MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Add overtime success to the list of accomplishments for Miami hockey Version 2025-26, early edition.
For the first time in nearly two years to the date, the RedHawks won in overtime, topping Lindenwood, 5-4 at Centene Community Ice Center on Friday.
It was Miami’s fifth straight win to open the season for a program that recorded just three victories in 2024-25.
The RedHawks had to battle back from a pair of deficits — 3-1 and 4-3 — with Ilia Morozov providing the game-winner 35 seconds into the extra session.
The teams wrap up their weekend series at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday.
RECAP: Miami (5-0) opened the scoring 11:39 into the first period when a Justin Stupka shot from the right wing was blocked, and the loose puck found the stick of a streaking Doug Grimes, who ultimately shoveled it just under the crossbar.
But with seven seconds left in the first period, Lindenwood’s Giovanni Morneau tied the score from in close on the power play.
With 9:49 remaining in the second period, the Lions’ Justin Southgate went top shelf to beat Miami goalie Matteo Drobac, making it 2-1.
Lindenwood (3-4) extended its lead to two on another Morneau power play goal, this one from the left faceoff circle less than four minutes later.
Miami cut the deficit to one with 1:23 remaining in the middle stanza when Kocha Delic went in for a breakaway seconds after a RedHawks penalty had expired and beat Lindenwood goalie Klayton Knapp stick side.
MU tied the score at three with 15 seconds left in the frame, as Ryan Smith skated in alone and buried a shot on his forehand.
Jacob Fletcher netted Lindenwood’s third power play goal of the night 7:23 into the third period, giving the Lions a 4-3 lead.
But Miami tied it again with 3:38 to play, as Max Helgeson whipped a one-timer home from the slot off a centering feed along the half wall by Stupka.
Morozov skated in from the red line, through traffic, went in on Knapp and beat him on the backhand to win it just 35 seconds into the extra session to win it.
STATS: Freshmen Stupka and defenseman Shaun McEwen led the RedHawks with two points apiece, as both finished with a pair of assists.
For McEwen, they were the first points of his collegiate career, and Stupka has five points in his first Division I games, and it was his first multi-point contest.
Delic extended his goal streak to four games, as he has netted five markers in that span.
Morozov scored for the fourth time in four games. His overtime winner was Miami’s first GWG in an extra session since Johnny Waldron vs. Arizona State on Oct. 27, 2023.
Grimes scored for the second straight contest and Helgeson has three tallies in five games.
Smith has been one of the team’s hardest workers on the ice, and he was rewarded with his first of the season.
Lukashevich picked up a helper, giving her four on the season, and Hay notched his third assist in five games.
— Remember the last couple of seasons when Miami opponents scored in insane numbers of consecutive periods? Well, the RedHawks have goals in 10 straight frames.
MU has found the net in 13 of 15 periods, an 86.7 percent clip. By comparison, the RedHawks scored in just 48 of 102 periods in 2024-25 — a rate of 47.1 percent.
They’ve also outscored their foes, 12-3 in the third period and overtime, and they’ve netted more goals than their opposition after the second intermission in all five games (4-1, 2-1, 1-0, 3-0 and 2-1).
— Miami’s five-game winning streak to open the season is its second-best start in team history.
— On the downside, the RedHawks’ special teams were anything but. They finished 0-for-3 on the power play and killed off just 2 of 5 penalties.
ANALYSIS: Coach Anthony Noreen gritted his lower teeth in the postgame interview, an indication that he clearly wasn’t happy with some of what went down in this game.
Miami was sloppy early, leading to several odd-man breaks including a 3-on-0 on a 4-on-4.
Despite the RedHawks’ struggles in some areas (including yet another too many men penalty, which ended up in their net), Miami was able to endure and find a way to win.
It’s what winning teams do, and the RedHawks now own a shiny 5-0 record as a result.
— Drobac allowed four goals but made several acrobatic saves, including a nominee for stop of the year when he denied a 3-on-0 by skating laterally to kick a shot out with his toe.
He also denied a breakaway and make a key stop on a 2-on-1 against a super-aggressive Lindenwood team.
— Smith had quite the up and down night, as he scored his first goal as a RedHawks and was assessed a delay of game penalty for reasons no one can seem to explain, and after the Lions scored on the ensuing power play, Smith went back to the box for a misconduct, which typically means saying the magic word. And it probably wasn’t ‘oh fudge’ which holding a hubcap full of hardware.
— The final goal was reviewed for multiple minutes, which caused great tension, but ultimately the call on the ice stood. Miami was very, very close to off-side.
LINEUP CHANGES: Just one: Charlie Michaud, a freshman and the youngest defenseman on Miami’s roster, made his Miami debut.
He replaced Kyle Aucoin, who was injured in last Saturday’s game.
Michaud looked solid on the blue line, breaking up a 2-on-1 and making quality passes through the neutral zone.
FINAL THOUGHTS: More later, but in the past it feels like a 3-1 deficit was tantamount to a death sentence for Miami, but the RedHawks wanted it more.
At times, things didn’t go as planned. Penalties, defensive breakdowns, were too often occurrences, but Miami fought through all of it and refused to see its winning streak end.
Miami didn’t play its best game, but the RedHawks found a way to win, and that’s the most important thing.
————
VFG is headed to Belfast to cover Miami in the Friendship Four this November. We’re a completely independent website, so we bring you RedHawks hockey coverage without a dime of corporate compensation. If you like our work and have the means, please consider helping us continue to provide the best RedHawks coverage and photos by contributing via Venmo here:
View From the Glass 