Miami University smothered beleaguered Ferris State 7-2 in the second game of the weekend series in beautiful Steve Cady Arena. The Bulldogs, three points away from last place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings, allowed five unanswered goals, falling to the RedHawks for a sixth consecutive time.
Miami took advantage of the power play, scoring 4 out of 10 times (7-for-19 in the weekend). Miami also scored a shorthanded goal (MU leads the nation in shorthanded goals) in addition to two even strength goals.
After a slow start on Friday night, Miami didn’t waste anytime clocking in to work against FSU. Sophomore defenseman Alec Martinez scored a mere 17 seconds into the game just inside the blue line to the left of Bulldogs’ goalie Mitch O’Keefe.
Head coach Enrico Blasi emphasized the importance of the early goal. “We needed to play a disciplined 60 minutes tonight. The big players had to be ready to go and set the tone for the game.”
After becoming the 37th member of the 100-point club, Matt Christie gave the RedHawks a two-goal lead 12:54 into the first period. Christie was assisted by first line forwards Brian Kaufman and Nathan Davis. Christie also had two assists on the night for a three-point performance, tying Andrew Miller for 36th on the all-time list with 104 points.
The RedHawks added two more goals in the second, taking a 4-0 lead into the second intermission. After peppering O’Keefe on for six shots on the power play, Miami was finally able to punch it in on a Nino Musitelli goal. Forward Marty Guerin rifled a shot from the blue line, deflecting off of Musitelli’s leg for a goal. O’Keefe was pulled after giving up the third goal. O’Keefe cannot be solely blamed for the defeat. O’Keefe was shorthanded for two goals, and his defense permitted Miami 18 shots in the second period alone.
Ryan Jones pushed his scoring streak to seven games with an even strength goal 15:45 in the second. Jones, with a team leading 14 goals, had two goals on the night and five total over the two game series. Afterwards, Jones deflected praise to his teammates, saying, “I was just at the good end of a great team effort.”
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Sounds like nobody could save Ferris.
(Sorry. That one's been killing me all weekend. I love Big Rapids, honestly.)
2 - M.D. Sandwasher
It's been in my head too. I swear I had a dream lastnight with "Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?"
3 - M.D. Sandwasher
After left-wing Ryan Jones’ torrid weekend, he was, as expected, awarded the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s Offensive Player of the Week. The captain from Chatham, Ontario, racked up five goals in the weekend series against Ferris State, including his first career hat trick Friday night. Jones received first and third star status on Friday and Saturday night respectively.
This is the third time in the junior’s career that he has received the aforementioned award.
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
BG hockey, on the other hand? Yuck.
We'll always have 1984.
5 - M.D. Sandwasher
Like I always say, BGSU is “Changing the world by degrees.”