KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The 20th-ranked Miami hockey team battled back from a pair of deficits, but could not erase an early third period tally from No. 14 Western Michigan in a 3-2 loss on Saturday night.
Miami (9-9-4, 3-5-2-1 National Collegiate Hockey) suffers its first series sweep of the season with the setback.
After some early feeling out in the opening shifts, Western Michigan (13-6-1, 6-3-1-1 NCHC) jumped ahead when Josh Passolt buried a shot off a faceoff win to stake the Broncos to a 1-0 lead with just 2:12 gone by. The Red & White got a full power play at the 8:27 mark and while
Phil Knies was set up down low for a one-timer, Trevor Gorsuch made the stop to keep WMU in front.
A neutral zone turnover later on allowed MU the opportunity it needed to even things up.
Ben Lown skated up the right wing in a 2-on-1 and wired a shot off of Gorsuch that kicked out into the middle.
Derek Daschke was trailing the play and fired home the rebound for his fourth goal of the season to leave the score all tied up as both teams put 10 shots on goal in the opening stanza.
Jordan Uhelski was especially sharp in the final minute before the horn, stopping Rhett Kingston on a breakaway.
Western Michigan went on its first sustained power play just 2:05 into the second period, but Uhelski made a few stops and Miami held the man advantage at bay before going to work in the offensive zone. MU had quite a few sustained shifts in the offensive zone and nearly took a lead midway through the frame when
Scott Corbett fired one by Gorsuch that hit the crossbar.
A turnover at the offensive blue line created a 2-on-1 opportunity for the Broncos and Colt Conrad eventually fed Passolt for a one-timer that ended with his second of the evening and a 2-1 WMU lead with 6:51 to go.
Undeterred, the Red & White responded as
Ben Lown head manned a transition rush that allowed
Brian Hawkinson to gain the zone with the puck at the right wing. He feathered a pass to an onrushing
Jonathan Gruden with a clear path to the net, where he worked the puck in on the backhand for his second of the season to leave the score tied after 40 minutes.
Western Michigan managed to keep play alive in the offensive zone over five minutes into the third and eventually Mattias Samuelsson scored on a wrist shot through traffic to put WMU back ahead 3-2 with 14:25 left.
The Broncos registered the first six shots on goal before the RedHawks started getting the puck in the offensive zone. Dachke had a good rip at a one-timer from the point that Gorsuch steered aside, but other than that MU had trouble getting clean shots directed on net for large stretches. With time winding down, Miami looked to find the tying tally by pulling Uhelski for an extra skater, but MU could not generate a quality chance as WMU finished the sweep.
Western Michigan finished with a slight (33-28) edge in shots while both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. Lown assisted on both of Miami's goals for his first multi-point game of the year.
The RedHawks look to get back on track at home next weekend when they host defending national champion Minnesota Duluth as they start a four-game home stand. Friday's series opener starts at 7:35 p.m.
