OMAHA, Neb. – A stout defensive performance paved the way for the Miami hockey team as it opened National Collegiate Hockey play with a 4-1 victory at Omaha on Friday night.
The win is the RedHawks' fourth straight as they improve to 7-2 overall in winning their conference opener for the second-straight season.
An early power play allowed Miami to get its offense rolling early as
Jonathan Gruden banked the puck from behind the net off Evan Wenninger and in for his first collegiate goal with just 1:19 gone by.
Phil Knies and
Derek Daschke both picked up helpers as the Ottawa draft pick found the net for the first time.
The RedHawks started well established in the offensive zone, firing the first six shots on goal and holding a 7-2 shot advantage over the first six minutes of play. MU's penalty kill was up to the task midway through the frame thanks to a couple
Ryan Larkin saves. Another man advantage for the Red & White went on the board with under eight to play in the frame, but the Mavericks were able to kill off that man advantage without incident.
UNO went on its second power play with 3:31 left until intermission and evened things up when a high-low backdoor passing sequence ended with Taylor Ward converting with an open net from the slot.
Undeterred, the RedHawks regained the lead thanks to the howitzer of
Grant Hutton, who blasted one past from the point that
Brian Hawkinson redirected in for his first goal after a Gruden faceoff win in the offensive zone. Daschke also drew a helper by feeding his defense partner as MU skated to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead of Hawkinson's first collegiate goal.
Penalties disrupted the flow of things at points of the second period as the Mavericks and RedHawks each had two-man advantages in the middle frame. Omaha started to pressure early in the second, but solid goaltending by
Ryan Larkin and deft penalty killing kept it from tying things up. Larkin came up particularly big on a shorthanded chance by the Mavericks midway through the period.
The Red & White's relentless forecheck caused a turnover with under six to play in the frame.
Scott Corbett had a good look from the shot and wired a shot past Wenninger, but the bid went off the crossbar. The rebound, however, hit
Gordie Green's stick and the puck eventually squirted out of traffic and in to make it a 3-1 game. That two-goal lead held through 40 minutes of play.
Miami kept Omaha from getting much offensively in the final period as UNO only registered seven shots on goal. The Mavericks got a power play with 8:48 remaining, but Larkin made three saves and the RedHawks maintained the lead.
With time winding down, Omaha pulled Weninger for an extra skater in the final minute, but Miami was unphased by the added traffic. Eventually
Casey Gilling got the puck to
Josh Melnick at the half wall in the MU zone, where he lofted a backhand pass to the right wing where Green got on his horse and buried the empty net goal from a sharp angle to put the contest away.
"The first two periods went back and forth," head coach
Enrico Blasi said. "In the third period we did a nice job staying in our structure. Everyone was on the same page doing the same things. We didn't take chances and made sure we played the game the right way."
The RedHawks outshot the Mavericks 31-20 on the night while both teams went 1-for-5 on the power play. Larkin finished with 19 saves while Wenninger made 27 at the other end. MU got multi-point nights from Green (2g), Daschke (2a) and Melnick (2a).
These teams conclude their weekend series on Saturday. Puck drop is slated for 8:07 p.m. ET.
