ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Facing the end of its season, the Miami hockey team battled valiantly, but No. 1 St. Cloud State erupted for four third-period goals to prevail 6-3 on Saturday.
St. Cloud State (29-4-3) advances to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Frozen Faceoff with the win in the best-of-three playoff series.
Having won the first game of the series, St. Cloud State put Miami (11-23-4) under siege early, firing the first five shots on goal and spending long stretches in the offensive zone.
Ryan Larkin steered those bids away and kept it scoreless, allowing MU a chance to gather itself.
After withstanding the initial Husky surge, the RedHawks began to find their offensive footing and an active stick by
Derek Daschke at his blue line allowed
Karch Bachman to hustle the other way. The speedy junior poked the puck past a defenseman and cut in on the left wing where he fired a shot top shelf past David Hrenak to give the Red & White their first lead of the series with 6:23 gone by.
Shortly after the tally, MU got a chance for more offense when it went on the power play. While Miami got a few shots to the net, it was unable to add to its one-goal lead midway through the opening frame. The Huskies would go on a power play of their own with 8:08 showing on the clock, but Larkin was sharp and made a couple saves to keep the RedHawks in front as their 1-0 lead held into intermission.
St. Cloud turned the second period into a shooting gallery in the Miami zone, racing out to a 15-1 shot advantage in the frame. That pressure turned into scoring as Easton Brodzinski scored off a failed clear at the 4:32 mark and Jimmy Schuldt put a puck off a Miami skate at the back door and in just 1:23 later to grab a 2-1 lead.
During this barrage, the Huskies got a power play and threatened with in the zone. However, the RedHawks managed to get the puck late and a patient hold by
Alec Mahalak allowed a lane to open up for
Ben Lown just as Bachman got out of the box to join a 2-on-1 rush. Bachman got the pass and buried it with an open net for his second of the night to even the score up at 2-2.
The RedHawks had a golden opportunity to go in front with 6:54 left in the frame when the Huskies were whistled for a major penalty. After getting the puck down low for a couple chances to no avail, ice opened up even more as MU found itself with a two-man advantage for 1:13. Nothing came of the extended zone time, however, as the teams skated to the dressing room in a 2-2 game.
St. Cloud regained the lead 49 seconds in when a wraparound pass found Robby Jackson with an opening in the net. Though officials initially ruled no goal, the next stoppage allowed them to review and determine the puck crossed the goal line.
Trailing once again, the RedHawks withstood some further Husky pressure and regained their composure. After getting out of the zone with a set breakout play,
Grant Hutton whipped a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone to give
Scott Corbett a step on the defense. While his shot from the left circle drew iron,
Brian Hawkinson crashed the crease and put in the rebound to even the score at 3-3 15:22 to play in regulation.
Play appeared to settle down from there, but an errant breakout pass got picked off by the Huskies and Sam Hentges finished the ensuing 2-on-1 rush to put them back on top at the 6:42 mark. An offensive zone penalty gave SCSU a chance to gain some breathing room on the power play, but MU's penalty kill held tough to stay within a goal down the stretch.
The Huskies eventually got their insurance tally with 8:48 remaining when a defensive zone turnover set up Brodzinski's second goal of the night and made it 5-3. With time winding down, Miami pulled Larkin for an extra attacker, but St. Cloud State managed to send a puck forward to Blake Lizotte for an empty netter with 2:33 to play to seal the win.
St. Cloud State outshot Miami 45-21 on the night. Neither team found the net on the power play with SCSU going 0-for-5 and MU 0-for-3. Larkin finished up with 39 saves to David Hrenak's 18.
Keep checking MiamiRedHawks.com for information about the 2019-20 schedule, which is expected to be revealed in April.
