UNH goalie Matt DiGirolamo and Blake Kessel try to stop Alden Hirschfeld from scoring Oct. 9. (MICHAEL GRIGGS | The Miami Student)
Predictions called for an even matchup between the Miami University hockey team and the visiting University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats.
The RedHawks and the Wildcats took a game apiece at Goggin, the 'Hawks winning 6-3 Oct. 8 and the Wildcats winning 6-3 Oct. 9. Physical play and offensive opportunities characterized the weekend series, each team coming away with nine goals and more than 50 shots.
The initial game of the series between the Wildcats and the RedHawks was a hard-fought battle. After a scoreless first, the offense for both teams erupted in the second, making it a five-goal middle period. The Wildcats started the scoring with a goal from Phil DeSimone. The RedHawks responded with quick goals from Justin Vaive and Steve Mason, putting the 'Hawks up 2-1.
Miami was called for too many men on the ice late in the period, giving UNH a power play opportunity that ended in a Wildcat goal from Mike Sislo. Miami acted quickly in a give-and-go play between Carter Camper and Alden Hirschfeld. Camper sent the puck into the net, beating UNH net minder Matt DiGirolamo stick side. The 'Hawks took a 3-2 lead into the final period.
In the third, Camper beat DiGirolamo again just after the three-minute mark of the period. The Wildcats did not rest, and Connor Hardowa's shot from the point made its way past Miami's Cody Reichard to bring UNH within one.
In a late power play for the RedHawks, Camper found Hirschfeld in front of the net and Hirschfeld went bar down on DiGirolamo to increase the Miami lead to two goals once again. Hirschfeld added an empty netter with 35 seconds remaining to seal a 6-3 victory for the RedHawks.
Saturday's game started in familiar fashion for the 'Hawks. It was another scoreless first, the third in a row this season for Miami, including the exhibition game Oct. 3. The zeros on the board were quickly erased in the second, but this time it was the Wildcats getting the jump.
Miami broke the scoreless tie on a goal by Hirschfeld, but the RedHawk lead did not last. Just past the halfway mark of the period, the Wildcats unloaded for five goals from a mere nine shots. "Not one of us played our game," Camper said of the second period. "Individually we didn't play our games and as a team that wasn't us."
The last time the RedHawks allowed five goals in one period was against New Hampshire Oct. 17, 2009.
The RedHawks came out hard in the third trying to claw back from the four-goal deficit incurred in the second, but the 20-minute period proved to be too short. In the middle of the period, Reilly Smith tipped in a shot from Hirschfeld, and three minutes later, Camper netted his third goal of the weekend. Just as it looked like the 'Hawks could come back, the Wildcats' Stevie Moses sent a blast past Cody Reichard on a breakaway, making the score 6-3.
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"When two good teams go at it, that's what happens," Head Coach Enrico Blasi said. "We're going to have to get back to work and try to limit our mistakes first of all and get ready for St. Cloud, which is going to be a huge series as well."
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