Miami entered its series and regular season finale against Minn.-Duluth with just 21 healthy players, the exact number on a Division I lineup card.
With all six of the scratches injured on their 27-man roster, including two-thirds of their top line, the RedHawks managed to earn a league point but ultimately fell in overtime, 3-2 to the Bulldogs at Amsoil Arena on Saturday.
MU has lost four straight and is 2-25-2 (.103) in its last 29 league games.
RECAP: Following a scoreless first period, Minn.-Duluth (10-11-4) jumped ahead 4:59 into the middle frame when Ben Steeves blasted a one-timer from above the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Miami goalie Bruno Bruveris far post.
The RedHawks (7-15-2) evened the score on a 3-on-2 with 8:37 left in that stanza, as P.J Fletcher tapped home a rebound from the top of the crease on his forehand off a rip by Hampus Rydqvist that hit goalie Zach Skejstal in the chest.
UMD’s Riley Bodnarchuk flicked a wrist shot from the blue line that snuck through traffic and just inside the stick-side post with 4:04 to play in that period.
In a weird sequence, Miami’s Ryan Sullivan tied it at two 6-on-5 with 1:49 to play when he batted home a loose puck from the left side of the net.
But the officials didn’t see it go in so they allowed play to continue, and UMD scored an empty netter later that shift.
The play was reviewed and it was determined the puck went in and the goal was awarded. Then UMD challenged for goaltender interference, and it was ruled there was none and the tally stood, a two-goal swing in half a minute.
But the Bulldogs ultimately earned the win with 1:45 left in overtime, as Anthony Menghini fired a shot from the left faceoff dot that beat Bruveris far post.
STATS: Fletcher scored his team-leading 11th goal and his third in five games, becoming the first Miami skater since Gordie Green in 2019-20 to net more than 10 markers in a season.
He also extended his points streak to three games, as did Ryan Sullivan, tying a career best for the UMass senior transfer.
Sullivan’s goal also set a career high with three, and it was the first time in his career he has found the net in consecutive games.
Rydqvist finished with a game-high two points on a pair of assists, his fifth career two-point game and his first since Dec. 31, 2022.
Graduate senior Albin Nilsson picked up a helper as well, his third point in six games since rejoining the team after a pre-season knee injury.
— Miami was 0-for-4 on the power play and is now 3 of 41 (7.3 percent) in its last 11 games. The RedHawks’ penalty kill was 2 of 3 and finished January 78.6 percent (22-for-28).
— Speaking on end-of-January stats, MU is 1-24-2 (.074) in its last 27 games in the first month of the calendar year. The RedHawks are 0-13-1 on the road in that stretch (.036).
ANALYSIS: After a sluggish start, Miami put up one of its best fights of the season in this game, and as happens in hockey, the bounces just didn’t go the RedHawks’ way.
MU’s defense was largely a no-show on Friday, but the team overall made a huge corrective move in that area, limiting Minn.-Duluth to 24 shots (two came in overtime, including the game-winner), the third-lowest SOG total allowed by the RedHawks this season.
MU had nine regular forwards in the lineup but held its own, spending ample time in the offensive zone and generating quality scoring chances.
UMD’s broadcast team concluded in the closing minutes of regulation that Miami had been the better team to that point.
To be fair, the Bulldogs’ forward corps is banged up as badly as Miami’s, but there was still a lot of good for the RedHawks to take out this game.
— Elephant in the room: Bruveris should’ve had the first goal and the three tallies he allowed were from the faceoff dot, 10 feet above the faceoff circle and a couple feet inside the blue line.
He’s a super-athletic goalie and he stops goals that other would allow with his reflexes and quickness, but he needs to cut down the number of goals against on outside shots.
If Steeves didn’t open the scoring early in the second period on a stoppable shot, the result may have been different.
— Adding on to the end of regulation:
After concluding Miami had scored the tying goal, the clock was reset to 1:35 even though it was at 1:29 when the waved-off ENG was scored. The Sullivan goal was credited with 1:49 to play.
Although with the score tied it just got both teams 14 seconds closer to a guaranteed point.
(I’ve seen the replay multiple times and I never saw Sullivan’s shot go in, but both members of the UMD broadcast crew acknowledged they did.)
But Miami was dangerously close to having too many men on the ice seconds before UMD thought it had sealed the win with an empty netter.
So had too many men been called and the Sullivan goal reviewed and allowed, would the penalty still have been assessed on a play that didn’t actually exist?
It seems like it wouldn’t, although if a player was maimed coming down the ice, it doesn’t seem like a blatant penalty could be ignored by the same reasoning.
LINEUP CHANGES: On Friday we saw the Miami debut of Carter McPhail, the RedHawks’ third goalie who had not seen a minute of playing time since transferring from Ferris State after 2021-22.
In this game, freshman forward Tanyon Bajzer dressed for the first time, logging a couple of shifts in the first period and one early in the second.
He dressed in place of center William Hallen, who was banged up in the series opener.
Hampered by injuries, that was the only change made by the RedHawks, whose six scratches are all injured.
Fortunately for MU, four appear to be short-term.
STANDINGS: Miami slipped to 1-12-1 in the NCHC but earned its fifth league point by advancing to overtime.
The RedHawks are last in the league, 10 points behind seventh-place Omaha.
After Saturday’s games, Miami is No. 43 in the PairWise rankings.
FINAL THOUGHTS: It feels like the RedHawks deserved a better fate in this game, but they had seven minutes of power play time in the third period and were unable to cash in.
And in Miami’s last 12 overtime games that have seen a decision, the team is 1-11.
So overall, the effort was excellent, but for numerous reasons the RedHawks are still struggling to turn that hard work into points and wins.
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