BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Different night, same result.
For the second straight game, Miami and Ferris State were tied after regulation, neither team scored in the 3-on-3 and once again, the Bulldogs won the meaningless shootout in a 4-4 tie at Ewigleben Ice Arena on Saturday.
The last time the RedHawks tied consecutive games was the Feb. 3-4, 2023 series at St. Cloud State.
As the final scores indicate, this series was extremely tight throughout, as neither team held a multi-goal lead at any point this weekend.
Despite outshooting Ferris State (0-0-2), 38-27 and outplaying the Bulldogs for much of the night, that means Miami (0-0-2) has gone 18 consecutive games without a win, tying the all-time team record set in 1991.
RECAP: Ferris State’s Travis Shoudy fired a point-blank shot from the left side of the net through the legs of Miami goalie Ethan Dahlmeir with 7:07 left in a penalty-filled first period.
The RedHawks tied it 97 seconds later on a power-play bomb from the left wing by Casper Nassen for his first collegiate goal.
At the 5:53 mark of the second period, the Bulldogs’ Trevor Taulien ripped a slap shot past Dahlmeir from the top of the right faceoff circle to give FSU a 2-1 lead.
Miami tied it with 8:14 left in the middle stanza when Matt Choupani slid a highlight-reel pass through the top of the crease to Colby Ambrosio at the right side of the net for a slam-dunk.
Less than two minutes later, the RedHawks took their only lead of the game, 3-2 on a shorthanded goal by Blake Mesenburg, who went alone off another outstanding pass by Choupani and roofed a backhander over FSU goalie Noah West.
With 4:55 left in the second frame, Taulien sent a shot in from the right wing that caromed off Mesenburg’s skate at the top of the crease and into the net, tying the score at three.
Ferris State went ahead again, 4-3 with 9:46 to play when Nick Nardecchia skated through the crease, grabbed a loose puck and roofed it from the left side of the net.
But Miami tied it once more on a Ryan Sullivan one-time blast from the slot off a feed from Max Dukovac with 6:26 left in regulation.
The RedHawks outshot the Bulldogs, 5-1 in overtime, including a late odd-man rush led by Ambrosio but couldn’t beat West in the extra session.
STATS: Nassen finished with a goal and an assist for his first collegiate points.
Choupani also ended the night with a pair of helpers, giving him three points in two games as a RedHawk.
Ambrosio scored his first goal as a RedHawk, and Quinn notched his first assist.
— Mesenburg has scored in both games this season, giving him goals in multiple games for the second time in his career. He netted markers on Nov. 18-19, 2022 in consecutive games at North Dakota.
— Dukovac picked up a helper, giving him three points in five games dating back to last season, and defenseman Hampus Rydqvist recorded a helper as well, his first point in 14 games.
— On special teams, it’s hard to complain about 2-for-7 on the power play, 5 of 5 on the PK and a shorthanded goal.
— Also on special teams: Miami finished 2023-24 without a power play goal in its final five games (0-for-14) but finished 3 of 11 (27.3 percent) against Ferris State.
— The RedHawks were 33-21 on faceoffs (.611) after going 41-27 on Friday (.607). MU has struggled mightily on draws in recent years.
— Again, although its impact is lessened because of the new staff, it must be mentioned that Miami is still winless since Jan. 13. That’s a span of 18 games, tying the team record set 32 years ago.
ANALYSIS: The scoreboard doesn’t necessarily indicate this, but Miami played well enough to win on Friday and played well enough to deserve a win on Saturday.
Defintiely credit to Ferris State for getting sticks in lanes all weekend and battling back every time it looked like Miami was trying to sneak out of town with a win.
Puck luck was not in the RedHawks’ favor either night, as Miami had multiple opportunities to cash in on loose pucks near the crease and none of those Grade-A chances seemed to find their mark.
MU was good in Game 1 but even better in the finale, as it seemed like the team’s confidence level increased, especially among the freshmen, as Nassen and Quinn seemed to take leaps forward from Friday to Saturday.
— Nassen had a coming-out party, as his howitzer found twine in the first period and he nearly scored two other times in the first 20 minutes. He finished with a goal, an assist and five SOG.
— Miami went on the power play seven times, and Quinn and Conner Hutchison quarterbacked the two units. Last season Rydqvist, Dylan Moulton, Rihards Simanovics and Spencer Cox consumed most of defensemen power play minutes.
— William Hallen has taken a major step forward this far, earning playing time (and thriving) on the power play.
While Miami often played two blueliners on the power play, coach Anthony Noreen seems to prefer four forwards and one defenseman at all times.
Hutchison went 1-2-3 on Friday and aggressively pinches into the play. Quinn wasn’t sexy this weekend but seemed to play more conservatively. But both had excellent weekends and are primed for great things this season.
— Speaking of defensemen, Zane Demsey played an excellent game, shutting down opponents either by stealing the puck or rubbing them out, and he fired several quality shots from the point.
— In his Miami debut, Dahlmeir stopped 23 of 27 shots (.852). He appeared a little nervous early and probably would’ve liked at least one of the first two goals back, he also seemed to gain confidence and turned aside a great potentially game-winning chance late in the third period.
While Bruno Bruveris relies more on reactions and athleticism, the bigger Dahlmeir appears much more fundamental and was almost always in the right position to stop pucks in his Miami debut.
LINEUP CHANGES: Johnny Waldron was elbowed in the head on Friday and did not dress in this game, although his injury appears to be minor. Up front, Brian Silver was also scratched in this contest after playing Game 1.
In their place, John Emmons made his debut, centering the fourth line, and Tanyon Bajzer played right wing on that line.
On defense, Michael Feenstra replaced Cox in the seventh slot. Feenstra injured his shoulder on Jan. 12 and had not played since.
STANDINGS: Miami returns home, where it will play seven of its next eight games, without having won or lost.
No other NCAA team has tied even once this early in the season, and Ferris State and the RedHawk played to stalemates back-to-back nights.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Earning at least one win this weekend would’ve been nice, but the process is as important as record at this point, and Miami more than passed its first test against a team that has always been tough to beat on its home ice.
If the RedHawks continue to play at the intensity level they exhibited this weekend, the wins will come, not only in non-conference play but vs. NCHC opponents as well.
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