HARTFORD, Conn. – Two goals 1:42 apart by UConn snapped a 2-2 tie and the Miami hockey team was unable to fully complete a comeback bid in a 4-3 loss on Saturday night.
The RedHawks (4-8-3) suffer their second weekend series sweep of the season in the setback.
UConn jumped out to a 9-3 shot advantage in the early going, but most attempts were outside of the dangerous scoring areas as
Ben Kraws stopped each bid. Miami eventually got a bit of offensive zone time established and jumped out front when
John Sladic redirected a point shot by
Alec Capstick with 8:33 showing on the clock.
Grant Frederic also drew an assist on Sladic's third goal of the year.
The Huskies continued to pile on the shots in the first, finishing up 18-6 in that category. After some matching minors ended, UConn eventually tied it up despite a sequence of strong stops by Kraws as Alexander Payusov scored from in front on a third try. That tally left the score all tied up after 20 minutes.
Shots were more even in the second period as the period went with no penalties. The contest remained 1-1 until Zac Robbins scored with 3:20 showing on the clock as MU fell into a 2-1 hole after two periods.
Miami fired the first seven shots on goal in the third period and that effort paid off at the 3:10 mark when
Monte Graham scored from the high slot.
Derek Daschke fed Graham for his third of the year after
Ryan Savage jammed out of the middle.
That tie lasted less than a minute, however, as Brian Rigali scored in transition 56 seconds later to put UConn back up 3-2. The Huskies capitalized on a power play and a bounce 1:42 later as Yan Kuznetsov fired a slap shot wide that caromed off the boards and off the back of Kraws' skate and in to make it a 4-2 contest.
A power play with eight minutes to go gave Miami a shot to get back into the game. While the man advantage came up empty, MU was able to pull a goal closer immediately following the penalty's expiration as Sladic netted his second goal in finishing off a precision tic-tac-toe passing display from
Karch Bachman to
Chase Pletzke and eventually back door to Sladic.
The RedHawks continued to pressure down the stretch, pulling Kraws for a sixth skater with under a minute and a half left. However, Miami was unable to crack Tomas Vomacka for a fourth time to even it up.
Miami outshot UConn by a 14-8 count in the third period, but UConn finished up 35-27 in that category on the day. The Huskies scored on their lone power play while the RedHawks did not. Kraws finished the evening with 31 saves.
The Red and White return home to close the first half of the season with a home series against St. Cloud State. Friday's series opener begins at 7:05 p.m.
