As if the final score wasn’t lopsided enough, the lone goal credited to Miami was scored into an empty net on a delayed penalty.
Denver survived that anomaly and beat the RedHawks, 8-1 at Magness Arena on Saturday, securing the series sweep and locking MU into last place in the NCHC standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Miami (7-20-3) extended its winless streak to 10 games and is 0-13-1 in its last 14 contests vs. the Pioneers.
RECAP: Tristan Broz and Adam Weiermair scored in the first 11 minutes to give Denver (21-8-3) an early two-goal lead.
Late in the period, Miami cut the deficit to on one of the stranger goals scored in team history.
Denver made a hard lateral pass through the slot on a delayed penalty, and RedHawks defenseman Robby Drazner tipped it out of the zone. The puck caromed off the boards and slid all the way down the ice and into the open net, making it 2-1.
But The Pioneers scored six unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes to blow it open.
STATS: Drazner’s goal was the sixth in the senior shutdown D-man’s four years at Miami.
He picked up an assist in his last game, giving him points in consecutive games for the first time in his RedHawks career.
— Miami allowed eight goals for the first time since its 8-0 home loss vs. North Dakota on Jan. 28, 2023. The RedHawks allowed a season-high 47 shots on goal, the most it has surrendered since 364 days earlier when Minn.-Duluth finished with 51 on Feb. 25, 2023.
— MU has allowed multiple goals in the third period seven of its last 12 games.
— The RedHawks allowed two power plays on five chances and are just 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) on the penalty kill their last three games.
ANALYSIS: Not much to analyze here…Denver was ready to play at opening puck drop and Miami wasn’t.
After pulling to within one on the ultimate horseshoe-up-hind-quarters goal in the first period, the RedHawks dominated the first couple minutes of the middle stanza, but after Denver went ahead, 3-1, Miami reverted to non-competitive mode.
MU coach Chris Bergeron admitted Miami goalie Bruno Bruveris was sick entering the game, and he appeared to be less than 100 percent after the first 10 minutes (Miami PxP Greg Waddell said the same thing on air).
Rather than rally for its under-the-weather netminder, the RedHawks largely took the night off after so many strong performances the second half of the season.
With the loss, Miami clinched last place in the conference for the fourth straight season.
That means the RedHawks will almost certainly head to North Dakota or St. Cloud State in the opening round of the NCHC Tournament for a best-of-3 to advance to the Frozen Faceoff.
We’ve seen that scenario way too many times the past few years and it typically hasn’t ended well.
— Denver’s stats program actually credited goalie Matt Davis with a shutout, likely because the formula tells it to credit one when a single goalie plays an entire game without allowing a goal.
‘Empty net’ stopped 0 of 1 shots and Davis was 27-for-27.
— Carter McPhail relieved Bruveris, logging the final 30:16 and surrendering three goals on 22 shots. McPhail was better than those numbers indicated, as the first and third markers he allowed were unstoppable.
McPhail had logged just 96 minutes since 2020-21 between MU and Ferris State entering this season, and he was between the pipes for eight scoreless minutes earlier this campaign.
— Come on, Altitude2 and NCHC home broadcast crew, getting proper pronunciations for opponents isn’t difficult. They’re broken down on the line charts page, assessable two hours before gametime in the press box. You’re one of the elite programs in D-1, butchering half of the opposing roster’s last names is unacceptable for a program that brags about its nine NCAA titles.
— Credit Denver though. This team has excellent depth and skill up front, and Zeev Buium showed why he’s a top-10 overall pick in the NHL draft this June.
LINEUP CHANGES: Brayden Morrison returned up front, replacing Teddy Lagerback.
Bergeron stuck with the same seven defenseman as Friday, as Zane Demsey sat for the third straight game after dressing for 18 consecutive contests.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Bergeron fell on the sword in the postgame presser, and yes, ultimately the blame lies with him and his coaching staff, but it’s head-scratching how a team that has put up numerous competitive efforts against top-10 teams in recent weeks could lay this big of an egg.
Bruveris was ill, so it stands to reason he wasn’t the only Miami player struggling with health, and we always throw out the altitude lifeline.
But overall this game was a huge disappointment for a fan base that at this point is 95 percent scar tissue.
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