OXFORD, Ohio – Facing a 2-0 deficit late in the second period, Miami hockey used a pair of power play goals to rally for a 2-2 tie against Western Michigan on Friday night.
Gordie Green gave the RedHawks (6-16-5, 3-11-3-2 National Collegiate Hockey) two league points on the night when he scored 19 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime.
The Broncos (14-10-5, 8-6-3-2 NCHC) scored on their first shot of the game 1:21 in after a neutral zone turnover started a give-and-go between Hugh McGing and Cole Gallant that made it a 1-0 game.
Miami outshot Western Michigan 5-3 over the first 10 minutes and change, but the bulk of its shots came from the perimeter and Brandon Bussi was able to steer them aside as WMU clung to its lead.
Play was relatively even for the remainder of the first, though WMU had the best chance when Dawson DiPietro was sprung on a breakaway, but
Ryan Larkin shut down his bid with a glove save.
Miami got a couple good looks at the end of the first period, but Bussi stopped both bids as MU went to the dressing room trailing by the early goal despite a 9-7 shot advantage.
Some good forechecking pressure below the goal line generated a pair of quality chances early in the second for the Red & White. A shot by
Derek Daschke was stopped by Bussi and the rebound caught the WMU netminder out of position, but he recovered to stop a follow up wraparound bid.
WMU got the first power play of the evening early in the second and despite some extended offensive zone possession, MU was able to kill off the penalty. The RedHawks got a man advantage of their own with 13:12 left in the period, but took a minor penalty 26 seconds later to negate that chance.
Midway through the second, Miami put together an outstanding shift in the offensive zone, hemming Western Michigan in for a solid two minutes and peppering Bussi with shots. However, MU was unable to net a tying goal and WMU eventually cleared and used its timeout to regroup.
The Broncos went ahead 2-0 with 6:22 showing on the clock after extended offensive pressure saw Mattias Samuelsson fed in the slot for a one-timer goal. WMU got another power play shortly after going ahead by two, but MU managed to keep the deficit there and got a power play late in the frame. This time, Miami took advantage as
Derek Daschke blasted a one-timer from the point that Bussi stopped, but
Matt Barry fired home the rebound for his third goal of the year with 59.4 seconds to get the Red & White on the board trailing 2-1 after two.
Gordie Green also assisted on the play.
A Western Michigan penalty 19 seconds into the third period gave Miami the opportunity it was looking for to even the score. After working the puck around the umbrella,
Derek Daschke found himself in the center of the blue line with a shooting lane and wired home for his ninth goal of the year on assists by Barry and Green. That evened things up at two apiece just 1:24 into the final regulation frame. It was Miami's first time scoring in the third period since Jan. 11.
The RedHawks outshot the Broncos 11-8 in the third. WMU nearly regained the lead with six minutes to go when Ronnie Attard blasted a slapshot from the point that hit the post. Miami put together a couple late opportunities when the ice opened up to 4-on-4 with a couple minutes left in regulation, but ultimately the teams played on into overtime.
WMU had a slim (3-2) shot advantage in the five-on-five overtime frame with a weird bounce off the boards creating the best chance for either team, however, Larkin stopped Drew Worrad in tight to secure the tie.
It took just 19 seconds for MU to gain the extra point as
Gordie Green skated around the net and surprised Bussi by popping out front for a shot to end the contest.
Miami outshot Western Michigan by a 30-28 count overall and its special teams proved a difference maker as it went 2-for-3 on the power play and killed off all three WMU man advantages. Green (two assists), Daschke (one goal, one assist) and Barry (one goal, one assist) all had multi-point nights while Larkin made 26 saves in goal for Miami.
These teams wrap up their weekend series on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., which also puts a cap on the One Miami Weekend tripleheader.
