COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ryan Larkin and Alex Leclerc both put on superb goaltending performances, but the No. 20 Miami hockey team fell just short in a 2-1 setback at Colorado College on Friday night.
Miami drops to 8-5 with the setback and 2-3 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
The game had an inauspicious start for the Red & White as the Tigers (5-5-1, 1-4 NCHC) imposed themselves offensively over the first 10 or so minutes. CC went on a power play just 3:23 in, but Larkin was sharp and also benefited from a hit post to keep it scoreless.
Colorado College continued its long string of puck possession and got a goal from Mason Bergh with a delayed penalty in progress to grab a 1-0 lead with 12:15 left in the opening frame. Miami did kill off the ensuing power play, but stared at the scoreboard with a 1-0 deficit and CC holding an 11-2 shots on goal advantage midway through. The RedHawks started to assert themselves a bit more as the period wore on and got a 4-on-3 power play late which became a brief 5-on-3, but they were unable to connect as they remained down a goal at intermission.
Outshot 12-7 in the first, Miami found its legs in the middle stanza. The RedHawks strung together a solid minute and change of possession in the offensive zone, forcing Leclerc to make a series of saves to keep them off the board.
Miami's strong play continued over the course of the period and finally showed on the scoreboard at the 8:04 mark. After a strong stop by
Ryan Larkin at one end,
Monte Graham sprung
Karch Bachman in transition in a one-on-one situation. Bachman used the CC defenseman as a screen and buried his fifth goal of the season high past Leclerc's stick to even the score.
The RedHawks nearly took the lead shortly thereafter as
Scott Corbett got a look at the goal, but his shot hit the post and stayed out. MU ended up outshooting CC 14-9 in the second period, but a broken Miami stick with 4:09 to go in the frame allowed Colorado College to stay in the zone and feed Erik Middendorf for a one-timer as the Tigers regained their one-goal lead before intermission.
A penalty at the buzzer of the second allowed Colorado College to begin the third period on the power play, but Miami was up to the task and killed off the man advantage thanks to a couple big stops by
Ryan Larkin.
A pair of Colorado College penalties gave Miami a golden opportunity to find the tying goal, but Leclerc made four saves and the Tiger skaters got in the shooting lanes a few other times to keep the lead intact. CC then went on another power play with 12:30 to go, but MU was again able to keep the score stuck at 2-1 midway through the period.
Down the stretch, Miami had a couple close range chances as a rebound squirted up front to
Jonathan Gruden, but Leclerc stopped it. Another opportunity came for
Gordie Green in close quarters, but Leclerc was again there to keep the score at 2-1. MU eventually pulled Larkin for an extra skater and in the waning seconds Green was denied by Leclerc and a one-timer by
Derek Daschke whistled just wide at the horn.
CC outshot MU 31-30 for the night, though Miami did have a 28-20 advantage the final 50 minutes after Colorado College raced out to an 11-2 spread in the early going. Larkin and Leclerc both finished with 29 saves with Larkin also adding an assist. Miami killed all five of Colorado College's power plays, but went 0-for-4 with the man advantage itself.
These teams wrap up their weekend series on Saturday. Puck drop is at 8 p.m.
