By John Lachmann
Miami liked scoring goals in pairs this weekend.
The RedHawks netted a pair in a span of 2:08 on Friday. On Saturday, they pumped in consecutive goals 14 seconds apart and over a 49-second span in a 4-1 win over Alabama-Huntsville at Cady Arena.
The win completes a Miami’s second two-game home sweep of the season.
Eleven RedHawks registered a goal or an assist, but none finished with multiple points. Miami senior goalie Cody Reichard stopped 14 of 15 shots in 56½ minutes for the win. Fellow senior Ben Saksa finished the game, making his second career appearance.
Like Friday, the RedHawks started slowly. They fell behind when UAH’s Sebastian Geoffrion fired a shot from outside the blue line that eluded Reichard early in the second period.
Miami finally got on the scoreboard when freshman forward Alex Wideman backhanded a shot past Chargers goalie Clarke Saunders from the base of the faceoff circle on the power play with 3:27 left in the middle frame.
Senior forward Matt Tomassoni scored on a backhanded shot 14 seconds later from the same spot to give Miami the lead, 2-1.
RedHawks sophomore forward Bryon Paulazzo had a point-blank shot deflected by a UAH defender at the side of the net, and the puck went over Saunders’ shoulder with 11:11 remaining in regulation.
Miami senior forward Alden Hirschfeld grabbed a rebound off a shot by freshman forward Blake Coleman, skated around Saunders and deposited the puck in the net 49 seconds later to seal the game.
In the win, the RedHawks outshot Alabama-Huntsville, 48-16 to finish their non-conference regular-season schedule 6-2.
Miami dropped into a tie for seventh in the CCHA with Notre Dame and Northern Michigan 36 points, since the RedHawks played a non-league series.
The RedHawks host the Fighting Irish next weekend.
ANALYSIS: Like last night, it’s hard to understand how a team in Miami’s PairWise position could come out flat, even against an opponent it clearly outmatches.
Seeds Nos. 3-9 are now completely up for grabs, and Miami controls much of its own destiny the final two weeks of the regular season. The RedHawks host Notre Dame – a team they are tied with at 36 points – next weekend.
Miami finishes the regular season with a home-and-home series vs. Ohio State, which is fourth place, three points ahead of the RedHawks. But Miami has two conference games in hand over the Buckeyes.
Realistically, Miami is looking at a three or four seed if it runs the table, and somewhere between four and six if the RedHawks finish 3-1.
Then again, if this team plays the first period the way it did both Friday and Saturday, Notre Dame will bury Miami.
But Miami usually has no problem getting up for big series, and every game the RedHawks play from here on out will be huge.
Alabama-Huntsville had little offensive power, but that team isn’t that far away from being competitive again. It’s kind of hard to believe the Chargers finish their season 2-28-1, and I hope they are able to keep their team afloat.
Coming back from a suspension, senior Will Weber disappointed by toking two more undisciplined penalties in the first period. He got his arms up on a hit and was called for elbowing, and he came out of the box only to go right back in after whacking a player in the back with both hands.
He has to know that officials are watching him, and both calls could’ve been avoided if he kept his arms down.
One more negative: The rink resembled a mausoleum on Saturday. I realize it was UAH and not Michigan or Notre Dame, but other than the student section hardly anyone joined in any cheers or clapped for the team when it cleared the puck on PKs or dished out big hits.
And an attendance of 2,781? Even with Miami underachieving this season that’s pretty sad.
FORWARDS: B+. They scored all four goals and accounted for six of the team’s seven assists, and essentially all four lines scored (all three members of the top line were on the ice for Miami’s power play goal).
They combined for 39 shots.
Coleman did an excellent job of being physical while not crossing the line, breaking a UAH facemask with a punishing legal hit. Sophomore Bryon Paulazzo also dished out a big check.
Freshman Tyler Biggs was assessed two penalties, but one was a stretch.
Paulazzo and Wideman have now scored three goals in five games, and Hirschfeld broke a five-game dry spell.
DEFENSEMEN: B+. Freshman Ben Paulides picked up the lone assist among Miami’s blueliners, and junior Stephen Spinell led all RedHawks skated with three blocked shots.
Weber took two early minors, but the other five stayed out of the box the entire game.
All of the defensemen played pretty well but none stood out. UAH was held to 16 shots on goal, and just three in the second period.
GOALTENDING: B-. The goal Reichard allowed was extremely soft, and while he didn’t face many tough shots he didn’t look terribly sharp. But ultimately he only surrendered one goal.
He allowed at least one big rebound, juggled a change-up shot he should’ve
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