock shot hitting the post in the first couple of minutes. However, another MU turnover created a 3-on-2 rush that SCSU converted on tic-tac-toe passing from Jimmy Murray, Papa and Blake Winiecki with the latter tapping in a back door pass to make it 4-1 with 6:10 gone by in the third period. The Red and White managed to kill off a penalty midway through the third, but could not get anything else past Lindgren during its surges before a Patrick Russell transition goal put the game away with 4:07 remaining.

Miami outshot St. Cloud State 36-24, though it was a much closer 19-18 in favor of MU in the final 40 minutes. The Red and White went 0-for-3 on the power play while killing off both Husky man advantages.

The RedHawks finish the weekend series against the Huskies and their four-game home stand on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Melnick

#37 Josh Melnick

Forward
5' 10"
Freshman
Grant Hutton

#55 Grant Hutton

Defenseman
6' 3"
Freshman
Jack Roslovic

#96 Jack Roslovic

Forward
6' 1"
Freshman
Scott Dornbrock

#27 Scott Dornbrock

Defensemen
6' 3"
Freshman
Jay Williams

#1 Jay Williams

Goaltender
6' 2"
Freshman
Sean Kuraly

#9 Sean Kuraly

Forward
6' 2"
Freshman
Alex Gacek

#12 Alex Gacek

Forward
5' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Josh Melnick

#37 Josh Melnick

5' 10"
Freshman
Forward
Grant Hutton

#55 Grant Hutton

6' 3"
Freshman
Defenseman
Jack Roslovic

#96 Jack Roslovic

6' 1"
Freshman
Forward
Scott Dornbrock

#27 Scott Dornbrock

6' 3"
Freshman
Defensemen
Jay Williams

#1 Jay Williams

6' 2"
Freshman
Goaltender
Sean Kuraly

#9 Sean Kuraly

6' 2"
Freshman
Forward
Alex Gacek

#12 Alex Gacek

5' 8"
Freshman
Forward