Miami hosted Providence once again Saturday evening, and the final act of the two-game series between the No. 11 RedHawks and the No. 7 Friars was much closer than Friday’s meeting. Though the game was officially recorded as a 2-2 tie after a fruitless overtime, Miami got the unofficial victory in an extra, informal 3-on-3 session.
Like Friday night, the home team opened up the scoring again, this time at 13:21 of the first period. Sophomore defenseman Louie Belpedio, who had already committed two minor penalties in the first eight minutes, rocketed a shot past a screened Nick Ellis to take the early lead. Miami traded chances and man-advantage opportunities with the defending national champions for the remainder of the initial frame, but sophomore defenseman Jake Walman spoiled the RedHawks lead with a one-time bomb of his own in the closing minutes.
The pace of play slowed significantly in the second period, largely due to more neutral zone pressure from the Friars, who forced Miami into a dump-and-chase style offense. The result was infrequent RedHawks opportunities and a Friars lead. Senior defenseman John Gilmore notched his first of the year on a power play three minutes into the period.
Miami came back out in the final frame a renewed and refocused team, attempting to get the puck wide and gain the zone with speed. They outshot the Friars 11-4, leading to senior defenseman Chris Joyaux’s second career goal in the twilight moments of the third. Joyaux, who was inactive on Friday night, joined the play late and fired one through traffic to bring the RedHawks back from the brink of a losing effort. The five-minute, full-strength overtime proved to be a fruitless endeavor, and the contest was deemed a 2-2 tie.
“It was a great college hockey game,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said. “We had a few chances that we couldn’t put away and they did, too. It got a little sloppy at times and you expect that early in the year, but for us to come away with three points on the road with a win and a tie is a good start for us.”
The crowd was then given a session of free hockey, though, and it didn’t disappoint those adorned in red and white. Just 90 seconds in, Miami captain Sean Kuraly finished a check in the offensive zone and somehow centered the puck to freshman forward Josh Melnick, who managed to sneak one through the clenched blocker-side arm of Ellis.
“We’re going to need them,” Kuraly said, referencing the freshman contributions from both games. “We lost a lot [in the off season] and these guys are going to have to step up and score goals. We need to keep getting better, but they’ve had a great start.”
Miami coach Enrico Blasi welcomed the extra overtime session as a nice preview to the format that will likely decide more than a few contests in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference this year.
“We have some video now and we have some experience,” Blasi explained. “I think we can strategize for it and get a good feel for it. You just better score on your chances, because if you don’t they’re coming back the other way.”
It was the RedHawks that came away with the edge in shots tonight, 30-26. Fellow Friars linemates Trevor Mingoia and Mark Jankowski combined for three assists on the evening, bringing their weekend total to 11 shared points.
Following the 7-3 blowout loss on Friday, Blasi was fairly happy with the tenacity and ability to bounce back his squad showed the following night, though he was quick to note that there’s still work to be done.
“Let’s not forget the growth and maturity that has to happen here in the next little while,” Blasi said. “Our job as coaches is to hold them accountable to the standard that we’ve set for them and they’ve set for themselves … and we’ve got another opportunity at a nonconference opponent next weekend. We’ve got to get better.”