The Miami RedHawks have been kryptonite to the BG hockey team in recent years.
This fact was once again proven true this weekend in Oxford, Ohio.
The RedHawks swept the Falcons with 2-1 and 3-1 victories. Miami outshot BG both nights, and effectively exposed the Falcons’ special teams.
In Friday’s 2-1 victory, Miami scored both goals on the power play and killed off all five BG power plays, including a five-minute major midway through the third period.
“Our intensity on the power play was really poor,” said BG Head Coach Chris Bergeron. “We had opportunities, but I thought their effort and intensity was so much better than ours.”
Miami forward Curtis McKenzie was called for hitting from behind after laying a vicious hit on BG forward Dajon Mingo. Mingo remained on the ice for a time, before skating off under his own power.
He was able to return to the game.
BG was trailing 2-1 at the time. However, the Falcons did not seize the opportunity to get back into the game.
“They took it to us in the five minute penalty,” Bergeron said. “They played desperate hockey … and we just kind of watched it.”
BG got on the board first with Mark Cooper scoring his seventh goal of the season on a deflection from Ryan Peltoma’s point shot.
“It was just good pressure by our line,” Cooper said. “I was kind of open in front and Peltoma shot it and it just hit my stick.”
Cody Murphy scored twice in the second period to put the RedHawks ahead for good.
Andrew Hammond stopped 24 of 26 shots for BG in the loss.
Saturday night proved to be no more fruitful for the Falcons, as they dropped a 3-1 decision.
Jimmy Mullin scored twice for the RedHawks, while Sean Kuraly had two assists and Ryan McKay stopped 23 of 24 shots.
Miami came out strong in the first period, scoring two goals in the game’s first 10:28 — one from Mullin and one from Bryon Paulazzo — and amassing 14 shots in the period.
“They came out with a purpose and their purpose was to win tonight,” Bergeron said. “They took it to us from the beginning.”
Despite being outplayed, the Falcons had chances to pull even late in the period.
With just under a minute and a half to go in the first, Mingo put the Falcons on the board, deflecting a shot from Dan DeSalvo past McKay.
In the last seconds of the period, Ryan Carpenter deflected a shot that went wide of the net and off the glass. The rebound off the glass caromed into the crease near his stick, but he was unable to make contact with the puck.
“We finished the period pretty well I thought,” DeSalvo said. “But we needed to come out [in the second period] with some fire under our tails. They countered that and came out harder than we did.”
The Falcons were unable to channel that momentum from the end of the period, and six minutes into the second period, Mullin effectively ended the game with his second goal of the night.
For the second straight night, BG was awarded a five-minute power play when Miami’s Taylor Richart bulldozed DeSalvo with a forearm to the head late in the second period.
Like Mingo the night before, DeSalvo remained down for a time, but was able to skate off and later returned to the game.
BG started the third period with 4:09 of power play time, but was only able to get one shot on McKay.
“You have to capitalize on those types of chances,” DeSalvo said. “They don’t come too often, and we had two [games] in a row, so you have to capitalize.”
