ERIE, Pa. – Ryan Larkin made 21 saves and the Miami hockey team took less than 30 seconds to grab a lead it would never relinquish in a 3-0 win over Mercyhurst at the Ice Breaker on Saturday.
The RedHawks (3-1) wrap up the tournament with a consolation game victory.
"We bounced back pretty well and played more determined and better in our structure," head coach
Enrico Blasi said. Our special teams did well. Penalty kill was outstanding and the power play controlled the puck very well."
Karch Bachman made Miami's first shift of the day a productive one by picking off a pass and scoring the other way. The junior's third goal of the season happened just 29 seconds in and put the Red & White on top 1-0.
The Lakers (0-2-1) went on a pair of power plays in the first eight minutes of the game. The RedHawks killed off the first man advantage without incident, but Mercyhurst nearly tied it up on the second when a deflected shot went off the post. Still, Miami got out of that one unscathed and took the one-goal lead into the locker room at intermission.
A power play opportunity early in the second period gave Miami a chance to pad its lead and it kept Stefano Cantali busy with four shots on goal, but all were stopped as the lead remained at one. That breathing room came a few minutes later when good cycling by the RedHawks led to
Ryan Siroky netting his second goal of the year on a wraparound with 13:51 left in the period.
Christian Mohs assisted on the goal for his first collegiate point.
Miami had a golden opportunity to put the contest away when a five-minute major was assessed to Mercyhurst, but Cantali turned away eight more shots to keep the contest 2-0. The Lakers then had a chance with an elongated power play of their own with 1:24 remaining. It was the RedHawks who capitalized however as
Phil Knies forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored on a breakaway with 49 seconds to go to make it a 3-0 game after 40 minutes.
The RedHawks killed off the remainder of the major penalty, along with two other man advantages, in the third period while
Ryan Larkin made eight more saves to preserve the shutout.
Miami outshot Mercyhurst 31-21 with Larkin posting his second shutout in three starts. The Red & White killed off all six Laker power plays to keep them off the board for the game.
The RedHawks begin a four-game home stand on Friday when they open a weekend series with UMass Lowell. Opening faceoff is at 7:35 p.m.
