Ice Hockey: RedHawks win 4-1

The No. 5-ranked Michigan ice hockey team picked up their first loss of the season on Friday night at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. Just one night after lighting up the RedHawks for six goals, the Wolverines were unable to solve the Miami defense and scored just once in a 4-1 loss to Miami University.

What at a difference a night makes. Just 24 hours ago the Wolverines were out-skating the RedHawks on the way to a dominating 6-3 win, tonight the Wolverines couldn’t skate their way out of an overwhelming 4-1 loss from the Miami University RedHawks.

"Well, you have to give them credit. They were a different team tonight. We have to be honest about Michigan though. We were a different team tonight. We didn’t come out with the fire that we needed to, and they did. They won all of the little battles. Their penalty killing literally out-shot and outscored our power play, and their power play was better than our penalty killing. We have to learn as a team to come back after an important victory. Beating a team twice in this league is very hard. We weren't going to beat anyone with this effort tonight."

In the opening period of play, neither team was able to pull in front, but play was easily controlled by Miami University.

38 seconds into the second frame, the RedHawks went on top. Nathan Davis roofed a loose puck over Michigan goalie Billy Sauer’s sprawled out body while the RedHawks were shorthanded to make it 1-0 after Sauer made the initial save on a breakaway from Miami’s Ryan Jones. The puck squirted back out right in front of the crease and Davis beat the Wolverines defense back for the easy tip in.

Michigan had its best scoring opportunity of the night just minutes later, but Kevin Porter’s shot off a beautiful set-up from center T.J. Hensick sailed wide of the net and the Wolverines wouldn’t even come close again until the start of the third period.

"We all have to take responsibility for tonight. Working: it's not a gift, it's not a skill, it's an expectation from everyone. We got outworked from the start of the game to the end of the game and in every department,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson after the game. “Were we close, well, there were times we could have gotten back in the game. Porter missed an open net when it was 1-0, and we could have tied the game, and maybe, maybe, maybe. But it wasn’t our night."

Alec Martinez made it 2-0 Miami at 16:16. Martinez beat a screened Sauer from the top of circles with a shot low just off the right post to double the Miami lead and put Michigan into the hole from which they would never recover.

With less than five minutes to go in the period, Nathan Davis scored his second goal of the period for the RedHawks, this time with a power-play goal. After Sauer stoned two Miami chances, the puck squirted off his pads to the near post where Davis slammed the puck into the back of the net.

Miami outshot Michigan 14-5 in the second period.

In the third period, the Wolverines had the first scoring opportunity three minutes into the frame. After the puck took a weird bounce off a Michigan defenseman, it squirted out into the neutral zone where Chad Kolarik picked up the loose puck and skated into the Miami zone with Andrew Cogliano on a two-on-zero. Kolarik beat Miami goalie Jeff Zatkoff, but his shot rung off the cross bar and up into the netting behind the Miami goal to keep the score 3-0.

Nathan Davis put the game out of reach with his third goal of the contest, again coming shorthanded, going coast-to-coast on a breakaway and beating Sauer in the final five minutes of the game.

Jack Johnson scored the Wolverines lone goal of the night with 1:35 left on the clock, but that was all the Wolverines would get on the night in a 4-1 loss.

Michigan returns to non-conference play next weekend at Yost Ice Arena with a pair of tilts against Northeastern, both scheduled for 7:35 start times.