St. Cloud State
23-7-6, 16-5-4NCHC
Miami University (OH)
12-19-5, 7-14-4NCHC
Resurgent St. Cloud State falls to Miami, 3-2, in overtime
3/10/2018 10:41:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies' extra time setback forces a decisive three on Sunday night
ST. CLOUD—After battling back from an early two-goal deficit, the No. 1 St. Cloud State men's hockey team's (23-7-6, 16-4-4 NCHC) dreams of a conference quarterfinal sweep were dashed on Saturday as Miami's (12-19-5, 6-14-4) overtime winner forced a decisive game three.
The loss snapped the Huskies 12 game unbeaten streak, which dated back to the end of January. It was also just their third setback all season on home ice.
"We have to get our energy back and come ready to play tomorrow," head coach Bob Motzko said.
After falling behind, 2-0, in the first period, SCSU battled back to force overtime, capped by senior forward Blake Winieck's game-tying power play goal just over two and a half minutes into the third period—but were unable to complete the comeback.
Despite SCSU's sizable 32-20 shots on goal advantage, it was Miami junior defenseman Grant Hutton who played hero, scoring the game-winner 7:10 into overtime.
"I have no issues with our effort and how we played tonight," Motzko said. "We were tighter with our effort. They had very few chances. It was a good hockey game."
Both of the Huskies' goals on the night came on the man advantage. Trailing by two, sophomore forward Ryan Poehling got his team going, drawing it within one, 2-1, with a power play marker with 12:40 to play in the second on a five-minute advantage after a RedHawks major penalty.
Motzko said his players are "making it happen" right now with the man advantage, but lamented the lack of an even strength tally. After Poehling's goal, SCSU out-shot Miami, 16-9. But, despite spending significant stretches in the offensive zone and numerous chances, failed to cash in a winner after Winiecki's equalizer.
"We needed to find a way to score a 5-on-5 goal tonight," he said. "We knew if we scored a goal (on the five-minute power play) we would get the energy going. From there we had numerous chances but just could not get one by the guy."
Miami sophomore goaltender Ryan Larkin stopped 30-of-32 to keep the Huskies at bay.
St. Cloud State and Miami will play with a trip to the 2018 NCHC Final Faceoff on the line on Sunday, March 11 at 7:07 p.m. The contest will be the first game three for the Huskies since joining the NCHC for the 2013-14 season. Tickets for the game are available at scsutickets.com or at the arena box office on game day.
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