Box Score Jan. 5, 2018
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OXFORD, Ohio -
Ryan Larkin stopped 44 shots and the Miami hockey team put together a stellar night on special teams to top No. 4/5 Denver 4-3 on Friday night.
Friday's win snaps a five-game winless streak for Miami (9-8-2, 4-4-1-0 National Collegiate Hockey) against defending national champion Denver (11-6-4, 5-4-2-1 NCHC).
The RedHawks got on the board right away as Carson Meyer flung a shot on net through traffic from the right half wall and a rebound caromed off Tanner Jaillet and right to Gilling, who finished right at the doorstep to make it a 1-0 contest just 1:10 in. Conor Lemirande also picked up an assist on the tally.
Denver started to get a few rushes the other way and held a 6-4 lead in shots through the midway point of the first period. However, none of the chances were in dangerous areas as Larkin found the pucks to keep the lead intact. Later on in the frame, Blake Hillman got set up coming in on a rush at the back post, but his shot went off the pipe and stayed out.
The Pioneers went on the first power play of the night with 6:33 left in the opening stanza, but the RedHawks were equal to the task in killing off the two minute minor. Shortly after play returned to 5-on-5, Larkin faced his biggest test of the night, robbing Jake Durflinger point blank on a rebound opportunity.
Miami ended up getting outshot 16-6, but maintained its 1-0 lead through 20 minutes thanks to timely stops by Larkin.
A carryover Miami power play got killed off and Denver went on its second power play just 1:16 into the middle frame. The RedHawks were able to kill off that man advantage and create some offense of their own moments later. After working the puck out of their zone, Kiefer Sherwood lugged the puck up the right wing and fired a sharp angle shot off of Jaillet, with the rebound kicking into the middle to Rourke Russell, who buried it into the open net for his first career goal to make it 2-0 with 4:12 gone by in the second.
The Pioneers continued putting on pressure in the RedHawk zone, garnering a pair of power plays in the middle stanza, but Ryan Larkin continued to make solid stops to keep the Red & White in front. DU finally got on the board with 5:27 left in the period as Dylan Gambrell redirected a shot by Blake Hillman and cut the lead to 2-1. That's where the score remained through 40 minutes with DU holding a 32-13 shot advantage.
Once again, Miami started the third period with a carryover power play and while it had chances, could not get that insurance tally. Denver followed suit by getting a man advantage of its own immediately after killing the penalty off, but MU managed to kill it off and maintain the lead. An interference penalty off an offensive zone faceoff gave the RedHawks another chance with the man advantage. This time, the RedHawks were able to execute as Gordie Green and Josh Melnick dropped the puck through traffic to Gilling in the soft spot of the slot, where the freshman roofed a shot for his second of the night to up the lead to 3-1 with 15:35 left in regulation.
The RedHawks were stymying the Pioneer attack for long stretches of play, but DU hit a quick pass to spring Henrick Borgstrom for a breakaway goal to cut the gap to 3-2 with 10:20 remaining. That tally withstood a Miami challenge, but a Denver penalty shortly afterwards gave MU a chance to answer. The Red and White once again bounced back as a clean faceoff win by Gilling set up a one-timer by Louie Belpedio from the point that made it 4-2 with 9:43 to go.
Once again, Denver pressed to get back into the game and an icing allowed it to pull Jaillet with just over three minutes remaining to get a 6-on-5. DU managed to find open ice and gain the zone where Troy Terry dropped the puck to Gambrell, where he fired in his second goal of the night with 2:50 remaining.
Another icing by Miami with 2:41 left gave Denver another chance to set up play with an extra attacker. The Pioneers won several faceoffs in the offensive zone to keep the pressure on, but the RedHawks got timely blocked shots and prevented the Pioneers from getting the equalizer.
Denver finished with a 47-19 shot advantage, but Larkin made 44 stops and Miami killed off all five DU power plays while going 2-for-4 on the man advantage. Gilling posted a season-high three points on two goals and an assist while Melnick dished out two third period helpers.
These teams wrap up their weekend series on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.
