The last time Miami had scored four goals in a period was just over two years ago — on opening night of that season. That was at Ferris State on Oct. 2, 2021.
The RedHawks repeated that feat in the same building vs. the same opponent on Sunday as MU beat the Bulldogs, 5-2 at Ewigleben Ice Arena, salvaging a series split to begin 2023-24.
Miami (1-1) had surrendered three goals in the final frame a night earlier — including the tying marker with 20 seconds left in regulation — blowing leads of 3-0 and 4-1 and ultimately suffering a brutal 5-4 loss in the final minute of 3-on-3 OT.
The RedHawks snapped a five-game losing streak and a 1-13-2 skid in its last 16 games.
RECAP: Miami jumped ahead midway through the first period when Max Dukovac punched home his own rebound from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle after William Hallen stole the puck along the end boards and ultimately fired two shots of his own.
The score remained 1-0 until Ferris State’s Connor McGrath whipped in a bad-angle shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle off a feed from Luigi Benincasa with 6:40 left in the second period.
The RedHawks took the lead for good when Ryan Sullivan teed up Jack Clement for a one-timer at the blue line, and the puck somehow snuck through goalie Noah Giesbrecht 3:42 into the final stanza.
Just 68 seconds later, Miami’s Frankie Carogioiello hammered a wrister past Giesbrecht while skating down the left wing to make it 3-1.
Ferris State (1-1) did trim the deficit to one when Zane Faremouth punched a centering feed from Kaleb Ergang just inside the far post from the slot at the end of a power play.
But Miami answered three minutes later, as Hallen tried to slam a puck past Giesbrecht at the side of the cage, and the rebound came to Dylan Moulton in the slot, and he wristed it over the goalie and just inside the post.
The RedHawks’ Matthew Barbolini sealed it with exactly four minutes left in regulation off a 3-on-1 when he blasted a loose puck that trickled to him in the high slot over Giesbrecht’s shoulder.
STATS: Miami goalie Logan Neaton won just his second collegiate game. His other victory came on Nov. 27, 2021 against Long Island U. in Oxford when he stopped 35 of 36 shots.
Neaton was 25-for-27 in this contest.
— Sophomores Hallen and Artur Turansky led the team in points with two apiece, both assists.
It was the first career multi-point game for Hallen, and Turansky also had not picked up two helpers in a contest, although he went 1-1-2 in the famous New Year’s Eve loss to Niagara.
— Both Barbolini and Carogioiello scored for the second straight night. Barbolini, a senior, has outright led Miami or shared the team’s goal lead each of the past two seasons with 10 tallies each campaign.
— Sophomore Carogioiello did not score in his rookie year and earned his first career goal in Game 1.
— Shut-down defenseman Moulton found the net for the second time in five games and has six career markers.
— Dukovac scored a ridiculous pitchfork backhander at Lowell last October, and while he did record 14 assists last season — second-most on the team — he had not scored again until this game.
— Clement’s go-ahead goal gave Miami a 2-1 lead it did not relinquish. It was the second in 61 games for the defensive D-man. His last one was the late GWG in a 4-3 win in North Dakota.
— Sullivan had his first career Miami assist in the opener revoked, so God love him, he earned one in this game as well for his official first point as a RedHawk.
— Brayden Morrison picked up an assist in his first game as a Miamian. Zane Demsey tallied one as well after sitting Saturday.
— John Waldron, who scored in the opener, also notched a helper.
— Despite the score, Miami was mercurial at best on special teams, going 0-for-3 on the power play and allowed a 5-on-4 goal on five chances.
— The RedHawks were 23-36 on faceoffs (.390).
— The outcome when Miami last scored four times in a period? The RedHawks also won that one by three goals, 7-4 in Big Rapids.
THOUGHTS: To address the anvil over the giant X in the room that Miami always seems to be standing under, the final minutes of this one couldn’t tick off quickly enough.
This was a great bounce-back win for the RedHawks, and while Miami seemed lethargic much of the final 40 minutes of Game 1, the team seemed to be playing with purpose down the stretch Sunday.
Consistency has been a recurring issue for this program over the past eight years. One weekend Miami looks a top-20 team, other times it looks like a bottom dweller. One period the RedHawks dominate, then they surrender their gains the next.
This was truly a complete game. Yes, Ferris State had its rushes and its surges, but for the most part Miami counterpunched each time, and for all 60 minutes.
— The Dukovac-Hallen-Turansky line (Tur-Duk-En?) was the RedHawks’ best all night. That isn’t surprising since all three were excellent in Game 1 as well. They combined to go 1-4-5.
— Clement blocked three shots during FSU’s two-man advantage. That, in addition to his go-ahead goal, earns him star-of-the-game honors.
— Offense was a huge issue last year and a concern heading into this season, but MU scored nine goals (4.5 average) in its first two games.
— A couple of thoughts on the FLOtv thing: I wish the leagues would agree on one platform or at least agree to give reciprocal discounts to fans that already pay for full-league passes. Sidearm Sports (which hosts NCHC games) is in three figures, and FLO is $30 a month with no a la carte option.
MU also has road games at Mercyhurst and Niagara, so fans will have to pony up more to see those games.
— Speaking of streaming, the feed itself (especially for $15) a game wasn’t great, as the camera was way too close way too often and the puck was regularly out of the frame.
The on-screen scoreboard didn’t work half of the weekend, and the shot counter read 0-0 for both games. As someone who is used to the (typically) high-quality productions of the NCHC, this one definitely fell short and should’ve had Dramamine as a sponsor.
That said, I kind of liked Brody Keiser and Sandy Gholston as PxP and color commentator. Both were extremely fair and very complimentary of Miami.
— One negative was the number of odd-man chances Ferris State had in the first two periods. Miami seemed to tighten up late and didn’t allow too many slot chances overall, but the Bulldogs did generate numerous chances on the transition.
LINEUP CHANGES: Up front, Morrison made his Miami debut as Teddy Lagerback was scratched.
On defense, Spencer Cox and Robby Dranzer both sat in favor of Rihards Simanovics and Demsey.
STANDINGS/SCHEDULE: Miami is 1-1 overall this season, having beaten Ferris State on its home ice for the third time in five games.
The RedHawks play their home-opening series vs. Canisius (0-0) at Cady Arena on Oct. 13-14. Both games are at 7:05 p.m.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall this was a well-played game by Miami, and the RedHawks deserved the victory.
After Saturday, expectations were low. Not to speak for all MU hockey fans, but this particular booster has been kicked in the head in every way the past couple decades, and after all of the blown leads and no-show performances, why would anyone have been optimistic heading into this game?
While this result is a huge positive, a level of skepticism will remain until this becomes the norm.
When trust has been broken, it takes a lot more than one act to earn it back.
Especially when Miami showed last season it has the talent to compete at a higher level, and it looks like its recent additions have significant skill as well.
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