Hockey

RedHawks Storm Back to Stun Fighting Hawks

Box Score Jan. 14, 2017

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GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The Miami hockey team has found no deficit insurmountable during its current surge, but its third period dominance was certainly put to the test on Friday night.

Trailing defending national champion and seventh-ranked North Dakota 3-1 after 40 minutes, the RedHawks erupted for five third period goals to quiet a raucous Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd of 11,728 and skate away with a 6-3 victory.

That win extended Miami's (8-8-5, 4-4-3-1 National Collegiate Hockey) winning streak to five games and its unbeaten streak to six, the longest such streaks since joining the league in the 2013-14 season. More importantly, it moves MU to .500 on the season.

The RedHawks came out with early jump, getting speed through the neutral zone and establishing possession offensively. Karch Bachman had an early chance getting a head of steam and driving the net before Cam Johnson stopped him. Conor Lemirande also got a stick on a rebound up front, but the shot went just wide.

Miami's early pressure finally bore fruit at the 3:30 mark when Zach LaValle's slap-pass caromed off the stick of Gordie Green at the right side of the crease and in for his fourth goal of the year. Kiefer Sherwood also picked up an assist on the tally that put MU on top by a 1-0 count. That lead lasted 2:30 as a point shot by Christian Wolanin tipped off a Miami body through traffic and in to even it up at 1-1 with 14 minutes left in the opening frame.

Special teams play was brought into the forefront over the final 10 minutes of the period with Miami going on three power plays, but was unable to convert while North Dakota had an abbreviated man advantage that was also killed off with MU drawing a penalty late in the frame. Both teams fired seven shots on goal and the score remained 1-1 after 20 minutes.

Two RedHawk skaters were penalized simultaneously just 2:16 into the second period, putting them in a precarious position as the Fighting Hawks got a 2-man advantage. A one-timer by Brock Boeser put the Fighting Hawks on top at the 2:48 mark. While Miami managed to kill off the second penalty, Shane Gersich used the MU defense as a screen coming down the right wing and scored from the right dot to make it 3-1 with just 4:20 gone by in the middle stanza.

Leading by two goals, UND began to control the pace of play, stringing together multiple shifts in the MU end as shots at one point were 16-2 in the period. That extended pressure drew another penalty on the Red and White, which they were able to kill off thanks to some strong stops early by Ryan Larkin. After killing off the penalty, the RedHawks got a man advantage of their own with a chance to draw closer, but Cam Johnson was able to smother some close range shots to keep it a two-shot contest.

The Miami power play seemed to change the flow of the game the rest of the period as MU ended up taking 10 of the final 11 shots on goal with the Red and White tilting the ice in the Fighting Hawk end. However, Johnson stopped each attempt as Miami entered the final intermission facing a two-goal deficit.

With some momentum heading into the third, Anthony Louis tipped a mid-air puck past Johnson from in front to cut the gap to a goal. After a lengthy review, Louis' goal stood and made it a 3-2 game with 19:28 remaining in regulation as Josh Melnick picked up the lone assist on the play. The RedHawks kept the pressure on from there as Carson Meyer took an entry feed off the boards from Melnick, turned a defender inside out and deked out Johnson before finishing on the backhand to tie it up at 3-3 just 4:03 into the final frame. Louie Belpedio also earned an assist on the tying goal

Miami wasn't done there as Karch Bachman, whose speed caused UND problems at several points of the contest got fed behind the defense and buried a wrist shot top shelf to put MU back in front 4-3 at the 7:49 mark with Willie Knierim and Belpedio drawing helpers. That goal chased Johnson from the net, leaving Matt Tomek to finish the game in goal for UND.

The new goaltender was greeted to a further Miami onslaught as Ryan Siroky gathered a loose puck moving across the net mouth and roofed his second goal of the season with 8:59 to go as Scott Dornbrock started the play by throwing it into the middle with it eventually reaching Siroky at the other end of the crease.

An interference penalty on Miami gave North Dakota a bit of an opening to get back into the contest, but MU was having none of it and killed off the penalty thanks to some strong stops by Larkin and good positional play. With 5:04 remaining, the Fighting Hawks were whistled for a five-minute major elbowing penalty that put the RedHawks on an extended power play and left UND a man short for nearly the rest of the contest. With 4:02 to go, Belpedio capped the scoring as his one-timer got by Tomek to make it a 6-3 contest. Louis and Sherwood earned assists on the final score of the game.

Eleven of Miami's 18 skaters recorded a point with Belpedio (1g, 2a), Louis (1g, 1a), Sherwood (2a) and Melnick (2a) notching multi-point games. While North Dakota outshot Miami 33-30 overall, MU enjoyed an 11-6 edge in the third period to post the emphatic comeback. Both teams struck once on six power plays with Larkin making 30 saves in the win while Johnson stopped 21 shots and Tomek turned away three shots.

These teams wrap up the weekend series on Saturday night with the puck dropping at 8:07 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Gordie Green

#9 Gordie Green

Forward
5' 8"
Freshman
Carson Meyer

#18 Carson Meyer

Forward
5' 11"
Freshman
Ryan Larkin

#31 Ryan Larkin

Goaltender
6' 1"
Freshman
Karch Bachman

#85 Karch Bachman

Forward
5' 11"
Freshman
Willie Knierim

#92 Willie Knierim

Forward
6' 3"
Freshman
Ryan Siroky

#24 Ryan Siroky

Forward
5' 11"
Freshman
Josh Melnick

#37 Josh Melnick

Forward
5' 10"
Freshman
Kiefer Sherwood

#44 Kiefer Sherwood

Forward
6' 0"
Freshman
Scott Dornbrock

#27 Scott Dornbrock

Defensemen
6' 3"
Freshman
Conor Lemirande

#42 Conor Lemirande

Forward
6' 6"
Freshman
Louie Belpedio

#58 Louie Belpedio

Defensemen
5' 10"
Freshman
Anthony Louis

#95 Anthony Louis

Forward
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Gordie Green

#9 Gordie Green

5' 8"
Freshman
Forward
Carson Meyer

#18 Carson Meyer

5' 11"
Freshman
Forward
Ryan Larkin

#31 Ryan Larkin

6' 1"
Freshman
Goaltender
Karch Bachman

#85 Karch Bachman

5' 11"
Freshman
Forward
Willie Knierim

#92 Willie Knierim

6' 3"
Freshman
Forward
Ryan Siroky

#24 Ryan Siroky

5' 11"
Freshman
Forward
Josh Melnick

#37 Josh Melnick

5' 10"
Freshman
Forward
Kiefer Sherwood

#44 Kiefer Sherwood

6' 0"
Freshman
Forward
Scott Dornbrock

#27 Scott Dornbrock

6' 3"
Freshman
Defensemen
Conor Lemirande

#42 Conor Lemirande

6' 6"
Freshman
Forward
Louie Belpedio

#58 Louie Belpedio

5' 10"
Freshman
Defensemen
Anthony Louis

#95 Anthony Louis

5' 7"
Freshman
Forward