OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University hockey team (2-0) completed the opening weekend sweep of Alabama Huntsville (0-2) with a 4-0 victory on Sunday.
This is the RedHawks' first opening series sweep since the 2013-14 season.
After initial offensive pressure from the RedHawks, Alabama Huntsville got the first power play opportunity of the game with 14:38 remaining in the first period. Miami killed the penalty thanks to
Josh Melnick's trio of blocked shots.
The teams headed into the first intermission scoreless, with Miami leading 9-3 in shots.
The RedHawks got their first power play of the day just three minutes into the second period but could not convert on their sustained pressure.
With 5:39 gone by,
River Rymsha scored his first goal as a RedHawk after one-timing a feed from
Brian Hawkinson from the left circle.
Noah Jordan also picked up an assist, his first collegiate point.
Near the halfway point of the second period,
Karch Bachman scored his second of the weekend to give Miami a 2-0 lead. Bachman knocked home a rebound from
Alec Mahalak's point shot. Rymsha also notched his second point of the night with a helper.
MU killed off its second penalty of the afternoon by creating pressure in its offensive zone and not letting UAH get anything going. As the penalty time expired,
Ben Lown had a breakaway chance, but Theut came up with a big blocker save to keep it a two-goal game.
With three minutes remaining in the second period,
Jonathan Gruden created an offensive chance by moving his legs and threading a pass through the Chargers' defense to set up Lown on the doorstep. Theut once again came up with a save to keep the game at 2-0 heading into the second intermission.
After two periods of play, Miami led Alabama Huntsville 2-0 with a 22-8 edge in shots.
The RedHawks took control of puck possession to start the third period. After a couple close calls,
Josh Melnick increased Miami's lead to 3-0 after gathering a feed in the neutral zone on the left wing and sniping a shot from the left dot past Theut's glove. Lown and Gruden each earned an assist.
Midway through the third period, Miami got its third power play of the game, but Alabama Huntsville kept the game within three shots. With six minutes to play,
Ryan Siroky batted a puck in midair from behind the goal line off Theut's shoulder and into the back of the net to give Miami a 4-0 lead. Hawkinson and
Grant Hutton set up Siroky's goal that capped the scoring.
Miami led the game in shots (45-11) and faceoff wins (37-15). Both teams finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Rymsha (1 goal, 1 assist) and Hawkinson (2 assists) each posted their first multi-point games as RedHawks while Larkin turned away all 11 shots for his third career shutout. Theut finished with 41 saves in the other crease.
The RedHawks travel to the 2018 Ice Breaker Tournament in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13.
