Miami hockey sweeps RPI, surpasses 2024-25 win total heading into bye week

Following the Miami University hockey team’s first win in 342 days, the RedHawks continued their victorious streak with a two-game sweep against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers.

Last season, RPI came to Oxford and defeated the RedHawks both times with a 3-2 overtime victory in the first game and a 2-1 win in the second. However, Miami flipped the script this year.

Game one: 5-3 win

The 2025-26 season is still in its infancy, but if there’s any game to prove that this year’s Miami hockey team is different than years prior, this performance was it.

Miami took the lead early after 17-year-old freshman forward Ilia Morozov, the youngest player in college hockey, scored his first collegiate goal with a shot from the right faceoff circle on the power-play.

The Engineers responded with a man-advantage goal of their own less than a minute later. Sophomore defenseman Kazimier Sobieski sent a shot through traffic from the point following a faceoff win and tied the game.

RPI scored another goal to take its first lead of the game 44 seconds later with the first goal at even strength.

No goals were scored the rest of the first period, but less than four minutes into the second, the Engineers converted while at 4-on-4 following multiple penalties in the first minute and a half of the middle stanza.

Down 3-1 and facing their first adverse multi-goal situation of the season, the RedHawks could have easily crumbled. However, it was the opposite.

Freshman forward Kocha Delic began the party, scoring a second power-play goal for the RedHawks at the 7:04 mark before Morozov scored his second goal of the game via a one-timer to tie the game at 3-3.

Miami took its second lead of the game after junior forward Matteo Giampa found senior forward Max Helgeson through a seam, and the University of Alaska-Anchorage transfer converted five minutes before the end of the second period.

Following the middle frame comeback, the RedHawks were steadfast in their defense, and an empty-netter from Delic sealed the 5-3 comeback victory.

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The result was the first Miami hockey road win in 650 days. Its last road victory was a 3-0 shutout on Dec. 30, 2023, against Niagara University, led by former RedHawk and current RPI Engineer goaltender junior Bruno Bruveris.

“Obviously, we have to find a way to not have the start that we did,” said head coach Anthony Noreen. “I just didn’t think we were anywhere near what we are capable of or to our core values or our details at all. But what good teams do is take the information, realize it’s not acceptable, and they find a way. I thought we did a really good job of being a totally different team from that point on.”

Game two: 5-0 win

The second game of the series was far less nerve-racking for the Miami fans tuned in to the ESPN+ broadcast from Troy, New York.

Just over a minute into the game, Giampa tallied his fourth point of the weekend to put the RedHawks up 1-0, and the score would remain that way until the middle of the second period. Once again, Morozov struck for the visitors, scoring his third goal of the series and adding some insurance.

Miami would add its final three goals in the third period, including one from junior forward and Boston University transfer Doug Grimes 22 seconds into the final frame. The other two goals came from Delic on a precise outlet pass from Morozov, and the 17-year-old added another assist – along with Giampa – on Michigan State University transfer defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich’s first goal as a RedHawk to seal the 5-0 victory.

“It’s been crazy,” Lukashevich said at his midweek press conference following the series against RPI. “The emotions after the games because I know the guys didn’t win a lot last year and we’ve won four games in a row right now. Every single goal, every single shift everyone is fired up. Crazy emotions.”

Over the whole weekend, Miami not only surpassed its win total from the previous season, but the first line of Morozov (6), Delic (5) and Giampa (5) registered 16 points, and three players scored their first goals as RedHawks. Drobac became the first goaltender in Miami history to win his first four starts, including the first shutout and assist of his collegiate career.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) awarded three RedHawks – Morozov, Delic and Drobac – with weekly honors. It’s the first time in program history that three Miami players have been given conference awards in the same week, with the fourth being given to University of Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp.

Miami heads into a bye week having received five votes in the latest USCHO ranking poll. Every NCHC team received votes, with the only team below Miami being the University of Omaha-Nebraska.

The RedHawks will face Lindenwood University on Oct. 24 and 25. The RedHawks begin their conference slate against Arizona State University at Goggin Ice Center on Halloween weekend, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu