MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Ryan Smith had dressed for 39 previous Division I contests but did not have a multi-point game.
Saturday was his breakout night.
Smith recorded the first Miami hat trick in nearly three years, including the overtime winner in the RedHawks’ 5-4 win over Lindenwood at Centene Community Ice Center on Saturday. And he earned an assist.
Miami swept the weekend series, winning on Friday by an identical score. Ilia Morozov scored the game-winner on Friday and dished for the primary assist in this contest.
The RedHawks, who open NCHC play next weekend against Arizona State, won their sixth straight game to open the season for just the second time in team history.
RECAP: Lindenwood (3-5) took the lead 7:43 into the first period on a top-shelf, point-blank wrister by Olivier Houde.
Miami (6-0) tied it with 4:52 left in the opening frame, as Smith carried the puck into the zone on a 2-on-2 and wired a shot over the shoulder of Lions goalie Klayton Knapp.
Smith scored again 2:27 into the second period, firing a shot from the slot that was stopped by Knapp, and he roofed the rebound that kicked back to him at the side of the net.
Just 25 second later, Lindenwood’s Louis Philippe Fontaine fired a loose puck in from the slot to make it 2-2.
The Lions went back on top with 13:25 left in the stanza on a 3-on-2, with Houde cashing in a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.
Miami’s Max Helgeson evened it at three, tipping in a Smith shot at the top of the crease.
The RedHawks went ahead again as Justin Stupka fired a loose puck home just 55 seconds later.
And Lindenwood tied it yet again, as Adam Raesler batted home a loose puck from the top of the crease with 4:42 left in the frame, the sixth combined marker of the period.
Then the scoring stopped…neither team found the net in the final frame.
Until Morozov carried the puck from his own zone through the slot, had his initial shot denied, corralled the rebound behind the net, threaded a pass through traffic to a wide-open Smith for the one-time winner.
STATS: Smith, who had five points his freshman season at Quinnipiac in 2024-25, went 3-1-4 and now has six on the season. It was the first Miami hat trick since Johnny Waldron on Dec. 9, 2022 vs. St. Cloud State.
Helgeson and Vladislav Lukashevich finished with two points apiece — Helgeson went 1-1-2 and Lukashevich notched two helpers.
Lukashevich ended the weekend with four assists and is now 1-8-9 this season, leading all defensemen in helpers and points, and Helgeson has scored in consecutive games and has six points.
Stupka’s goal was his third of the season, and he has points in three consecutive games.
Ethan Hay earned an assist, his fourth of the season, as did defenseman Ryder Thompson, point No. 3.
Doug Grimes notched a helper, giving him points in four straight games.
— Speaking of streaks, Kocha Delic earned an assist and in the only RedHawk with points in all six games. No Miamian had a points streak longer than four games in 2024-25.
— This was the first game in Miami history in which there no penalties whistled. The previous low for penalty minutes in a game in which the RedHawks were involved was four, which occurred three times, most recently in the infamous New Year’s Eve game, 2022 vs. Niagara.
— Miami didn’t score in the third period, snapping its consecutive goal string at 12 periods. The RedHawks made up for it with Morozov-from-Smith in overtime.
ANALYSIS: Wow, what a crazy game.
The first period was pretty even the first few minutes, then Lindenwood took over the game, leading 12-4 in shots at one point. But the Smith goal seemed the reenergize the RedHawks, who carried that momentum into the middle stanza.
The second period was basically a track meet, with six goals and a pair of lead changes.
The third period was much less eventful, although Lindenwood outshot Miami, 14-6.
Morozov just seemed to thrive with the wide-open ice at 3-on-3, and he scored on Friday and set up Smith’s game winner in this game.
— Speaking of Morozov, it’s been incredible to watch how quickly his game has evolved in a few weeks. He has eight points in his last four games and is tied for the team lead with nine overall.
Morozov turned 17 in August.
— Disappointing crowds both nights by Lindenwood. Centene is a beautiful facility the Cincinnati or Dayton areas would die to have, with four sheets including an enclosed outdoor rink, but there were literally next to no college-aged Lions fans in attendance, despite LU offering a free shuttle with Chik-Fil-A available to students from the Lindenwood campus, roughly 15 minutes away.
LINEUP CHANGES: Brayden Morrison made his 2025-26 debut, playing on the fourth line, replacing John Emmons, who was a scratch for just the second time this season.
STANDINGS: As of this post, Miami is ranked No. 9 in the new NPI rankings, which determine NCAA Tournament qualification. Penn State, which just inked probable NHL first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, is eighth.
FINAL THOUGHTS: What a start to 2025-26.
Miami won three games last season. The RedHawks are currently 6-0 and will almost certainly be ranked in the major national polls on Monday, especially with the number of legacy program upsets this weekend.
Anthony Noreen’s coaching staff deserves tons of credit. For 18 months since its hiring, inquiring minds were still wanting to see results, following 10 years of epic collapse. Saying all of the right things, which they’ve all done, didn’t culminate in wins in 2024-25.
Now they are.
Next weeked, Miami begins NCHC play, which has been RedHawk kryptonite the past few seasons, but this group seems well mentally-eqipped overall.
Six games into this season, we’ve definitely earned the right to be cautiously optimistic about the league slate and the future of the program overall following years of catastrophic struggles.
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