OXFORD, Ohio - A pair of first-period goals and two more empty-netters in the waning minute of the contest saw the No. 20 Alaska Nanooks' six-game winning streak snapped as they were upended 4-1 by the No., 3/4 Miami RedHawks on Friday night at Steve Cady Arena.
Alaska got its lone goal of the game from sophomore defenseman
Trevor Campbell (Kansas City, Mo./Mechanical Engineering), who notched his second goal of the season in the second period. Campbell's tally made it 2-1 at the time and cut into the RedHawks lead built off two first-period goals from Blake Coleman and Cody Murphy.
The Nanooks attempt to pot the equalizer late in the final frame came up short as they pulled freshman goalie
John Keeney (Twin Peaks, Calif./Business Administration), the HCA and CCHA Rookie of the Month, twice and the RedHawks cashed in with empty-net scores for the 4-1 victory.
Miami opened the scoring at 12:11 of the first period with an extra attacker on a delayed penalty, as Coleman threw the puck towards the net that took a lucky bounce off Keeney's pads and into the net.
The RedHawks doubled their lead with 2:01 remaining, when Murphy flicked the puck past Keeney from the left post.
Alaska's only answer came at 4:16 of the second period, as Campbell struck while the teams skated four-on-four. Rookie center
Tyler Morley (Burnaby, B.C./General Studies) led an odd-man rush and sent a cross-ice pass to Campbell, who fired a wrist shot that beat Miami netminder Jay Williams stick-side to make it 2-1.
The final 20 minutes saw Alaska outshoot their host 13-5 as they warred to tie the game, but all they had to show was three fruitless power-play chances and a shot that rang of the cross bar. The RedHawks and Williams shut the door to keep them from scoring again.
RedHawk forward Austin Czarnik sealed the win for Miami with two empty-net scores in the final minute, turning on the red light at 57.6 and 30 seconds, respectively.
The Nanooks outshot Miami, 25-22, for the game while Keeney finished with 18 saves in defeat. Both teams went 0-for-6 on the power play.
Alaska will look to get back to its winning ways and salvage a series split tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m EST (3:05 p.m. AKST).
