The Miami RedHawks (NCHC) fell 5-2 to the Michigan Tech Huskies (CCHA) in the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) opener, their first non-conference loss of the season. With the loss, Miami dropped to 10-7-2 overall and 8-1-0 in non-conference play, while the team fell a whopping nine spots in the NPI Rankings from 26 to 35. Michigan Tech jumped to 23rd in the NPI and improved to 11-6-2 overall.
Related: Miami RedHawks Great Lakes Invitational Preview
Michael Quinn and Ryan Smith scored for Miami, with Smith finishing with two points. Matteo Drobac kept the RedHawks in it and stopped 28 of 31 shots on goal.
For the Huskies, Stiven Sardarian recorded three points with two goals and one assist. Joe Prouty, Carson Birnie, Jack Anderson, and Tom Leppa also scored. Owen Bartoszkiewicz settled in after the Smith goal and stopped 26 of 28 shots.
Game Recap
Miami thought they had scored early when Smith cleaned up a loose puck that snuck past Bartoszkiewicz’s blocker. The play did not count due to an accidental whistle before the puck went in, which Anthony Noreen mentioned in the post-game presser. That definitely did not help the RedHawks in this game, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes in hockey.
Quinn opened the scoring midway through the first when he fired a shot through traffic that beat Bartoszkiewicz for a 1-0 lead.
Prouty tied the game 1-1 when he shot in a rebound from distance. Drobac never saw it and was screened by his own guy, Ryder Thompson.
Early in the second, Birnie gave the Huskies their first lead when he sniped one from the slot to make it 2-1.
Smith tied it 2-2 with a forehand-backhand move that beat the netminder with 14 minutes left in the middle frame.
The back-and-forth style period continued until the big man Anderson slipped in and scored to give Michigan Tech a 3-2 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the second.
Despite a heavy push from the RedHawks, Sardarian and Leppa added two empty-net goals late in the third to seal the 5-2 final.
Miami’s power play generated chances and held the offensive blue line well, but could not convert despite nine shots on goal with the man advantage. The penalty kill went 2-for-2. Miami also performed well in the faceoff circle at 53.8%, led by Ilia Morozov, who went 17-for-27 (63%).
Doug Grimes and Shaun McEwen were out. Blake Mesenburg and Nick Donato returned to the lineup. Ethan Hay moved to third line center, Justin Stupka shifted to fourth line center, and Bradley Walker moved up to third line right wing.
Miami struggled in transition defense and was beaten by Michigan Tech’s speed. The Huskies consistently got pucks behind Miami’s defense, attacked around the outside, and cut to the net. Drobac bailed them out several times throughout the game, and the score could have been worse than 3-2 56 minutes in.
Miami finished 0-for-4 on the power play, and those missed opportunities cost them.
The RedHawks will look ahead to facing Ferris State on Monday at 3:30 PM EST in the GLI consolation game. The Bulldogs lost 5-2 to Michigan State on Sunday night.
