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OXFORD, Ohio - A three-goal second period gave the Miami hockey team the lift they needed as they salvaged a split with third-ranked St. Cloud State on the strength of a 3-2 win on Saturday night.

The RedHawks move to 11-13-3 on the season with a 6-10-2-2 mark in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with the win.

Miami wasted no time getting up the ice as a textbook breakout set up Sean Kuraly coming down the middle, where his shot was stopped by Charlie Lindgren. Moments later, St. Cloud State (23-6-1, 13-4-1-1 NCHC) had a scoring opportunity as Patrick Russell got the puck alone atop the crease, but his shot went just wide of the net after moving it to the right edge of the crease.

The RedHawks got the lone power play of the first period with 12:44 gone by, but registered just one shot on goal during a scoreless two minutes. Miami's best chance came moments after the man advantage as Jack Roslovic dropped the puck to a trailing Kevin Morris in the middle, where his shot was stopped by Lindgren.

Like in Friday night's opener, St. Cloud State got on the board late in the first as Jimmy Schuldt walked the puck in from the left point and beat Jay Williams with a high shot to the far corner to put SCSU on top 1-0 with 1:45 left in the frame. Despite an 11-5 advantage in shots, Miami entered the locker room trailing by a goal for the second night in a row.

Another power play opportunity came for the Red and White 4:14 into the second period as a Huskie player got called for a board in their offensive zone. That man advantage lasted just 42 seconds as MU committed an offensive zone penalty of its own to open the ice up for some 4-on-4 hockey. The open ice worked to the RedHawks' advantage as Louie Belpedio worked the puck from the point to Grant Hutton over at the right circle, who in turn found Josh Melnick at the bottom of the left circle where he one-timed in his eighth goal of the year to tie the score at 1-1.

Shortly after returning from the penalty box, Kuraly dug the puck out of traffic below Miami's goal line to start a rush, after playing a bit of a neutral ice give-and-go with Greenberg, the RedHawk captain drove down the left wing and roofed a shot from in close to give them their first lead of the series at 2-1 with 7:16 expired in the frame.

Kiefer Sherwood put the RedHawks on top by a 3-1 count with 9:29 left in the middle stanza with his fellow Knights of Columbus line mates helping out. Kuraly dug the puck out of a scrum in the high slot and worked it to Roslovic at the right circle, who fed a cross-ice pass right into Sherwood's wheelhouse for a one-timer. The Huskies cut the deficit to 3-2 with 6:38 to go as Patrick Russell finished off a transition rush. Miami continued to get some quality chances, including a few more for Morris in front of the net that Lindgren stopped, but the lead remained one after 40 minutes of play.

The RedHawks' top-ranked penalty kill was put to the test at the 2:07 mark when they committed a trip in the offensive zone. Jay Williams was steady in making three saves to kill off the Huskies' dangerous power play. Another Miami penalty put St. Cloud State on the power play with 12:44 left, but that was negated 24 seconds later by a SCSU penalty. When the penalty dust settled, MU still held a 3-2 lead midway through the final regulation frame.

The Huskies outshot the RedHawks 11-6 in the final frame, but the lead remained at 3-2 as the period wore down. Miami did get a transition opportunity in the final few minutes when Roslovic and Sherwood had a 2-on-1. Roslovic brought the puck down the right wing, but his shot was deflected out of play to keep it a one-shot game.

In the final minute, St. Cloud State got a pair of offensive zone faceoffs with Lindgren on the bench for a sixth skater, but Miami kept it to the outside after losing the first faceoff and the second chance came with eight seconds left where a win by SCSU cleared the blue line and allowed time to expire.

The Red and White ended up with a 29-23 advantage in shots. Neither team converted on the power play with MU going 0-for-4 and SCSU finishing 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Williams picked up his sixth win of the year by making 21 saves while Lindgren stopped 26 shots at the other end.

Miami plays its final non-conference game of the year on Friday night at former Central Collegiate Hockey Association rival Bowling Green. The puck drops at 7 p.m.