OXFORD, Ohio – Scott Corbett's goal with nine minutes left in regulation helped the Miami hockey team erase a deficit as the RedHawks tied No. 1 St. Cloud State 2-2 on Saturday night.
Josh Melnick netted a goal with 1:25 left during the 3-on-3 overtime session to hand MU (9-6-3, 3-3-2-1 National Collegiate Hockey) the extra point on the night and conclude a three-point weekend for the RedHawks.
Miami played a strong possession game and its forechecking pressure hemmed St. Cloud State in its zone for long stretches during the first period. The Red & White's best opportunity came off the stick of
Karch Bachman with about eight minutes left in the frame when he raced down the right wing with a head of steam and cut in on goal for a shot that David Hrenak kicked aside.
At one point, shots favored the RedHawks by an 8-3 margin, but the Huskies got a chance to go on the attack when a major penalty was whistled on Miami. SCSU's power play connected just 21 seconds into the five-minute man advantage when a blocked shot caromed to Blake Lizotte in the middle, where he netted a tally with 5:10 to go in the frame. The RedHawks killed off the rest of the major penalty without incident, but trailed 1-0 at the end of 20 minutes.
The RedHawks went on a five-minute power play of their own early in the second period with a shot at tying it up. While MU put together strong possession in the early going, including one down low look for
Casey Gilling that Hrenak stopped, the deficit remained into the waning seconds of the man advantage. That all changed when a
Rourke Russell shot from the right circle was redirected through by
Ryan Siroky. While Hrenak stopped the initial bid, Gilling pounced on the rebound at the left post and eventually drew it into the crease and into the open net to even the score at the 5:46 mark.
The Huskies went on a pair of power plays in the second period, including one shortly after Gilling's tying goal. While SCSU got five shots during those man advantages and had an 11-10 shot advantage, the teams went into the dressing room locked in a 1-1 tie.
Jordan Uhelski stopped all 11 shots he faced in the frame to keep it tied up.
St. Cloud State used an offensive zone faceoff win to regain the lead just 22 seconds into the third period as a puck in traffic got tapped out to Easton Brodzinski below the right dot and he put it in to make it a 2-1 contest.
As it did five other times this weekend, Miami fought back from the deficit. A
Rourke Russell breakout pass allowed Melnick to gain the line with speed and his off wing shot hit the post. The puck settled down in the crease and Corbett crashed the crease to tap it home for his second goal of the weekend and third of the season.
Pushing to go ahead,
Karch Bachman created space in the middle and fired one by Hrenak that went off the post. Play went back and forth down the stretch, but nothing else transpired on the scoresheet as the game wore on into overtime.
The RedHawks outshot the Huskies 4-2 in the 5-on-5 overtime session, but the score remained deadlocked as the teams played to a tie for the second night in a row. Miami snagged the extra point during 3-on-3 play as
Alec Mahalak fed Melnick on the doorstep with 1:25 left to put the game in the books.
St. Cloud State finished with a 30-27 shot advantage on the night. Both teams struck on the power play with SCSU going 1-for-4 with the man advantage and MU finishing 1-for-2. Russell assisted on both official goals for his first multi-point night of the season. Uhelski finished with 28 stops while Hrenak made 25 saves.
Miami is off until a Dec. 30 exhibition against Guelph. The RedHawks' next regular season contest comes on Jan. 4 when it heads to Providence.
