OXFORD, Ohio – The UMass Lowell River Hawks shut out the Miami hockey team by a 3-0 margin in the team's series opener at Steve 'Coach' Cady Arena on Friday.
This is the fourth-straight game either Miami (3-2) or its opponent has recorded a shutout, MU has posted two of those such outings.
Just a few minutes into the game,
Ben Lown used his speed to create the first offensive chance of the game in transition, but Tyler Wall stood tall for the River Hawks to keep the game scoreless. Johnathan Gruden was set up for a quick shot five minutes into the first, but was also stopped by Wall.
With 5:38 remaining in the first, Miami was called for the first of two-straight penalties late in the frame, giving the River Hawks (2-1) a brief two-man advantage. The Red and White survived the 5-on-3 opportunity, but could not hold off the River Hawks' attack during the second minor penalty. Sam Knoblauch eventually scored in the slot with 2:20 to go in the frame.
Back at even strength, the River Hawks got a breakaway that Jordon Uhelski stayed with, keeping the RedHawks within one going into the first intermission.
Miami began the second period with a carry over power play, where
Josh Melnick nearly put MU on the board by tipping a pass in front of the net, but the attempt went just wide and the game remained 1-0 in favor of the visiting team.
Uhelski came up with a pair of impressive saves with over 13 minutes to play in the second team to keep it a one-goal game. Midway through the second period, Uhelski went post-to-post to make a back-door save. After the play was blown dead, UMass Lowell took a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct to give Miami its second power play of the game. The RedHawks did not capitalize on the man advantage and remain down by one goal with eight minutes left in the second period.
After withstanding sustained pressure from the Red & White, the River Hawks went up by two goals when Connor Wilson scored in transition on a 3-on-1 with 5:05 to play in the middle stanza. Despite a 21-17 shot advantage through 40 minutes, MU went into the second intermission trailing 2-0.
Miami began the third putting on a great deal of pressure in the UMass Lowell zone. Five minutes into the frame, the RedHawks caused commotion in front the net with a flurry of four shots, but could not find the back of the net. Melnick forced a turnover and drew a penalty with 6:38 gone by in the third, giving Miami another man advantage chance to pull within a goal. However, a turnover behind the MU net created a shorthanded tally for Kenny Hausinger that capped the scoring at 3-0.
Miami ended up with a 36-22 edge in shots, but went 0-for-5 on the power play while UMass Lowell converted one of its three tries on the man advantage. Tyler Wall stopped all 36 shots he faced while Uhelski made 19 saves for the Red & White.
These teams finish up their weekend series on Saturday with puck drop at 7:05 p.m.
Â
