This past weekend, the Miami University men’s ice hockey team (21-2-5-2 CCHA, 24-5-7 overall) closed out the 2009-10 regular season with a hard fought win and tie against Ohio State University (OSU) (10-12-6-4 CCHA, 12-16-6 overall).

The rivals matched each other’s intensity and limited each other’s opportunities to nil, save for an explosive second period during Friday night’s matchup. That stanza saw eight total goals — six by the RedHawks and two by OSU — while both nets remained void of pucks during the other five combined regulation periods and one overtime period.

Prior to puck drop on Friday night, Miami’s four seniors — Jarod Palmer, Gary Steffes, Brandon Smith and Dane Hetland — were commemorated for the career achievements that led to them becoming the second winningest class in school history. The classmates all skated together in the starting lineup and two put their names on the score sheet, with Hetland registering a helper on the second goal of the night and Palmer recording a goal and an assist.

“I thought Hetland had a great game tonight and did a nice job blocking a lot of shots,” head coach Enrico Blasi said. “Steffes played hard. Smith is one of our guys that plays hard every night, and what can you say about Palmer? He continues to play at a high level and it’s just nice to see.”

The Buckeyes took it to the Brotherhood in the first frame, registering five shots on goal (SOG) before Miami could post one, and the period closed with an 11-14 shot advantage favoring the Scarlet and Gray.

“They came out hard in the first like we knew they were going to, so we kind of weathered the storm there,” sophomore Trent Vogelhuber said. “After the first we got all of the kinks out, and then early on in the second we came out strong.”

In the middle frame, the Red and White channeled the Red, White and Blue, netting six goals in one period, much like Team USA did in the Olympic semifinal game v. Finland earlier that same day.

Junior Andy Miele kicked it all off with a slick shot that later made ESPN SportsCenter’s Top Ten Plays of the night. As OSU tried to clear the puck from deep in its own zone, Miele turned back up ice alone and skillfully stole the puck from OSU sophomore blue liner Mike Folkes. Before Folkes or junior net minder Dustin Carlson could react, the center put the puck up top shelf for his 13th goal of the year to give Miami the lead at 1:21.

Junior assistant captain Sergio Somma pulled the Buckeyes even at 3:59 when he picked up sophomore Zac Dalpe’s rebound behind the net and wrapped it around for his 12th goal of the season.

It was only 25 seconds before the RedHawks regained the lead for good. Hetland won the faceoff and dished the puck to junior Pat Cannone, who found Vogelhuber at the post. The Dublin, Ohio native fired the puck into the open left side of the net to put Miami up 2-1.

The quick response deflated OSU’s squad, as the Brotherhood went on to score four more consecutive goals in 10 minutes.

Junior Justin Vaive put away what would become the game winner at 9:01, and junior Tommy Wingels knocked one in off the crossbar at 11:14, chasing Carlson from the net.

“We didn’t get a whole lot of shots in the first period, and in the second period we knew that we really needed to get a lot of pucks to the net, so we started to, and once the first one went I think their goalie really lost a lot of confidence and so they started coming,” Vogelhuber said.

With OSU junior Hunter Bishop in the box for slashing, Palmer chipped one in from close range on the power play at 14:18 to make it 5-1.

Just 17 seconds later, junior Vincent LoVerde sent in a blast from the top of the left drop circle to cap Miami’s output at six goals. The offensive outburst marked the most goals that the Red and White have netted in a single period all season. In total, Miami found net on six out of 15 shots in the middle stanza. The tally also marked the second time this season that the RedHawks have scored six goals against the Buckeyes.

“I think a big part of our offense is the depth we have,” Palmer said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that can score and make plays, so everybody from the defense to the forwards can contribute offensively. We have a real potent offense, so when we get going it’s tough to stop us.”

Junior John Albert added one last lamplighter for the Buckeyes to make it 6-2 before the second intermission, but the game was already far out of reach.

Sophomore goalie Cody Reichard made 14 saves in the final frame — including several impressive stops with his glove — and sophomore relief goaltender Cal Heeter turned away nine RedHawk attempts, rendering the third period scoreless and cementing the final tally at 6-2.

On Saturday, the two teams battled hard for 65 minutes, but neither would give an inch.

“That was a pretty good college hockey game,” Blasi said. “We did a pretty good job after the first period of limiting their scoring chances, even though they got a few good ones in the second and third. They’re pressing, they’re playing for home ice in the first round, and you’ve got to give them credit – they kept coming.”

Sophomore net minder Connor Knapp turned away 23 shots to earn his fourth shutout of the season, while Carlson stonewalled all 38 of Miami’s attempts over four periods.

Somma and junior Peter Boyd were both successful on their attempts in the resulting shootout, while Palmer and junior Carter Camper came up empty handed. The Buckeyes needed at least one point to obtain home ice advantage in the first round of the CCHA tournament, and in the end they got what they came for.

Throughout the contest, Miami exhibited a defensively sound style of play, limiting the Buckeyes’ chances by shutting down lanes and poking the puck away.

“You’re playing back-to-back night’s against your rival — that’s pretty intense,” Blasi said. “Our guys did a fairly good job. It’s tough when you have a team that’s in desperate mode like Ohio State was.”

The last time Miami played 60 scoreless minutes was also v. the Scarlet and Gray Nov. 30, 2001, which ended with the RedHawks winning 1-0 in overtime. Before that, the Red and White have only played two other 0-0 games in program history — against Notre Dame Dec. 10, 1994 and Michigan State University Feb. 7, 1998.

The longest scoreless stretch that the RedHawks have seen in 2009-10 came in the second game of the season, on Oct. 10 against St. Cloud State University (SCSU). In that contest, Miami and SCSU played 45 scoreless minutes before the Brotherhood broke through with two goals spaced 20 seconds apart.

As the top seed in the CCHA Tournament, Miami now has a week off to prepare for the second

round series, which will take place at Steve Cady Arena March 12 to 14. The Brotherhood could be seeing the Buckeyes again in two weeks, as the first round winner of OSU v. Notre Dame will be traveling to Oxford.

“This team has been through a lot,” Blasi said. “It’s hard to believe the regular season’s over and, as I told them in the locker room, we’re very proud of them. It’s a heck of a regular season.”