The Miami University men's ice hockey team (2-0-0) swept St. Cloud State University (SCSU) this past weekend, making a strong statement in its season opener series.

While top-ranked Denver University, University of Michigan and Notre Dame all split with their respective opponents, the RedHawks weathered a stint in overtime and a 45-minute scoreless drought to hold off the Huskies 3-2 and 2-0. Special teams play, superb goaltending and all-around depth contributed to the Brotherhood's series success.

Juniors Andy Miele and Carter Camper and senior Jarod Palmer all contributed multiple points, and freshmen Curtis McKenzie and Devin Mantha recorded their first career goals for Miami.

"Well, Palmer's our senior, so he needs to continue to play the way he is," Miami Head Coach Enrico Blasi said. "As far as our freshmen are concerned, they know they can go in there and play their game and fit our style. That was a great goal by Mantha … and I thought Smith and McKenzie played well up front, and I thought Hartman and Spinnell … played really, really well, so I think our freshmen are contributing nicely."

At the final line of defense, sophomore net minders Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp both went above and beyond to keep their team in the game. Reichard made several key saves early in Friday night's contest, keeping the Brotherhood in the contest during a mediocre opening stanza that saw SCSU outshoot the 'Hawks 14-10.

During game two, Knapp stonewalled the Crimson and Black and recorded his third career shutout.

"I go into every game just thinking about stopping the next shot and that's all that I can do, that's all I have the power to do so, just every shot (I) make the save and move on from there and worry about the next one," Knapp said. "I just try to focus on that and not worry about the situation too much."

After failing to capitalize on numerous early power play opportunities, SCSU found the back of the net first during Friday night's opener. Sophomore defenseman Oliver Lauridsen finally solved Reichard with 2:18 remaining in the first frame, firing a bullet from the blue line that broke through the melee and lit up the scoreboard.

The second period saw a much more energetic RedHawk team, though, and McKenzie wasted no time equalizing the score. After junior SCSU goalie Dan Dunn denied Palmer's initial attempt, Miele picked up the loose puck and wrapped it around the net to McKenzie, who beat Dunn stick-side before he could regain his position from the initial block.

The RedHawks then scored again from the same angle on the power play seven minutes later. This time, Camper skated the puck up ice and fed it across the crease to sophomore Pat Cannone, who one-timed it past Dunn and put the Red and White in the lead.

The final frame was rather uneventful and Blasi's boys seemed to have control of the game, until SCSU made a move and knotted the score with just under two minutes on the clock. The Huskies commandeered the puck and skated it into Miami's zone. Reichard made the initial save, but was unable to cover up before SCSU freshman Brian Volpei finished the job, sending the game into overtime.

Prior to Friday, the Brotherhood hadn't won in overtime since March 29, 2008 against Air Force, but after the Red and White cleared two Husky attempts, Camper collected a rebound and wrapped it around the goal to beat Dunn stick-side for the third and final time that night, defeating the Crimson and Black 3-2.

"I saw Wingels and Vaive around the net," Camper said. "They did a good job of getting to the net and I figured (I'd) just put one off the goalie and it would either go in or go to their stick and we were lucky enough to get a goal there."

The Huskies wouldn't give up the series easily, though, and Saturday night's contest was a battle of epic proportions.

"You're never quite comfortable with a team like St. Cloud because they have so many weapons, and they can really get up and go, and their speed really creates a lot of opportunities for them," Blasi said.

Miami and SCSU may have spent more time scuffling than shooting during the first two periods, as each team recorded only eight and four shots on goal (SOG), respectively, and accrued a total of 32 penalty minutes in the meantime. Big hits from both sides sent many players to the ice, and the Red and White did a great job of limiting the Huskies' shots by keeping the action out of the center lane and forcing SCSU along the boards.

Finally, after 45 scoreless minutes, Palmer lit the lamp on the power play for the Brotherhood. Miele picked up his second point of the weekend on a centering pass to Palmer, who beat highly touted rookie net minder Mike Lee for the game winner. Freshman Reilly Smith was credited with the second assist.

"I thought we did a pretty good job after we scored on the power play to not look back and just continued to put pressure on them," Blasi said. "I'm not sure how many shots they had but we had to kill a big penalty there with five minutes left. Once we scored the goal we got our legs, and it's amazing how much a goal can energize you and get the crowd into it."

Then, in stark juxtaposition to how the action had been progressing earlier in the evening, Miami found the back of the net again just 20 seconds later, increasing its lead to two. Weber stole the puck in Miami's own zone and fed it up ice to Miele. The fiery forward from Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. chipped the puck ahead to Mantha on the fastbreak, who wristed a shot high for the Brotherhood's second and final tally of the night, closing out scoring 2-0 and sending the Huskies home empty handed.

Perhaps the final difference-maker on the series was the RedHawks' sensational special teams play, as Miami killed off ten straight power plays while converting on two of its own.

"We lost the special teams battle," Motzko said. "Our power play didn't score a goal all weekend and they got one each night, and in a tight game like this, that's the difference."

The RedHawks are set to play their next series Oct. 16 and 17 at No. 16 New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. The puck will drop at 7:05 p.m. both nights in Miami's second out-of-conference series of the season.