Despite an energetic and physical match-up Friday night, the Miami University men's ice hockey team failed to sweep its opponent at home for the second straight weekend.

The RedHawks won the weekend opener against Ferris State University in a shootout only to fall 2-1 Saturday.

The first period of Friday night's contest was very physical, which proved to be a good indicator of what the rest of the game would be like.

"Sometimes you get yourself in the game, you have to finish checks and that's what we want to do," Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said. "We want to play through bodies and play between the whistles and stay disciplined."

Miami initially had difficulty keeping the puck out of its zone, and a hooking call against Gary Steffes just 1:38 into the game gave the Bulldogs just the scoring window they were looking for. Ferris State sophomore Scott Wietecha slammed home a dish off the stick of freshman Chad Billins at 2:44, snapping a streak of 36 straight penalty kills by Miami's third ranked man-down unit.

The Red and White answered back with a power play goal of its own just moments later. Senior Justin Mercier was "just-in" the right place at the right time, picking up a rebound from junior Jarod Palmer's initial scoring attempt and firing it past Bulldogs' rookie goaltender, freshman Taylor Nelson. Pat Cannone picked up the second assist.

The remainder of the period continued to be a brutally physical battle between the two teams. Skirmishes along the boards and efforts by both teams to keep the puck to the outside presented few solid set-up and scoring opportunities.

"Both teams get after it and so it forces you to play a little sloppy because you don't want to make mistakes," Blasi said. "Today we were into it right off the bat. Guys were finishing checks and playing tough nose hockey."

The Red and White trailed by one for the second time in the game after junior Aaron Lewicki found the back of the net with just 31.6 seconds remaining before the second intermission.

As soon as the buzzer sounded ending the second period, an all-out brawl broke out on the rink. Almost all of the players on the ice were involved in the fight that resulted in 12 penalties totaling 54 minutes.

"I think that kind of hurt us," Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels said. "We lost two players on our top line for 12 minutes."

The RedHawks came out flying in the final period and one-upped their initial goal of matching their opponent's intensity by overwhelming the Bulldogs with brilliant passing and ceaseless shooting. Miami tallied 12 shots on goal this period to FSU's four.

Cannone contributed to the RedHawk rally effort for the second time in the game, equalizing the score again on a blitz at 6:29 of the period. Eichenlaub and freshman Chris Wideman picked up the assists.

"I felt like in the third period we played to hold onto a lead, and you're not going to hold onto a lead sitting back against Miami," Daniels said. "We had to have some sustained action and we had none until Miami tied it up … We didn't take any game to them in the third period until they tied it up."

The score remained even for the rest of the period and through the ensuing five-minute overtime, though, forcing the first shootout ever in Steve Cady Arena.

Cannone beat Nelson glove-side on the first shot to make it 3-2 and the Red and White never looked back as Reichard denied all three FSU attempts.

"I'm not a big fan (of shootouts)," Daniels said. "I voted against it earlier on, and it's for this reason … Our locker room is dead right now; they're devastated. Two of the guys that missed just feel awful, and I just think that's a lot to put on kids, especially in college hockey."

The victory was noteworthy for Reichard, who recorded his first home victory of the year and had already taken a shoot out loss earlier in the season against Ohio State University.

"We practice (shoot outs) every Thursday and we have some of the best guys in college hockey, so I face them every day in practice-it wasn't that bad," Reichard said.

The game was recorded officially as a 2-2 tie in the eyes of the NCAA, but Miami earned two points in CCHA standings.

Game two of the series saw an entirely different RedHawk team as Blasi's boys flatly skated to a 2-1 loss. Senior captain Brian Kaufman tallied Miami's standalone goal with just over seven minutes remaining in play, but the effort was not enough to rally the 'Hawks to victory.

Miami's usually prolific power play unit failed to convert any of its four chances, and even gave up a short-handed goal to the Bulldogs in the second period.

FSU goaltender Pat Nagle played brilliantly in net, stopping 29 of Miami's 30 shots. His denial of a Steffes one-timer right in front of the net late in the second period may have prevented a second straight overtime affair.

"That's a game saver," Daniels said. "That's a heartbreaker for (Miami)."

Miami's next challenge will be a road rumble against Michigan State University Nov. 14-15 in East Lansing, Michigan. The puck is set to drop at 7:50 p.m. Friday, while Saturday's game will start at 8:05 p.m.