Box Score Nov. 24, 2017 Box Score | PDF Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Six Miami players finished with multiple points while the defense held Bowling Green to 14 shots on goal to post a 6-3 victory in Friday night's series opener.
After seeing the game tied 3-3 late in the second period, the RedHawks (6-6-1) scored twice in a 37 second span to go on top for good in winning their second straight and moving to .500 on the season.
"Positionally we were very good tonight," head coach Enrico Blasi said. "Our effort and execution were both good at times. Bowling Green is a big strong team and they play a hard game. There was a lot of grinding along the walls and goal line and we did well at it. We had a big response after they tied it up and we got back to our game."
The RedHawks generated a couple good looks two minutes into the contest as Phil Knies got sprung in transition and Louie Belpedio was set up in the slot for shots that Eric Dop shrugged off. Miami went on the first power play of the night 3:35 in, but was unable to generate much on the attack as the contest remained scoreless five and change in.
That all changed with 13:45 left in the first as Grant Frederic held in a clearing attempt at the blue line and wristed a shot towards the net through traffic. A redirected shot got to the crease and Ben Lown fired at the loose puck several times with the first being a charm as he netted his first collegiate goal to make it a 1-0 contest. Carter Johnson also picked up an assist on the play.
After the RedHawks recorded six of the first seven shots on goal over the opening 10 minutes of play, the Falcons (6-5-3) began to string some shifts together in the offensive zone. BGSU eventually tied it up as Connor McDonald wristed a shot from atop the right circle through several bodies and in to even it up with 6:10 to go in the frame.
Undeterred, the RedHawks put a good cycle together behind the Falcon net. Conor Lemirande came out with the puck after it was tied up in some skates and fed Louie Belpedio at the right point. Kiefer Sherwood moved into the middle and got the pass before wristing a shot that got through traffic and in. Officials initially waved off the goal, but on further review determined it to be good as MU went up 2-1 with 4:09 left and took that lead into the locker room at intermission.
Strong play at the wall kept a Miami possession in the offensive zone alive as Grant Hutton kicked the puck ahead to Lown for a wrist shot that went wide. However, the shot took a lively bounce off the boards and went to Josh Melnick with an open net at the backdoor, which he finished to bump the lead to 3-1 with just 2:59 gone by in the middle stanza.
The RedHawks had a chance to make it a three-goal lead as Gordie Green got free for a breakaway, but could not control the puck in close. The Falcons then went the other way and centered the puck to Brett D'Andrea, who chipped in a goal with 9:26 left in the second period.
Miami took a penalty shortly after the goal, but managed to kill off the Bowling Green power play to stay in front. However, a turnover just inside the BGSU blue line sprung Tyler Spezia for a breakaway goal that tied it at 3-3 with 5:41 left until the break.
A late power play gave Miami a chance to correct matters and it did just that as Grant Hutton walked the puck into the slot and after his first shot attempt was blocked, fired a wrist shot by Dop that made it a 4-3 game with 1:35 to go in the period as Louie Belpedio and Sherwood earned assists. Hutton struck again 37 seconds later to bump the lead to 5-3 as Frederic and Phil Knies fed him for his second goal of the night that made it 5-3 after 40 minutes.
Despite only facing nine shots through two periods, Ryan Larkin was stellar on his first look in the third as he stopped Lukas Cragg on a breakaway to keep the two-goal lead intact in the opening moments of the final regulation frame.
The Falcons went on a power play with under six minutes to go, but the RedHawks once again held them off the board to maintain the two-goal lead. With under three minutes left, BGSU pulled its goaltender for an extra skater, but MU won a crucial defensive zone faceoff and cleanly exited its zone before drawing a penalty with 2:15 remaining. While Bowling Green was able to pull the goaltender again and play a little bit in the Miami zone at 5-on-5, the Red and White eventually cleared the zone and good work at the wall by Lemirande and Sherwood set up Carson Meyer for an empty net goal with 17.1 seconds remaining in regulation to seal the series opening win.
The RedHawks outshot the Falcons by a 27-14 margin. Miami finished 2-for-4 on the power play while killing off all three Bowling Green man advantages. Larkin picked up his second-straight win with 11 saves while Dop stopped 12 of 17 shots in the first two periods before Ryan Bednard relieved him and stopped all nine shots he faced in the third. Six Miami players finished with multi-point nights, led by Hutton (2g, 1a) and Sherwood's (1g, 2a) three. Frederic (2a), Belpedio (2a), Lemirande (2a) and Lown (1g, 1a) also finished with two points apiece.
Both teams wrap up their weekend series on Saturday night with the puck dropping at 7:07 p.m.
