OXFORD, Ohio – A shorthanded goal by No. 4/5 Minnesota Duluth spoiled a promising start for Miami in an eventual 4-0 loss on Friday.
The Bulldogs (13-6-2, 6-4-1-0 National Collegiate Hockey) shut out the RedHawks (9-10-4, 3-6-2-1 NCHC) for the third-straight meeting.
The RedHawks came out with energy and had a few strong shifts in the offensive zone.
Brian Hawkinson nearly got rewarded for his dogged effort on the forecheck when he forced a turnover and found a rebound in front off a
Jonathan Gruden shot. Hawkinson had a clean look in tight, but Hunter Shepard got just enough of the puck to force it off the post.
Miami got the first power play of the night, but was unable to find the back of the net despite some early pressure. The Red & White also went on a power play at the 13:22 mark and
Ryan Larkin was tested with a breakaway that he stopped. MU was unable to capitalize on that man advantage as well.
Another UMD penalty gave MU a power play late in the first, but a forward faceoff win by Justin Richards sprung Nick Swaney for a breakaway goal with 1:24 to go in the frame as Miami trailed by a goal at intermission.
Things got out of hand early in the second period as the Bulldogs scored three times in 1:29. Jackson Cates started the onslaught by tipping a Dylan Samberg point shot in with just 3:45 gone by before Noah Cates added a power play tally with 15:20 remaining in the period before Parker Mackay jammed in a loose puck 34 seconds later to stake UMD to a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs spent five minutes on the power play early in the third period after a major penalty on the RedHawks, though Miami killed it off. Very little offense ensued offensively on either side in the final frame.
Minnesota Duluth ended the game with a 37-23 shot advantage and went 1-for-4 on the power play while killing off all five Miami man advantages. Larkin stopped 18 of 22 shots in 25:14 in the crease before ceding the net to
Jordan Uhelski, who stopped all 15 shots head faced. Shepard stopped all 23 shots he faced.
These teams finish their weekend series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
