Box Score Nov. 18, 2017 Final Stats | PDF Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - After falling behind in the first period again, the Miami hockey team rallied to exorcise some demons against No. 14/15 Minnesota Duluth.
The RedHawks (5-6-1, 2-3-1-0 National Collegiate Hockey) scored three unanswered goals and picked up a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs (6-6-2, 2-4 NCHC) to earn a series split of their weekend series. The win snaps MU's four-game overall winless streak and an 11-game winless streak against UMD.
Play was relatively even over the first few minutes of the contest as each team fired two shots on goal early on. The RedHawks' best bid came about three minutes in as the puck squirted free to Karch Bachman in the slot, but Hunter Shepard smothered the shot to keep it scoreless.
As the period moved past the midway point, the Bulldogs drew first blood when Nick Wolff found a rebound off a Blake Young shot and fired it in from the left circle to give them a 1-0 lead with 7:25 remaining in the opening stanza.
The Red and White got some pressure on the Bulldog net after falling behind and got their first power play with 5:43 left in the period. However, MU was penalized during the man advantage 46 seconds later and the score remained 1-0 in the latter stages. With under two minutes left, Ryan Larkin was clipped behind his net, leading to a bit of a skirmish that saw a fighting major and disqualification assessed to Miami with 1:35 left in the frame. The RedHawks then went on a 4-on-3 power play with 26.2 seconds left and Josh Melnick had a close range chance that Shepard stopped with less than a second left to keep MU down a goal at the break.
With several carryover penalties, the teams played nearly four minutes before getting even strength play. UMD killed off the carryover 4-on-3 power play and eventually got onto the power play off of the major penalty from late in the first. MU killed off that man advantage without incident to remain within a goal.
After getting outshot 11-7 in the first period, Miami reversed that number by outgunning Minnesota Duluth by an identical 11-7 margin in the middle frame. Extended cycling down low paid off with 6:37 to go in the period as Willie Knierim's centering pass defected to Ryan Siroky at the point and the junior blasted a slapshot through traffic to tie it up at 1-1. Louie Belpedio also picked up an assist on Siroky's second goal of the season.
The Red and White got a power play late in the middle stanza. While the Bulldogs killed it off without allowing a shot on goal, an offensive zone faceoff win by the RedHawks kept them hemmed in as eventually Carson Meyer got fed to the left of the goal and beat Shepard from a sharp angle short side to put Miami on top 2-1 with 1:39 left in the period. Scott Dornbrock and Karch Bachman got assists as Meyer scored for the second night in a row to put MU on top 2-1 after 40 minutes.
It did not take long out of the dressing room for the RedHawks to gain some breathing room as Josh Melnick was the end part of a give-and-go with Gordie Green and the junior forward's wrist shot made it a 3-1 game just 2:52 into the third period.
The Bulldogs tried storming back and got one close range chance for Peter Krieger where he redirected a feed, but Ryan Larkin stuck with it to shrug it aside as Krieger crashed the net.
With time winding down, UMD used the extra attacker to draw a bit closer as Parker Mackay flung a shot through traffic top shelf to cut MU's lead to 3-2 with 1:23 remaining. The Bulldogs kept Shepard out of the crease for the extra skater the remainder of the way, but could draw no closer as the RedHawks forced a split of the weekend series.
The Bulldogs finished with a 29-24 shot advantage on a night that only featured five combined power plays as Miami went 0-for-3 and Minnesota Duluth finished 0-for-2 on the man advantage. Larkin stopped 27 of 29 shots to pick up the victory while Shepard made 21 stops at the other end.
Miami steps out of league action next weekend when it takes on in-state rival Bowling Green on the road. Friday night's series opener begins at 7:37 p.m.
