Miami didn’t show any ill effects from its five-week holiday layoff in its first period of regular season hockey since Dec. 1.

The final 40 minutes, however, saw No. 10 Providence dominate the No. 16 RedHawks, as the Friars scored three unanswered goals in a 4-2 win over MU at Schneider Arena on Friday.

Miami’s Josh Melnick (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).

Providence (12-4-3) erased a one-goal deficit to record its fifth straight win while the RedHawks extended their winless streak to five.

Josh Melnick did record his 99th career point in the Miami loss on a late first period goal.

RECAP: Providence took the lead 4:22 into the first when Tyce Thompson wired home a one-time pass from the faceoff dot short side over the shoulder of RedHawks goalie Ryan Larkin off a feed from Brandon Duhaime.

Miami’s Ryan Siroky (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).

But Miami (9-7-3) took advantage of its early power play chances, scoring twice in the first-period opportunities.

Ryan Siroky was left alone in the slot and rammed home a one-timer from Phil Knies 100 seconds later, tying the score.

Melnick scored on the man-advantage with 2:50 left in the opening frame, whipping a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle through Friars goalie Hayden Hawkey to give the RedHawks a 2-1 lead.

Scott Conway tied it at the 6:33 mark of the second period, knocking home a backdoor feed from Kasper Bjorkqvist on the power play.

The score remained 2-2 until Matt Koopman redirected a Josh Wilkins wrist shot midway through the final frame.

With 4:04 left, Greg Printz fed Vimal Sukumaran from along the boards to the top of the crease, and Sukumaran was able to bat one by Larkin to seal it.

STATS: Shots aren’t always an accurate gauge of team performance, but it’s pretty telling that Providence finished with a 42-15 edge in that category, including 30-7 the final two periods.

— Derek Daschke led RedHawks skaters with two points on a pair of assists.

— Melnick is one point away from becoming the 52nd Miamian to record 100 career points. He also extended his points streak to six games with three goals and four assists in that stretch.

Miami’s Phil Knies (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).

— Grant Hutton picked up the primary assist on that goal, his first point in nine games.

— Knies also earned a helper in his return from an upper-body injury that held him out of the RedHawks’ last six contests.

— Siroky’s marker was his fourth of the season, giving him a career high.

— Miami’s shot differential of minus-27 was its worst in 364 days. On Jan. 5, 2018, Denver outshot the RedHawks by 28 but MU won that game, 4-3.

THOUGHTS: The thought was that if Miami survived the first period it would be OK, but the last 40 minutes ended being its demise.

To be fair, Providence is one of the best defensive teams in Division I – the Friars blanked the RedHawks in Erie earlier this season – as PC allows fewer than 23 shots per game.

Miami finished with 15: Eight in the first period, three in the second and four in the third. That’s despite having four power plays vs. two for Providence.

And beyond just shots, the Friars seemed to control play almost the entire final 40 minutes. The RedHawks hung in, holding the lead until the 14th minute of the middle stanza and remained tied until midway through the third.

Obviously, this road matchup was going to be a difficult one for Miami, and while it certainly wasn’t a disaster, the RedHawks’ inability to do anything the last two-thirds of the game was disappointing.

— Not to pile on, but Hawkey, the Friars’ all-world goalie, probably should’ve stopped one or both of Miami’s goals.

Hawkey was in position to deny the Siroky shot but it slid under him, and Melnick’s wrister found a hole up high.

Miami’s Christian Mohs (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).

LINEUP CHANGES: Larkin and Knies returned from injuries, meaning Jordan Uhelski – who led Miami to a pair of ties vs. St. Cloud State – was relegated to backup while Knies supplanted Carter Johnson, who had dressed in Miami’s previous four games.

Christian Mohs was in the lineup for the third straight contest, as he seems to be slightly ahead of Zach LaValle on the depth chart at this point. LaValle sat for the fourth straight game.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Basically, a good team lost to a very good team in the very good team’s rink.

Both of Miami’s goals were on the power play, so the RedHawks still have not scored at even strength this season against the Friars.

The good to take from this is that Miami came out ready to play in a hostile rink after a long layoff (Providence played on Dec. 7 and twice last weekend) and hopefully moving forward this game will have served as a proverbial character-building opportunity.