OXFORD, Ohio — Miami generated just one shot on goal during its first two power plays.
But after St. Thomas was assessed a major penalty late in the third period, the RedHawks racked up seven SOG, including Doug Grimes’ game winner as MU edged the Tommies, 2-1 at Cady Arena on Friday to open NCHC play.
Miami (6-1) scored very early and very late, finding the net in the opening minute and not again until just 3:33 remained in regulation.
It was the first-ever meeting between these new conference foes.
The second-ever contest will be at 7:35 p.m. on Saturday.
RECAP: Miami’s Kocha Delic fed Tim Runtso a one-timer from just inside the blue line, and Runtso ripped it off the inside of a St. Thomas defender’s leg for a change-up than snuck over the shoulder of Tommies goalie William Ingemann just 36 minutes into the first period.
St. Thomas (1-4) tied it with 6:09 left in the opening frame when Chase Cheslock settled a pass from Jakub Alrichter near the left faceoff dot a whipped a wrister in low to the far post on a 5-on-3.
After a 50-plus minute goal drought, Miami’s Matous Kucharcik fired a shot in from the right faceoff dot that Ingemann knocked down with his glove, but the rebound dropped in front of him at the top of the paint, and Grimes chopped down on the loose puck, which snuck under the crossbar.
STATS: Kucharcik led all skaters with two points, both on assists. He is tied for the team lead in helpers (7) and points (8).
He has points in six straight games, the longest streak by a RedHawk since Delic recorded a nine-game point streak to open 2025-26.
Runtso’s goal was the first of his career. Grimes’ was his first of the season and his second point.
Delic finished with an assist, his sixth point of the season, with all coming in the last five games.
Defenseman David Helledy also earned a helper, his third point of 2026-27, with all coming in the last four games.
— Miami goalie Matteo Drobac stopped 15 of 16 shots to improve to 5-1 on the season. His save percentage increased to .933, and he has not allowed more than two goals in any of his six starts.
— After an opening-night loss, the RedHawks have won six straight, matching their winning streak to open 2025-26, and their 4-0 home start is their best since 2007.
— St. Thomas entered the weekend averaging 40.5 shots but managed just 16 on Friday, the fewest allowed by Miami this season.
— The RedHawks snapped a two-game power play goal drought, but they allowed a man-advantage goal for the first time in five games.
ANALYSIS: Miami played with tons of energy early, getting a lucky bounce early for the opening goal and spending much of the first 10 minutes in the St. Thomas zone, but the RedHawks went down two men for 58 seconds on minors by Delic and Bradley Walker, and the Tommies capitalized.
Grade-A chances were rare for the first half of the second period, but the game opened up at one point, and Drobac shut down basically a 2-on-0 from point-blank range with a sprawling glove save, and he stopped another quality chance later in the period.
Both teams lost a player in the third period, as St. Thomas captain Cole Miller was not on the bench for the entire frame, and Miami’s Logan Thompson blocked a shot, went down the tunnel, came out during a break and tried to skate then went back down the tunnel.
The RedHawks nearly took the lead on the power play five-plus minutes into the final stanza, but the puck was swept away while it was on the goal line, less than a second before the net was dislodged. No review, but on replay it looked like the puck never crossed the line.
On the major: David Deputy was the recipient of the Nathan Pilling boarding major (and game misconduct). He lay flat on his stomach along the boards for about a minute but upon standing, skated straight to the bench and didn’t miss a shift.
After Grimes’ goal, Miami did an outstanding job of shutting down St. Thomas’ final surge, including the final 75-ish seconds with an extra attacker.
Overall, the RedHawks played a solid game and were ultimately rewarded with three league points. The power play still needs work, but the defense was very solid overall, and Drobac shut down the high-percentage chances he faced.
— Kucharcik is arguably the best forward on the team right now, and he directly factored into both MU goals. He is tied for the team points lead, boasts a six-game points streak, has stickhandled through every opponent the RedHawks have faced thus far and has incredible vision. He singlehandedly created two 2-on-1 in the first five minutes and earned the early assist for winning the faceoff to Delic. And he wired the wrist shot on net that handcuffed Ingemann, resulted in Grimes’ rebound game-winner.
— After rolling up eight points the previous four games, Deputy held off the scoresheet, but after the game, Miami coach Anthony Noreen called this his “best game of the year”. The 5-feet, 8-inch, 177-pounder laid out two huge hits early in the first period, and his defense continues to improve as he is logging substantial minutes on the penalty kill (he and his teammates tried multiple times to time up clearing pucks with his heavy B button for shorthanded chances).
— Vladislav Lukashevich dressed for the first time this season and finished with two shots on goal. Known for his offensive prowess, his only power play time came in the final half minute of the decisive major, and he was on the ice for significant PK time as well as the final minute, when St. Thomas had pulled its goalie.
LINEUP CHANGES: Noreen returned to his preferred 12/7 split.
Lukashevich returned to the lineup, and Jack Hamilton also dressed on defense, as 13th forward Charlie Blanchard sat.
Drobac has started six of Miami’s seven games after playing in 34 of 35 contests last season.
STANDINGS: After one day of NCHC play, Miami is tied with Arizona State, Denver and Minn.-Duluth, all of whom have three points after winning in regulation.
Western Michigan and North Dakota did not play league games, and Colorado College, St. Cloud State and Omaha are all 0-1.
In the way-too-early-to-care edition, the RedHawks are ranked No. 24 in the NPI, used to determine who qualifies for the NCAA Tournament.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was Enrico Blasi’s homecoming of sorts…after amassing 125 points as a player and earning captaincy, he spent 20 years coaching the RedHawks and won 398 games, advanced to the NCAA Tournament 10 times and two Frozen Fours.
When he was announced, the disappointingly small but enthusiastic crowd rewarded him with a lengthy applause, and did so after a first-period video board montage as well.
Very well done, Miami fans and staff. Blasi had an amazing career in Oxford, both as a player and a coach. He deserved the cheers.
If there was any distraction by this series, it wasn’t obvious on the ice.
Miami played a quality game and earned the win.
Now that we’re past that, on to the games.
