The Miami RedHawks picked up a massive three points in the NCHC standings on Friday night, shutting out the visiting Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks 3-0. Matteo Drobac and the RedHawks were solid defensively when it mattered, with Drobac stopping all 19 shots he faced.
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This was Miami’s first win over Omaha since 2022. The RedHawks improved to 13-8-2 overall and 4-7-2 in NCHC play, now seventh in the conference with 13 points. Mavericks goaltender Simon Latkoczy entered the night with a perfect 7-0 record against Miami but took his first career loss to the RedHawks.
All three Miami goals came in the third period after two scoreless frames. Kocha Delic opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the third, snapping a five-period drought dating back to last Friday’s 2-1 overtime win at Arizona State. Bradley Walker and Senior forward Blake Mesenburg added insurance to seal the win, which was Mesenburg’s first goal of the season (ninth as a RedHawk).
Miami head coach Anthony Noreen initially had this to say about the game.
“I mean, that is what real hockey looks like at this time of year. You watch an NHL playoff game, you watch a college hockey game this time of year, that is what it is. There is no space, no room for error. It is hard, it is fast, it is physical, and scoring chances are hard to come by.”
Below are the three biggest takeaways from Miami’s 3-0 win.
Drobac & Defense Lock It Down
Drobac was outstanding across the first 40 minutes, making several big saves to keep the game tied 0-0. He stopped a breakaway in the second after a bad change and made many other saves on breakaways/in-tight. Other than the odd-man rushes given up, the Mavericks really did not generate many grade-A looks and were kept to the outside all night. Miami blocked a total of eight shots in the win, while Drobac has now allowed just two goals over his last three games.
Noreen praised the team’s defensive commitment.
“I think as a team we have been defending well. Drobes has done a good job when needed, but the last few weeks, especially, we feel like we have defended really well. That is an excellent hockey team. They defend as hard as any team we have seen all year, and that is probably the best goaltender in the league. He has been for a couple years.
You have to defend because you know they are not going to give you much. It was a hard-fought hockey game that could have gone either way. On home nights, you want to come out on the right side.”
He added more on the full-team defensive effort.
“Both sides defended extremely well. There was not a lot of time and space in the offensive zone. I thought our defense did a good job skating, driving their legs, shutting down corners. We had a really good commitment to blocking shots. We always go back and look. I do not think there were many we did not get tonight, maybe one or two. Even that is too many. We are going to keep pushing on that. We need to defend as a team. That supports your goaltender, but it is a group thing. We have to keep going.”
On Drobac specifically, Noreen pointed to his growth so far this season.
“Talking to those guys this week, not that the goalie room was not strong before, but when there are only two guys who can play, it is different. The goalie room is strong in ability and work, and they all support each other. The break around the holiday was probably best for Drobes. We leaned on him a lot. I think he needed it.
The addition of Mathis Langevin has helped. It has pushed him. It has pushed all three of them. Drobes has a ton of confidence and swagger right now. When you go up against a goaltender like that on the other side, you know you need to be sharp.”
Miami also stayed disciplined, taking only two penalties and killing off the lone Omaha power play. The RedHawks have not allowed a power-play goal in five straight games. On the other side of things, Miami’s power play finished 0-for-2, but the penalty kill continues to make up for its struggles.
A Mature Third Period
Miami has been in tight, low-scoring games all season, but this time, they finished the job. Opening the third period, the RedHawks dominated the faceoff circle 6-1 and controlled all three zones, translating directly to two goals. That sustained offensive-zone pressure immediately led to Delic’s goal, as he took the puck at the blue line off a deflection from Michael Phelan, drove in, and fired it home for a 1-0 lead during 4-on-4 play, a situation that suits Miami’s speed.
Momentum swung Miami’s way just 57 seconds into the period and stayed there, unlike earlier games (Colorado College & St. Cloud State) where opponents clawed back to force overtime.
Noreen explained what he loved about the team’s response.
“What I love is how funny our game is. It was the same situation we were in last Saturday. Something we talked about as a group all week was when you get back in these situations, which we knew we would, and here we are again, 0-0 going to the third period. Every moment is so important. Every faceoff, every detail, every time you touch the puck, every chance to defend, every time you maybe do not have legs but have a chance to drive your legs, it is all so important.
What we loved was that we felt like we drew big time from last week in a short amount of time. Not that we were bad last Friday or Saturday, but we felt like we were much better tonight in the third period. You get the goal, and then I thought we did an unbelievable job defending, being mature, and making winning plays down to the end. I thought that was the difference.”
On the night, Miami won 51.1% of faceoffs. Ethan Hay led the way at 58.3% (7-of-12), followed by Max Helgeson at 60% (6-of-10) and Ilia Morozov at 62.5% (5-of-8).
RedHawk Toughness
Bradley Walker is the definition of a hockey player. Late in the second period, he lay out to block a heavy wrister that hit him right in the foot. He then left the ice for the period, and then scored in the third period off a Doug Grimes pass, a one-timer that made it 2-0.
Noreen spoke about Walker’s toughness and the team’s unselfish play.
“One of our core values is toughness. That is mental, emotional, physical, and staying mission-focused on what needs to happen, no matter what comes up. What we loved about that game, and two things I would point to: Bradley Walker leaves the ice after a huge block at a huge moment. You do not know if he is going to be able to come back.
Not only does he come back, he is feeling it for sure, but he comes back and scores. Usually, when you do stuff like that in our game, you get rewarded. That is what our game calls for.
The second thing is a really good sign of a real team, of leadership, of unselfishness. Max Helgeson gets a puck on the 5-on-6. We break it out, and he could just take the goal. That is why you play the game. The kid spends all day in the shooting room, shooting pucks so he can score goals.
Instead of taking the goal, he passes it to Blake so Blake can get one. I do not know if there is anybody who deserves one more than him. To me, those are signs of a real hockey team. It is super encouraging this time of year. It says a lot about the culture and the guys in the room.”
Game two of this important series is Saturday at 6:05 PM ET, a massive matchup with implications for the NCHC standings.
