The Miami RedHawks fell 4-1 in their NCHC opening game to the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday night. It was their first loss of the season, dropping their record to 6-1-0.
Doug Grimes opened the scoring just 2:15 into the first period, but Miami never found the back of the net again. Goaltender Matteo Drobac had a strong outing despite the score, stopping 26 of 29 shots in his first loss of the season.
Four different skaters scored for Arizona State: Bennett Schimek, Sean McGurn, Jack Beck, and Cullen Potter. Connor Hasley stopped 19 of 20 shots to improve his record to 2-3-0 on the campaign.
Here are three takeaways from the 4-1 loss.
Too Many Costly Penalties
Whether you agree with them or not, Miami took way too many penalties on Friday night, totaling eight. Two of Arizona State’s goals came on the power play, one late in the first period and another late in the third.
Ryder Thompson and Drobac each took two penalties, while the team as a whole was called for four tripping, two cross-checking, and one holding minor. Matteo Giampa took the final two penalties, both at critical moments in the third period.
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Many of the calls were definitely questionable, and while head coach Anthony Noreen didn’t directly share his opinion postgame, he did allude to them when asked about the officiating.
“You’ve got to find a way for them not to be momentum killers. I didn’t think our guys let them linger. I thought we actually got mad and fought through it a lot of the time. I’d just challenge everybody, I’m not going to make any comments about it, but go back and watch them and let me know what you think. The last game, there were no penalties called, and now you go to this.”
Miami’s power play went 1-for-6 on the night but struggled after its first opportunity. NCHC officials have called noticeably more stick infractions and have been stricter about faceoff violations this season, which impacted Friday’s game as well.
Faceoffs were almost even, with Arizona State holding a narrow 50.9% edge. Miami won 49.1%, led by Ilia Morozov going 8-for-20 and Ethan Hay winning 10-of-14. McGurn and Kyle Smolen were the best in the circle for the Sun Devils.
Early Goal, Offense Goes Quiet
Miami came out flying. Grimes buried the opening goal just over two minutes in, and the RedHawks dominated the first 10 minutes in all three zones.
But after that, the offense never found the net again. Arizona State adjusted, and Miami could not solve Hasley despite setting up several strong looks and passing plays the rest of the game.
Defensively, the RedHawks settled in as the game went on after a shaky first period that featured several odd-man chances against.
Noreen liked the adjustments his team made as the game progressed.
“Yeah, they’re a transition team that’s really deadly off the rush. They don’t need many; they only need one, and they’ll make you pay with some high-end guys. You can’t wait until the game’s over to make adjustments. I thought our guys did a really good job on the fly. We really limited those in the second and especially the third period, and that led to more sustained offensive-zone time and gave ourselves a chance to get on the offensive side.”
He added that making Arizona State defend is crucial.
“You’ve got to make them defend. You’ve got to make winning plays with the puck. Sometimes that’s a chip, sometimes it’s eating it and protecting it, sometimes it’s not exposing it. That’s something you’ve got to learn as you go.”
Drobac was stellar in the second period, keeping Miami within reach, but the RedHawks could not cash in on their chances.
After the game, Noreen reflected on what his young group can take from the loss.
“You win or you learn. This is an opportunity for us. Obviously, we’ve found ways to win games, and we’ve learned from those. You’ve got to learn from this. We’re a very young team that’s played in tough, tight games, and we felt like a lot of what they got, we gave them. There are a lot of correctable things that we’ll tighten up tomorrow.
I loved our effort to the end. Credit to their goaltender. I thought he made some big saves, and they got some key shot blocks. At the end, they score on the power play. I thought they did a good job on the kill, and it’s a tight game, a one-shot game, but it wasn’t for lack of chances or lack of effort by our guys.”
Not Enough Shots on Net
Miami totaled 53 total shot attempts, but only 20 reached the net. Arizona State blocked 16 of them and limited the RedHawks’ most dangerous looks.
According to the College Hockey News shot chart, Arizona State finished with 30 shots on goal compared to Miami’s 20 and had more high-danger chances from the slot throughout the night.
Despite some strong offensive sequences, Miami was not able to consistently test Hasley. Their best looks came early, and as the game wore on, Arizona State’s defense closed up and clogged lanes.
Forward David Deputy made his return to the lineup after an injury on opening night against Ferris State, skating on the fourth line and logging minutes on the penalty kill.
“I thought he had some really good kills,” Noreen said. “He wasn’t on that top kill unit to start, but we liked his legs, his speed, and his ability to close. You can see a lot of what he brings in that area. We’re going to keep putting him in positions to be successful. Right now, we’re just trying to get him back up to game speed. You can do everything possible to get a guy ready, but you’ve got to play the game.
For him, he’ll be better tomorrow night, and he’ll be even better the next time out. You can see his legs, his dynamic ability. It’s something we’re excited to have back in our lineup for sure.”
Miami will face Arizona State again later tonight at 6:05 p.m. EDT, looking to bounce back and snap its 658-day NCHC winless streak.
