OXFORD, Ohio — No. 5 Miami faced a constant battle in the latter two periods of the Friday’s contest, falling behind by a tally only to make it up several times.
It took until 12:48 of the third period, but the RedHawks were finally able to secure their first lead since 18:43 of the first period and walk away with a 5-3 win in Game 1 in this best-of-three series versus Western Michigan in the NCHC opening playoff round.
“It’s playoff hockey,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “I thought we hung in there … it was physical in both ends. It’s not pretty, because they pressured hard and scored a shorthanded goal which is not acceptable, obviously, but you’ve just got to get pucks to the net, you’ve got to crash the net. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but that’s what we did.”
Miami was the first of the two teams to leave its mark on the score sheet 9:42 into the contest. Ben Paulides found Riley Barber, who in turn delivered a perfect pass to Blake Coleman on Lukas Hafner’s doorstep for his 13th goal of the year.
The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Broncos responded with one of their own with 77 seconds left in the first frame. Colton Hargrove buried his 13th of the season, sneaking it through Ryan McKay’s five-hole immediately off of a faceoff.
Sheldon Dries put the Broncos on top a few minutes later in the second period on a shorthanded strike, taking advantage of a RedHawk turnover in front of their own net. The score continued its seesawing when the RedHawks’ Louie Belpedio converted an unassisted power-play goal of his own to even the score at two entering the third period.
Just 1:44 into the final frame, the Broncos crashed the net and somehow slammed one past McKay. The puck crossed the line for the briefest of moments and after a five-minute review, the goal was deemed kosher.
In response to yet another setback, the RedHawks bore down and piled up 12 shots on goal in third, striking several times en route to the victory. Kevin Morris’s power-play rebound goal tied the contest at the 6:54 minute mark and six minutes later, Coleman’s Bobby Orr-esque game-winner off a Barber helper put the RedHawks up 4-3.
The Broncos tried in vain to equalize the contest one more time, but it wasn’t to be. An Alex Gacek empty-net goal in the final minute closed the door on any hope of a comeback.
“We came ready to battle tonight,” WMU captain Will Kessel explained. “We put forth the effort. Again, penalties have been a problem for us recently and they got a couple of goals and ended up taking the hockey game.”
Despite the loss, the Broncos were the ones in the driver’s seat for a majority of the 60 minutes. They outshot the RedHawks in all three periods and for a while, their lead seemed insurmountable.
“No. 5 Miami was trying to compete with a team of our caliber tonight,” Western Michigan coach Andy Murray said after the game, making sure to add a quick smile. “Give Miami’s kids credit, they played well, and I think they know we’ll come after them tomorrow.
The win gives the RedHawks that precious one-game lead in the best-of-three series, and a trip to the NCHC championship weekend is just a win away.
“We know they’re going to come out hard and play physical again,” Blasi said. “They’re a good hockey team, we have a lot of respect for them. We need to match that intensity and execute.”
Game 2 is Saturday at 7:05 p.m. EST at the Steve “Coach” Cady Arena.
