PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After a promising start, the No. 16 Miami hockey team was unable to sustain offense as it dropped a 4-2 decision at No. 10 Providence on Friday night.
MU (9-7-3) scored a pair of power play goals to grab a lead after 20 minutes, but fired just seven shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.
The Friars (12-4-3) came out firing, recording the first six shots on goal over the opening two minutes. PC's early pressure netted the game's first goal when Tyce Thompson found a soft spot inside the right circle and wristed a shot up high through a screen to make it a 1-0 game just 4:22 in.
Providence found itself shorthanded moments later and the Miami power play took advantage.
Ryan Siroky took a
Phil Knies pass in the middle that went across his body and one-timed a shot underneath Hayden Hawkey's right arm to tie it up with his fourth goal of the season.
Derek Daschke also picked up an assist on the play.
A Miami penalty with 10:45 left gave Providence a chance to answer, but MU kept PC to the outside.
Karch Bachman's partial breakaway in transition was stopped by Hawkey and counted as the only shot on goal for either side during the scoreless two minutes.
While a subsequent MU power play had chances, a backdoor feed misfired and a
Grant Hutton blast drew iron, but the game remained tied up. Providence got called for too many men on the ice shortly thereafter and this man advantage connected as
Josh Melnick snuck a shot five hole after Hutton's cross ice pass found him at the right circle. Daschke also picked up his second assist of the night as MU took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room.
The Friars once again dictated the play at the early stages of the second and eventually got a power play just over six minutes into the middle frame. Providence tied it up very quickly into the man advantage with some quick passing that led to a Scott Conway goal with 6:33 gone by.
Miami got a power play of its own shortly after the tying tally, but was unable to generate anything. Providence ultimately recorded the first 12 shots on goal of the period and finished with a 14-3 edge in the middle stanza. However, Conway's tally was the only puck to find the net as the teams skated to the third all tied at 2-2.
Offense was not any easier to generate for the Red & White in the 3rd as the Friars again held them without a shot over nearly 10 minutes. PC took the lead back at 3-2 when Matt Koopman redirected a shot from the slot with 11:14 left. MU was still hemmed in for large stretches as it searched for an equalizer and Nimal Sukamaran put the game away when he scored from in tight with 4:04 to go.
Providence outshot Miami 42-15, including a 30-7 edge in the final two periods. The RedHawks finished 2-for-4 on the power play for both of their goals while the Friars finished 1-for-2 with the man advantage. Larkin finished with 38 saves while Hawkey stopped 13 shots.
These teams wrap up their series on Saturday night with opening faceoff at 7 p.m.
