Miami kept the puck out of its own net despite being dominated by No. 12 St. Cloud State the first 20 minutes.
But the Huskies broke through three times in the second period and cruised to a 3-1 win over the RedHawks at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Saturday, completing the series and regular season sweep.
SCSU outshot Miami, 33-9 in the first two frames, including 18-2 in the opening stanza.
The RedHawks, who have lost 7 of 8 and are winless in their last 17 games in this building, host Minnesota-Duluth next weekend.
RECAP: After a scoreless first period, St. Cloud State took the lead 2:37 into the middle frame on a 2-on-1, as Barrett Hall fired a point-blank shot from the slot that was stopped by Miami goalie Bruno Bruveris, but Austin Burnevik cashed in the rebound from the top of the crease.
The Huskies (8-3) went up two just 85 seconds later when Daimon Gardner tried a wrap-around that hit a Miami skate and came right to a wide-open Mason Salquist, who stuffed in the loose puck.
Burnevik made it 3-0 with 9:27 left in the period as St. Cloud pass was partially deflected to him in the right faceoff circle and he skated in a tucked the puck around Bruveris.
Miami (3-7-2) cut the final deficit to two just 72 seconds into the final stanza on the power play when a loose puck in a pile of bodies found Johnny Waldron’s stick in the slot and he whipped it into the net.
The RedHawks had multiple A-plus chances in the third period but were unable to pull closer.
STATS: Waldron’s goal was his eighth point of the season, the third-best total on the team. It was his second marker of 2024-25 and the 20th of his career.
Ryan Sullivan earned the primary assist, his second of the season and his fourth point.
The other helper went to Max Dukovac, the only Miami skater to pick up a point in both ends of the series.
— The RedHawks once again won the special teams battle, as Waldron’s goal came on one of four power play chances and the RedHawks were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, which improved to 93.2 percent.
— Bruveris stopped 33 shots, his second-highest save total of the season. Thirty-six shots against is also the second-most SOG allowed this season by Miami.
— In the don’t-shoot-the-messenger department, that’s 0-17-1 for MU in its last 18 league games and a 17-game winless streak at the Herb (0-15-2).
ANALYSIS: After the effort Miami put up on Friday, the first 35 minutes were a major disappointment.
But speaking of majors, Miami’s major penalty kill seemed to spark the RedHawks.
They were excellent on the PK, as they have been all season, and even had two minutes washed out by drawing a penalty (that’s five majors committed by Miami, BTW, and opponents have yet to score on any of those extended man-advantage opportunities).
That took them to the third period, when a completely different Miami team took the ice.
The RedHawks outshot St. Cloud State, 8-3 in the final 20 minutes and scored the only goal of the period.
Miami coach Anthony Noreen said after the game that he was impressed with how the team finished and credited SCSU for a better start the first two periods.
“We just need a lot of growing up and maturity,” Noreen said in the postgame presser. “We need to realize what it takes and how demanding the game is every single second that you’re playing it. It’s going to be an everyday-growth thing.”
— Waldron played one of his best games of the season, scoring once and generating multiple other Grade-A chances. He led MU with four shots on goal.
Noreen talked about his game.
“It felt like he could’ve had three or four tonight,” Noreen said. “What I like about his game was when the team was challenged and when we needed to see…moreso in the effort category and the compete category, I really thought he led the charge up front. Obviously, he’s a guy that’s got a ton of skill, but to see him when he’s in and finishing checks, and when he’s in winning battles and having that extra effort. I think it’s really easy for the rest of the guys to grab on and do it and for that to become contagious.
“We need our best players to be our hardest workers. If this thing is going to go, we need this from him. That’s the expectation, and if he continues to play like that, he’s going to get a lot of goals this year.”
— Dukovac, a fellow Chicago western suburbanite and linemate, also played some of his best hockey of the season, really all weekend, and he was rewarded with a pair of points. The third member of the top line, Casper Nassen, didn’t have a shot and finished minus-1, but he’s getting better by the day in every aspect, especially using his size to win boards battles.
— Bruveris was zero chance on the first two goals, scored on a 2-on-1 and then an unlucky bounce off Dylan Moulton’s skate in the crease. The third goal was a 1-on-1 with Burnevik, and the SCSU forward made a highlight-reel move to skate around him and tuck the puck inside the post, again on a bad break for Miami, as the RedHawks partially deflected the pass.
— Speaking of goaltending, Isak Posch was incredible for St. Cloud State this weekend. He stopped 39 of 42 shots in the two games, but he made several radical saves, and his posts saved him multiple times, including twice on the same chance with him scrambling.
— Not sure what happened with faceoffs this weekend, but Miami went 25-30 (.455) in this game after losing more than two-third of draws on Friday.
A failure to win multiple defensive zone draws eventually led to one of SCSU’s goals.
— That’s three majors and two game misconducts in 12 games for Colby Ambrosio, who was assessed a major and was ejected Saturday, as he now leads the NCAA with 37 penalty minutes. In 138 games over four seasons with Boston College, Ambrosio compiled 40 PIM.
If Ambrosio is whistled for another game misconduct, it would be his third and would result in an automatic one-game suspension.
— The second and third St. Cloud State goals were on somewhat unlucky plays, but the first came after Hampus Rydqvist was stripped of the puck going full speed along the half wall as he was charging through the offensive zone. He’s a fifth-year defenseman, and that simply can’t happen. NCHC teams are way too good.
That led to a 2-on-1, and he was never able to even get close to getting back into the play.
LINEUP CHANGES: The only one was in net, as Bruveris took over for Ethan Dahlmeir, who was solid on Friday despite taking the loss.
STANDINGS: For advancing to overtime on Friday, Miami finished with one league point on the weekend.
The RedHawks are tied for sixth in the league, as Omaha and Minn.-Duluth were both swept and did not earn a point and Denver hosted Lindenwood.
Current way-too-early PairWise: No. 53.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Yeah, this was a 3-1 loss and the team looked lost at time the first 35 minutes.
But what were the two biggest macro issues this program struggled with the past few seasons?
No. 1: Recruiting.
In six months, this coaching staff has landed 17 commits that are currently playing in the USHL, the top juniors feeder league to the NCAA.
The pipeline is full of talented players headed to Oxford the next couple of seasons.
No. 2: Player improvement during Miami careers.
Juniors Waldron and Dukovac have shown tons of talent of the past two-plus years but didn’t really get better.
This weekend they held their own against the NCAA’s 12th-best team.
Goaltending never seemed to get better in-season in recent years. Miami finished with an .880 team save percentage last season, fifth-worst in college hockey. It’s .894 this season and we’re seeing Dahlmeir and Bruveris display more confidence each weekend.
Freshmen Nassen and Michael Quinn have tons of upside and continue to improve every series.
Miami earned one of a possible six points in its first NCHC series under Noreen, but at least for the first two games of conference play, the RedHawks showed they can step up for elite opponents, even in hostile venues.
And instead of plateauing freshman year, at least for the first third of Noreen’s inaugural Division I season, many key players are getting better on a day-to-day basis under his watch.
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