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Wildcats hand penalty-laden RedHawks third sweep of season

Tom Downey, For The Miami Student

Northern Michigan University (NMU) swept the Miami University RedHawks hockey team this weekend. Miami lost the first game 2-1 and lost the second game 5-1. It was the first time the Wildcats had swept the RedHawks since 2002.

The sweep drops the RedHawks to 8-8-2 overall and 4-6-2-1 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play.

In the first game, the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead on a goal at the 9:39 mark of the game. Senior goalie Cody Reichard saved the original shot, but the Wildcats managed to get the loose puck past Reichard.

After the goal, senior goalie Connor Knapp replaced Reichard. Knapp was held out of the first 10 minutes due to a violation of team rules.

The RedHawks would tie the game back at one just over two minutes later. Junior defenseman Steven Spinell scored the goal while being assisted on the play by senior forward Alden Hirschfeld and senior defenseman Cameron Schilling.

Neither team scored in the second period, despite both sides having good opportunities. The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead with 2:10 left in the game on a redirected shot past Knapp. The RedHawks pulled Knapp one minute later but failed to score the game-tying goal.

The RedHawks lost the game despite leading in shots 26-17. This included a 14-4 margin in the final period. Knapp finished the game with 13 saves. The RedHawks killed two of the three power play opportunities NMU had but failed to convert their three power play advantages.

In the second game, the RedHawks committed a season high 14 penalties en route to a 5-1 loss. The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead 7:42 into the game.

The RedHawks were then whistled for a pair of penalties giving the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage. The Wildcats capitalized and went up 2-0 at the 12:36 mark of the first period.

Nine seconds later, the RedHawks scored a shorthanded goal to trim the lead to 2-1. Freshman forward Austin Czarnik scored the goal and was assisted on the play by junior defenseman Joe Hartman.

It was Czarnik's first career shorthanded goal and the RedHawks fourth of the year.

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"I shot through the guy's legs, got lucky and found the back of the net," Czarnik said.

With 6:38 left in the second period, the Wildcats extended their lead back to two as they went up 3-1. However, the Wildcats got another 5-3 chance and capitalized on it 48 seconds into the final period, giving them a 4-1 advantage.

The RedHawks had a great chance to score when the Wildcats were called for a five-minute major, but failed to capitalize on the advantage. NMU would go up 5-1 when they scored on yet another 5-3 power play in the final period.

The RedHawks killed all of the Wildcats 5–on-4 power plays, but the Wildcats capitalized on each of their three 5 to 3 advantages. The RedHawks finished 9 for 12 on the penalty kill and were 0 for 4 on their own power play chances.

"It throws off our game, trying to kill all the penalties and we can't get anything going when we're on the penalty kill," Schilling said. "It hinders our offense."

The RedHawks outshot the Wildcats once again in the second game 29-27. Reichard finished the game with 22 saves.

The RedHawks will likely drop out of the rankings after entering the week at No. 18 in the USCHO poll. The Red and White return to action this weekend against Ohio State University (OSU).

Miami will play at OSU on Friday and host the Buckeyes at the Goggin on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.