The Miami student section chanted for more goals on Thursday night, and they surely got them. A sellout crowd cheered the RedHawks to a 7-1 rout over the Robert Morris Colonials.
Courtesy of Miami Athletics’ Tim Cary, the last time Miami scored seven goals in a game was on October 28, 2017, against UConn. In other words, it’s been a hot minute.
Ten different RedHawks found the scoresheet: Matteo Giampa (four assists), Kocha Delic (two goals, one assist), Ilia Morozov (two goals), David Deputy (three assists), Ryan Seelinger (one goal, one assist), Ethan Hay (one goal), and Cal Huston (one goal).
The power play got things going early in the first period after Matteo Giampa drew a hooking penalty, and Ilia Morozov made the visitors pay, one-timing a pass from David Deputy into the top shelf. It was Morozov’s first goal in Oxford, as all of his goals last season came on the road, quite surprising (I know).
Ryan Seelinger then got on the board with his first collegiate goal to make it 2-0 RedHawks. He wrapped the puck around the net on his forehand and beat Schenkel. It was a beauty.
Later in the period, Luca Primerano scored all alone in front of the net after David Helledy and Michael Phelan lost track of him deep in their own end, making it 2-1 Miami, the only Colonials’ goal of the night.
Miami connected on its second power play of the night, and it was another beautiful setup, with Morozov finishing the play again to make it 3-1.
To open the middle frame, Miami tacked on two more goals, courtesy of Kocha Delic and Cal Huston’s first collegiate goal, making it 5-1.
Noreen on Huston and Seelinger’s first collegiate goals:
“Two guys who picked this place when there were a lot of other options. They came here because they wanted to get this thing in the right direction, and they’ve done everything possible,” said Noreen. “That freshman class so far, they’re buying in, and just the pride they have in this place in a very short amount of time, I think it’s telling just the way that they play the game and how they approach it.”
Delic later fought home a loose puck that fluttered around the top of the net on its way down to make it 6-1.
Ethan Hay later scored his first goal of the season, assisted by freshman defenseman Branko Vukas, who recorded his first collegiate point on the play.
Miami was heavy on the forecheck all game, the power play looked dynamic, and the passing was sharp. The power play finished 2-for-4, while the penalty kill went 3-for-3 on the night.
“Seems like the depth of guys who can score top to bottom and who are willing to do, get into those greasy areas, and do the dirty work that you had, a number of guys cycling in front of the net, you had a number of guys following up plays that maybe you didn’t see last year in crashing the net and scoring off those opportunities,” Noreen said.
The defensive corps had one slip-up in the first period. Other than that, the RedHawks cleared the slot and protected the front of the net all night. The team finished with 11 total blocked shots, including three by Ryder Thompson.
“Against big, heavy guys, fighting for that space and getting underneath sticks, and then when it gets delivered, to stay underneath sticks and fight for that positioning, that’s a huge part of what we do. Huge part of what we key in on, and talk with consistently with our defensemen,” said Noreen.
“You saw the one time we didn’t, the puck went up in the back of the net, and that’s a big part of the learning lesson going into Saturday,” Noreen said, referencing Robert Morris’ lone goal late in the first period.
Matteo Drobac saw the puck well all night, as the defensive corps kept his vision clear for most of the game. He finished with 22 saves on 23 shots on goal.
Miami will have a travel day on Friday before facing a surely hungry and winless Robert Morris team at its home rink along the Ohio River on Saturday night at 7 PM.
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