OXFORD, Ohio – Following five scoreless periods to start the weekend, the Miami hockey team struck for two third period goals to top UMass Lowell 2-1 on Saturday night.
The RedHawks (4-2) force a series split with the victory.
Both teams played it close to the vest in the first 20 minutes of play as each side got just five shots on goal.
Scott Corbett got a good look in the first few minutes off a UML (2-2) turnover in the neutral zone, but Tyler Wall smothered the attempt to leave it scoreless. MU went on the first power play of the evening with 8:04 left in the opening frame, but that lasted just 11 seconds as Miami committed a penalty of its own to leave the teams at 4-on-4.
The River Hawks nearly got on the board with under four minutes left in the period when an errant pass nearby the RedHawk goal left Ryan Lohin with a look at the net, but his bid went off the post. UMass Lowell went to work on a full power play late in the first, but a pair of stops by
Ryan Larkin left the game scoreless at the break.
Things opened up a bit more in the second period, with the RedHawks outshooting the River Hawks by a 13-9 margin. UMass Lowell had a pair of power plays that accounted for four of its shot attempts, but Ryan turned those aside as the Miami penalty kill remained perfect to that point in the evening. MU generated its best opportunity to of the middle stanza about midway through when
Gordie Green found
Josh Melnick all alone in the slot, but Wall made the save to leave it scoreless.
An errant pass hit a Miami skate and sent Connor Wilson into the RedHawks' zone, where he buried a wrist shot with 5:49 left in the period to give the River Hawks a 1-0 lead through 40 minutes.
Miami tied things up just 1:05 into the third when
Ben Lown swatted home a rebound of a
Karch Bachman shot top shelf for his first goal of the season. This rush began after
Bray Crowder chopped the puck off the boards to Bachman to begin the transition opportunity, picking up his first collegiate point with an assist on the play.
The Red & White raced out to a 10-1 shot advantage in the third period. After matching minors created 4-on-4 play, another River Hawks' penalty put the RedHawks on a 4-on-3 power play with 12:05 remaining in regulation. Miami finally broke through on the man advantage at the 11:48 mark when
Derek Daschke fired home a shot after his initial pass across was blocked.
Gordie Green and
Grant Hutton picked up assists on Daschke's second of the year.
Trailing for the first time this weekend, UML put on an offensive surge, recording the next nine shots on goal and hitting a post with under five minutes remaining. However, Larkin was sharp in stopping those bids before the RedHawks got play moved to the River Hawk zone. With 3:31 left, UMass Lowell was called for another penalty and while Miami did not add to its lead, it was able to salt away two more minutes off the clock. Shortly after UML killed off the penalty, it took another minor with 1:15 remaining to allow MU to seal the win.
The RedHawks outshot the River Hawks 32-26 and went 1-for-4 on the power play while killing off all four River Hawks' man advantages. Larkin turned aside 25 of 26 shots while Wall made 30 saves at the other end.
Miami finishes its four-game home stand next weekend when it hosts Colgate for a two-game set. Friday's series opener begins at 7:35 p.m.
