The Miami RedHawks got a two-goal performance from one of their sophomores for a second straight night, downing the Bowling Green Falcons, 3-1, to complete a weekend sweep. Jimmy Mullin tallied his third and fourth goals for his first multi-goal game of the season, while junior Bryon Paulazzo added the game-winner, his third.
Miami coach Enrico Blasi was pleased to see more players involved in scoring for a team that has struggled to put points on the board in recent weeks.
“We’ve played four lines the last couple of weekends now; it’s nice to see [Blake] Coleman going and Mullin going,” Blasi said. “It’s important to get everybody going. because you never which play is gonna make the difference.”
The RedHawks built up a quick two-goal lead in the first half of the opening period on Mullin’s first goal and then Paulazzo’s. Mullin’s came on a feed in the slot from Coleman, beating Bowling Green senior goaltender Andrew Hammond top shelf at 5:20.
Paulazzo made it a two-goal cushion at 10:28, as he caught Hammond out of position opposite a wraparound attempt.
Paulazzo had only seen limited action in recent weeks, but was back in the lineup for senior Curtis McKenzie, who was serving a one-game suspension earned from Friday night’s disqualification. He had not scored a goal since Oct. 13 against Colgate. Mullin, whose last goal came Dec. 1 against Alaska, said the end of their personal droughts could spark the Miami offense.
“We went through a drought there for a little bit, but you can’t keep us off the board for long; that was our motto,” Paulazzo said.
The Falcons got one score back just before the close of the period. Freshman Dajon Mingo claimed his sixth goal of the season at 18:43 by deflecting in a shot by sophomore Dan DeSalvo, who had intercepted a clearing pass in the faceoff circle.
Mullin earned his second tally of the night on a power play at 6:00 in the second period to push Miami’s lead to 3-1. Senior Steven Spinell fired a shot from the point that Mullin knocked in from where he waited on the doorstep for the final tally of the night.
For the second night in a row, the Falcons were unable to convert on a five-minute power play. Coach Chris Bergeron said that was a key point that needed to be taken advantage of.
“Our power play is struggling right now,” he said. “I felt like the intensity was better on the power play [than Friday night’s]. It felt like we had a little more zone time, but full credit to Miami. They block a lot of shots, or we hit them with a bunch, probably a combination of both. That’s something we need to work on.”
Miami’s freshman goaltender Ryan McKay made 23 saves for his fifth win of the season, while Hammond stopped 31 shots in defeat.
