The Miami RedHawks (9-4-0) repped their conference well on Friday as the first NCHC team in the Friendship Four, winning 4-0 over the RIT Tigers to advance to the championship game.
Related: Miami Shuts Out RIT 4-0, Advances to Friendship Four Final
Four different skaters scored for the RedHawks: Bradley Walker, Ilia Morozov, Matteo Giampa, and Doug Grimes, while goaltender Matteo Drobac earned his second shutout of the season, stopping 23 of the 23 shots he faced.
RIT’s Jakub Krbecek made 27 saves on 29 shots but allowed two early goals in the first period. Miami jumped on him early and created plenty of traffic in front, taking advantage of rebounds throughout the game.
Miami’s Penalty Kill & Drobac Deliver
Miami finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and relied heavily on Drobac during RIT’s push late in the second period. He made several great saves during those two kills and looked confident for the rest of the game. Drobac made nine saves in the second period and eight in the third, including a couple of breakaway stops that shut down potential momentum for RIT.
The RedHawks kept most RIT attempts to the outside despite a few grade-A looks, as reflected in the College Hockey News shot chart below.
Miami also blocked nine shots as a team. Ryder Thompson returned from injury and blocked two shots. Ethan Hay also blocked two. Miami cleared pucks well, protected the front of the net, and handled most second-chance opportunities.
RedHawks Controlled Possession
Miami controlled possession for much of the night, and a big part of that came from excelling in the faceoff circle and holding the offensive zone. The RedHawks won 30 of 54 faceoffs, which was 55.6%.
Hay was the standout again. He went 9-for-10 (90%) on draws and continues to be Miami’s most consistent option in the circle. His ability to win defensive-zone draws while down a man was key, and he created a few offensive-zone chances off clean wins as well.
Morozov took the most draws, going 7-for-16. While the percentage was lower, he was relied upon in key spots, including several shifts against RIT’s top line and on the power play. Miami finished 1-for-5 on the power play; the lone goal was from Morozov in the first.
Morozov also had perhaps his best defensive game of the season. His defensive presence, backchecking, and support play were strong throughout the night, and one of his biggest defensive plays came in the third period when he lifted the stick of an RIT forward at the edge of the blue paint to stop an easy tap-in chance. This was during RIT’s push to climb back, and Morozov played a big role in maintaining the 2-0 lead.
Miami’s Uses International Sheet to Advantage
Miami used the larger international sheet to their advantage with speed, puck movement, and active defensemen who held the blue line and kept pucks in the offensive zone. There was more room to work with, and players like Vladislav Lukashevich, Casper Nassen, and Morozov grew up playing on sheets like this in Europe, so there was a level of familiarity in how they handled the extra space.
In Ryan Sikes’ scorecard, he sent over to me, Lukashevich finished plus-3.45 in the skater impact card, which was the highest of the game between both teams. He finished with two assists and was plus-3. He continues to be their offensive-driving defenseman and remains smart in where he is, never pinching too much. Defenseman Owen Lalonde also played a strong defensive game and finished plus-2.48 on the scorecard.
Miami had timely and clean line changes, which is important on a bigger sheet. They rolled all four lines, just as head coach Anthony Noreen mentioned last weekend after the St. Cloud State series. He said they don’t have a first, second, third, or fourth line, and he wasn’t lying.
Walker opened the scoring just under three minutes into the game by snapping one home from the slot off a pass from Hay. It was Walker’s second goal as a RedHawk and the first point for Nick Mikan, who picked up the assist.
The line of Mikan, Hay, and Walker had its best game of the season and spent a good portion of the night matched up against the RIT top line, handling those shifts well. Mikan also finished plus-1.97 in the scorecard above.
Up Next
Miami will face No. 20 Union College on Saturday at an estimated time of 2:45 PM EST due to ice issues. Union routed Sacred Heart early on Friday at a final score of 8-1, so the RedHawks have their work cut out for them.
