By John Lachmann
OXFORD, Ohio – Two goals in a stretch of 2:08 was too much for Alabama-Huntsville.
The RedHawks broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period with goals by sophomore forward Bryon Paulazzo and Reilly Smith en route to a 3-1 win over the Chargers at Cady Arena on Friday.
With the win, Miami snapped a two-game skid and improved to 7-1 all-time vs. UAH.
Freshman forward Tyler Biggs opened the scoring for the RedHawks by going top shelf with a wrister midway through the first period.
Alabama-Huntsville answered with a power play goal four minutes later. Jamie Easton beat Miami senior goalie Connor Knapp on the blocker side from between the faceoff circles.
Paulazzo put Miami ahead for good in the fourth minute of the middle stanza. Senior forward Trent Vogelhuber fed him a pass through the crease that he was able to deflect just wide of the net.
Paulazzo gathered the puck behind the net and beat Chargers goalie Clarke Saunders with a wrap-around shot on the short side.
Smith extended the Miami lead to two just over two minutes later when he ladled a rebound shot over Saunders’ pads.
Knapp and the Miami defense did the rest. UAH was held to 12 shots for the game and just two in the final period. Knapp faced just five shots the rest of the game and two in the final 27 minutes.
Knapp also broke a personal two-game losing streak. Freshman forward Austin Czarnik recorded two assists, the only player for either team to finish with multiple points.
Despite the win, Miami dropped into a three-way tie for fifth in the CCHA because Michigan State beat Michigan and the RedHawks’ win was in an out-of-conference game.
The teams wrap up the weekend series at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.
ANALYSIS: Miami looked pretty uninspired in the first period, got its legs in the first half of the middle frame and went into defensive shut down mode the rest of the game.
The RedHawks have had trouble getting inspired for games against teams they should clobber in the past few years, and after 20 minutes it was looking like UAH may pull off an upset.
These types of games can be hard to get motivated for, although with Miami’s PairWise situation you would think if any team would have no problem getting inspired for every game it would be this one.
It definitely wasn’t the best game Miami has played this season, but the team got the win and its lead was never really in jeopardy after the second-period outburst.
All three goals were a delight to watch, and it seemed like the RedHawks tried to get too fancy after that instead of just playing their game.
That said, UAH did not look like a 2-26-1 team. Saunders is pretty solid and the Chargers played good defense. Generating offense is definitely the team’s Achilles’ heel.
The Chargers’ goal was the result of Miami missing two clearing attempts. Freshman Austin Czarnik had a chance to clear the zone but was unable to, and junior defenseman Stephen Spinell fired a puck from the goal line right to a UAH defender at the point.
GRADES
FORWARDS: B. This is probably a team Miami should’ve scored more than three goals against, but they ones they put in the net were pretty sweet and this team is without one of its top weapons in freshman Jimmy Mullin.
Like last Saturday, Biggs played on the top line with freshman Austin Czarnik and Smith, and their chemistry seems to be improving.
Freshman Cody Murphy played well again on the fourth line with seniors Matt Tomassoni and Patrick Tiesling. He’s playing well enough to move into a better offensive line, but as deep as Miami is, who would get bumped to make space for him?
Paulazzo’s ability to execute the wrap-around is remarkable, as one could see it coming once he took control of the puck behind the net, but he was assessed penalty that resulted in UAH’s goal, and he was given five and a game for checking from behind in the third period.
The stats: Three goals, four assists, 22 shots.
DEFENSEMEN: A. Giving up two shots in the final 27 minutes while leading by two goals in impressive, regardless of the opponent.
Junior Garrett Kennedy played well again, blocking three shots and dishing out a punishing hit early in the game.
Senior Chris Wideman and freshman Ben Paulides each recorded an assist, and the corps finished with 10 shots while holding UAH to 12 for the game.
Paulides’ shot ultimately created the rebound Smith scored on.
GOALTENDING: B+. Knapp didn’t face many tough shots, but when Miami is playing well defensively its goalies go long periods without activity.
Knapp has been on this team for four years and is as used to low shot games as a goalie can be. He could’ve put a book next to the water bottle on top of the net to get some studying in.
The bottom line is he faced 12 shots and stopped 11, and the UAH goal was on a pretty good shot.
LINEUP CHANGES: Coach Enrico Blasi’s job doesn’t get any easier.
Up front, Murphy is playing well enough to justify a nightly lineup spot, and Mullin’s injury does not appear to be serious (hopefully
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