No. 19 Miami has eliminated a lot of items from its ‘hasn’t done something since’ checklist the first two months of this season, but winning a road league game remains near the top of the page.
Keyed by three second-period goals, No. 6 Denver handed the RedHawks their first shutout of the season, 4-0 at Magness Arena on Friday.
Miami (10-5) dropped to 0-3 in the NCHC away from Oxford.
The teams wrap up their weekend series at 9:05 p.m. on Saturday.
RECAP: At 3:56 of the first period, Denver’s Rieger Lorenz intercepted a Michael Phelan defensive-zone pass in the high slot, skated in and tucked the puck behind Miami goalie Matteo Drobac on his forehand.
The Pioneers (10-5-1) made it 2-0 less than four minutes into the second period when Garrett Brown ripped a slap shot from just inside the blue line that beat Drobac glove side.
Kyle Chyzowski gave Denver a three-goal lead with 4:31 left in that frame, tapping home a Kristian Epperson feed on a back-door cut at the right side of the net.
The Pioneers went up four with 17 seconds remaining in the stanza, as Eric Pohlkamp snuck a power-play wrister in from the left point that deflected off a stick.
STATS: Miami allowed 42 shots, the second-most it has surrendered this season. Drobac did stop 38 of them, his third straight game with a save percentage over .900.
The RedHawks are allowing an average of 44.3 shots in their three NCHC road games and have been outscored, 15-4 in those contests.
— Miami had its string of four consecutive games with a power play goal snapped (the RedHawks were 0-for-2) and allowed a marker on the man-advantage for just the second time in six games (Denver was 1 of 5).
— MU falls to 0-18-1 in its last 19 meetings with the Pioneers. The RedHawks’ last win over DU was in the Omaha Pod on Dec. 17, 2020.
ANALYSIS: Miami actually started pretty well, which has been an issue for the team at times. Denver made the RedHawks pay for an early turnover, but MU was only down a goal after 20 minutes and it felt like it was anyone’s game.
But the Pioneers seemed to have a three-man advantage the majority of the second period, unofficially firing the first nine SOG, and heading into the second intermission, leading by four goals, it felt like Denver might be headed for touchdown territory.
To the RedHawks’ credit, they battled until the end and kept the final deficit at four, piecing together some pretty solid shifts later in the game.
The effort for Miami was still there, but it was facing a better team that played a better game and was better rested.
— Liked the Justin Stupka-Casper Nassen-Doug Grimes line, especially early, though all three finished minus-1.
David Deputy was the team’s best forward, leading the team with four shots on goal and a near goal from the left side of the net.
On defense, there was a lot to like from Vladislav Lukashevich, who hit a post and showed a more physical side.
Drobac was his typical solid self: He probably would have wanted the second goal back from near the blue line, but he made multiple Grade-A stops and controlled his rebounds well.
He had a rough game physically: A Denver goal was waved off because the Pioneers interfered with him in the crease, and he lost his mask making a skull save.
— On that disallowed goal: Coach Anthony Noreen had to challenge that play — which was initially called a goal — to have it reversed.
The NFL has this right: Every scoring play is confirmed before play continues. Same should apply here for goals. Rough guess but probably over 80 percent of goals are scored without a modicum of controversy, and most of the rest could easily be confirmed with a quick replay glance that wouldn’t hold play up.
A coach shouldn’t have to risk losing his timeout or face a delay of game for insisting the most crucial play in hockey — one where a point is awarded to one team or the other — is called correctly.
— More on Drobac: He’s been adventurous playing the puck this season, and it almost cost him, as an attempted clearing pass hit a skate and ended up on a Denver stick with the net open, but somehow the shot stayed out of the net.
— DU defensemen outshot the forwards, 22-20, with two of those SOG finding twine.
This is a very different team than any Miami has faced: It’s tough enough to defend 12 forwards, but most of the Pioneers’ blueliners are as big or bigger scoring threats.
— Still no word on the status of goalie Shika Gadzhiev, who it was hoped would be declared eligible prior to this series. Gadzhiev led USHL Muskegon to a Clark Cup championship last season. #FreeShika
LINEUP CHANGES: None. This is the third straight game Miami has played the same 19 skaters and Drobac.
STANDINGS: As of 1 a.m. EST, the RedHawks had dropped to No. 20 in the NPI.
MU dropped to 2-5 in the NCHC, dead last in the conference, two points behind Colorado College, whom Miami has a game in hand over.
The teams face each other at Cady Arena next weekend.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Miami coaching staff will never make an excuse for a four-goal loss, but this was a sisyphean task, facing the sixth-best team in Division I, on the road, at altitude, a week after playing two games 4,366 miles and seven time zones away.
While the RedHawks were on another continent winning hardware, Denver traveled a whopping six miles into downtown to play a single game against Minnesota at the Avalanche’s home rink.
We said a few weeks ago that Miami has earned its spot in the polling. The RedHawks deserve to be on the top 20 bubble, and they’re currently inside of it following their Belpot championship.
That said, in three games against top-5-ish programs, MU has lost by three, four and now four again.
With a record of 10-5, it’s still been an amazing start to the 2025-26 season, especially since the RedHawks had two fewer wins than the 2024 New York Jets a year ago.
But obviously there’s still ton of work to do if Miami wants to return to its early-part-of-this century form.
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