DENVER – Despite getting on the board early, Miami hockey was unable to overcome four unanswered goals by No. 7 Denver in a 7-3 loss on Friday night.
The RedHawks fall to 6-18-5 (3-13-3-2 National Collegiate Hockey) with the setback.
A strong shift by the line of
Casey Gilling,
Karch Bachman and
Ryan Savage ended up with the Red & White grabbing a lead 1:32 in. After Magnus Chrona made a good stop on a slot bid by Gilling, a wide shot rebound was corralled by Savage, who fed a cross-crease pass to Gilling where he buried the puck into the back door for his eighth goal of the year.
Andrew Sinard also picked up an assist on the tally.
That lead lasted just over a minute, however, as Tyler Ward came away with a loose puck at the half wall. He then moved around a defender and fired a backhand shot in to leave it 1-1 with just 2:44 gone by.
An offensive zone penalty at the 6:51 mark by Miami gave Denver (18-8-5, 8-7-4-3 NCHC) the first power play of the night. It took just 30 seconds for the Pioneers to grab the lead as Cole Guttman blasted a one-timer from the slot after some quick puck movement to make it a 2-1 contest.
The Pioneers made it 3-1 at the 10:04 mark as Ward again moved around a defender and roofed a shot for his second of the night. He then completed the hat trick with 1:01 left in the first to go up 4-1.
Play seemingly settled down with Denver holding the three-goal lead, but Miami clawed away at the deficit in the second period all the same. Some sustained possession in the offensive zone ended up with
Grant Frederic blasting a one-timer from the right point and in for the senior's first career goal.
Phil Knies and
John Sladic earned assists as the score got to 4-2 DU with 13:13 left in the second.
The Pioneers regained a three-goal lead about a minute and a half later as Cole Guttman converted a 2-on-1 rush that followed the miscue at the 8:32 mark to make it 5-2.
Undeterred, the Red and White again pulled within a couple as
Carter Johnson attempted a wraparound that went wide, but caromed off
Chase Pletzke's skate and in to bring MU back to within 5-3.
Bray Crowder also earned an assist on the tally with 10:13 left in the middle stanza.
With 6:56 left in the second, Miami got its first full power play of the evening, but was unable to get a shot on net as the deficit held at two goals into the latter stages of the frame. Hank Crone then knocked in a puck in the air with 51.9 seconds left that was initially ruled no goal. After the second period clock expired, officials went back and looked at the play and determined the puck went in to make it 6-3 after two periods. Denver added another goal on the power play from Ian Mitchell 3:39 into the third to end the scoring.
Denver outshot Miami 55-23 and went 3-for-6 on the power play while killing off both Miami man advantages.
Ryan Larkin made 48 saves in net.
These teams play again on Saturday with opening faceoff at 9:07 p.m. ET.
