For the first 38 minutes of their regular season finale, Miami and Omaha were pretty evenly-matched.
That was reflected on the scoreboard: It was 2-2 with 2:04 left in the second period when the RedHawks and Mavericks combined for 72 penalty minutes, including six 10-minute misconducts, for post-whistle roughhousing behind the Miami net.
Ethan Hay, Kyle Aucoin and Bradley Walker were all given 2-and-10 and Doug Grimes somehow was only assessed a minor that resulted in a Mavericks power play.
That appeared to ignite the RedHawks, who scored shorthanded 25 seconds later, killed the penalty and went on to outshoot UNO, 9-3 in the final period en route to a 4-2 win.
For whatever reason, Miami played one of its most uninspired games of the season Friday, causing concern that the RedHawks could possibly finish last in the NCHC and miss the playoffs or end up roadkill for their first-round opponent if they backed in.
But the final 22 minutes Saturday after Miami’s scrum were its best of the weekend by far, and one of the RedHawks’ best period-plus stretches in recent weeks.
It was exactly the spark this team needed at exactly the right time.
I might get some hate mail over this (I definitely did when I defended Chaz Switzer’s fighting major in the last 2010s), but I applaud Miami for getting into a mini-scrap, and I applaud Omaha for sticking up for itself as well.
And good for the officials, who assessed 2-and-10 penalties but not game misconducts, disqualifications or fighting majors, which could have led to unwarranted suspensions heading into the NCHC Tournament.
Like it or not, post-curriculars are part of hockey at every advanced level, and they can change the momentum of a game and galvanize a team like Saturday.
Hopefully Miami carries that energy into next weekend at Denver.
— Defenseman Shaun McEwen scored his first two collegiate goals and night after picking up two assists, and few players on the RedHawks are more deserving. He has elevated his level of play in the second half of this season as much as anyone on the team, and he has dished out some of the biggest hits.
And his hard, legal check seconds were the kindling for said altercation.
— Ilia Morozov broke a 20-game goal drought, but really, it hasn’t felt like he’s struggled to find the net because he’s done so many other things well. He kills penalties, he wins faceoffs, he’s strong, fast and elusive and he might be the best RedHawk at carrying the puck through the neutral zone.
— Speaking of that go-ahead goal: What an incredible skill play by David Deputy, who was able to carry the puck along the boards and flick it to Morozov in stride. And Morozov showed off those hands that’s had NHL scouts packing rinks following him around all winter.
— Denver actually beat Arizona State in regulation before this game ended, so both teams were already ensured — and probably were aware — they had qualified for the NCHC Tournament. The Sun Devils are the odd man out in the NCHC’s current format, in which 8 of 9 teams qualify for the field.
— Matteo Giampa looked like Matteo Giampa of the first half of the season again. He was injured in the GLI and hadn’t looked 100 percent when he was in the lineup until this weekend.
FINAL THOUGHTS: In closing, what this team did this regular season was absolutely prodigious.
Miami is 18-14-2 heading into the playoffs after finishing 3-28-3 in 2024-25, a 15-win improvement that John Buccigross reports is the biggest non-COVID swing this millennium by a Division I team.
(It’s actually the second-biggest vault in Miami history — under Mark Mazzoleni, the-then Redskins won 27 times in 1996-97 and advanced to their second-ever NCAA Tournament after recording just 10 victories a year prior)
While a league record of 9-13-2 isn’t particularly sexy, here’s the context: Miami won eight conference games the previous four seasons combined, including zero in 2024-25.
Also…
— The RedHawks actually won five straight league games.
— They won the Friendship Four tournament in Northern Ireland.
— They actually scored 100 goals for the first time since 2017-18.
— They beat a fourth-ranked team — Western Michigan — in an overtime thriller.
Equally as important, they packed Cady Arena, as attendance for three of their final four home games was above 3,300 and two were completely sold out, SRO and all, at 3,642 (don’t tell the Oxford Fire Marshall but there were probably 4,000 or more at the rink for the overtime winner against St. Cloud State).
It’s been a wild five months, and though Miami will certainly be a heavy underdog for its first-round series in Denver next weekend, the RedHawks have proven they can hang with anyone when they’re playing their game, even in the most hostile environments.
View From the Glass 