Monthly Archives: February 2019
Long-time linemates
OXFORD, Ohio – Ryan Siroky was asked about his Miami experience, and 10 minutes later and after he had left the room, the same question was posed to Zach LaValle.
Zach LaValle (left) and Ryan Siroky (right) vs. Ohio State on Oct. 15, 2016 (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
The first five words out of both of their mouths were identical: Best years of my life.
The senior forwards didn’t know each other at all before joining the RedHawks in the fall of 2015, which is not surprising considering Siroky was born and raised near the beaches of Los Angeles and LaValle grew up in the much more traditional hockey hotbed of the Twin Cities.
But since the start of their freshman year, they have been almost inseparable, and they have played on the same line much of this season.
“I think both of them are the types of guys that guys follow and respect because of the type of people that they are,” RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi said. “In terms of the type of impact that they’ve had, they’ve been good leaders for those young guys and good models and good representatives of our culture and Brotherhood.”
On the ice, they have been mainstays on the grind lines for four years.
Both have played over 100 maximum-effort games over their four-year careers, and while their impact may not always appear in statistical columns, they have been invaluable to the RedHawks in numerous ways.
“I think they have been huge leaders for our class in particular and for the guys coming in,” captain Josh Melnick said. “They have both matured in our time here. I think their leadership qualities at times goes unnoticed, but they do a great job of bringing guys together both on and off the ice.”
Their chemistry on the ice carries over away from the rink and vice versa. Their GPAs are even exactly the same: 3.35.
And they share at least one personality trait: Their gregariousness.
“Zach’s the easiest person to talk to: He never shuts up,” Siroky said. “We became really close friends right off the bat and still are. He’s one of my best friends on the team. We clicked right away.”
Siroky celebrates his first career goal with Louie Belpedio (58) and Andrew Schmit (33) (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Said LaValle: “(Ryan’s) a hilarious guy. He’s always got jokes, he’s always smiling. I give him a hard time now because I’m actually older than him but he acts like he’s way older than me – he’s a grumpy old man nowadays. But he’s got a great smile, he’s got funny one-liners that get people fired up.”
Siroky, from the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Manhattan Beach, saw hockey on television at age 4 and wanted to try it and despite having parents who were raised in the west and not traditional hockey markets.
He did come from athletic pedigree, as his father, Charles, was a star swimmer in college and his mother, Tammi, had a volleyball background.
A near miss for Siroky as he camps in front of the net (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Siroky won back-to-back championships with his L.A. Selects team (losing a third title on an overtime goal) and was drafted by Green Bay of the USHL in the second round, where he began his junior career at the end of 2011-12.
At age 13, he broke his femur in two places during a game in Texas and was unable to touch his skates for 10 months. He considered quitting the game, as he enduring stints in a full cast and wheelchair.
But his difficult rehab paid off, as he thrived when hitting the ice for the Gamblers, spending two full seasons there. He scored 25 goals and picked up 11 assists in 118 games, and he even attended a couple of Packers game during his stay.
Siroky in the offensive zone vs. Mercyhurst (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
“It was a cool experience,” Siroky said. “It was kind of a culture shock coming from L.A. to a smaller town in Green Bay, but it was really good, I really enjoyed my two years there a lot.”
In his overage year of juniors, Siroky started with Bloomington – where he was named captain – and was later traded to join a Muskegon team that advanced to the Clark Cup finals.
“(In Muskegon) I got to play with a lot of really good players, got a lot of playing time and it really helped with my confidence before coming in here,” Siroky said.
Siroky scores in the opening weekend of 2018-19 vs, UAH (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
After a visit set up by former Miami coach Brent Brekke, Siroky committed to Miami while still in Green Bay, but prior to that he had his doubts about coming here.
“I told my grandma I’d never come here because of the name: It would be too hard to explain to everybody,” Siroky said.
Siroky finds the net in a home series vs. North Dakota (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
But the campus quickly sold him.
“It’s funny,” Siroky said. “Me and my dad flew out here, we flew into Columbus right at the end of January, and it was an ice storm. It was a two-hour drove, and there’s not a lot between Columbus and Oxford, and I kind of looked at him and I was like, ‘what the hell are we getting into?’ But then you enter onto campus and it’s all of the red brick and the trees and it’s a beautiful campus.
(During the season), we get to go to a lot of different schools, and obviously we see their campuses, see their facilities, and I still think nothing compares to Miami. The people here, the culture of The Brotherhood, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Siroky dishes out punishment along the boards (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Siroky dressed right away for the RedHawks, playing in their first 16 games of 2015-16 and 31 contests overall that season.
His defensive prowess was immediately evident, as he either shut down or physically punished most opposing forwards that entered the Miami zone during his shift.
“When he’s playing his game, he’s obviously physical and effective in doing that,” Blasi said. “When he’s moving his feet he’s hard to play against and he blocks shots. He’s done a little bit of everything for us, he’s played center and wing, so he always find himself in the mix every week.”
As a grinder, Siroky logged 99 games his first three years with exactly four points in each campaign.
“I’m not the most offensive-gifted player so in order to stay in the lineup and stay effective for the team I had to focus on something, and obviously defense is one of the most important parts of the game,” Siroky said. “It’s really important to know your structure, be able to play defense to be able to play on offense, blocking shots, getting pucks out of the zone. It’s just always been a goal of mine to be as defensive-minded as I can to succeed.”
Of his seven goals in that span, two were in NCHC Tournament series, both at Minnesota-Duluth.
Siroky has seven goals this season alone and nine points, including his first-ever two goal game in Denver on Friday. He also netted the game winner in that contest.
Siroky lays out a Colgate player (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
And he has punished more opponents with his hitting than ever and played a better-shut down game.
“I’ve always liked to hit people, I’ve always liked to play physical,” Siroky said. “You’re allowed to – you can’t really in real life – but ever since I was a little kid I’ve liked to throw the body around, and it’s kind of translated into my role as a player.
“It’s always nice scoring goals, especially in my last year. I’ve been getting rewarded, I think I’ve been playing pretty well this year so it’s always good to get rewarded on the scoresheet as well.”
LaValle scores his first career goal vs. OSU (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
It took LaValle just four games to find the net for Miami.
He banged home a rebound off a power play shot by Kiefer Sherwood against Ohio State at a sold-out Cady Arena.
And LaValle celebrates it (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
“It was such a cool feeling, scoring there and the crowd erupts,” LaValle said.
Later that freshman season, LaValle netted a goal and picked up two assists in a win at Nebraska-Omaha that saw Conor Lemirande record his lone career hat trick.
LaValle was raised in the St. Paul area and played high school hockey at Hill-Murray School, captaining that team his final two seasons. He scored 73 goals and dished for 95 assists for 168 points in 99 games.
He also played baseball and quarterbacked the football team.
LaValle struggled his first season of juniors. He played for Chicago of the USHL in 2013-14 but managed just four points in 40 games.
“It was hard first year away from home – I think it’s like that for a lot of people,” LaValle said. “I didn’t have the best hockey year, kind of wasn’t playing a role that I had normally played and it wasn’t a great fit.”
The following season he did not make the USHL, so he skated for NAHL Janesville with current teammate Grant Hutton.
There he regained his offensive touch, piling up 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points and a plus-24 rating in 56 games.
He added three tallies and six helpers in nine playoff games.
“We had an awesome team, and everybody was close and we were having fun, and I think there’s a direct correlation between having fun in hockey and success in hockey,” LaValle said. “If you’re just miserable going to the rink, you’re not going to play well. We made a good run and I met a lot of cool people on that team.”
With no definitive plans beyond juniors, LaValle had visited Miami during the Saturday the RedHawks beat Denver, 4-1 in early 2015.
The next fall he was a RedHawk, having fallen in love with the building and the energy of the crowd that night.
LaValle as a sophomore (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
“I didn’t go on any other visits, I kind of went back and forth with my parents to see if I could make it work financially and that’s why I chose it, just because I fell in love with it right away,” LaValle said. “They wanted me, which felt good. They were like, we want you for who you are.”
Once in Oxford, he finished 3-6-9 his freshman year, playing in 31 games despite breaking his jaw when Matthew Caito dumped a puck into the offensive zone and hit him in the face.
After a slow start to 2016-17, he put up nine points the final 18 games to end up with a 2-9-11 line and was playing with Sherwood and Gordie Green on the top line by season’s end.
“End of my sophomore year they kind of put me in a role I like playing, that I’d played my whole life,” LaValle said. “It was fun to play offense and get things going with (Sherwood and Green) – those guys are such unbelievable hockey players.”
LaValle as a junior (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
LaValle has dressed just 40 times the past two seasons, but he has been in the lineup for seven of Miami’s last nine games as he winds up his Division I career.
“It’s tough sometimes because you want to contribute, you want to do more, but I make the most out of what I’m given and if I’m in the lineup I’m going to work my butt off,” LaValle said.
Like Siroky, LaValle also found the net this past weekend. He scored his second goal of the season by poking a loose rebound home on Saturday.
He has played in 105 games, scoring seven times and setting up 19 more goals.
“He’s a super-skilled guy,” Melnick said. “The thing about him is he may not be as hard-nosed or as aggressive as Ryan, but I think the things he does, he does really well, and he does those things to the best of his ability, and I think that whatever what situation he’s put in, he’s going to excel.”
Siroky has played in at least 30 games each season, and for his career he has dressed 129 goals, recording 12 goals and seven assists.
LaValle on opening weekend of his senior season (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
“He’s super-tough to play against and I think over the years he’s done a great job to embrace that role,” Melnick said. “He’s skilled and he can score, but he’s so gritty and he’s so big and so strong that 90 percent of the time when he goes into the boards for a battle, he’s coming out with that puck. Especially in the past couple of weeks, you’ve seen it in games, and it’s a little bit of a kick-starter for us. He brings some momentum for our forwards and when I see him go out and be able to possess the puck down low, I think that lets other guys know that they can do the same. His hard work and determination has given him success on the scoring sheet as well.”
Both have plenty of praise for each other’s game as well.
“(LaValle’s) playmaking ability, his ability to pass the puck, he sees, he’s got good vision, good awareness out there so he can see a lot of plays before they happen, and he’s been really successful at that,” Siroky said. “Especially when he gets on his hot streaks, he’s hard to stop.”
Said LaValle: “I’m super proud of (Ryan). He had a rough start to last year and kind of came into his role. He used to be more of a goal scorer and now he throws the body around and parks himself in front of the net. He really came into that role this year and he’s dominating. Scoring goals when he’s on the power play – I thought he was playing awesome. We needed that out of him and he stepped and I think he did really well there. He’s still doing really well.”
Playing together as often they have over the past four years is a huge plus when they’re together on the ice.
“It’s fun – we kind of feed off each other and I know where he’s going to be and how he’s going to play,” LaValle said. “I know that he’s going to go in the corner and get the puck and I know how to support him. Once you have that chemistry and you know how a player plays, you just kind of know where to go to help them.”
The RedHawks lost in the first round of the NCHC Tournament each of their first three years and are currently in seventh place in the NCHC, but both have nothing but praise for Oxford, for the school and for the hockey program.
Set to graduate this spring, Siroky and LaValle are quick to highlight how integral the relationship building has been at Miami.
“I’ve met amazing people, made so many cool relationships and just had a blast in such a fun little town,” LaValle said. “It’s kind of like a bubble – I don’t think I’ll be able to live like this ever again. It’s so tight and compact and the community is so close, it’s awesome.”
Said Siroky: “The people that I’ve met I’ll cherish for a lifetime. We talk about The Brotherhood and I think that is real here: The comradery between teammates and friends. In terms of hockey, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, so I think it’s really developed me as a player and a person, knowing and learning how to win games but also knowing and learning how to lose games and then how to come back and develop from that. We’ve gone through a lot of adversity here but we always seem to come through it together, so I think that’s big. Overall it’s been the best four years of my life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Denver salvages split with Miami
It’s official: Miami will open the NCHC Tournament on the road for the fourth straight season.
Denver beat the RedHawks, 5-2 at Magness Arena on Saturday, which dropped MU 13 points behind the fourth-place Pioneers with four games remaining.
The top four seeds host best-of-3 series in the first round of the conference tournament.
Miami’s Josh Melnick (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
RECAP: Denver’s Jarid Lukosevicius buried a one-timer from just inside the faceoff circle, set up by an Emilio Pettersen feed from the wall at the 3:31 mark of the first period.
The score remained 1-0 for over a period and a half until Miami’s Josh Melnick tied it shorthanded, whipping a shot just under the crossbar on a 2-on-1 after he and Brian Hawkinson played give-and-go with 5:17 left in the second period.
Miami’s Zach LaValle (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
But the Pioneers would break it open in a 17-second span of the third period on a pair of goals Jack Doremus. He redirected a wrist shot by Griffin Mendel into the net at 5:17 and fired a slapper that beat Miami goalie Ryan Larkin moments later.
The RedHawks cut the deficit to one, 3-2 when Zach LaValle lunged into the crease to poke home a rebound after Filip Larsson couldn’t control a wrist shot by Monte Graham with 11:47 left in regulation.
Denver regained its two-goal lead on the power play, with Lukosevicius shoveling home a centering feed in the slot with 7:46 remaining.
Colin Staub sealed it with an empty netter, as he chased down a clearing pass and tapped it in.
STATS: The four goals allowed in the third period is the most surrendered in a frame this season for Miami.
— Melnick extended his points streak to three games, as he has two goals and two assists in that span.
With 105 points, the senior is now 47th on the RedHawks’ all-time scoring list.
— LaValle’s marker was his first since Oct. 27.
— Denver led on the shot counter, 43-17. For the weekend, the Pioneers outshot Miami, 90-38.
— The RedHawks did not score on the power play for the fourth straight game, and they are 13-for-20 on the penalty kill in their last six (65.0 percent).
THOUGHTS: Miami played pretty evenly with Denver following the first goal and set itself up to steal some road points with the score tied at one after 40 minutes.
But defending the slot area was a major issue for the RedHawks, who allowed two deflection goals and a one-timer by a loosely-covered Lukosevicius, arguably the best scorer on the team.
Even the empty netter was scored from that area.
Miami battled hard in this game, tying the score at one and cutting a two-goal deficit to one, but the sixth period of the weekend at altitude ultimately spelled the RedHawks’ demise.
— Normally a 1-1 weekend at the seventh-ranked team in Division I would be considered a victory, and it is to a large degree, but because Miami has dug itself such a deep hole in the standings, it needed more than three points for any chance at home ice for the playoffs.
With that decided, at least the RedHawks know for sure they will be packing their bags for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the only question remaining is where they will be heading.
Miami’s River Rymsha (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
— River Rymsha dished out a solid hit in the closing seconds and was chased down by Slava Demin as the horn sounded, but little came from it.
After review, Rymsha was assessed a major and game misconduct for a supposed hit to the head that even the homer Denver broadcasters didn’t see.
According to the broadcasters on Altitude Network, Miami coach Enrico Blasi was initially confrontational with DU coach David Carle before his handshake, though that was not shown.
On replay, it appeared the skater’s head dropped down as he wound up for a hard dump-in. Going full speed, there’s no way Rymsha could’ve known that or reacted to it in time.
Someone ask Rymsha how he feels about replay, since this is the second time he gotten 5-and-10 for a hit none of the four officials saw live and he’s now one misconduct away from a one-game suspension.
Typically don’t like to call out college broadcasting, but DU’s on-air team on Altitude was defending Demin for running Rymsha because the hit was late in the game. So a player is supposed to get a free pass because of how much time is left?
Why not just call the game when the margin reaches three goals?
— While we’re on the subject, Altitude did refer to Bray Crowder, who is 6-feet-6, as the second-tallest skater on Miami. That is correct.
The tallest? That would be Alec Mahalak at 6-9.
That’s even more hilarious considering the box score from Denver had Andrew Sinard – the RedHawks’ actual tallest player at 6-7 – listed as on the ice for two goals against when Mahalak was actually out there.
Altitude also kept referring to Miami’s recent winless streak as being 11 games, which is very polite but inaccurate. The RedHawks lost 11 games during an 0-11-4 stretch.
That’s 15 games. Eleven was also in the game notes, which is likely where they got that info.
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LINEUP CHANGES: Only one from Friday: Crowder was back from his upper-body injury. He missed two games.
As a result, Carter Johnson did not dress as Miami went with seven defensemen.
STANDINGS: At 5-13-2 in league play, Miami is in seventh place in the NCHC, one point ahead of Omaha and three behind sixth-place Colorado College.
St. Cloud State clinched the league regular season title this weekend, so the No. 8 seed will head there.
UMD and Western Michigan will likely finish in the two and three spots, so there’s a good chance the RedHawks travel to one of those two campuses for the conference tournament.
MU is tied for No. 35 in the PairWise rankings.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Four games remain in the regular season – two away, two at home – and at this point it’s all about getting ready for the postseason.
The road win on Friday was definitely nice but Miami needs to play better for 60 minutes if it hopes to advance to St. Paul next month.
Speaking of Minnesota, the RedHawks are off to their favorite home away from home next week: UMD.
But what a statement MU could make if it could pull off a win or two in its final road series of the regular season against the No. 3 team in Division I, where Miami is winless in its last 11.
Miami’s Larkin steals one in Denver
Despite being outshot by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, Miami won its first game at No. 7 Denver in four years, largely thanks to a pair of Ryans.
Ryan Larkin (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Ryan Larkin stopped 46 shots and Ryan Siroky recorded his first career multi-goal game, scoring twice in the RedHawks’ 3-1 win over the Pioneers at Magness Arena on Friday.
Miami (11-16-4) snapped an eight-game road winless streak and gave the RedHawks their first winning streak since November.
MU’s last win on DU’s home ice came on Feb. 27, 2015.
RECAP: The RedHawks took the lead just 3:08 into the game when Siroky reached out with his stick and redirected a blueline pass from Alec Mahalak into the net with one hand from the side of the net.
Siroky scored again 1:53 into the second period when River Rymsha threw a puck at the net from the blue line and he was able to tip it home from the top of the crease.
Only 47 seconds later, Miami extended the lead to three when Karch Bachman eluded a defender at the faceoff dot, cut to the slot and backhanded one in on the glove side.
Ian Mitchell snuck a wrist shot in from the blue line to give Denver (16-8-4) its only goal just 55 seconds after the RedHawks had made it 3-0.
Miami’s Ryan Siroky (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
STATS: Larkin’s 46 saves were the second most of his career. His highest total was against Denver on Nov. 19, 2016 when he stopped 49 shots. He also turned 44 shots aside vs. the Pioneers last season.
— Siroky netted his sixth and seventh goals of the season, giving him as many tallies as his freshman, sophomore and junior years combined.
It was his second career multi-point game, with the other coming Jan. 5 at Providence.
— Bachman and Derek Daschke also finished with two points, with both of Daschke’s coming on assists.
Both have three points in two games, as does Josh Melnick, who notched a helper.
THOUGHTS: This was a case of the goalie proverbially stealing one on the road, as Larkin made a couple of highlight-reel saves in the first period.
Denver pretty much dominated in every other category and seemed to control the puck the entire game.
But winning on the road is tough, especially against highly-ranked teams, especially at altitude and especially when a team has not done so in over three months.
Miami forward Karch Bachman (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
— Siroky is really thriving around the net, as he scored his first goal while practically falling away from the play and the second on a beautiful deflected in the slot.
— Bachman’s goal – the only one for either team not scored off a shot or pass from the blue line – snapped a 13-game drought for the junior and will hopefully boost his confidence. He has been streaky this season and is starting to heat up.
— That shot discrepancy looks even worse when you consider Miami had six shots on the power play vs. one for Denver. That means when the RedHawks were not on the man-advantage, they were outshot, 46-15.
The RedHawks did not score on the power play and the Pioneers scored their lone 5-on-4.
Miami’s Brian Hawkinson (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
LINEUP CHANGES: The week off came at a good time for Miami.
Brian Hawkinson was back in the lineup after missing four games due to an upper-body injury, but Scott Corbett was mysteriously scratched for the third time this season.
Bray Crowder made the trip but did not dress, as he sat for the second straight game with an upper-body injury.
It was Larkin’s fourth straight game in net for the RedHawks.
FINAL THOUGHTS: There’s something about Denver that brings out the best in Miami, at least on the scoresheet.
This is a good experience for the RedHawks, who won a critical road game against a more skilled opponent.
That’s the situation they will face when the NCHC Tournament starts, as they will almost certainly be facing a top-10 team away from home in a best-of-3.
Preview: Miami at Denver
Miami snapped its 15-game winless streak two weeks ago.
Next on the RedHawks’ checklist is ending an 0-6-2 skid away from Cady Arena.
And Denver has been somewhat vulernable lately, winning just two of its last six.
BoB takes a look at the upcoming series between these teams:
WHO: Miami RedHawks (10-16-4) at No. 7 Denver Pioneers (16-7-4).
WHERE: Magness Arena (3,642), Denver, Colo.
WHEN: Both games – 9:07 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Denver leads, 14-11-3.
TV: Saturday – Altitude Network (DirecTV Ch. 681).
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights – WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
DENVER RADIO: Both nights – KKFN-FM (104.3), Denver, Colo.
NOTES:
Denver has struggled to find the net recently, resulting in a 2-3-2 stretch during the meat grinder portion of its NCHC slate.
The Pioneers have been held to eight goals in their last six games after scoring at nearly a three-and-a-half goal clip the first half of the season.
Liam Findlay hasn’t had any problem producing offensive for DU, as he leads the team with 27 points, including a Pioneers-best 15 assists.
A freshman, Emilio Pettersen, is tops in assists with 17 to go along with six goals for 23 points.
Jarid Lukosevicius and Cole Guttman are both in double-digits in goals with 13 and eight, respectively, and Brett Stapley has been another key contributor up front for the Pioneers with five goals and 12 helpers.
Denver’s defense corps moves the puck well and is solid in its own end.
Ian Mitchell has 13 assists as well as three goals to pace the blueliners, and Slava Demin has scored four times and chipped in nine assists.
Michael Davies is also in double digits in points with 11, and senior Lester Lancaster has four tallies.
The Pioneers have battled injury problems in net this season, but Denver has still been solid in net and it appears both of its starters are finally healthy.
Devin Cooley has the better overall numbers this far, with a 1.93 goals-against average and a save percentage of .934. Filip Larsson’s GAA is 2.43 and his save percentage is .918.
DU hasn’t been particularly impressive on special teams, with a 16.0 percent rate on the power play and a penalty kill clip of 80.4. But the Pioneers are disciplined, as opponents have just 103 man-advantage opportunities in 2018-19.
Miami has matchup well against Denver in recent years, earning a tie and a win vs. the Pioneers last season and tying them twice in Magness Arena when DU was No. 1 in early 2016-17.
Recently, the RedHawks have struggled to score and prevent opponents from doing so. They have scored two goals or fewer in eight of their last nine games, including three shutouts, and in 11 of 12 contests Miami has surrendered at least three markers.
Photos: Nebraska-Omaha at Miami
Images from the series between Nebraska-Omaha and Miami played at Cady Arena on Feb. 8-9, 2019. All photos by Cathy Lachmann/BoB.
Miami finally ends winless drought
OXFORD, Ohio – The longest Miami winless streak in over a quarter century is over.
The RedHawks snapped a 15-game, 0-11-4 skid with a 4-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha at Cady Arena, giving MU its first win in nearly three months.
Miami’s Gordie Green (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
It was the second-longest victory drought in team history, with its worst — just two games longer — coming at the end of the 1990-91 season.
Gordie Green racked up three assists in the Miami win, and Josh Melnick and Scott Corbett finished with a goal and a helper apiece.
RECAP: Miami scored first for the first time in 14 games when Josh Melnick kicked a pass to himself and swept a short pass to Derek Daschke at the faceoff dot for a one-timer that snuck in the short side 7:50 into the first period.
Phil Knies appeared to have scored seconds later, but the initial call of good goal was waved off because it was ruled UNO goalie Evan Weninger’s helmet had been dislodged.
But Knies found the net found the net again at 11:06, and this time it counted. Casey Gilling fired a shot from the high slot that Weninger couldn’t handle, and Knies poked the loose puck in to make it 2-0.
Miami’s Scott Corbett (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Knies had stolen the puck at the blue line, shielded the defense and dropped a pass to Gilling to set up his goal.
The RedHawks went up three when Green sent a cross-ice pass to Corbett, who trapped it with his skate and beat Weninger short side from the top of the faceoff circle midway through the second period.
The Mavericks cut the lead to one on a 2-on-1 goal by Chayse Primeau and a blue line blast by Jalen Schulz later that frame.
But Miami sealed it with just under four minutes left in regulation, as Green fed Melnick on a 3-on-2 for a rip from the center of the faceoff circle that snuck under the crossbar.
STATS: It was the second career three-assist game for Green, with the other coming earlier this season against Colgate on Oct. 27.
Miami’s Andrew Sinard (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
– Corbett recorded his first career multi-point game, and it was the first for Melnick since Miami’s last win, which came on Nov. 17 at Colorado College.
– Andrew Sinard, whose outlet pass to Green resulted in Corbett’s eventual game winner, earned an assist for his first career point.
– Daschke is now tied with Grant Hutton for the team lead in defenseman goals with six, and Knies snapped a 13-game scoring drought.
THOUGHTS: What a relief for Miami.
In terms of standings, this win does little to help the RedHawks except increase the odds they don’t finish last in the NCHC.
But psychologically it had to do wonders.
The third period was the most entertaining frame MU had played in a while, with a high pace of play, plenty of physicality and tons of quality scoring chances for both teams with the score still close.
Miami will need the boost, as the remainder of its schedule is brutal, with all but two of its regular and postseason games almost certainly away from Cady Arena.
Not to take away from this sorely-needed win, but it’s fair to point out that Omaha is seventh in the eight-team league, and it took all Miami had just to split with the Mavericks in Oxford.
The RedHawks will need to play much, much better against much, much better teams, or they will be done by or on St. Patrick’s Day once again.
– Miami did not have a single healthy scratch in this game, as it had just 19 skaters and two goalies available. Bray Crowder, who was hurt on Friday, did not dress for the first time this season, leaving the team with 13 healthy forwards and six defensemen.
Fortunately for the RedHawks, they have a bye next weekend, giving their banged-up players additional time to heal.
– Not sure about the timing of the season ticket renewal offers. There was an announcement and accompanying note on the end zone monitors offering incentives and potential prizes for renewing this weekend.
As in now, as in over a month before this season ends.
One could smell the desperation in the air, and as of game time Saturday, apparently only a handful jumped on the early offer.
GRADES
FORWARDS: B-. The three goals by this corps were great, but they are still taking too many risks and getting out of position too often. For example, three times in the second period forwards played chicken with UNO skaters that had the puck, trying to strip them while they were on collision course to gain momentum the other way, and none succeeded. Miami wasn’t scored on during any of those occasions but each time the skater was taken out of position. That’s not smart hockey, especially with the lead. Only 15 total shots by 13 forwards against a team that allows 35 per game. Green was outstanding and was named first star but Knies was BoB’s choice, as he was all over the ice all night. Melnick and Corbett were also standouts, and Christian Mohs had good legs and gave the team much-needed energy.
Miami goalie Ryan Larkin (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
DEFENSEMEN: B-. A pretty average game defensively by this group, and Daschke’s laser of a goal boosts its grade into the ‘B’ range. Grant Hutton was solid on D, but it’s rare he is held without a shot.
GOALTENDING: A-. Larkin turned 31 shots aside, including a 2-on-1 that he sprawled across the crease to kick out and multiple other stops on high-percentage chances. The second UNO goal was a shot from the blue line he probably should’ve stopped, but overall he was excellent.
LINEUP CHANGES: Just one: Noah Jordan dressed in place of the injured Crowder.
Coach Enrico Blasi has tended to go with seven defensemen this season, but he has no choice with just six healthy.
STANDINGS: With the split, Miami remained two points behind seventh-place Omaha and is three points back of sixth-place Colorado College.
Denver holds that all-important fourth spot and is 10 up on the RedHawks with three games in hand.
After all of Saturday’s games, Miami is No. 38 in the PairWise rankings.
FINAL THOUGHTS: So this series split comes heading into an off-week before a pair of tough road series.
Will the time off be helpful at this point or will that kill any momentum the RedHawks may have gained from this win?
Considering the locker room has been essentially converted to a triage unit the week off will probably benefit Miami more than it hurts.
The pressure that the RedHawks – players as well as coaches – had to be under during their 0-11-4 had to be enormous. This win will hopefully have a cathartic effect.
With Miami almost certainly pigeon holed into one of the lower seeds heading into the NCHC Tournament, it’s still all about getting better heading into that all-important best-of-3 postseason series.
Miami winless streak now at 15
OXFORD, Ohio – Miami outshot Nebraska-Omaha by a margin of nearly 2-to-1, but none of the RedHawks’ 38 shots found the net.
Despite generating just 21 shots, the Mavericks shut out Miami, 3-0 at Cady Arena on Friday, handing MU its ninth straight loss, extending the RedHawks’ winless streak to 15 games and pushing UNO’s unbeaten streak vs. Miami to six.
It’s the second-longest winless streak in RedHawks history, with its worst skid of 17 games coming in 1991.
RECAP: The first period was scoreless, but UNO (9-16-2) opened the scoring six minutes into the second frame when Ryan Galt slid a pass through the slot to Teemu Pulkkinen for a one-timer on the power play.
At the 4:21 mark of the final stanza, John Schuldt wristed one in from along the boards that Miami goalie Ryan Larkin kicked out with his left pad, but the rebound came to Galt for a tap-in.
Mason Morelli sealed it with an empty netter in the closing seconds.
STATS: Miami (9-16-4) has been outscored, 36-10 during its losing streak and 29-5 in its last seven games.
– The RedHawks dropped to 1-24-6 when chasing their 10th win of the season the past three years.
– MU is killing penalties at just a 68.4 percent clip in its last four games and was 2-for-3 in this contest.
THOUGHTS: There was no jump in Miami’s game the first 13 minutes, during which the team posted just one shot on goal.
The RedHawks played better the balance of the first period and was OK the rest of the way.
Mavericks goalie Evan Weninger was very solid in net but Miami also had zero puck luck, hitting the post twice on a third-period power play and had multiple other quality chances that wouldn’t go in.
MU’s lack of recent scoring seemed to affect its skaters, some of whom got off their game trying to find the net.
The RedHawks’ postseason path is sealed: They must win the NCHC Tournament and will have to salvage a best-of-3 road series against one of Division I’s best just to advance to the semifinals in St. Paul.
Miami’s Bray Crowder (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Miami did nothing to show it is better equipped to tackle that task in this game.
– Scary moment in the third period when defenseman Bray Crowder tried to block a shot and had the puck deflect into his throat area. He went down the tunnel and did not return.
– Karch Bachman finished with a game-high seven shots on goal in the loss. He is generating tons of chances, but he has to score more if he hopes to go from good player to great player in this league and beyond. This was his 12th straight game without a goal.
GRADES
FORWARDS: D-. Miami dropped to a 0.71 goals-per-game clip in its last seven, and the fault lies largely with this corps. In addition to Bachman’s slump, Casey Gilling has not scored in 11 games, Jonathan Gruden has one in his last 20, and sophomores Phil Knies and Ben Lown have been blanked for 13 and 14 games, respectively. Ryan Siroky – who had five tallies in the first 20 contests – has not scored since. When a team lacks scoring depth it can ill afford to have its top offensive players held off the scoresheet for those spans.
Miami goalie Ryan Larkin (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
DEFENSEMEN: C+. This group was OK in its own end and did next to nothing offensively. Galt was left wide open at the top of the crease for UNO’s second goal. A pass got through both blueliners on the first one. On the up side, the Mavericks were limited to 21 shots and a number of them were fielded cleanly by Larkin.
GOALTENDING: B. Larkin probably would’ve liked that second goal back, as he kicked it out right to Galt for an easy score. That said, he had no chance on the first one, the third was an ENG and he was solid the rest of the night. This was the best game Larkin has turned in during this nine-game losing streak.
LINEUP CHANGES: Injuries are really piling up for Miami. The only change from last Saturday was Zach LaValle in for Carter Johnson up front.
That’s because Johnson is also banged up. Goalie Jordan Uhelski is as well, as he was scratched and Grant Valentine was listed as the backup.
Also hurt are D Chaz Switzer (lower body), D Grant Frederic (lower body) and F Brian Hawkinson (upper body).
Noah Jordan was the team’s lone healthy scratch.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Add the multitude of injuries to the list of things that have gone wrong for Miami in the second half of the season.
But UNO has had its own issues this season and won relatively easily despite entering play with a 1-10-1 road record.
The RedHawks were able to overcome adversity early in the season. They aren’t now.
Preview: Omaha at Miami
Like Miami, Nebraska-Omaha has been going through the meat grinder that is the NCHC schedule.
The Mavericks are 2-6 in their last eight vs. Nos. 3, 20, 5 and 8 the past month.
These teams split when they played at Baxter Arena in what was Miami’s first true set of road games this season.
BoB takes a look at the upcoming series between these teams:
WHO: Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (8-16-2) at Miami RedHawks (9-15-4).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,642), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday – 6:35 p.m.; Saturday – 7:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Miami leads, 21-18-6.
TV: Friday – CBS College Sports (DirecTV Ch. 221).
OMAHA RADIO: Both nights – KZOT-AM (1180), Bellevue, Neb.
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights – WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
NOTES: Not much has changed for the Mavericks since Miami headed to Omaha in early November.
UNO has allowed 99 goals in 26 games – 3.8 per contest – and opponents average 35 shots vs. the Mavericks.
Nebraska-Omaha has not had the offensive firepower to compensate for its lack of defense.
Goalie Evan Weninger has played in 25 games and has a 3.58 goals-against average and a save percentage of .900, which is modern-day hockey’s equivalent of the Mendoza line.
Both backups have struggled in their brief looks between the pipes.
Omaha has four major scoring threats up front, with Fredrik Olofsson and Mason Morelli holding the top two spots in the league.
Olofsson, a senior, has 91 career points and a 10-20-30 line this season, as he also leads all UNO skaters in assists.
Classmate Morelli is tied for third in the NCAA with 17 goals, including seven on the power play. His 12 helpers give him 29 points for the season.
Zach Jordan has added goals on the man-advantage and is 7-16-23, and Taylor Ward is having an outstanding freshman year, scoring seven times and adding 15 assists for 22 points.
But no other Maverick forward has more than 12 points.
On defense, junior Dean Stewart has broken out with four goals and 15 assists after posting just 12 points his first two seasons combined, all on helpers.
Ryan Jones has nine assists, but no other UNO blueliner has more than four points.
The Mavericks’ lineup has been a revolving door, as just six skaters have dressed for all 26 games and 23 have played in 15 or more.
Nebraska-Omaha has been awful on the road, having lost six straight away games and going 1-10-1 overall off campus.
Miami is 0-10-4 in its last 14, tied for its second-longest winless streak in school history, and the RedHawks have lost eight straight.
Five of their last six losses have been by at least three goals, and they’ve been outscored, 26-5 in that span.
With UNO in seventh place in the NCHC, these are the most winnable games the RedHawks will play the rest of the season. Up after this are teams ranked fifth, seventh and eighth, and four of those six games will be on the road.
Miami is 1-6-1 in its last eight vs. the Mavericks and are winless in their last five. The RedHawks’ last win over UNO at Cady Arena was on Dec. 5, 2014.
St. Cloud State completes sweep of Miami
It truly was Groundhog Day for Miami.
Miami’s Gordie Green (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
On Feb. 2, a night after the RedHawks lost, 5-1 at No. 1 St. Cloud State, MU fell to the Huskies by an identical score at the Herb Brooks Center.
Gordie Green netted the only Miami goal, with 7:34 left in regulation and the RedHawks down by five.
Blake Lizotte scored twice and added an assist to pace St. Cloud State.
MU dropped its eighth straight game and is winless in its last 14 (0-10-4). Its losing streak is its longest since 1995.
Miami’s winless streak equals its second-longest in team history.
RECAP: For the second straight night, the Huskies wasted no time taking the lead.
At the 2:25 mark, Ryan Poehling dished a pass to a streaking Lizotte, who redirected the pass into the net from the top of the crease.
Jack Ahcan made it 2-0 less than four minutes later, wristing a shot past Miami goalie Ryan Larkin on the stick side off a centering feed from Patrick Newell.
Lizotte scored again with eight minutes left in the middle stanza, as he was left alone at the side of the net and tapped in a feed from Robbie Jackson.
That duo reversed roles less than five minutes later, as Lizotte kicked a pass out to Jackson, who was alone for a bad-angle one-timer even with the goal line, giving St. Cloud State a four-goal lead.
Nick Pervix extended the Huskies’ lead to five in the final minute of the second period, as he skated from behind the net and stuffed one past Larkin.
Miami scored its lone goal when Grant Hutton fired a shot that hit the stick of teammate Jonathan Gruden and ended up on the stick of Green, who roofed it from the slot.
STATS: Green’s goal was his 10th of the season, extending his team lead, and he is tied with Josh Melnick atop the RedHawks’ point leaderboard with 20.
Miami’s Jonathan Gruden (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
He picked up a point for the second straight game, as did Grant Hutton, who earned the secondary assist.
— Gruden picked up the primary helper, his second point in three contests.
— Miami is 1-23-6 when pursuing its 10th win the past three seasons.
— The RedHawks were 0-13-1 in early 1985, and their worst-ever winless stretch was a 17-game, 0-16-1 skid in 1990-91.
— MU has given up the first goal in 12 straight games.
— St. Cloud State improved to 12-0 on its home ice.
THOUGHTS: It was Groundhog Day in terms of the score, but unlike Friday, St. Cloud State dominated the first 40 minutes.
Dominated probably isn’t a strong enough word. It looked like the Tampa Bay Lightning playing a Midget Minor team. The shots were 31-9 after two periods.
The Huskies took their foot off the gas in the third period, playing their third and fourth lines a significant amount, and they were less aggressive pushing the offensive tempo.
St. Cloud State played great and deserves credit but Miami made it a lot easier on the Huskies by again failing to cover opponents close to the net and failing to get defensive sticks in the lane.
SCSU also seemingly won every boards battle and was first to every loose puck.
It’s really hard to remain competitive under those conditions.
LINEUP CHANGES: Larkin was in net for the third time in seven games, and this was the first contest he has completed in that stretch.
Scott Corbett returned to the lineup after sitting out Saturday, and Zach LaValle did not dress.
STANDINGS: Miami fell to last in the NCHC, two points behind Omaha, which split vs. Western Michigan this weekend.
The RedHawks are 3-11-2 in the conference with 12 league points, two behind the Mavericks. They are 13 points out of fourth, which is the last home-ice spot for the NCHC Tournament.
Eight games remain in both the regular season and conference schedules.
Miami is now 38th in the PairWise.
SCHEDULE: The RedHawks host Omaha next weekend, then after a week off they face Denver and Minnesota-Duluth, both top five teams and both on the road, before wrapping up their regular season slate vs. Western Michigan in Oxford.
FINAL THOUGHTS: It was a tall order to earn points on this trip, but Miami didn’t come close, and with the RedHawks plummeting in the league standings, this is one of the teams they would have to beat on the road just to earn a berth in the Frozen Faceoff.
Realistically, MU now has very little chance of earning home ice for the first round of the NCHC Tournament, which means an extremely difficult road series just to advance to the conference semifinals.
And at No. 38 in the PairWise, Miami can forget about any chance of an at-large, even if somehow the team won out.
With their postseason fate somewhat sealed, that may take the pressure off the RedHawks somewhat, as they can concentrate more on getting better for the league tournament.
But this is the type of matchup that awaits when the regular season ends, it will be a sisyphean task for to earn a trip to Minneapolis in March and beyond.
St. Cloud pulls away from Miami late
For two periods, Miami remained competitive with the top-ranked team in Division I on the road.
The RedHawks were down just one goal after 40 minutes, but No. 1 St. Cloud State ran off three straight markers in the final frame to seal Miami’s 5-1 loss at the Herb Brooks Center on Friday.
Miami defenseman Grant Hutton (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
Ryan Poehling, the Montréal Canadiens’ first-round pick in 2017, scored twice and added a pair of assists for the Huskies.
Grant Hutton netted the lone goal for Miami, which lost its seventh straight game and extended its winless streak to 13 (0-9-4).
RECAP: Just 38 seconds in the game, Jack Poehling slammed home a one-time feed from brother Ryan Poehling on a 2-on-1 to give St. Cloud State (19-4-2) the early lead.
Miami (9-14-4) appeared to have tied it midway through the period when Gordie Green stuffed a wraparound just inside the post, but it was ruled no goal on the ice and no conclusive angle showed the puck completely across the goal line.
The RedHawks legitimately evened the score when Hutton wound up at the top of the faceoff circle, pump faked and aimed a modified slap shot into the far corner of the net at the 2:22 mark of the second period.
But just 53 seconds later, the Huskies went ahead for good when Jimmy Schuldt ripped a one-timer inside the near post from the blue line on the power play.
Ryan Poehling made it 3-1 four minutes in the final stanza, as he played give-and-go with Blake Lizotte, who sent a return pass through the crease where it was shoveled into the back of the net by Poehling.
Ryan Poehling extended the Huskies’ lead to three when he skated through the Miami defense, went in alone and beat RedHawks goalie Jordan Uhelski glove side with 12:15 remaining in regulation.
Patrick Newell capped off the scoring with a turnaround wrister from the faceoff dot that hit off the inside of the far crossbar 1:16 to play.
STATS: Hutton’s goal was his second in three games. That moved him into third place unofficially on Miami’s all-time defenseman scorers list with 28 goals.
— Green snapped a string of five games without a point, as he picked up the primary assist.
— Josh Melnick, returning after a six-game injury absence, earned the secondary helper, giving him points in eight straight contests in which he has dressed.
It was career point No. 101 for Melnick, who tied Pat Leahy and Mitch Ganzak for 50th on the RedHawks’ career leaderboard.
THOUGHTS: Despite allowing a goal 38 seconds into the game, Miami played pretty well for 40 minutes, but St. Cloud State dominated the third.
The Huskies led for all but 91 seconds – the first 38 and 53 between Hutton’s goal and SCSU’s eventual game winner.
Defensively, the RedHawks have been sloppier lately, which has compounded the other woes that have culminated in this 2½-month winless streak.
Miami’s Gordie Green (photo by Cathy Lachmann/BoB).
St. Cloud State may be the most skilled all-around teams in Division I, and in the final 20 minutes the Huskies played like it.
— Green’s non-goal is tough for Miami, but there really wasn’t a definitive camera angle showing the puck completely across the line.
One suspects that the puck was completely on white ice at the furthest point goalie David Hrenak extended his glove, but that isn’t proof.
Had it initially been ruled a goal it almost certainly wouldn’t have been disallowed, so the call on the ice was going to the be final one either way.
Things like that seem to happen to struggling teams. At least Green picked up a point on Hutton’s goal.
— Melnick’s return was a blessing, as he did not appear any worse for wear due to his lower-body injury. Hopefully Miami’s offense will be rejuvenated with him healthy.
LINEUP CHANGES: Scott Corbett was scratched for the second time this season, and Brian Hawkinson sat for the first time in his career.
Melnick took one of those forward spots, and Zach LaValle dressed in the other after not dressing last Saturday.
It was Uhelski in net, making his fourth start in six games. He has played in six straight, relieving Ryan Larkin in both of his starts in that span.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The game was closer than the final score indicated, but a great college hockey team played great hockey and pulled away from a lesser squad.
Not much more to be said about this one.
It’s an unforgiving league, and one of the things BoB said was paramount to a solid Miami second half was not letting a losing streak snowball, and that’s exactly what has happened to the RedHawks since the start of 2019.
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