Miami will have to be content with one in-season tournament title.
The RedHawks fell, 5-2 to Michigan Tech in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational on Sunday in the teams’ first meeting in over 40 years.
This is Miami’s first-ever appearance in the prestigious Grand Rapids, Mich.-based tournament, five weeks after MU won the Belpot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The RedHawks will play Ferris State in the third-place game at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
RECAP: Miami (10-7-2) appeared to take the lead minutes into the first period on a shot by Ryan Smith, but the play was blown dead for a penalty to Michigan Tech, although the Huskies didn’t appear to force a whistle by touching the puck.
The RedHawks did go ahead at the 9:47 mark on a well-placed wrist shot by Michael Quinn from the slot that beat MTU goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz stick side.
The Huskies tied it with 4:13 left in the first period, as a shot hit a body in traffic and kicked out to the top of the right faceoff, where Joe Prouty whipped it past Miami goalie Matteo Drobac, who never reacted to the wrister.
Michigan Tech took the lead, 2-1 when a Tom Leppa backhander from behind the Miami goal line was partially deflected to teammate Carson Birnie, who beat Drobac with a hard wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle.
Smith did score a goal that counted to tie it 5:22 into the middle frame, as Bradley Walker fed him from the blue line to the left side of the net, where he deposited the puck under Bartoszkiewicz.
But with 10:13 left in that stanza, the Huskies’ Jack Anderson tapped in a back-door feed from Stiven Sardarian to make it 3-2.
Sardarian scored an empty netter from behind his own goal line with 2:11 remaining, and Leppa also scored an ENG a minute later to seal it.
STATS: Smith finished with a goal and an assist, his third multi-point game as a RedHawk and of his career. He now has the longest points streak on the team at three games (1-3-4).
Quinn’s goal was his fourth of the season — already double his freshman season output — his third point in his last two games and his 13th of the season, second-best on the team among defensemen.
Funny stat of the night: Walker, Vladislav Lukashevich and Ryder Thompson also earned helpers, snapping five-game pointless streaks for all three.
It was Walker’s first career assist.
— Miami was 0-for-4 on the power play and is now 2 of 23 (8.7 percent) over its last five games. The RedHawks did only end up shorthanded twice and killed both penalties. It’s the first time MU hasn’t given up a power play goal since the championship game in Belfast on Nov. 29.
At 14.8 percent, the RedHawks’ power play is tied for 50th in the NCAA.
— Miami has scored in the first and second period four straight games. The RedHawks have allowed goals in the middle frames in six consecutive contests.
ANALYSIS: This was a pretty evenly-played game between a pair of evenly-matched opponents, and at 3-2 most of the third period — the way this season has gone — it felt like this was one Miami might pull out in the closing minutes.
Instead, Sardarian scored from about six rows deep in the box seats and MTU added another ENG to twist the knife in.
— Like Miami, the Huskies were a high-speed, maximum-effort team and had bodies and sticks in scoring areas most of the game. They should do well in the CCHA.
— The early Smith goal that wasn’t on a delayed penalty was whistled dead before the puck crossed the goal line.
Miami coach Anthony Noreen addressed it in his postgame presser:
“Accidental whistle,” Noreen said. “Mistakes are made, they made a mistake, they admitted it, it’s hockey, it happens, obviously super unfortunate in a game like that in a moment like that, but we’re all human.”
— While we’re talking rules: Bartoszkiewicz strolled out to the high slot and collided with a Miami skater (maybe Kocha Delic?), and the puck caromed to the right point for what would have been an empty-net chance, but Bartoszkiewicz’s helmet came off in the collision, so the play was whistled dead.
All about player safety here but maybe a little clarity from the rules committee would help here. Or at least some tightening of the goalie’s-helmet-is-off-stop-play rule.
So currently a goalie can be ordering a hot dog in the concourse and if someone in line bumps his helmet off, the play is dead even if the other team has a 5-on-0? The attacking team deserves a little more than an offensive-zone faceoff in that situation.
— Smith exuded energy all game, and this was one of his best of the season.
— The power play was 0-for-4 but still very good. The passing was crisp and the units were able to possess the puck for large portions of all of them, but they couldn’t finish.
— The MILK line (Matteo, Ilia, Kocha) was held off the scoresheet and finished a combined minus-7. But they did generate 13 of Miami’s 28 shots of goal.
And Ilia Morozov was excellent on draws, ending the game 17-10 in the faceoff circle.
— Also on Sunday, the WHL Penticton Vees (which produced former Miami standout Curtis McKenzie) agreed to terms with Miami defenseman Charlie Michaud.
Michaud played six games and finished with a plus-1 rating. Michaud was the youngest Miami blueliner and showed promise in limited action.
LINEUP CHANGES: Forward Doug Grimes was scratched for the first time this season. He had been battling though injuries since before Belfast and may miss a decent amount of time.
Defenseman Shaun McEwen was also out of the lineup after playing in all of Miami’s first 18 games.
Blake Mesenburg dressed up front for just the seventh time this season, and Nick Donato returned to the blueline corps after sitting the last six games.
STANDINGS: This was Miami’s first non-conference loss of the season, as the RedHawks dropped to 8-1 against non-NCHC foes.
MU took a major dip in the NPI, falling to No. 35. The RedHawks were 23rd following their last series vs. Colorado College.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a frustrating loss because there’s no way of knowing how this game would have played out had the officials not blown dead a delayed penalty goal when no Michigan Tech player touched the puck.
But again, credit Michigan Tech, which matched or exceeded Miami’s intensity and deserved the win.
The RedHawks showed once again on Sunday that while they have made immense strides this season, they still have much more work left if they want to be considered elite.
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