The Miami University men's ice hockey team played perfectly on the penalty kill and won its fourth consecutive road game against a ranked opponent.

The 'Hawks beat then No. 17 Michigan State University 8-2 in a conference series sweep. The RedHawks held the Spartans to just one goal per night, triumphing 5-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday.

"I thought our power play and our PK (penalty kill) did a great job all night long," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "We got fortunate on one of them, and that's way it goes."

Miami netted seven goals against the 2007-08 Michigan college athlete of the year, Jeff Lerg. MSUs senior goaltender put together one of the most decorated campaigns in school history during the 2007-08 season. Lerg was a Hobey Baker finalist, a Second-Team All-America selection, the CCHA First-Team goaltender and the CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Friday and Saturday, the RedHawks beat Lerg with ease, scoring all but one of their eight goals with him in net.

Out playing their highly touted counterpart were Miami's two freshman goalies Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp, who only gave up one goal apiece.

"The credit goes to the two goalies," Blasi said, "because they've been working their tails off."

Miami's penalty kill unit-ranked third going into the weekend-was called into action early in the first stanza of the series when freshman Cameron Schilling and sophomore Tommy Wingels were consecutively sent to the box, giving the Green and White a two man advantage. Miami's man-down unit made life hard on the Spartans, though, killing both penalties and challenging MSU to set up any potential scoring opportunities at even strength.

The Green and White rose to the test at 10:29 of the first period with a goal off the stick of senior Matt Schepke. The cheers of the Spartan faithful were still ringing in Munn Ice Arena, though, when Miami answered back just 14 seconds later. Sophomore Pat Cannone equalized the score after picking up a Jarod Palmer rebound, while in the process matching his goal total from a year ago at six.

The Red and White opened scoring in the middle frame and accomplished what Michigan State was unable to achieve in the first period-capitalizing on a man-advantage. Senior Raymond Eichenlaub fired a shot from the blue line, netting his ninth career goal off a dish from sophomore Andy Miele after MSU sophomore Andrew Rowe was called for clipping.

Lerg came out of the crease at 14:57 of the same period in an attempt to clear the puck, but the momentary leave gave senior RedHawk captain Brian Kaufman just the window he was looking for. Kaufman beat Lerg to the puck and then deftly beat him to the net as well, making the score 3-1 for Miami.

The Red and White hadn't finished with the Spartans yet, and wasted no time in further extending their lead in the second stanza with another power play goal. After freshman Chris Wideman's initial scoring attempt went wide, Cannone picked up the loose puck and found senior Justin Mercier in the slot. Mercier slammed the puck home and the Red and White went 2-for-4 on the power play for the period.

Meanwhile, Reichard was an impenetrable force, turning away all nine Spartan shots in the second.

"Guys were blocking shots and clearing them out," Reichard said. "Everyone did a great job. It's my job to make a big save when the team needs it."

Miami chipped in one more for good measure, closing scoring for the night with another Miele power play tally at 9:09 of the third period. Sophomores Vincent LoVerde's and Tommy Wingels's initial tries were blocked, but Miele broke through the melee and beat Lerg to make the final score read 5-1 Miami-Michigan State's third straight loss.

"Our guys did a good job of keeping Michigan State to the outside, for the most part," Blasi said. "That's kind of been a way we've played over the last five weeks. We've been a little inconsistent, but I thought tonight, for the most part, we played hard for 60 minutes."

"Played hard" was right. Over the course of Friday night's game, the two teams combined for a total of 96 minutes served in the box, each finishing with 20 penalties for 48 minutes.

Blasi's boys continued their winning ways into game two, sealing a series sweep of the Spartans for the second year in a row.

In similar fashion to game one, the Green and White gained a two man advantage early in Saturday night's game when Eichenlaub and freshman Will Weber were whistled for interference and cross checking, respectively. Miami's top-notch penalty kill sprang into action again, though, impeding MSUs passing lanes and skillfully foiling the Spartans' man-advantage efforts. Freshman goaltender Connor Knapp contributed his share as well, stopping seven pucks in the ultimately scoreless first frame.

Mercier snapped the scoreless streak at 15:09 of the second stanza, working the puck down the length of the rink and firing a shot from the top left of the hash marks to put the brotherhood up 1-0. Meanwhile, the 'Hawks killed off all three MSU man-advantages for the period and Knapp stopped nine more MSU attempts.

Freshman Brandon Smith tallied his first career goal at 9:40 in the final period, widening the scoring margin to 2-0 by successfully putting away a Gary Steffes rebound.

The Green and White retaliated at 11:49 when sophomore Corey Tropp beat Knapp stick-side to pull the Spartans within one.

The rally effort was admirable but ultimately insufficient. In a final, desperate attempt to even the score, Michigan State pulled Lerg with one minute remaining in regulation. An open net goal by Miami sophomore Carter Camper closed scoring for the night and sealed the RedHawk's fourth consecutive victory over the Spartans.

"There's been times when we've lost a lot in a row," Lerg said. "It's frustrating as a goaltender, you know, if one puck goes by you, you're not real sure if you'll be able to win the game. You put a lot of a pressure on yourself."

Next weekend, Miami will face off against CCHA rival Michigan in a home series Nov. 21-22. The puck is set to drop at 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday.