“They outplayed us today and deserved to win,” a terse Miami coach Enrico Blasi said.
Wide-open would be the appropriate way to describe the first period which ended in a 2-2 tie as Providence (22-13-3) twice overcame one-goal deficits. The teams combined for 27 shots.
Cody Murphy gave Miami a 1-0 lead when he scored on a wrist shot from the high slot at 4:10. But a costly turnover enabled Providence to tie it.
Trevor Mingoia stole the puck in the neutral zone and beat Jay Williams on a breakaway at 10:14.
That deadlock lasted only 89 seconds as Miami (25-14-3) again went ahead by one goal — in this case when Anthony Louis’ shot off a Chris Joyaux rebound hit the skate of a Friar defenseman and deflected by Jon Gillies (29 saves).
Providence countered at 14:47 when Shane Luke’s wrist shot from the right circle beat a screened Williams.
Luke’s goal was a premonition of things to come for Providence.
Providence dominated the second period to the extent that not only did the Friars score four unanswered goals and outshoot the RedHawks 18-7, but they also forced Blasi to remove Williams in favor of Ryan McKay with 7:30 left in the period after he allowed the third goal.
Williams, who began the game with a 1.89 goals-against average, allowed five goals on 27 shots.
When asked if Williams’ removal was an indictment of his team’s performance or that of his goalie, Blasi succinctly replied, “Both.”
Providence’s second-period eruption commenced when Steve McParland backhanded in the rebound of a Tom Parisi shot at 5:33.
In quick order, Brian Pinho deflected in a cross-crease pass from Noel Acciari at 12:00, Acciari scored on a back-hander 30 seconds later and Luke notched his second goal of the game on a wrist shot from the right circle at 18:43.
“We got outplayed in the second period and it wasn’t what we wanted,” Austin Czarnik said. “We went into the locker room saying we have to be better and give ourselves the best chance to win.
“I’m really happy with how the guys responded. I have tremendous respect for everybody. I’m just thankful they gave us the best chance to win.”
Blasi pulled McKay with 12:46 in regulation and the move paid off just under a minute later when Matt Caito snapped in a shot which sliced Miami’s deficit to 6-3.
McKay returned to the net after Caito’s goal only to be removed again. And, again, the move paid off as Devin Loe flicked in the rebound of a Sean Kuraly shot at 14:14.
Believe it or not, Miami recorded a hat trick of sorts when it scored a third goal with McKay on the bench. In this case, Kuraly stuffed home the puck from in front of the crease at 18:27.
But Providence ended any hopes of a miracle comeback when Brandon Tanev scored into an empty net with 6.3 seconds left.
“I just think they went harder to the net,” Blasi said of PC’s second-period play. “They outworked us down low and they buried their chances.
“We had a couple of opportunities, but we didn’t do a good job of sustaining any pressure and they did. Obviously, they did a great job in the second period.”
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